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Sound Reinforcement - Forums for Live Sound Professionals - Your Displayed Name Must Be Your Real Full Name To Post In The Live Sound Forums => Lighting Forum => Topic started by: Andrew Pernica on August 20, 2018, 07:00:19 AM
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Sorry for little OT, but lights are usually somehow tied with sound.
I have met with one really interesting question.
Inside effect lights like derby ,zigzag, doubleball there are usually 2 lamps connected in series.
F.E.: two 120V lamps in series instead of two 230V in parallel.
Why are they connected in series, not in parallel?
Is it because of "same current running through = same intensity" or better manufacturing (in countries running 120V power outlet they just move jumpers to connect them in parallel) ?
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Sorry for little OT, but lights are usually somehow tied with sound.
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One answer might be that they are connected in series because if one bulb dies, the entire fixture goes out so you know a bulb is dead. With parallel bulbs, if one bulb dies the fixture still works but not as intended. People using a 1/2 working fixture might not understand a bulb died and would keep using it, or stop using it as it now underperforms.
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Sorry for little OT, but lights are usually somehow tied with sound.
I have met with one really interesting question.
Inside effect lights like derby ,zigzag, doubleball there are usually 2 lamps connected in series.
F.E.: two 120V lamps in series instead of two 230V in parallel.
Why are they connected in series, not in parallel?
Is it because of "same current running through = same intensity" or better manufacturing (in countries running 120V power outlet they just move jumpers to connect them in parallel) ?
Another potential issue is that 230 volts can be challenging for filament design, particularly for low-wattage or physically small lamps.
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In countries running 120V power outlet they just move jumpers to connect them in parallel?
That's a good question. In all of my similar effect lights (and I own many), they're all in parallel (and I'm in a 120v country). The 120v variant of the 64514 lamp that most of these effects use seems to be the common choice, but a 230v version exists. Without too much digging in inventory I found a few examples. My ADJ Avenger IIs have a fixed voltage and simply list the 120v fuse and lamps, whereas my Chauvet Lighthouse has a user-selectable voltage (120/230v) and lists the fuse/lamps for both settings. All units have the lamps tied together in parallel. I know that's not really an answer for you, but more info to chew on!