Motorized Projector Mount

[cdodson]

Our church has a projector mounted at approximately 25' height. To service the unit by cleaning filters, replacing the lamp, etc requires either a rented scissor lift or a 15' A-Frame ladder with a 10' booster extension. I am wondering if anyone out there employs the use of a motorized or hand-crank projector mount to lower the projector for service. What type, manufacturer, costs, special considerations etc?

[Brad Weber]

I've used motorized lifts in some projects but many people are rather shocked by the associated equipment and installation costs.

Considerations include:

• The amount of drop (the vertical travel distance) desired.
• Whether you want two position (typically storage/show or show/service) or three position (storage/show/service) operation.
• The size and weight of the projector.
• The type and degree of control.
• Whether any ancillary items such as plenum housings, ceiling closure panels, emergency release and braking systems, integrated cable management and so on are required or desired.
• If you need the lift to raise or lower within a limited time period.

Chief, Da-Lite, Display Devices, Draper and SVS Lifts all offer some range of projector lift products. The drop and projector size/weight are two of the most critical factors as larger projectors and/or longer drops may eliminate many options.

[cdodson]

Thank you, Brad. That is very useful information.

One thing that occured to me is that instead of dropping 20' another option would be to lift approximately 8' since the projector currently hangs 3' from a suspended ceiling tile. Above that is 5' of clearance to the actual ceiling which could be modified to access the projector from the attic.

[Gracetech]

Most of the projector lifts i have used are for dropping the thing 3 to 15 feet down. I'm sure you can probably find some out there that will drop even further but i haven't run into them in my experience. Oh yeah and as Brad said "price shock". I've had plenty of churches that thought they needed the lift setup but quickly recanted once they saw the price.

crt