theatrewireless

For out next production of Magic Flute we will need to open a small chest on cue. I recommended to the prop department that RC servos would be ideal. My thought was to use a DMX to servo board from Northlight, and a RC4 wireless DMX receiver. The chest will have lights in it, but we have yet to determine if they need to controlled wireless or if we can use a mercury tilt switch to turn them on. Our prop department decided that they wanted to be the control operators, this rules out the light board, and leaves me the option of standard radio control. With today’s economy I think that Futaba Industrial is out of the budget. I am concerned about using hobby equipment even for a non-critical. This show will tour in at least two major cities. I will need to select the control equipment. The local RC club folks have recommended I use a DSSS system. My questions are.

How well does DSSS on 2.4GHz and Zigbee coexist?

Will this screw up my RC4 (which is critical)?

Of course I could use a separate RC4 system and give the prop guy his own small light board.
I would appreciate any thoughts or comments.

Thanks,
Dennis Long - Indiana University Opera Theater.

Giving the prop guy his own board is cheap, I picked up a small Chauvet DMX board off of Ebay for $70 for bench testing my system.

You might consider a different mech design for the opening using a simple dc gearmotor and a crank arm with microswitch stops. It would be much smoother opening and stopping than a servo. (mechanical design is what I do)

I'd also be interested in how well DSS performs in a theatrical enviroment. I've had interference disasters using the older FM on film shoots. Wouldn't WiFi interfere with a 2.4gh signal?