Humming with Arri 150 dimmer

W

Win Edson

Member
Hi everyone,

I'm using four Arri 150 lights that I've checked out from my work. They all come with the factory dimmers attached, and all four are making an audible 'humming' noise when dimmed. The noise almost goes away when I pull the dimmer all the way up (brightest) but even then there's still a little hum.

I've tried every socket in my apartment and also tried with all other lights/appliances off.

Has anyone else had this problem? These are professional grade movie lights from an industry leader, so I'm a bit dumbfounded...

Any help is appreciated.

Win

P.S. These are Arri 150 Junior Watt Fresnel Tungsten Lights.
 
Given that tungsten lights are pretty much a socket and wiring that goes almost directly to the wall, the choices are few as to what could be the culprit. Almost has to be the bulbs themselves. Some resonance in them setup when the dimming action happens. The only other possibility is that the dimmers themselves are causing the problem but you indicated it was the lights. Are you sure its not the dimmers? That's much more of a likelihood. If you're sure its in the fixture and not dimmer then I would look at changing the bulb to another brand.
 
Thanks for your thoughts...

I'm not sure it's not the dimmer actually. I am getting new light bulbs so I'll test those out. But if that doesn't cure the problem, then, yeah, it is most likely are the dimmers.

Any ideas how to fix the dimmer?

Cheers

Win
 
Yes get solid state or at least better quality dimmers. Some "rheostat" types do hum a bit. The ones you have are probably just cheap or are at the limit of the wattage they are capable of. If each is handling 150w and are rated for that or lower, that could be one problem or just bad construction.
 
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