LynTec RPC Power Control Panels Drive New AVL Experiences Throughout Palacio de la Musica
The Palacio de la Musica in Mérida, Yucatán, is an essential part of the city’s vibrant arts, music, and culture scene. Located two blocks away from the Mérida’s central square, it is designed to be a state-of-the art national music dissemination center that includes an interactive museum, performance spaces, and research center. As part of that mission, it is packed with the world’s most innovative audio, video, and lighting systems that allow visitors to experience live music as well as learn about Mexico’s music history and its role in theater, radio, TV, and movies. While specifying technology that allows visitors to touch, see, and hear was a clear priority for the venue, properly powering all these AVL components was a less visible but equally demanding hurdle. Fortunately, it was a familiar challenge for Aleksandar Lalicki, principal consultant and lighting designer. Lalicki was responsible for the lighting design of the recently updated “Peón Contreras” Theater, which is just a mere block away on the same pedestrian street.
“Visitors and residents of Mérida stay for the entertainment, to see and hear great dance and musical performances,” said Lalicki. “A large piece of ensuring we continue that tradition is taking a close look at everything going on behind the scenes. Venues need the best way to protect the equipment — the investment — and to provide the operator with an adequate way of monitoring and controlling power to the installation.”
For “Peón Contreras” Theater, Lalicki had brought in an abundance of lighting sources, including GLP X4 and Impression S350 LED moving heads. To control and protect the new LED light system, Lalicki learned that LynTec RPC remote control breaker panel offer the best, most affordable power control and protection for LED circuits as well as audio and video equipment.
After the success of the “Peón Contreras” Theater, there was no question about specifying LynTec. Palacio offers three distinct entertainment areas: in the basement houses an interactive museum dedicated to the history of Mexican music; the ground floor includes an open plaza, equipped for concert events, and an access both to museum below and the 458-seat concert and recording hall, on the first floor. The music library where existing and current music is digitized, and an education space for the School of Fine Arts is also on the first floor on the southern wing opposing the concert hall; on the rooftop there is a garden for small concerts.
In the museum, a Yamaha sound system, NEC video projectors, Encore Green LED lighting fixture, and a Medialon control system was installed. The concert hall was designed to be unlike any venue in the city, offering incredible acoustics. Its lighting package features Lightronics house controls; main lighting console from ETC with two 21-inch monitors; lighting fixtures by Chauvet Professional; and Altman Chalice house lights with Encore Green wall washers, both mains dimmable. For sound, a PA, point-source full-range loudspeakers, subwoofers, and amplifiers by d&b Audiotechnik were installed along with a Roland M5000 house console. There is an assortment of Shure wired and wireless, AKG, Audix, and Audio-Technica microphones. On the video side, there is an 8700 ANSI lumens Christie projector with Da-lite 300-inch diagonal motorized screen. There is also two Absen LED video walls along with a Datavideo PTZ camera and various recording and streaming equipment that allows the venue to stream events both online and to the plaza on the ground floor.
All the AVL is fed through four LynTec RPC panels. Based on the G3 PowerlinkTM hardware platform by Square D and engineered to simplify build-outs by accelerating the installation process, LynTec’s RPC power control panels decrease operating costs with simple wiring that allows electricians to quickly and easily complete install and removes additional steps, costs, and space needed to install a separate relay panel. Available with 30 to 84 controllable breakers per panel, the comprehensive power control solution system also provides Palacio with additional circuit switching control capabilities in the same enclosure and grants flexible lighting and AV control across multiple control zones and multiple control protocols, including HTTP, Telnet, sACN, DMX, RS-232, or contact closure control systems.
The web-enabled control and current monitoring option provides power and energy data on branch circuits and mains, giving the venue operator an accurate and intelligent vision of capacity, energy use, and reliability. For the ultimate in monitoring and control flexibility, RPCR panels are compatible with popular control systems such as ETC, Creston®, and AMX.
Featuring brownout protection, the RPCR will automatically shut down selected circuits during over- and under-voltage situations and power up as programmed when voltage regains stability. Within the city, there can be voltage spikes of up to 140 volts, which can cause catastrophic equipment damage. For further projection, a LynTec SGX SurgeX side car is installed. Thanks to the RPCR’s remote capabilities, users can receive alert notifications via text or email to warn of voltage anomalies.
“Before the pandemic, any given week, the Palacio would hold up to four concerts, and the museum is open six days a week, eight hours a day,” said Lalicki. “That robust schedule is the testament to the incredibly high quality of LynTec power control. It’s best way to protect the equipment — the investment — and provide the operator with the reassurance and a flexibility to monitor and control an entire AVL installation.”
