Strand C21 Operation Manual
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Strand C21 Operation Manual

Advanced technology dimmer racks
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C21 / EC21
AdvAnced Technology dimmer rAcks
OPERATION GUIDE

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  • Page 1 C21 / EC21 AdvAnced Technology dimmer rAcks OPERATION GUIDE...

  • Page 2: Technical Assistance

    Strand Lighting office. PREFACE Thank you for choosing Strand C21 / EC21 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 effort has been made to ensure that the equipment has been designed to meet the highest professional standards and that dimmer racks and their components have been assembled, inspected, and tested in accordance with our strict quality assurance program.
  • Page 3 A chassis containing one, two or four dimmer or contactors. This is sometimes referred to as a “dimmer”. However, each C21/EC21 power module can have multiple dimmers or contactors in it, so this manual distinguishes between dimmers (individual power control circuits) and power modules (a collection of one or more power control circuits).

  • Page 4: Specifications

    RACK COMPONENTS The C21 / EC21 dimmer rack is a listed, free standing, factory assembly of steel and aluminum construction fin- ished in a fine textured, scratch resistant coating. Each C21 / EC21 dimmer rack consists of a rack processor housing (RPH) with one or two rack processor modules (RPM), a fan module, and up to 24 or 48 dimmer modules.
  • Page 5 Most C21 / EC21 dimmer modules are available in load status reporting versions. Load status reporting versions of dimmers can be mixed in any combination with standard dimmers in C21 / EC21 racks. These dimmers report many dimmer status items back to the processor. The information can be accessed through various menu items.

  • Page 6: Fan Module

    FAN MODULE C21 / EC21 dimmer racks are cooled by one or two low-noise variable speed fans in a fan module inside the rack. The cooling system is designed to let the rack continue functioning if any one of the fans fail. Cooling air is pulled up through the dimmer stack and exhausted through venting at the top of the rack.
  • Page 7 FIGURE 4. FAN MODULE RACK PROCESSOR HOUSING Each C21 / EC21 dimmer rack contains a rack processor housing (RPH) with all of the control electronics for the rack. This RPH contains the processor module(s) (RPM), control station power supplies, and control interconnec- tion card (CIC) for the rack, and is shipped separately from the rack to minimize the possibility of damage.
  • Page 8 FIGURE 6. RACK PROCESSOR MODULE POWER SUPPLIES Each C21 / EC21 dimmer rack can have up to three power supplies, depending on the accessories provided. These power supplies are mounted on the rack processor housing. CONTROL INTERCONNECTION CARD (CIC) The electronics chassis also contains the control interconnection card (CIC).
  • Page 9 NOTE: If the MODULE EVENT LED is ON, check the dimmer event log to see which dimmer is causing prob- lems. If any other LED does not illuminate correctly, switch OFF the power immediately and check the installa- tion again. If all wiring seems correct, call Strand or your local Authorized Service Center. led sTATUs The LEDs on the front of each rack processor module are the first level of diagnostics and provide immediate visual status indication.

  • Page 10: Operational Features

    oPerATion gUide After startup 1. Check the following items to make sure they are correctly set in the processor module: • Rack type • Phasing • Starting multiplex signal number and dimmer protocol • Input Voltage • Dimmer numbering Other items you may wish to check at this time, depending on your system configuration, are: •...

  • Page 11: Control Inputs

    • 96 Panic Select switches SAFETY FEATURES In order to minimize the impact of failures to any part of C21/EC21 dimmer racks, a number of security features, some of which are optional, are provided. Standard safety features for C21/EC21 dimmer racks include: •...

  • Page 12: Controls And Displays

    PROGRAMMING THE DIMMER RACK CONTROLS AND DISPLAYS You can access the range of C21 / EC21 dimmer rack programmable features using the Jog Wheel and LCD dis- play. Menus are shown in English. FIGURE 8. RACK PROCESSOR MODULE FRONT PANEL LOCK MENU To avoid accidental or unauthorized use, you can lock the menu.

