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Pete Alcock

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Previous Fields

  • Member Status
    Working outside the industry
  • Current Employment or place of study
    Marketing Director of a credit card transaction processing company. Part time sound and lighting enthusiast. Ex-BBC Engineer (Radio).
  • Professional organisation membership
    Member of the Radio Society of Great Britain(!)
  • Full Name
    Pete Alcock

Contact Methods

  • MSN
    peter@alcocks.co.uk
  • Website URL
    http://www.alcocks.co.uk
  • ICQ
    0

Profile Information

  • Location
    Bournemouth, UK
  • Interests
    "Weekend warrior" sound and lighting guy.

    Provider to local businesses, bands, schools, Churches, and occasionally charities.

    Allowing hard-up organisations access to professional standard AV equipment and resources that they wouldn't otherwise have.

    End of advert...

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Pete Alcock's Achievements

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  1. Hi James, I might be able to help. I have a spare horn throat from an old Adastra PA reflex horn that looks like that. It has the standard 1 3/8" thread on. It's in the attic. I'll dig it out and take a picture and you can see if it'll do. Back to you tomorrow. Pete.
  2. Pete Alcock

    Which DI?

    +1 vote for the Orchid DIs. Extremely robust and reliable, and no little buttons or switches to get accidentally mis-set.
  3. I was mending a stripped nut in one of my "copy" Source Fours last weekend, and as I parted the two half of the lens tube, the damn lens fell out, rolled off my tidy bench and smashed on the floor. (Had the bench been its usual mess, it wouldn't have rolled off!) Anyway, just wondered if anyone had a lens, or a complete lens tube or a broken profile I can get the lens from. For money, obviously. Thanks as always, Pete.
  4. Hi Spyan, The LX7 is not an easy desk to repair, since you're right - there are just 3 huge PCBs. To get one out you have to pull all the knobs off. If I had to guess, the problem could be: - A group insert jack not connecting (internal break contacts) - A group fader knackered - a op-amp in that group section blown, through something nasty having been plugged into a group insert Do you have a schematic? PM me if you're stuck. Respectfully, if you're not used to working on very fine PCB tracks carrying surface mount components, I'd leave it to someone with the relevant experience. Better to work around the subgroups than have a completely broken desk. Good luck, Pete.
  5. That would be marvellous Stuart. I’ll message you with a picture of the board. I’m fairly certain they’re the same. Cheers! Pete
  6. Hi B-R, I'm mending this Powermate 1000 (Mk1) powered desk for a good friend and the last remaining fault is that the effects section is broken. There's a fault on the effects PCB as it drags the 5V rail down when connected. Just wondered if anyone had a spare, or an old desk that they're breaking for spares... Thanks as always, Pete.
  7. Thanks, that's a relief to know! I don't suppose you remember if they're TO220 type triacs? I have a few of those in stock that's all.
  8. Hi All, There is a venue I occasionally work in and at the last visit we found one of the channels of the Pulsar Datapak was stuck on (even with no desk connected). Past experience indicates this is probably a triac gone home. I won't be able to visit the venue for a few days, so wondered if anyone knew what type of triacs are used, and whether it's a simple "screwdriver fix" or "total PCB out" sort of job? From recollection it's the 18 channel version of the Datapak. Many thanks, Pete.
  9. I came across this unit which is interesting. I'm not sure if it would be classed in the same way as those devices that allowed you to "beam" the output of a a portable CD player to your old fashioned car radio? Neat that the FCC in the US allow very low power transmitters without a license. I doubt that it would do stereo though (pilot tone and encoding the "S" signal), so the in-car reproduction would be a little lame. Rolls Low Power FM Transmitter. If you could get permission from Ofcom to use something like this, it might partially solve the problem. Just thinkin'
  10. Pete Alcock

    Headset mics

    Hi Ollie, I've been hiring radiomic systems and (reluctantly) headsets to schools for years, and have bought just about every type and style available. I've been through all the CPC ones, Proel etc. and the same fate has met them all - the tiny screws get lost, the boom wires get all bent out of shape, the little plastic tips on the earhooks go missing (rendering them positively dangerous!) and the cables fail. It's impossible to recharge all this breakage to schools and I'd all but given up offering them until I found these: Specific Headset Mic They are absolutely the best for a few reasons: The mic boom is a bendy gooseneck. It's not the most discrete, but anyone sat more than a few rows back won't see it. Key thing is they can't break! The Earhooks are soft mouldings and won't get lost. The capsule is decent quality and sounds fine. It's no DPA, but a touch of eq and it won't disgrace any amateur or school theatre production. The cable seems tough and resilient and if it does get yanked out of the plug is easy to re-solder. So, that's my recommendation. Since I've gone over to these, I've seen a dramatic decrease in the number of non-working returns off hire. I'm gradually replacing my entire headset stock with them. Trust this helps, Pete.
  11. Hi all, My ML3000 stopped working a year or so ago, and I've just got around to dismantling/repair. The memory backup battery on the CPU board had died, and leaked its corrosive blood onto the board. New battery fitted, board cleaned, and some damaged tracks repaired, but to no avail. No mutes or VCAs can be assigned, and the console is obviously not passing audio. Buttons light up for 10s (presumably as the processor is booting), then all off and nothing. I was simply hoping to sell the old thing, but clearly it has to work first :( Does anyone have an old ML they're breaking for parts, or even a spare CPU PCB? Thanks as always, Pete.
  12. Hi Pete, hope all is well! Yes, has been a very useful resource, mainly for lighting related bits.

    Anyways, hope you have a great Christmas and New Year, I bet you're busy at this time of year!?

    Speak to you soon, all the best!

    Dave

  13. Hi Dave,

    Welcome to the Blue Room! I've been here for years, and it's a very valuable resource. I've had all sorts of help from folks here from circuit diagrams, to useful hints.

    Speak soon, and have a great Christmas!

    Cheers,

    Pete.

  14. I'm looking for an effective (and low-cost) way of really lighting a mirror ball. Don't snigger, it's helping a local school out for a forthcoming "Joseph". Normal pinspots are really feeble in anything more than nightclub darkness, so I've experimented in the past with shop display lamps that are the same size as a Par36 lamp, but are 100W. Not quite as narrow (8 deg.), but certainly better. Now, given that you can get those blinder lamps (DWE is it?) in 650W, I figured there must be still further alternatives. Anyone know of a Par36 -sized bubble that's maybe 200W or more, and really narrow? Not worried about voltage especially - I'll do whatever's necessary. (It goes without saying I haven't got a xenon followspot to hand, nor the budget to hire one.) Cheers, Pete.
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