Motion activated lights

[John C]

Northern Ireland Camcorder Club has been forced to change premises after some 20 years in the local library.

We have moved to the local Community centre and had two successful summer meetings,
then the Bombshell. The council have installed motion activated lights throughout the Community centre.
Aparently there are no separate switches or over rides apart frm in the Football hall.

Can anyone come up with a cost effective, legal and user friendly system of over riding the motion activated lights, otherwise we will not be able to see our films this next winter.

Please help,

John C.

[Dave Watterson]

Wow! What a silly situation for the council to put you in. There may be many other groups using the premises who might want an occasional slide show, training film or PowerPoint display. My first action would be to approach your local council member and ask her or him to raise this problem urgently. (They may get faster action than you can as a member of the public.)

The second notion is just to look out for the sensors on the lights and cover them up!

In some systems a room may be controlled by just one sensor and a cardboard box may be all you need to cover it. In other systems every lamp has its own sensor and that is much more of a pain for you would have to "blind" each sensor.
-Dave

[John C]

Thanks very much for your help.

We were thinking of creating a new post of Lampdouser based on the 19th Centuary Lamplighter, their job being to hold the box on the end of a telescopic pole. A fine would be levied if they moved the box when a fellow competitors film was being shown!!!

The Chairman and I will visit next week to see what we can do.

KR John C

[Brian Saberton]

How typical of the stupidity of some designers these days and I doubt if there will be anything you can do about it short of having the building rewired. I think if you don't get anywhere with the Council I would be tempted to write to your local newspaper about the situation. Actually you could get a good comedy film out if this - the audience having to sit very very still until the lights go out and then having to remain completely motionless until the film has finished. What if someone wishes to sneak out to the toilet? or someone comes in late. Does the projectionist have to wave his arms about to get the lights to come on at the end? That sort of thing.

[John C]

Having just read FVM and noted an article on the lack of Club Films this is just what we need?

Have you a more detailed Script?

Kr John C.

[Brian Saberton]

Sorry but no, I don't have a script. It was just an idea that came to me as a way of illustrating how someone can design a lighting system for a community centre and not take account of the unintended consequences i.e. that at some point someone may wish to turn the lights off to show films. I know of a camera club who had to move premises because the room they were allocated in brand new, supposedly state of the art, community facility could not be blacked out and had low hanging lights that would obscure the screen. And this after a consultation process by the architects at the design stage.

[John C]

Just testing!

I will put it to the Club scriptwriters over coffee on Thursday.

Seriously, though, it does look as though we will have to move again.

By the time, our query has moved from basket to basket in the Council and endured the holidays our new season will have started.

Thanks for your help,

KR John C.

[Dave Watterson]

By the time, our query has moved from basket to basket in the Council and endured the holidays our new season will have started.

That is why I suggested asking your local councillors to act for you ... they can cut through the bureaucracy quickly when they have a cause ... and this one is good for a few headlines in the local press.

Try http://www.writetothem.com to find people to contact:
-Dave

[col lamb]

As a Chartered Engineer by profession the installation probably does not comply with the IEE Regulations if local isolation (ie a manually operated lightswitch) is not present.

There has to be a means of safely isolating the light fitting to change the lamp.

I'd get in touch with the Boss of the Estates Department and put a rocket up his rear, then light it if no response is forthcoming.

[John C]

Thank you. I love EEC Regulations when I am not involved.

I will make a phone call and see what happens.

KR John C.