OPERATION GUIDEC21 / EC21 ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY DIMMER RACK
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PREFACE
NOTE: e material in this manual is for information purposes only and is subject to change without notice. Strand
Lighting assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions, which may appear in this manual. For comments and
suggestions regarding corrections and/or updates to this manual, please contact the nearest Strand Lighting oce.
ank you for choosing Strand Contact Advanced Technology dimmer rack. We trust that the equipment will meet all
your dimming needs and will provide you with reliable service for many years.
Strand can assure you that every eort has been made to ensure that the equipment has been designed to meet the high-
est professional standards and that dimmer racks and their components have been assembled, inspected, and tested in
accordance with our strict quality assurance program.
Should you encounter any problems or diculties with your dimmer racks, please contact the nearest Strand service rep-
resentative. For a complete list of Strand Lighting oces and service centers or visit our website (www.strandlighting.
com).
is manual describes the operation of for Contact Advanced Technology dimmer racks. A separate Installation Guide
provided with the dimmer racks describes how to install the dimmer racks and perform initial setup procedures.
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
Contact racks and dimmers require a minimum of maintenance and servicing.
For operation or technical assistance, please contact Strand or the local Authorized Service Center serving your area.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
is manual uses the following terms throughout:
channel A device controlling a dimmer or group of dimmers. Historically, there is a physical controller
(such as a slider) for each channel. On most current control systems, channels are numbers ac-
cessed by a numeric keypad. Each channel can control multiple dimmers.
circuit A connection device and wiring for powering a lighting xture from a dimmer.
circuit ID A unique six-digit numeric identity which you can assign to each dimmer. e circuit ID may
be the same as the dimmer number, or may be a number used to indicate circuit location, phase,
channel number, etc. is feature is useful for tracking all circuits in the architecture.
crossfade A fade that contains both an up-fade and a down-fade, or any fade where the levels of one cue are
replaced by the levels of another cue.
cue e process of recalling a preset from its memory location and putting the result on stage. Preset,
Memory, and cue are oen used interchangeably.
curve e relationship between a control level and the actual dimmer output.
dimmer A device controlling power to a lighting xture. Two lights on the same dimmer cannot be sepa-
rately controlled.
default e original factory settings.
DMX512 An ANSI communications protocol standard that describes a method of digital data transmission
between controllers, lighting equipment and accessories.
Ethernet A high-speed network based protocol used to transmit data from a lighting controller to a dim-
mer rack using a single Ethernet cable.
fade A gradual change in stage levels from one set of intensities to another.
fade time e time it takes for dimmer levels to go from their current levels to the levels in the selected
preset, or DMX512 value. Each preset has its own fade time.
IGBT Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor. IGBT dimmers are solid-state and operate silently without the
use of chokes and can handle a variety of load types. ey reduce lamp lament noise during
dimming operation, are smaller, lighter, and generate far less neutral harmonics than convention-
al dimmers. IGBT dimming technology provides superior overload and short-circuit protection
and operates at signicantly higher rise/fall times regardless of load size.
