Lighting Controller Pedal?

[timd]

I have a customer that wants the following:

"Would you be able to make me a pedal that I could use to turn on and off a light? I want to use it for Old Wolves live shows.. Instead of a lighting rig, i just want a small colored light in front, and a big bright flood light in the back that I can turn on and off to create mood/atmosphere for the show.. let me know."

I have the basic idea in mind, but I want to do this safely so he doesn't add electrocution to his live act.

Any thoughts?

[vigilante397]

[This post removed due to the poster's embarrassment at lack of knowledge on the subject]

[duck_arse]

don't mess wit de mains. you want the footbox to be low voltage only, connecting to optocouplers or similar isolation to do the dirty work with the mains. does he want fade-up/fade-down, or just on-off changeover?

[vigilante397]

don't mess wit de mains. you want the footbox to be low voltage only

I don't know much about this, but it sounds like VERY good advice

does he want fade-up/fade-down

An expression pedal would be a super cool way to do it.

[armdnrdy]

Use a relay...and there is no way (that I am aware of) to do this without interrupting the actual lighting voltage at some point in the circuit.

lighting control packs have mains voltage inputs and outputs to the lights being controlled.

https://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGHP_enUS450US450&q=stage+lighting+control+pack

[screechingowl]

http://www.amazon.com/Lighted-Foot-Switch-Extension-Cord/dp/B003XK7K8Y

[armdnrdy]

I don't have a lot of experience with high voltage/high current things like stage lighting, but it seems to me that the safest way to do it would be to have the hot leads always connected and have the ground connected to the switch, so turning off the lights doesn't disconnect the hot lead, just disconnects the ground and breaks the circuit.

I am an Industrial Electrical Contractor and what you have described is not only the opposite of safe....but against NEC code.

Let's assume that the lighting is 120V. 120 V consists of the "hot' leg, the neutral, and a ground. The ground serves no purpose other than a "safety net" to provide a direct path to earth in the event of a fault.
Basically, the ground conductor is there to make sure that you do not take the full brunt of the current.

Under no circumstances should the ground conductor be switched or disconnected. There are certain situations where the neutral may be switched...but never with the "hot" conductor still connected.

[PeterPan]

Well of course a lot depends on budget, but for both safety and convenient functionality I'm going to suggest you consider a wireless solution. I've done a lot of work with a module made by Pololu called the Wixel, so much so that I might use it if I were making a custom design for someone (hey... might as well build on existing work, right). But that module requires programming in C, and I don't know if that makes you grin or grimace. So another approach you could consider is to gut an existing wireless remote light controller, many of which can be obtained from your local home depot or Loews type of store. Whatever you do, using a wireless link as a building block will eliminate a lot of high voltage safety issues at the pedal. And even if you used low voltage isolation relays, anything used on stage like this is going to have to take some abuse, and that will mean using tough (and often expensive) connectors and cables. So a wireless solution is partially paid for by the lack of need for any connection. And of course a programmable module will allow a great deal of flexibility in how the control actually functions, not to mention making future mods ("hey... can you make it do THIS too?") a lot less painful.

[timd]

I don't have a lot of experience with high voltage/high current things like stage lighting, but it seems to me that the safest way to do it would be to have the hot leads always connected and have the ground connected to the switch, so turning off the lights doesn't disconnect the hot lead, just disconnects the ground and breaks the circuit.

I am an Industrial Electrical Contractor and what you have described is not only the opposite of safe....but against NEC code.

Let's assume that the lighting is 120V. 120 V consists of the "hot' leg, the neutral, and a ground. The ground serves no purpose other than a "safety net" to provide a direct path to earth in the event of a fault.
Basically, the ground conductor is there to make sure that you do not take the full brunt of the current.

Under no circumstances should the ground conductor be switched or disconnected. There are certain situations where the neutral may be switched...but never with the "hot" conductor still connected.

That's what I feared. I don't want to make something that is unsafe. I was originally thinking of making a box with an outlet on either side, but couldn't come up with a safe switch idea. I didn't think using a standard household lightswitch would work as it wouldn't be visually pleasing or be super easy to engage.

[bluebunny]

There's lots of cheap (OK, reasonably-priced) LED stage lighting out there.  Many items will come with a handy footswitch.  Google "kam parbar".  (Not necessarily a recommendation for exactly what you need, btw, just an example.)

[duck_arse]

there's intercoms (or there used to be intercoms) that plugged each station into the mains outlet, and the mains wiring itself carried the audio. is there anything similar, master/slave mains control available, like w/ off-peak hot water heaters? armdnrdy, you ever seen similar?

[edit :] here's something:
http://www.lightwaverf.co.uk/wireless-remote-control-Power-Sockets-plug-and-play/

[chi_boy]

So does he really want just on and off?  And for a single light?

If the current draw is low enough, could he use something like a remote Chrismas tree light switch?   I have one with a footswitch on a wire.  The other end plugs into the wall.   The lights plug into the back of the bit in the wall.  Footswitch turns it all off or on. 

I must be missing something. 

[therecordingart]

So does he really want just on and off?  And for a single light?

If the current draw is low enough, could he use something like a remote Chrismas tree light switch?   I have one with a footswitch on a wire.  The other end plugs into the wall.   The lights plug into the back of the bit in the wall.  Footswitch turns it all off or on. 

I must be missing something. 

This is probably the easiest way to do it. You can get 4 channel wireless units for next to nothing. Just bust open the remote and wire up some footswitches. It won't look so pretty, but it'll do the job.

[armdnrdy]

there's intercoms (or there used to be intercoms) that plugged each station into the mains outlet, and the mains wiring itself carried the audio. is there anything similar, master/slave mains control available, like w/ off-peak hot water heaters? armdnrdy, you ever seen similar?

[edit :] here's something:
http://www.lightwaverf.co.uk/wireless-remote-control-Power-Sockets-plug-and-play/

I know that wireless switches are made these days....but I haven't dabbled in residential electrical in about 25 years. Also...I make my living from adding electrical...a wireless solution that can be purchased at a hardware store is sort of a conflict of interest! 

With that being said....might want to look into something like that. See how it works, and if it will suit the purpose.


https://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGHP_enUS450US450&q=wireless+light+switch