Lighting Level Controls
Optional sections are in italics.
Task 2a: Dimmer boards and Dimmer racks
A simple dimmer board
Research and explain what dimmer racks and dimmer boards are and the role they play in lighting control systems.
Also include:
- where in the theatre each is positioned.
- the difference between a manual dimmer board and one that can be automated
You can read this short article to get you started. It refers to dimmer racks as ‘dimmer packs’ and calls dimmer boards ‘control consoles’.
Task 2b: Potentiometers
Potentiometers adjust the level of a light (or a sound signal later in Unit 10) by changing how much current flows in a circuit. It does this by altering the resistance. Potentiometers can be sliders/faders or rotary knobs – on lighting desks they are always sliders/faders.
Note: Because modern lighting systems have the dimmer racks a long way from the control boards, the potentiometers are found in the dimmer racks and controlled by a signal sent from the board.
(a) Explain what a potentiometer is and how it works differently to a rheostat/variable resistor.
(b) Include data and a graph from a investigation you have carried out into the use of a potentiometer to control the brightness of a light.
(c) Put your work for Task 2b into your work for Task 2a. If pasting it into the section on dimmer boards, make it clear that you understand that the faders/sliders are not manually controlling the lights but sending a control signal to the electrically controlled potentiometers in the dimmer racks. If pasting it into the section on dimmer racks, make it clear that modern lighting potentiometers are not controlled by a manual slider but by a signal sent from the lighting board.