Designed in response to the needs of touring productions which now freely mix conventional and automated lanterns and so need easy access to a mixture of dimmers and switchable hard power. Each Smart Touring Rack contains four 12-way modules; each module can either be a 12-way ETC SmartPack 10A dimmer pack or a 12-way 10A MCB power module. Each 12-way module is RCD protected, and each dimmer module has its own 'brain', so that if one brain does fail only those 12 dimmers are lost but the rest of the rack continues to function normally. Every rack also offers six ways of independent power, meaning that non-dimmed power is available even when the rack has 48 dimmers installed.
Power from the dimmer or power racks is routed through a mains patch bay to 16 multicore outlets, which can be Socapex or Lectriflex as required. Each rack has Powerlock in- and through-connectors, and each offers a 32A 3-phase CEE-form outlet. The rack also has space to be fitted with a DMX splitter, if required.
"The new Smart Touring Rack is the successor to our long-established White Light/Arri 48-way touring dimmer racks, which have been successfully running the lighting at shows and events for over 15 years," comments White Light's technical director, Dave Isherwood. "In designing the new rack, we talked to production electricians and people touring with shows to see what they thought was missing from other touring racks then tried to design a rack that solved those problems - particularly the need to mix dimmed and non-dim power. The proof of the demand for this mix is that the configuration we're seeing requested most often with these racks is for 36 dimmers and 18 ways of hard power."
The White Light Smart Touring Rack is already on the road with the ongoing tour of the musical Grease with production electrician Simon Needle.
(Lee Baldock)
