"PeterD" wrote in message
news
Most of the theatres that I have been in used Variacs to control
lighting. A variac is an autotransformer, allowing variable voltage
output with the turn of a dial.

The Variac was a trade name for an adjustable autotransformer. I haven't
seen a variac board in any theatre in the last 25 years. The cost of
electronic controls has come down so much that everybody converted over to
them.

I was working one theatre where there was a small pyrotechnic charge used. I
watched the stage crew prepping it and using a length of 24awg copper wire
as the initiator - conected directly to the dimmer circuit. Thought it would
blow the dimmer for sure.... darn, those things are robust now!

Oppie