Alongside our ever popular DFS3000 lamps, we’re now stocking lamps from the stunning new Calesco series from Glasson Electronics.
These incredible lamps offer a modern version of the classic filament style effect, coupled with the highest quality control and dimming qualities that Glasson lamps have developed a reputation for. As well as the tungsten effect LED filament, as part of the Calesco series there’s also an RGB SMD ‘effects’ ring in the base of the lamp, offering a whole other dimension of possible lighting design aesthetics that further increase the versatility of the already impressive lamps.
A problem often found with LED effects is the absence of smooth dimming that’s so often demanded by theatre and stage production lighting requirements. The Calesco lamps feature a super smooth dimming curve, due to the LEDs being driven with true linear variable current, not PWM, creating flicker free dimming to both the eye and also on camera.
What is Digital Festoon?
Digital Festoon takes the practicality and ease of standard festoon and adds complete DMX control of each individual RGBW lamp allowing you to create complex designs as well as having complete versatility with colours and patterns. Vivid colours can be created by mixing the red, green, and blue LEDs and for softer pastel shades add white into the mix.
The diverse Glasson lamps are popular for theatrical shows and lighting installations as well as having appearances in TV and film production due to their flicker free colour fading and dimming. The exceptionally high quality Glasson Electronics Calesco and DFS3000 DMX Festoon hire series offers unparalleled versatility.
How Does Digital Festoon Work?
Installation
The Glasson PSUs are very clever boxes that allow the use of standard cabling and ES Festoon harnesses, the only special bits are the PSU and the Lamps themselves. When installing the Digital Festoons they would be setup as below.
DMX Console > Glasson PSU > Standard Cabling/Splitters > Festoon Cables with Glasson Lamps
You can create complex designs just by using standard cabling and splitters, multiple strings can be run in parallel from one PSU, each string would be limited to a maximum of 100 metres.
The new Calesco lamps utilise a warm white filament coupled with and RGB SMD effects ring in the lamp base.
Our DFS3000 lamps are the Super High Intensity RGBW versions, we stock ‘dome’ shape lamps a 5000K white, and ‘globe’ shape lamps with a 3000K white. You can run up to 100 of these lamps from the RM200 PSU.
Addressing
Each RGBW lamp requires 4 DMX channels and is individually re-addressable using the Hand Programmer to allow complete customisation of the installation.
The DMX start address is set on the PSU, you then program each lamp by telling it which number lamp in the chain it is – not it’s DMX address.
So for example, based on a PSU DMX start address of 1: LAMP 1 would respond to DMX channels 1-4, LAMP 2 = 5-8, LAMP 3 = 9-12, and so on.
All lamps will be programmed as LAMP 1 when supplied. where they have been tested. The addressing must be done as the lamps are installed, it cannot be done remotely after installation.
Needless to say this will consume a lot of DMX channels very quickly. If you want to create a simpler design you can address multiple lamps to the same lamp number and they will all respond to the same DMX channels regardless of where they are physically placed in the festoon.
So for example you can have LAMP 1, LAMP 2, LAMP 3, LAMP 4, LAMP 1, LAMP 2, LAMP 3, LAMP 4, LAMP 1, etc. This allows the creation relatively simple chase effects that would only consume a total 16 DMX channels.