  • Page 13: The Main Menu

    NOTE: The default Gateway IP address should not be changed unless instructed to do so by Vari-Lite. vieW mAc Address. View the MAC Address assigned to the C21 and EC21 processor. The MAC address is set at the factory is not accessible.
  • Page 14 oPerATion gUide time. seT modUle TyPe. Set a single dimmer module type (based on the module part number) for each rack slot. seT modUle TyPe rAnge. Set the module type (based on the module part number) for a range of dimmer rack slots.
  • Page 15 oPerATion gUide MAIN MENU RACK IDENTITY DIMMER CONFIG LOCAL CONTROL VIEW RACK NAME SET DIMMER PATCH SET DIMMER LEVEL VIEW RACK LOCATION VIEW FULL OUTPUT V SET DIMMER LEVEL RANGE VIEW MAIN BREAKER ID SET FULL OUTPUT VOLTS STATUS REPORTING VIEW SERIAL NUMBER VIEW REGULATION MODE VIEW LIVE STATUS...
  • Page 16 Times. View the response times for the dimmers, six dimmers at a time. seT resPonse Times. The response time of a dimmer is the rate at which it responds to increases or decreases in the control level. C21 / EC21 dimmer racks provide five response times: Fast = 30ms...

  • Page 17: Input Config Menu

    oPerATion gUide User2 = User Defined Dimming Curve #2 User3 = User Defined Dimming Curve #3 User4 = User Defined Dimming Curve #4 User5 = User Defined Dimming Curve #5 vieW cUT levels. View the Cut Levels for the output dimmers, up to 6 at a time. seT cUT levels.

  • Page 18: Factory Menu

    View extra Dealer Info. reverT To mFg conFig. Resets the configuration to factory defaults. C21 / EC21 WEB PAGES This section provides basic information on the C21/EC21 Web Pages. MAIN SCREEN STATUS Select [STATUS] to gain access to the following options: W W W.VA R I - L I T E .C O M...
  • Page 19 oPerATion gUide sTATUs > dimmer W W W.VA R I - L I T E .C O M 2-450174-030A...
  • Page 20 oPerATion gUide sTATUs > sysTem sTATUs > versions sTATUs > sys evenTs sTATUs > dim evenTs sTATUs > evenT log SYSTEM Select [SYSTEM] to gain access to the following options: sysTem > PArAmeTers W W W.VA R I - L I T E .C O M 2-450174-030A...
  • Page 21 oPerATion gUide sysTem > modUles sysTem > dATe/Time W W W.VA R I - L I T E .C O M 2-450174-030A...
  • Page 22 oPerATion gUide sysTem > consTrUcTion sysTem > BAckUP looks W W W.VA R I - L I T E .C O M 2-450174-030A...
  • Page 23 oPerATion gUide sysTem > FirmWAre CONTROL Select [CONTROL] to gain access to the following options: conTrol > locAl SAVE/RESTORE Select [SAVE/RESTORE] to gain access to the following options: W W W.VA R I - L I T E .C O M 2-450174-030A...
  • Page 24 oPerATion gUide sAve/resTore > sAve BAckUP cFg Note that this will save the current operating parameters to a backup area on the rack processor, overwriting any previously saved parameters. sAve/resTore > resTore BAckUP cFg Note that you will lose all changes made since the last configuration save. The system will restart and revert to the IP address saved in the backup configuration if you accept.
  • Page 25 oPerATion gUide DIMMER Select [DIMMER] to gain access to the following options: dimmer > circUiTs dimmer > modes dimmer > dynAmics W W W.VA R I - L I T E .C O M 2-450174-030A...
  • Page 26 oPerATion gUide dimmer > User ProFiles dimmer > TolerAnce dimmer > rePorTing W W W.VA R I - L I T E .C O M 2-450174-030A...
  • Page 27 oPerATion gUide PATCH Select [PATCH] to gain access to the following options: PATch > dimmer Place holder text. W W W.VA R I - L I T E .C O M 2-450174-030A...
  • Page 28 oPerATion gUide VISION.NET Select [ VISION.NET] to gain access to the following options: vision.neT > conFigUre vision.neT > PATch W W W.VA R I - L I T E .C O M 2-450174-030A...
  • Page 29 oPerATion gUide This PAge inTenTionAlly BlAnk W W W.VA R I - L I T E .C O M 2-450174-030A...

  • Page 30: Technical Support

    The information presented in this document is not intended as any commercial o er and does not form part of any quotation or contract, unless otherwise agreed by Signify. Data subject to change. C21 / EC21 OPERATION GUIDE Document no.: 2-450174-030A...

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Ec21

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