Members ashivraj Posted August 8, 2002 Members Share Posted August 8, 2002 im brand new to lighting, i know nothing about it. dumb questions to follow. what's the difference between par 64 and par 38? AND, more importantly, what does par mean, and the number after it? thanks in advance AS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeromus-X Posted August 9, 2002 Members Share Posted August 9, 2002 Divide the number by 8 to get the diameter of the opening in inches. For example, a Par 64 would have a diameter of 8", while a Par 38 would be 4.5". I'm not exactly sure what "par" stands for, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members narcolepticbass Posted August 10, 2002 Members Share Posted August 10, 2002 Originally posted by Zeromus-X I'm not exactly sure what "par" stands for, though. parabolic, as in the shape of the reflector inside of the lights Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MoosBros Posted August 10, 2002 Members Share Posted August 10, 2002 Originally posted by ashivraj im brand new to lighting, i know nothing about it. dumb questions to follow.what's the difference between par 64 and par 38? AND, more importantly, what does par mean, and the number after it?thanks in advanceAS there is ALSO a difference of up to 900 watts of lighting power,,, the PAR64's do well for largewr areas, and longer(by far) throws than a PAR38.. the PAR 38 is basically your average yard floodlamp with a stage lighitng housing,, not a lot of light coming from it,, especially when you cover the lamp with a colored gelframe,,, for low power situations, up close,small clubs, etc...., maybe the PAR38's are practicle, and useful... but on larger stages, for lots of color wash, banks of 64's are standard issue.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ashivraj Posted August 10, 2002 Author Members Share Posted August 10, 2002 helpful stuff! very interesting too... thanks, everyone AS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Foooz Posted August 16, 2002 Members Share Posted August 16, 2002 One thing I wished I had done was purchased PAR 56's vs. 64's the difference in wattage is almost 1/2 (300 vs. 500) and in smaller situations the 56's are all you need. The half wattage is half as hot and allows you to run basically twice the number of lights (of course running twice the lights brings the heat factor back up, but oh well it looks cool)foooz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MoosBros Posted August 21, 2002 Members Share Posted August 21, 2002 Originally posted by Foooz One thing I wished I had done was purchased PAR 56's vs. 64's the difference in wattage is almost 1/2 (300 vs. 500) and in smaller situations the 56's are all you need. The half wattage is half as hot and allows you to run basically twice the number of lights (of course running twice the lights brings the heat factor back up, but oh well it looks cool)foooz I've seen PAR46 lights w/ raykits installed that used 600watt DYS lamps... now talk about compact !!!! and they worked great~~lot's of throw,,, lots of light output.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Foooz Posted August 24, 2002 Members Share Posted August 24, 2002 Interesting. Size of 64's isn't an issue for me. I am trying to get more lights I have a NSI 8 channel 1200watts /channel dimmer pack. That allows for 18-500w-64's whereas if I use 56's at 300w I can run ~32. Has anyone seen lower wattage bulbs for the 64's?Foooz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members coolmanchad Posted September 11, 2002 Members Share Posted September 11, 2002 is there really much of a difference in light output from par 56s to 64s? outside of the fact that there is 200 watts of power difference. i don't have any lights yet, but i'm looking into getting lights and a controller for a rock band that i run sound for. not sure how many lights i'll need either... 12x8 stage is the smallest stage that they play on. most are around 20x10. any help would be apprecitated about the lights and decent controllers that are not tremendously expensive. thanks. chad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rimmer Posted September 15, 2002 Members Share Posted September 15, 2002 Originally posted by coolmanchad is there really much of a difference in light output from par 56s to 64s? outside of the fact that there is 200 watts of power difference. i don't have any lights yet, but i'm looking into getting lights and a controller for a rock band that i run sound for. not sure how many lights i'll need either... 12x8 stage is the smallest stage that they play on. most are around 20x10. any help would be apprecitated about the lights and decent controllers that are not tremendously expensive. thanks.chad The 200watts is about it. 500watts lamps aren't that bright with gels in front of them. If you leave a gel in front of a 500watt par can for a length of time, the colour will fade and it will eventually crack. This happens much less with 300watts lamps and loads more with a 1000watt par can. You can't effectively use gels (even high temperature gel) in front of a fully on 1000watt par for any length of time. I would look at some floor cans. You can can away with quite directional lights like par 30's on some things but if it's a bright light show you want, you should be starting around 500watt par level or lots of par 56's. Controllers that need no operator are okay if you set them on a slow fade to give a little movement and feeling of scene changes. Operating them is best although some people (I don't rate myself as an operator) aren't made up of the right stuff. I can't recommend you anything as there is so much stuff out there at the affordable end of the market that I rarely keep track. I don't own any of my own lights and always use whatever the jobs needs from a large pro stock. Anyone else? Rimmer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members coolmanchad Posted September 16, 2002 Members Share Posted September 16, 2002 Over the weekend the band I run sound for played a gig at night, outside and no lights were to be provided. I got creative and went to Lowes (which was within a half mile of the venue they were playing at) and picked up 8 of those flood lights with the clips on them and picked up blue, green, yellow and red lights to go in them... Worked pretty good, but i wish i could have gotten more blues and greens to show up... The yellow was very overpowering the other colors and red was really strong too. used 100 watt bulbs, just in case anyone was wondering. Has anyone else ever done this? When or IF i ever get the money to go out and purchase par 56's would i be able to use these for background lighting? Is there any way to take those fixtures and mount them permanently to a light truss? Thanks for all the advice or help you can give me. chad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rimmer Posted September 16, 2002 Members Share Posted September 16, 2002 Originally posted by coolmanchad When or IF i ever get the money to go out and purchase par 56's would i be able to use these for background lighting? Is there any way to take those fixtures and mount them permanently to a light truss? Thanks for all the advice or help you can give me.chad You can use any light for background lighting but you usually have to choose something that is going to have the right spread and the right brightness ability. Par 56's usually come with yolks (a hanging bracket) with a 2" hookclamp on it that will clamp onto any truss (as it's generally a 2" standard tube). You'll need to safety chain it to the truss as well. If you don't you might have the health and safety department condemn the rig. What were those lights you hired? there are so many floods out there in different configurations. Rimmer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeromus-X Posted September 17, 2002 Members Share Posted September 17, 2002 Originally posted by coolmanchad Is there any way to take those fixtures and mount them permanently to a light truss? Thanks for all the advice or help you can give me. What exactly are you talking about? Fixtures that clamp and hold flood lamps is a pretty varied description and it could mean any number of things. Another easy solution is to get 300w-500w halogen work lights (usually about $8 at Wal-Mart) and get a pack of gels from any music store. I used heat tape to attach the gels to the halogens and made sure there was a little breathing room, and rigged up a foot controller for the four of them. Works like a champ still. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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