TomHoward

I'm looking for a router / AP setup very similar to above, just trying to get my head around the configuration of the Ubiquiti stuff. Our setup is a small performance arrangement, so it'd be X32 app for the desk, and running Luminair from a 2nd iPad into a wired artnet node, and a couple of wireless artnet nodes - save running cable all around. The setup is usually an X32 and a few LED cans spread around either a large sports hall or barn. We need decent WIFI sorting out because of the wireless artnet nodes. The setup usually wouldn't have internet access on site (no need) - hopefully if we pre-configured everything there shouldn't be a need to adjust AP / router settings on site, but not being able to with cloud-managed Ubiquiti does worry me a bit. Currently I'm looking at buying a Unifi AC Mesh https://store.ui.com/products/unifi-ac-mesh-ap And a router to go with - either an ER-X mentioned above or a MikroTik HEX or HEX POE https://www.ui.com/edgemax/edgerouter-x/ https://mikrotik.com/product/RB750r2 Can the Ubiquiti stuff be configured from the iPhone / laptop off when it is offline? The guides seem to suggest logging in with your cloud login on the software - is it configured directly to the unit or is it via the Cloud so won't work offline? Is the MikroTik stuff also configured with software or do you know if it is done on the router with the usual web-based web page?

Apologies for a basic question then but is the laser light source replaceable in the laser or is the 20,000 the end of the projector life? Is the 85% drive a recommendation for the Panasonics, I guess there’s not an easy way to tell how hard the source is driven?

We have a venue that we are looking for costs for a replacement projector & screen for. Currently we have a Christie LX605 and a Da-Lite 4:3 screen at 12ft width (so 9ft height) We are looking to swap for a 16:9 screen, currently the screen isn't big enough when using letterboxed, so we'd like to keep the same height of 9ft so that gives a 16ft x 9ft motorised screen. The LX605 isn't bright enough on the current screen (that's 6000 lumens), so we'd need to go up in terms of brightness output, plus an increase to allow for the increase in screen size. Does anyone have any recommendations of how much we ought to increase by, and models of screen or projector? Should we only really be looking at laser now? Recommendations of suppliers or interested in quoting please let me know. Likely to purchase in summer (academic) but need to get rough costs soon.

Out old setup used to be an M-Audio Profire Lightbridge with 2x ADA8000s to give 16x16. It was a nice setup at first but the ADAT cables were always falling out (they didn't lock that well), and the ADA8000s developed problems with the PSUs and used to output horrendous distortion once they had been powered up for a few hours. Thanks for the Tascam recommendation that looks about right, although both the Tascam and Behringer have front panel level control that look to adjust the outputs, which I'd rather avoid if possible - literally just fixed outputs would be ideal

Afternoon all Does anyone have a recommendation of a budget-conscious sound interface that gives 8x XLR out? It's for QLab multi-channel playback mixed in Qlab & connected directly to spot effect speakers etc (no desk in the setup often). the inputs really wouldn't be used. I'd really like 8x XLR out rather than a mixture of connectors that require different adaptors. 8x balanced jack would be okay as we could make a loom up but preferably not a mix. The two options I have in mind at the moment are: Buy a Klark Technik DN9630 and pair it up with a Behringer S16. This gives 8x XLR outs but does have a load of unused inputs - we already have an S16 so it would cost about £200 but would tie the stage box up from any other jobs. Use an ESI Gigaport HD+ (8x phono line outputs for about £70) and convert the outputs using Neutrik or similar transformers. If there were an off the shelf option for around £200-300 it would be less messy than either of these options.

We have 4 fairly tired rolls of black Halequin that you might be able to borrow in East Anglia depending on the dates if it is of interest - but I'm afraid I have no idea whether Harequin is the right stuff for tap or not.

We just stick a Cat5 coupler on the end when not in use. Not perfect but slightly more robust than nothing https://www.toolstation.com/cat5e-utp-rj45-coupler/p89915 (Probably cheaper from eBay/CPC just first result)

We have loads of these but we only use them in 4-ch mode and then do all the driving from the desk. We haven’t seen a colour change during the fade, though there is a definite step between 0% and 1% but after that it’s smoother. If you were using them on a stage without any tungsten to smooth out the bottom ends of the fades you’d probably have to program around it - we keep the tungsten on for a second longer to try cover the snap at the bottom end on long slow fades

On the original point, could you just turn an empty hook clamp sideways on the scaff bar to make a sort of hook - would that be big enough for a bar full of cable? It might be easier to add cables to than undoing a safety for every additional cable. I think we’ll change our working that when winding up excess cable from trusses we'll either add a safety chain or hook the loop over the end of the bar once it’s taped rather than just taping to the bottom of the bar, and any major excess cable on bars the same - even if it’s just passing over the hook clamp of the lantern or adding a hook clamp to hang it on rather than taping. On the divergent point, on the PLASA NAPIT stand with the “identify 10 faults with the distro” I joked that it had just come off site - it was only marginally worse than many I have been offered supply from.

I can’t say I’ve had many safety bonds dropping out the sky. I think this will serve as a reminder not to coil 50m of spare 16A and tape it at height over a fire exit, and probably think about putting a metal safety bond over cable loops where trusses have been taken out & slack coiled up at height on an entrance / exit side of the building but I don’t think we’re going to start using chains in place of every piece of tape along a bar.

