The weather beacon has now been updated with an LED system
USA - One of Milwaukee's most famous buildings got a face-lift with a new lighting refit and smart control, responsive to the weather conditions - the iconic gas flame, that was added in 1956, indicates the weather forecast by its colour and flicker. This weather beacon was turned off in 1973 because of that year's energy crisis, but turned back on in 1985 - it has now been updated with an LED system that lights up the entire building. MainStage, a US-based theatrical supplier and integrator, was responsible for this project.

The original neon lighting inside the iconic Flame sculpture was replaced with all-new LED new lighting fixtures consisting of 36 - Color Kinetics ColorGraze MX4 fixtures. In addition to the flame centrepiece, over 150 Chauvet Colorado fixtures were used provide coloured accent lighting for the main building structure.

The majority of control distribution is achieved by using a combination of Wireless Solution's WhiteBox F-1 G4S transceivers - a total of 20 units send data wirelessly to several points of the building. A total of (16) Outdoor 12 directional antennas and (4) Outdoor 8 omni-directional antennas were used - the maximum distance transmitter was 170ft.

"Due to the high-traffic of other wireless networks, the use of directional antennas was recommended, enabling our receivers to bypass any noise from the surroundings", said Tripp Oliver, systems & design manager for MainStage.

When asked about the use of equipment, Oliver said, "Wireless DMX was used due to the difficulty in getting wire from the control rack on the 20th floor down to the lighting on floors 3 - 17. The building was built in the late '20s, and getting wire down from the top and then out to the fixtures on each floor was going to cost a considerable amount of money. W-DMX was specifically chosen due to the hearty nature of the product and the large temperature range in which it will operate."

The system also includes equipment from Pathway Connectivity and is controlled via an ETC Mosaic system, which allows for both automated and direct control of the entire system, 24/7. Wireless Solution Sweden is distributed and supported by TMB in the USA.

(Jim Evans)


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