Brian Cieslak is a planetarium assistant for the Horwitz Planetarium in Waukesha, Wisconsin. He tells us that to project those images of the stars up on the ceiling, they use several slide projectors, which project pictures over the constellations up on the dome overhead. Each projector is wired up to a dimmer switch on the console, and during the show they have to reach over and adjust the proper dimmer switch. This sounds simple enough, but in the dark anything can happen. As Brian put it, "All very exciting in the dark and often we grope the wrong dimmer and get surprising results." And nobody wants to make mistakes like that in front of an audience of any size.

But they’re taking care of that little contingency right away. They replaced their dimmer panel with a Radio Frequency Module. And they’re placing Appliance Modules at each projector.

"Using the Key fob RF Remote we can control the projection of each constellation as we walk around the planetarium, giving us mobility and more of a personal presence with our audience," Brian says. Not to mention the fact that they have eliminated a lot of wiring to each of the projectors.

Brian also tells us that they’re in the process of installing an ActiveHome system so that they can use macros to automate their sunsets and sunrises, satellite passes, aurora effects, and the occasional meteor. Currently all of those use the projectors, and are on switchers and dimmers.

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