There’s a summary of the relevant 18th edition changes on James’s website with comment on this section- https://eade.uk.com/wp-content/uploads/IET-Wiring-Regulations-18th-edition-updates.pdf

We also do similar but we attached two bits of rack strip to half couplers and fly the unit directly, out the case, as for us the case weighed about three times as much as the kit inside it.

To be fair I’ve been presented with drawings of a unit that uses gas, and asked to look into the workings of it - gas is more of a starting point than a conclusion, which is why I asked as it sounds a bit over-engineered to me and handheld sounds a bit risky. Water pistol pump pumping fake blood sounds like it is worth investigating, and it doesn’t need consumables either.

Were the CO2 ones you had hired? The design I’ve been given shows the bulb discharging into a chamber, then into a liquid from there, but it would make more sense to hold in the bulb and dispense direct from there. How did you get on with the syringe? Did you drive it with a mechanical spring or air pressure or similar?

Controllable is not really an issue - it's all deployed at once, to squirt fake blood (it's a Sweeney Todd razor). I was thinking of using a reservoir that could be pumped up with a bicycle pump instead of the cartridge, but I don't think the same pressure can be reached. I'm trying to find a push button valve or similar to actuate, then I might test with a reservoir from a bike pump, then move on to the cartridge if needed.

Hi I've been asked to help make a handheld prop using a threaded or non-threaded CO2 or NOS bulb, which the end result is essentially squirting liquid on a button press. I remember some old LM mini confetti cannons that used a 16G threaded CO2 bulb, and had a little level or something to actuate. I've been given a rough sketch that includes three chambers - one at the bottom that holds the cartridge, one in the middle that has a button-press operated valve on it, and the top one that holds a liquid and squirts it out on the button press. I'm not sure about the safety of this being handheld, the connections to use on the threaded bulbs, or what type of bulb to use. Has anyone made anything like this, or knows any appropriate parts, suppliers or references?

In the past we've used it where we've need a lot of short bracing for things, for one set we had to build a skatepark with several ramps 8ft wide so had a huge amount of 8ft braces behind and we backed them all with 18mm MDF ripped into 3x1. it doesn't work out too much cheaper for us more recently though, generally we find you have to rip MDF about an inch thicker than timber to be comparable and it works out about 25% cheaper than timber. (We use a huge amount of MDF for cost as we don't have storage so the sets are rarely reused after each show)

Have you used those WiFi boards please? Are they configurable with existing SSID or require their own? Programmable hostname etc or allow static IP for routing? And they are fired with UDP from qlab I guess - there isn’t much documentation on eBay? Was looking at a Arduino OSC relay solution for firing physical things remotely with qlab but that looks off the shelf...

Silver foil sticks rock solid to windows with water and the bigger issue will be getting it off rather than getting it to stay on. We've order thomann tabs in the 160g/m, 300g/m and the 'euro' polyester 320g/m The 160g/m cotton we have a few for diving the end off a large dining room. It would be okay for dressing against a wall where the windows have already been silvered over behind but I'd expect to see the outline of the windows behind it if they weren't blacked out first. The 300g/m cotton we use as theatre drapes for masking etc. They are not a huge amount better than the 160g as they're still probably best against a wall so I wouldn't recommend spending the extra on the 300 over the 160g. The 300g we have aren't a great black and have faded quite badly. The 320g/m 'euro' polyester is a fair bit thicker and blacker than the 300g/m. I would buy the 160g or the 320g polyester. If I remember tomorrow I'll shine the same torch through all 3 types and see how they compare.

Are you stopping the audio by pressing Escape? If you either programmed a stop cue for each audio cue, or stopped the audio by selecting the running cue and pressing S to stop just that cue rather than Esc to kill all cues, you should be able to stop one audio cue without killing the projection.

We updated, but more by coincidence as it hadn’t been out in a while. There’s GUI update but it’s mainly font and colours and a few terms, it isn’t radically different in terms of layout or pages etc. Primarily it’s simpler and higher contrast. There’s “user” patching blocks - so not exactly Yamaha style free patching, but you can patch say ch1-8 to “user 1-8”, and there’s an extra tab where you set up the user patching and you can route those “user 1-8” inputs freely. Existing patching method is still available. I don’t think it’s massively ground-up rewritten so buyer beware but I think the major 4.0 might be more marketing to do with the gui than major sections being redesigned or anything to be too worried about.

For simple events that are 5-6 rows deep I often wish we had a stock of different height chairs - the first row on cushions on the floor, the second row of kids on nursery chairs, regular chairs, science lab stools, and then the back row on barstools..

Likewise, we generally use steel deck overlapped to approx 950mm row depth, 9" rise generally or 12" or 18" rise with interim steps, and put local chairs on it - it always seems to work out cheaper than tiered seating systems. However it still costs and soon adds up with build / strike labour so could still cost a fair amount depending on just how many you're trying to seat. (Rough numbers we've generally worked to two chairs a metre minus aisles.) Apologies I missed it in the title - for 150 seated assuming some front rows are on the floor you're still looking minimum ballpark 20-30 decks - unless you're able to move and build them them yourselves it's still going to be a fairly significant cost.

Out of interest how is it controlling qlab - is it keyboard button press or is it Midi input etc?

We leave the clips on the stands, but we do fold the boom downwards rather than retract it, so the clip is in the middle of the stand when folded rather than stuck at one end to get bashed.