Digital Display Equipment Plotlite Brochure

MODERN THEATRE

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A FRESH CONCEPTION IN PROGRAMMED
MOD.ULAR LIGHTING CONTROL

MODULAR DESIGN

PORT ABILITY

TAPE CASSETTE STORAGE

DIRECT MEMORY ACCESS

CROSS FADE FACILITY

PLUS/MINUS FEATURE

CODED CONTROLS

Gives the ability to expand at will by blocks of
channels.

The lightweight console can be carried easily to
working positions.

Complete shows can be automatically recorded
for future use.

Leaves the preset facility free for simultaneous
blind plotting.

Cross fade duration and intensity widely vari­able and supplemented by interrupt flexibility.

A unique facility that enables very fast cue
compiling.

Illuminating controls colour-coded for instant
identification.

HIGH RELIABILITY

FAST OPERATION

DIGITAL DISPLAY EQUIPMENT LTD. 0 2 9

P.O. Box 20 Horsham Sussex

All solid state electronics: maintenance by
simple change of circuit boards.

A cue can be established within one second.

Rusper 418

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GENERAL DESCRIPTION

A 'Plotlite' automatic theatre lighting controller is an
electronically based equipment which enables a lighting
programme for a complete show to be built up to the
most exacting requirements during rehearsal and stored
for automatic production during actual performances,
when it is necessary only to press the contro ls in the cor­rect sequence, according to script, to ensure a trouble­free and artistic lighting programme. The equipment

consists of two items; a readily portable control panel and
a free-standing console housing the electronic circuitry
and the power supply pack. They are cable connected by
plug-and-socket connections, and the console is similarl y
connected to the stage or studio lighting installation.

Almost all the controls are simple illuminating push­button switches. They are colour-coded for ease of identi­fication of their various functions and states, thus virtu­ally eliminating the possibility of operator error and
ensuring speed of change of functions.

Intensity of individual lamps and combinations can be
preset to provide a working 'datum', but can be varied to
individual requirements at any time during rehearsal or,
indeed, during a 'live ' performance. The level of each
channel can be monitored for checking purposes.

The conception is a modular one which enables the
expansion of the system by blocks of 32 channels and
cues, if necessary, after the initial installation. The equip-

32

ment contains a memory and a tape cassette control so
that cues can be entered and stored by both these means
for use during the rehearsal and also the actual show.
The memory has a capacity for the instant recall of all
stored cues. The magnetic tape can operate simu l­taneously with any other operation being performed .

A distinctive feature of the
which enables the 'blind' plotting of cues. When the
equipment is operated in a mode which gives direct con­trol from memory and / or cassette to stage, the preset
condition can be employed , while the show is running, to
amend stored cues, for 'blind' plotting or for other
purposes .

Another unique feature is a plus-minus facility by
means of which it is possible to add to or subtract from
cues already used in order to compile cues for use later
in the show.

The speed of operation is such that even complex cues
can be set into the equipment in less than one second .

During rehearsal , the required programme is stored on
tape as each stage is perfected, until the complete show
has been memorised. By this means a repertory company,
for example, can perform a different show every night
with perfect confidence that the lighting of every scene
will be exactly as planned during rehearsal with correct
lighting intensities, fades and special effects.

dt>vice is a preset condition

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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS AND OPTIONS

Control desk (containing switch functions ) :

27"(685mm) wide, r

weight 30 lb ( IJ.7 kg).

Electronic cabinet (free-standing):

22"(559mm ) wide, 20"(508mm )
high.

weight 70 lb ( 31 · 75 kg).

Protected power supply pack: 50 / 60 cps, single-phase

supply, 200/ 250V or roo / r roV; no special ventilation

required.
Temperature 0-70 °. Humidity

Lighting channels:

Available in blocks of

optional extra. )

Cues:

Available in blocks of

of 64 by cassette tape.

Level control:

Lighting levels from zero to full in

r "(28omm) deep, 6"( r 52mm ) high,

de~p, 30" (662mm )

80% .

32 up to 256 max. (Higher as an

32 up to 64, extensible in blocks

32 discrete steps.

Unique lock-on facility prevents sudden level changes.

Output:

Available via dimmer socket on electronic cabinet;
o to
dimmer.

OPTIONAL EXTRAS

( r) Lever and associated channel controls can be dupli-

cated without inter-action when operated simul­taneously with first lever, so that two operators may
share control.

(2) Channels may be extended in blocks of 32 should it

be necessary to expand the system.

(3) Cue capacity may be extended in blocks of 64 if

required.

(4) Provision can be made for longer fade times to

customers' specification.

