The new dimming system uses ADB's Eurodim Twin Tech modular system that allows each way to be freely switched between being a dimmer and a true non-dim under software control; the 10 racks, housing 894 3kW and 213 5kW DimSwitch modules, were installed over a five week period while performances continued un-interrupted on the Coliseum stage.
"We've been planning this project for a number of years," explains ENO's head of lighting, Kevin Sleep. "From the time our existing dimmers, installed less than 10 years ago, started flashing randomly during a show we knew they had to go, and that we had to find a new system that was completely reliable, engineered for a long working life and neatly and carefully installed."
The ADB Eurodim Twin Tech with DimSwitch modules was chosen after long and detailed research by ENO. "They seemed to be able to dim anything," Sleep notes, "and the ability to switch from dimmer to true non-dim was invaluable for us with the moving lights, LED fixtures, HMIs and other assorted sources that appear in our shows. They also seemed to be rugged, well thought out and very well built." The new dimmers were supplied by White Light in London.
PTB was chosen to carry out the installation by ENO, based on "Nick Ewins of PTB's clear understanding that this was going to be a difficult project requiring careful planning plus the ability to adapt to the unexpected as things went along, since the state of the existing wiring was somewhat unknown," Sleep explains. "That ability to think on the spot turned out to be invaluable as soon as they removed the old racks and discovered cable coming into the dimmer room from completely unexpected directions, with long lengths looped up in piles."
The PTB team made the decision to re-do things properly rather than attempting half-measures. They first removed the existing racks, pulling out and identifying all of the existing cabling. The new racks were then brought in, this requiring careful planning to get them in through the dock early in the morning so as not to disturb the visiting ballet companies, then along a complex, tight route to the dimmer room.
With the racks installed, the PTB team fashioned new custom trunking around the top of each rack, creating chimneys that keep the rack's cooling fans clear to give unobstructed airflow while also providing new containment for the cabling. Both the mains cabling and dimmer wiring was then adapted to run neatly into the new installation.
The Coliseum project is just one of many undertaken by Push The Button. Other recent installations include new dimmers at London's Lyceum, Savoy and Royal Court Theatres and at the Birmingham Hippodrome, as well as projects at smaller venues and on cruise ships.
(Jim Evans)
