SYRACUSE, NY – After more than 20 years of rigging control system challenges, the showroom at Trump Plaza Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, N.J., has a new control system provided by J.R. Clancy, Inc. The software specialists and engineers at J. R. Clancy replaced the existing rigging controller with Clancy's SceneControl 500 automated motion control system, designed for use in theaters, performing arts centers and concert halls.
SceneControl 500 features 3D displays of the actual performance space, helping technicians select the sets they want to control on the touch screen. The user can add actual scenery to the display to make it even easier to use, providing a visual representation of the drops and set pieces on each batten. This allows the operator to see a familiar, understandable view of the equipment being controlled, rather than looking at a table of numbers.
The 3D capability allows the operator to view the stage from any point. Operators can select the viewpoint that helps them understand the moves they are controlling, providing a new level of flexibility and usability without breaking the budget.
This interface lets users develop simple to elaborate cues and modify them to match the flow of each performance. Using SceneControl 500, operators can move scenery, lighting, acoustical banners, reverberation doors, travelers, speaker clusters, winches, revolves, orchestra lifts and more.
The new system ends an odyssey that began as far back as 1984, said Scott Mahrer, entertainment technician for Trump Plaza, who arrived at the hotel and casino in 1985 and immediately began troubleshooting the control system in place.
"The console was accurate to within two inches or so," he recalled. "If you wanted to move something in another quarter-inch, you had to run it back a couple of feet and reset the target."
Trump Plaza replaced this system in 1990 with another from the original system's manufacturer, retrofitting 24 motors with digital encoders and bringing in a new motion control system-and the Entertainment Department staff members found themselves with new problems. "The ongoing troubleshooting of that system went on for a year," Mahrer said. "Several advertised features never worked at all."
While its entertainment strategies changed over the ensuing years from headliner acts that required minimal scenery to Broadway shows and revues, Mahrer found it more and more difficult to continue using the control system in place. In 2004, Trump Plaza began to focus on an upgrade that would solve the problems they had faced since 1990.
"We started researching, and settled on recommending the Clancy line of products," he said. "We wanted off-the-shelf components, so if something went wrong, we could just replace the part."
"The SceneControl 500 is based on commercially manufactured components that are widely supported and readily available," said Tom Young, vice president of marketing for J.R. Clancy. "The displays are generated by an industrial grade PC, and all movements are controlled by a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC). "PLCs are designed for use in industrial environments, where a high level of reliability is required."
PLCs are used in production line automation, elevator control, and other applications requiring the level of performance and reliability necessary for a theatre rigging control system.
Trump Plaza's old system ran on an IBM 386 computer with the Microsoft Windows 3.1 operating system. "Once when a circuit board died, just by luck, the manufacturer's rep had the only one in existence in his living room. Otherwise, we would have been out of luck," stated Mahrer.
Off-the-shelf components would mean virtually immediate repairs, keeping the system at Trump Plaza running smoothly for every performance, Mahrer noted. "Clancy could replace a component right off the shelf-they're not proprietary," he said. "We were going to get so much more for our money."
Despite Mahrer's enthusiasm and the physical need for a better system, however, three more years passed before the funds were available for the project. When the project finally got the green light, the installation involved replacing the DC variable speed motors with AC components-a relatively simple step in most theatres, but a major challenge for Trump Plaza.
"The prior company did a non-standard installation, so the motor shafts wouldn't fit into the coupling. They'd made a specialized coupling," Mahrer explained. "SEW-EuroDrive sent a rep out, and provided smaller motors to fit-but these couldn't carry the weight that we needed. We needed three-horsepower motors, and these were now only two-horsepower. So we had to change out the gear boxes and replace the motors again. We worked side by side with Clancy to get this done."
With the new system in place, the Entertainment Department staff members could not be happier to have their rigging problems behind them. "I'm most happy that we have a console that works," Mahrer said. "With the SceneControl, if we want to move something a quarter of an inch, we can do it. "
"We have nothing but good things to say about Clancy," Mahrer said. "They already had a good rep for their equipment in the industry, and I felt it was a good thing to go with them because of this. They really worked with us over the years. I had higher expectations of Clancy than of other manufacturers, and those expectations were met. The new system is absolutely fantastic."
For more information, please visit www.jrclancy.com .
