A friend of mine has asked me to build him a light dimmer for some stage lights that range from 1000 to 2000 watts. I figure I'll just make all the dimmers rated for 2k watts to keep it simple. I'm not very familiar working with electronics off of 120V AC, I'm more into the digital and low voltage applications. With that being said, I've come across a few circuits in my research and would like some input. I'm thinking about using **broken link removed** circuit because I like that it has the LC circuit to help cut down on the buzzing that's normally associated with dimmers. I already have the triacs (BTA26-600BWRG) that are rated for 25 amps.
My questions are
1) can I use this circuit for 120V without modification, just replacing the triac
2) from what I've read I can use most any off the shelf diac, is that true
3) for the choke coil, if I use 16AWG wire how many turns and how large should the coils be (I don't have an inductance meter handy)
4) is there a dimmer circuit that's preferred on this forum
Sorry for all the questions, but I do not like working with house voltage.
As you can see I am new here, but I have looked around a bit and like what I see.
My questions are
1) can I use this circuit for 120V without modification, just replacing the triac
2) from what I've read I can use most any off the shelf diac, is that true
3) for the choke coil, if I use 16AWG wire how many turns and how large should the coils be (I don't have an inductance meter handy)
4) is there a dimmer circuit that's preferred on this forum
Sorry for all the questions, but I do not like working with house voltage.
As you can see I am new here, but I have looked around a bit and like what I see.