Low Voltage Battery Wireless Dimmer Switch

[benscrawford]

Hello All,

Have been browsing Google for help on this subject, but to no avail.

I'm currently working on a theatre production that requires a number of LED's (or potentially some kind of incandescant lamp) built in to bits of the set (that move around the stage) to be turned on and off and to change level throughout the show.

Now, there is a very expensive route I could go down which involves using a theatre lighting protocol to transmit the data over a radio frequency which will in turn power a set of basic theatrical dimmers and in turn dim the lights. This is useful as it can be controlled from our lighting control desk. The downside to this is that it is going to cost us in the region of £1200.

What I'm wondering if there is a way to do this with some basic electronics? Ideally I would have a wireless relay switch (similar to a wireless garage door switch), which would tell a timer to fade a lamp from OFF to ON over say 5 seconds, and then either the same switch or another one (if necessary) to fade it out over the same amount of time.

I would be grateful for any suggestions you guys may have!

Many thanks,

Ben
Production Technician
Rose Theatre, Kingston

 

[davelectronic]

Hi benscrawford.
Your idea will work, but very much dependent on your electronic skills, the remote part is the easy bit, maplin sell single or multiple RF transmitters and receivers, it the interface between the dimmer and the receiver thats a bit more tricky, ok you've got servos, but the timing might be to quick, micro controllers might be the answer, but this is technically more demanding, and i am not sure about that route, hopefully another member might have some ideas, this is why the retail unit you mention is so expensive, due to it complexity and components count and build cost.
Dave.