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14 Feb 2022

Cape Jaffa Lighthouse Celebrates its 150th Birthday with LSC Control Systems

Cape Jaffa Lighthouse was built on Margaret Brock Reef near Cape Jaffa on the southeast coast of South Australia, and commissioned in 1872. The Lighthouse was relocated to the town of Kington SE in 1976, is owned by the National Trust of South Australia, and now operates as a museum.

January 2022 saw the Lighthouse celebrate its 150th birthday and it was decided to light it up in all its glory to mark the occasion. The same month, veteran Australian company LSC Control Systems celebrated their 42nd birthday, so it was fitting that an LSC maXim lighting console and an LSC DMX Splitter were to control this splendid project!

Having once found some rare lamps for the Lighthouse to keep shining, George Psorakis, Managing Director of Osmond Electronics, was the first choice of the local National Trust committee to deliver this special project. Osmond Electronics are also veterans of the Australian lighting industry and have been an LSC Dealer for forty years!

“With the lighting, I was careful not to detract from the Lighthouse itself,” comments George. “The lighting had to accentuate the structure, not act as an alternate light show.”

Power was restricted to single phase, so all lighting products were LED, not IP65 rated, but sealed well with the backs facing downwards. The LSC maXim was moved under the Lighthouse during a heavy downpour and never came out again!

George brought in Joe Sperenini, a local technical tutor who has been using LSC products for 25 years and personally owns an Atom 24/48, maXim MP and a Mantra Lite, to assist with the project.

“In all my years as both a lighting designer and operator as well as a tutor, I have used LSC consoles as they are the best console to teach with due to their layout and structure,” remarks Joe. “There’s instant access to individual faders, it’s easy to record cues, and they are simple to operate. They’re great for people who have never used a lighting console before.”

Simplicity was an important feature, as once the lighting for the Lighthouse was programmed, volunteers would take over running the show. In preparation, Joe carefully marked up particular colours, as well as other features such as pages and banks, on the LSC maXim.

“I broke down the complexity into simple codes with white electrical tape and coloured Textas,” he adds. “In fact, the volunteers became so confident running the LSC maXim they started to create their own looks!”

As with most outdoor events, there is always the issue of how to run power and DMX cables, and there was also the height of the Lighthouse to consider. Fortunately, Joe is not afraid of heights!

“This was the most time-consuming aspect of the project,” says Joe. “The cable running and continual checking that it complied with safety guides and was weatherproofed took time. Then there was the purely physical aspect running up and down all those stairs!”

The event was so popular that the National Trust is in discussions with Osmond Electronics to do it all again next Christmas period.

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