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For ease of operation, the controls have been arranged in

two basic groupings representing those required for re­hearsal and those for an actual show. All push-buttons
illuminate when depressed, the preset functions showing
as blue for ease of identification.

FOR USE AT REHEARSAL

Record-enable key. Cues stored in the memory or on

tape cannot.be overwritten without insertin g and turning
the key. '

Lever. This performs two functions: it permits the level

of each lighting channel to be adjusted to the required
intensity, and it provides a means of checking the level of
a previously selected channel. Associated with the lever
are three indi cators showing the state of the lever relative
to the channel level:

LEVER HIGH: indicates that the lever is set at a higher

level than the light to be controlled.

LEVER Low: indicates that the level is set at a lower

level than that of the light to be controlled.

LEVER LOCKED: this lamp, when illuminated, indi-

cates that the lever is set at the same level as the channel
light. Only then can the lever take over manual control
of the lighting channel.
through the correct level (which, if permitted, would
cause a sudden change of light level ), the lever will not
lock on, a condition indicated by the appropriate high /
low indicator illuminating.

Set to lever. It is convenient to be able to set all

channels to a common lighting level at the start of cue
assembly. By moving the lever to the required level and
depressing the
available. The procedure will over-write any previous
level present in the selected channel register .

Set off. If the previously stored level is to be retained,

depress this button. This function will also cancel

LEVER.

Cancel all channels. Depression of this button will

switch all channels to zero in a selected cue.

Select stage. When this button is depressed , the selected

channel is on stage , but no stage lights will appear until
the

ON button is depressed.

SET-TO-LEVER button, this facility is made

If the lever is moved too rapidly

SET-TO-

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Select preset. When this button is depressed, the

selected channel is in
'blind' plot to be undertaken without affecting the lights
on the stage. SELECT STAGE and SELECT PRESET are inter­locked so that one function or the other is always
available.

On / off. Depression of the ON button will cause the light

to appear
buttons causes the selected lighting channel to flash on
and off. Note that this is purely a switching mode which
in no way affects the stored level of the channel.

Channels. A required channel is selected by depressing

the appropriate buttons. Channel location ooo is not con­nected to a lighting channel and serves as a 'parking'
position.

FOR USE AT SHOW

Cue-in-~se indicators. These indicate the cues in use

on the stage and in the preset . The indicator automatic­ally updates when a present cue is changed by a cross­fade or any other function . An exception is a plus / minus
function, when the stage indicator will show 99, signify­ing that the cue has been modified .

Record. Depression of this button enables an assembled

cue to be stored in the memory against the location for
further use as a stage or preset function.

Cut. Depression of this button substitutes a new cue for

an existing one.

Plus. Depression of this button will add a new cue to an

existing cue.
level, the corresponding channel in the existing cue will
remain unchanged.
tuted for the existing level.

Minus. Depression of this button will subtract a new

cue from an existing cue.
cue is zero level, the corresponding channel in the exist­ing cue will be unchanged.
in the existing cue will be taken to zero. The plus or
minus function can be applied as a cut or a crossfade of
variable duration .

Fade. Crossfades of o, r o, 20 and 60 seconds are avail-

able by depression of the appropriate button . A crossfade
can be from preset to stage or direct from memory to
stage, as selected by the appropriate button (see Options ).

oq stage. Altern ate pressing of ON and OFF

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If a channel in the cue to be added has zero

If it has a level , this will be substi-

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PRESET. This condition enables a

If a channel in the subtracting

If it has a level, the channel

Int. (interrupt) . A crossfade is interrupted and held by
depression of this button. The crossfade can be termin­ated by depressing the
initiated by depress ing the re qui re d

TION butt on .

ZERO CROSSFA DE butt on, or re -

CROSS FADE DU RA-

Cue. Th e req uir ed cue is selected by depressing th e

app ropri ate numb ered button.

TAPE CONTROL S

Start of rehearsals. In ser t cassette and depr ess • and

,._butt ons: the tape is now ava ilab le for recording the

first cue. Depression of th e

STAGE R EC OR D or P RESET

OPERATIONAL PROCEDURE

RECO RD

button s will enable the content s of each cue to
be autom atically stored on tape as well as in the dynamic
memor y.

End of rehearsals. Depress the STOP butt on followed

by the ...-_,.. button to return the tape to its start p osition
before removing the cassette for storage and further use
durin g th e ac tual show .

Start of show. In sert the cassett e and depr ess the ,._

button only, in order to transfer the tape's contents to
the dynamic mem ory . It is not necessary to wait until the
complet e tape has been rea d befor e oper atin g the
controls.

