flickerboxes

[Bastian Traunfellner]

hi there,

 

I love this forum, and have another question to experienced users.

 

I am looking for a flicker box which has a function to flicker between the output channels.

That means when one light is off another (random) one in the array goes on.

 

Or is that automaticly included with for example a campfire preset (where the shadows are moving)?

I guess moving shadows are only possible through switching between lights..

 

found this one, bit expensive though. Maybe there's cheaper ones.

 

http://www.filmandvideolighting.com/magashflbox.html

 

Also what kind of plug is that?

is there any with normal 220 v european plugs (german)?

and also which watt does it operate with. can you usually plug anything from 60 watts to 5k?

 

sorry for the basic questions, I'm not so much into electricity.

 

thanks everyone!

[Rob White]

That sounds like it's a standard US 110V plug on it, so you wouldn't be able to use it in Germany. Also each of the three dimming channels is limited to 20amps (so a 2K per channel basically.)

 

If you need to save money it is possible to construct your own by wiring florescent starters in line before the lamp. Only problem with this is that you're limited to the rating of the starter; and it needs to be constructed by somebody who knows what they are doing. If you have a google around there's quite a lot of info/diagrams etc.

 

I built my own units with 4x 100w par bulbs each, all flickering independently using this method. If you'd like some pictures/more info let me know!

 

Hope this helps,

Rob

Edited August 26, 2011 by Rob White

[Jaron Berman]

I have that unit, it's amazing for what it's intended...and its also a great compact dimmer for 3 lights. The plugs on it are 3 x edison plugs (std. USA grounded) and outputs to 3 x edison female outlets. It has a ton of presets for TV, fire, anything that needs to flicker and yes - the 3 channels let you get the appearance of flames by using 3 separate sources at different physical locations. That unit can do 3 individual 2K lights, as each "leg" is separate.

 

I don't personally know of a 220 unit but it's worth calling the magicgadgets people to see if they have an answer. Likely, if they have a 220 unit, it would handle 3 x 4K lights......worth calling them though.

 

If a fire gag is what you're after, you can do it manually with a couple small handheld reflectors, or manually adjusting dimmers. Not as easy though.

 

One thing you may try - a cheap DJ style dimmer box (DMX control) and a cheap DMX controller, you may be able to rent these - they definitely exist in 220... and you can probably program it any way you like - total cost a lot less than the magicgadgets, though much more limited wattage - usually 1000w / channel on 220 or less.

[Matthew Parnell]

There is a 220/240v unit. We have one in our truck and it comes out all the time for fire effects. Pretty good unit overall.