# dimmer panel



## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

Yes,
Run!


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## beartp515 (Oct 25, 2009)

Just got a job here that has something similar. I am not looking forward to when it goes bad.


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## sbrn33 (Mar 15, 2007)

jrannis said:


> Yes,
> Run!


Why? That looks to be an easy replacement.


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## 13/2 (Apr 30, 2015)

:thumbupo you have any more pics of this? And some no#s (name plate, type ect...)


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## Hawkrod (Mar 19, 2012)

I have one from a local college theater. It is much smaller than that one and has like 8 circuits (can't remember, have not looked at it in a very long while!) and a master lever that will dim all of them. Mine has levers on each handle to make it easy and smooth to constantly operate in a theater.


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## dmxtothemax (Jun 15, 2010)

If it still works ? 
Then leave it alone !
Just because it's old 
doesn't mean it's no good !
If an experienced electrician says it safe
then don't worry,
Some of these old systems where built to last,
I have dimmer racks,
twenty five years old still working just fine !

:thumbup:


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## westcojack (Dec 2, 2011)

If they are 20 amp breakers, its an easy replacement with several of the current lighting control systems.
If I were the Church I'd replace it before it fails and it's an emergency job.


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## eddy current (Feb 28, 2009)

I worked on one in an old theater. PITA !!!


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## billn (Aug 31, 2011)

That does not look like a dimmer rack to me - such old resistance dimmers usually had a longer handle.

Are you sure they are not circuit breakers?


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## guest (Feb 21, 2009)

billn said:


> That does not look like a dimmer rack to me - such old resistance dimmers usually had a longer handle.
> 
> Are you sure they are not circuit breakers?


It is an older electronic dimming system. The breakers are for the load side of each dimmer ("channel") in theater-speak.)

Biggest problem with something like this is the electronic parts themselves may be obsolete or no longer available, with no modern equivalent.


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## billn (Aug 31, 2011)

Well, channel or circuit - although in such older systems the two terms were often synonymous. 

I have seen old installations where each circuit had a breaker. Each channel also had a breaker with the system having the capability of a channel being patched to multiple circuits. 

In modern usage, a channel has nothing to directly do with dimmers , but simply specifies a patched location in a control desk. Some newer boards, such as the ETC Ion series, patches complete "intelligent" fixtures to one channel.


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