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DDM / System DDM  (1971 - 1980)
Strand


DDM for Adelaide Festival Theatre,
from 1975 Stage Lighting brochure

Digital Dimmer Memory with 120 - 320 channels. 
The DDM evolved from the push button version of IDM (known as IDM/R for rocker switch). 
It was the first memory control with a computer behind it - in this case it was the PDP11 by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). (The PDP11 was also later used on Lightboard, for the National Theatre in London). 
The system was developed for and first installed in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1971. 
Over the years, the three versions of DDM were installed in eighteen major theatres and opera houses including Teatro Alla Scala, Milan; Operhaus, Hannover; Hancher Auditorium, Iowa City and the Festival Theatre, Adelaide. 
The twelfth DDM was installed in the Deutsches Theater, Goettingen around early 1978. 
The desk initially used 3-position rocker switches which were later replaced by pushbuttons, with internal lamp displays to each channel for setting and modification of recalled memory. 
The DDM was replaced by the Galaxy in 1980. 

From brochure: 
Based on software for a standard mini-computer which allows any degree of sophistication to be programmed in, or indeed re-programmed if future artistic styles demand different facilities from the lighting control. A system such as Rank Strand's DDM although capable of being operated simply is offered on the assumption that lighting will become more and more sophisticated and that the operator will ultimately use every facility to the full. Fade within fade facilities, instant modification of the intensity level of any control channel without the need to match the existing level, and a magnetic tape repertoire store in addition to the instant access ferrite-core store are all standard features of DDM.

Installations (from 1978 Memory Control Installations):
1) 1971: Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-on-Avon (240 channels)
12) 1978: Deutsches Theater, Goettingen ()
Niagara Frontier Performing Arts Center, USA (200 channels)
Staatstheater, Braunsweig (240 channels)
Schlosspark Theater, Berlin (120 channels)
Operhaus, Hannover (240 channels)
Seymour Centre (York Theatre), Sydney (120 channels) ?1977
Stadtbuhnen, Hagen (200 channels)
Teatro Alla Scala, Milan (320 channels)
Schauspielhaus, Bochum (240 channels)
Schauspielhaus, Cologne (240 channels)
Stadttheater, Baden-Baden (180 channels)
Festival Theatre, Adelaide (180 channels)
Drama Theatre, Adelaide (120 channels)
Schauspielhaus, Ballhof, Hannover (120 channels)
Stadttheater, Oldenburg (180 channels)
Stadtbuhnen, Munster (200 channels)
Hancher Auditorium, Iowa City (90 channels)
Thalia Theater, Hamburg (240 channels)

The DDM Patent can be viewed on Google Patents

Colour: Known as 'Deep Bronze Green'.

Related Venues:

See also:


Documents

DDM
DDM 
Click on thumbnail to enlarge
[1.02Mb  JPEG]
From Alan Luxford Collection
DDM 2C at Braunschweig, with accompanying desks
DDM 2C at Braunschweig, with accompanying desks 
Click on thumbnail to enlarge
[2.66Mb  JPEG]
From David Bertenshaw Collection
DDM Channel Selection and Main Desk
DDM Channel Selection and Main Desk 
Click on thumbnail to enlarge
[2.63Mb  JPEG]
From David Bertenshaw Collection
DDM Computer Cabinet
DDM Computer Cabinet 
Click on thumbnail to enlarge
[2.02Mb  JPEG]
From David Bertenshaw Collection
DDM Floppy Drive and Archive Storage with extended keyboard
DDM Floppy Drive and Archive Storage with extended keyboard 
Click on thumbnail to enlarge
[822kb  JPEG]
From David Bertenshaw Collection
DDM System at Koln Schauspielhaus
DDM System at Koln Schauspielhaus 
Click on thumbnail to enlarge
[1.89Mb  JPEG]
From David Bertenshaw Collection
Fred Bentham at the Stratford DDM desk.
Fred Bentham at the Stratford DDM desk.  
Click on thumbnail to enlarge
[1.6Mb  JPEG]
From Alan Luxford Collection
System DDM 2B at Koln Schauspielhaus
System DDM 2B at Koln Schauspielhaus 
Click on thumbnail to enlarge
[1.92Mb  JPEG]
From David Bertenshaw Collection
System DDM 2C - Braunschweiger Staatstheater
System DDM 2C - Braunschweiger Staatstheater 
Click on thumbnail to enlarge
[1.41Mb  JPEG]
From David Bertenshaw Collection
System DDM Master Desk
System DDM Master Desk 
Click on thumbnail to enlarge
[624kb  JPEG]
From David Bertenshaw Collection

DDM Original Specification (Fred Bentham) (September 1970)
[11.3Mb PDF]
From Jim Laws Collection

DDM RSC Summary of Control (FPB) (September 1970)
[1.28Mb PDF]
From Mervyn Gould Collection

PDP11 Handbook (1971)
[10.41Mb PDF]
From David Bertenshaw Collection

DDM Specification for Royal Shakespeare Theatre (June 1971)
[12.9Mb PDF]
From Jim Laws Collection

DDM Lighting Control System Summary Specification (September 1971)
[110kb PDF]
From Roger Fox Collection

1971 Stage Lighting (p.15) (October 1971)
From Strand Archive

DDM Magnetic Tape Cassette Specification (November 1971)
[59kb PDF]
From Roger Fox Collection

DDM Rocker Stalls Control Specification (November 1971)
[92kb PDF]
From Roger Fox Collection

DDM BBC Lighting Control System Specification (1972)
[360kb PDF]
From Roger Fox Collection
DDM Computer Rack
DDM Computer Rack (1972)
Click on thumbnail to enlarge
[512kb  JPEG]
From Alan Luxford Collection
DDM Pin Patch Backup
DDM Pin Patch Backup (1972)
Click on thumbnail to enlarge
[429kb  JPEG]
From Alan Luxford Collection

DDM2 Drawing Set (1972)
[19.31Mb PDF]
From David Bertenshaw Collection

DDM - A New Concept In Lighting Control (May 1972)
[174kb PDF]
From Roger Fox Collection

The Use of the Control Wheel In Lighting Control Systems (May 1972)
[61kb PDF]
From Strand Archive

Dimmer Memory Lighting Control Systems (June 1972)
[9.5Mb PDF]
From Jim Laws Collection

DDM Operators Handbook (April 1973)
[9.76Mb PDF]
From David Bertenshaw Collection

Memory Control Installations (1978)
[6.1Mb PDF]
From Strand Archive

Memory Lighting Control Systems 1967-1985 (June 1985)
[757kb PDF]
From Jim Laws Collection

LSI Classic Gear - DDM (November 2017)
[477kb PDF]
From Lighting & Sound International

Exhibits in the Backstage Heritage Collection


DDM  
From The NEET Collection

DDM PDP11 Electronics Rack   
240 control channels with Ferrite Core memory
From The NEET Collection

Catalogue & Journal Entries for DDM / System DDM in the Backstage Heritage Collection


DDM - A Revolution in Lighting Control (1971)

Stratford Revisited (1972)

A Tale of Three Switchboards (1972)

Aida with Elephants (1973)

Stage Lighting - Memory Control (1975)

Braunschweiger Staatstheater (1977)

Lighting Control in Germany (1978)

Back to Control - Memory (Strand)


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