Anybody have DIY plans for a 1K Dimmer?

CameronMcC said:
how much power will that take?
Click to expand...

15 amps

They work very well but can get pretty hot, I like to make sure to either hang mine off the light stand or if I have to put it on the ground put it on a pancake. Get on Harbor Freight's mailing and email list, they have some great coupons.
 
You probably already know this, but just in case. Be aware that dimming causes the colour temperature of the light to drop. Using scrims can be better than dimming if you want it to match other lights or standard cinema colour temperatures.
 
http://sound.westhost.com/project62.htm

But, as Paul suggested, easier to just use one of those dimmer boxes from Harbor Freight.

Unless you need more sophisticated things, then the DIY project above is pretty good. Of course dealing with power mains voltage is lethal and you must know what you are doing and practice perpetual diligence to avoid killing yourself or the users of the dimmers.
 
I just use a dimmer that was designed to control the speed of conveyor belts in factories, it was about $80. and its 2K
 
Noisy dimmers

Noisy dimmers

One thing I do not like about the Harbor Freight dimmer is it makes some of my lights noisy, which can hurt sound recording. I was told that this dimmer (and maybe others like it) works with a semiconductor that turns the power off and on thousands of times per second. If the filament starts to vibrate in the lamp from the off-and-on power, it can make a buzzing sound. On my 750-watt Tota, it does not buzz. But on some Lowel 1,000-watt lights, it does. It's annoying when it happens.
 
+1 on the one from habor freight... used it on lowel, arri, mole and offbrands without any problems so far...
 
Harbor Freight dimmer good, but....

Harbor Freight dimmer good, but....

I use the Harbor Freight dimmers. I have 3 of them, and I like them. However, they don't dim down to zero. Of course I don't really need "no light." There is a switch to turn them off, but I wish they would dim a bit lower (closer to zero) for when you just want a "touch" of light.

Any solutions out there?

Len Kaufman
The Other Hollywood
Hollywood, Florida
 
lenslens said:
I use the Harbor Freight dimmers. I have 3 of them, and I like them. However, they don't dim down to zero. Of course I don't really need "no light." There is a switch to turn them off, but I wish they would dim a bit lower (closer to zero) for when you just want a "touch" of light.

Any solutions out there?

Len Kaufman
The Other Hollywood
Hollywood, Florida
Click to expand...

There are a log of solutions, scrims and ND gels are probably the better and cheaper options
 
There is a low-end cyc stage in town that uses the HF dimmers on all their lights. I found this out when I asked to see the dimmer board. They pointed to a closet, I opened it up and it was about a dozen of those HF dimmers hanging from stingers...
 
Anybody try the bighorn 20amp Bruce mentioned? Wondering if it's as compact and whether it stays cooler. Regarding the Harbor Freight, Anyone else have the buzzing issue with their lights (as did jimbee)?
 
I built a 1k dimmer with H.depot parts. Honestly, the Harbor Freight one is better (and cheaper). No buzz on my Arri Fresnels. High hats in my living room buzz on the dimmer...Could it be multiple lamps on the same dimmer exaggerating the noise?


Jason
 
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