I. All RC4 Series 3 Harmonized Design devices operate from 6 volts to 35 volts and can directly drive devices that operate within that voltage range

A. This tutorial demonstrates a method for dimming DC loads that require less than 6V (a low-cost 3V flicker candle)

B. RC4 Series 3 dimmers will actually operate down to 5V, an allowance for 6V battery voltage drop as it discharges

II. The method demonstrated here is confirmed to work well with City Theatrical flicker candles, both the LED and the incandescent types

a. Although it is impossible to test every different flicker candle module available worldwide, this method is likely to work with any candle that operates with a DC voltage up to 35VDC. 3V, 9V, and 12V candles are common

III. Using an RC4 DMX4dim to wirelessly operate a 3V Dollar Store candle

A. Items needed: Dollar store flicker candle, RC4 DMX4dim, a battery pack with multiple 1.5 volt batteries (four batteries required in this case)

B. Information via our  battery chart

C. Put in four batteries

D. Connect a black wire at the bottom, which is zero volts

E. Connect a red wire at the second battery which is 3V

F. Connect a red wire at the fourth battery which is 6V

G. Mark each wire

H. Connect the red 6V wire to the positive + power terminal on the dimmer

1.Six volts is the minimum recommended voltage to power the dimmer

I. Connect the black wire to the DMX4dim negative – power input on the dimmer

J. Connect the red 3V wire to the positive + connection of the electronic candle

K. Connect the negative connection of the electronic candle to the DMX B negative – terminal on the RC4 dimmer

1. There are no connections to any positive + dimmer output in this circuit

L. Raise the assigned DMX channel on the console. When the channel approaches 100% the candle will come on

1. In some cases the candle will be unable to dim and will only light at 100% until further steps, below, are executed

IV. To make a 3 volt Dollar Store candle dim without an additional external smoothing device in the circuit

A. This can be achieved by increasing the  PWM frequencyPWM frequencyTo see a visual representation and in-depth explanation of PWM, watch our latest video This chart is also a helpful resource. PWM stands for Pulse-Width Modulation.  It is a method for using a switching device (one that can only be on or off) to create what appears to be analog changes in level.  This is done by […]
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1. Bring down all DMX channels, to zero

2. On the RC4 DMX4dim, locate the  Set B ButtonSet B ButtonAll RC4 dimmers have Set buttons for each individual dimmer output. The second button is the Set B button. On a 2-channel device these are Set A and Set B buttons. A 4-channel device adds Set C and Set D. The most common use of the Set button is to assign a DMX channel and […]
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3. Using a small tool like a paper clip, long-pressLong-pressButtons on RC4 Series 3 devices can invoke different features by operating the buttons in different ways.  One way is to press and hold a button for several seconds.  This is called a long-press. When using long-press features, care must be taken to avoid accidentally slipping in a way that produces a button tap rather […]
Read more » the Set B button (press and hold) until the candle blinks

a. The LED blink pattern on the dimmer outputs indicates the newly selected PWM frequency

b. In the this case, the indicators blink for 1.2kHz

4. Long-press the Set B button again until the candle blinks again

a. This indicates it is at 5kHz

6. Raise and lower the DMX console fader to see how the candle looks when it dims.

a. Dimming may or may not be optimized at this frequency.  This must be judged visually.  Subsequent steps are not necessary if the candle looks good and dims smoothly at 5kHz

7. Long-press the Set B button again until the candle blinks again

a. This indicates it is at 10kHz

8. Raise and lower the DMX console fader to see how the candle looks when it dims.

a. Dimming may or may not be optimized at this frequency.  This must be judged visually.  Subsequent steps are not necessary if the candle looks good and dims smoothly at 10kHz

9. Long-press the Set B button again until the candle blinks again

a. This indicates it is at 20kHz

b. In this demonstration, the dimming is optimized for the 3V Dollar Store candle at this frequency, and it dims nicely