INITIAL SET- UP

1.1 Insert and turn the

RECORD - ENABLE key to permit

writing access to memory and tape .

1.2 Insert the tape cassette and depress the

• and ,._

buttons .

1.3 Depress

SELECT STAGE or SELECT PRESET dependent

upon whether the stage lights are to be controlled or
a 'blind' plot undertaken . The selected mode will
remain operative until cancelled by depression of the
alternative button .

1.4 Decide if the channels shall be initially set to a

com -

mon level, or individually set.

1.5 If to a common level, adjust the lever to the level
required and depress the SET-TO-LEVER button . This
condition will remain until cancelled by depressing the

SET-OFF button .

1.6 Select the first channel required by depressing the
appropriate channel buttons .

1.7 The light will appear on stage when the

ON button is

depressed,

1 .8 Alternate depression of the ON and OFF buttons will

cause the light to flash for identification purposes .

1.9 Select the next channel by depressing the appro­priate channel buttons . If the lever has

beep moved,
re-adjust it to obtain the common level. Adjustment
will not affect the channel light since this is only active
upon further depression of the

ON button .

2.1 Depress the ON button to put the second light on
stage.

2.2 Assemble the first cue by repeating this procedure to
obtain the lighting pattern required.

2.3 Select the required cue by depressing the appropriate
cue buttons and depress

RECORD

to memorise the first cue and automatically

STAGE RECORD or PRESET

transfer it to tape.

2.4 If the next cue requires only a few light changes, retain
the previous cue and modify, using standard pro­cedure. If a completely new lighting pattern is
required , depress

CANCEL ALL CHANNELS to remove

the previous cue . Those already set will remain in
memory against the previous cue location .

2.5 Repeat detailed procedure to assemble the second and
subsequent cues until the complete show has been
built up and memorised for future use.

2.6 Depress

STOP followed by the _,.. ...-button to return

the cassette tape to the start posit ion. The cassette can
now be removed for storage and future use.

2.7 Insert a new cassette to enable a completely new show
to be memorised . Cassettes have protective tabs
which, when removed, prevent over-writing .

Note : The plus/ minus feature described below under

'Recall' can also be used to advantage during
rehearsals.

RECALL (actual show)

1.1 Turn and remove the record-enable key to inhibit over­writing of the stored cues.

1.2 At the beginning of recall, prior to a show , insert the
cassette (previously recorded tape) and depress the

...- button . It is not necessary to wait until the transfer

is complete before operating the controller .

1 .3 Cues can be recalled in any order, as a snap action, or

as a crossfade of variable duration with the previous
cue. In addition, a new cue can be added to or sub-

tracted from the existing one .

CUT ( or snap action)

1.1 Depress

1.2 Select the first cue, e.g. 01, and depress

ZERO FADE b1:1ttons. The lights will immed iately appear

MEMORY TO STAGE button .

CUT and

on stage and the cue number 01 in the STAGE-CUE-

indicator .

IN-USE

1.3 To replace this cue (01) with the next, e.g. 02 , depress
the cue button 02 with

CUT and ZERO FADE buttons .

Cue 02 will appear in the indicator .

PRESETTO STAGE (asacrossfadeaction)

1.1 Assume that a cue is on stage, e.g. cue 21, and it is
wished to crossfade to cue 09 in 10 seconds .

1.2 During the scene covered by cue 21, cue 09 will be
loaded into the preset by depression of the appropriate
cue buttons and the

PRESET- CUE-IN -USE indicator .

in the

1.3 Depress the

PRESET TO STAGE button ; this will remain

active until removed by depression of the

STAGE button.

1.4 Depress the

STAGE CUT and 10 FADE buttons to initiate

PRESET CUT button . 09 will appear

MEMORY-TO -

· the crossfade . At the completion of the crossfade , cue
09 will appear in the

STAGE-CUE -iN -USE indicator

in addition to PRESET-CUE-IN-USE .

1 .5 To interrupt and hold the crossfade , depress the FADE

INTERRUPT

the

button. To complete the crossfade , depress

FADE DURATION button for the new time required ,

e.g. '5 fade' will give 5 seconds from the restart of the
interrupted crossfade .

PLUS/MINUS (as a crossfade action)

1.1 All actions previously described under ' Preset to stage '
can be performed direct from memory , leaving the
preset available for simultaneous 'blind' plotting
during an actual show .

,

1.2 If it is required to crossfade all lights to dark, select cue
position 00 as the final cue and crossfade by the
standard procedure .

1.3 At the completion of a show, return the tape to the
start position by depressing the ...-_,.. button.

Printed in England by Boulevard Press (Crawley) Ltd . Crawley Sussex