pmiller056

If you are using a PC for lighting control, there are many instances where a keyboard and mouse/touchpad are not appropriate. A good add-on for a PC setup is a Korg Nanocontrol or similar. Your chosen software (QLC+ mentioned above does this - most do) will need to be able to work with a Midi control device. A Nanocontrol will give you 8 real faders, 8 knobs to twiddle and at least 24 backit buttons to push. The size of a Nanocontrol is appropriate for use with a laptop PC. Any USB/RS485 interface will work as an Enttec OpenDMX compatible interface, provided a genuine FTDI chip is used in it. The hard part to get is the genuine.........

I too work in the public sector. Again we are told to use our preferred suppliers. I have had reasonable success in convincing the keyboard pushers to use (on a one off basis) other suppliers (Uk based, VAT registered etc) where the same product is much cheaper from the alternative supplier than from the preferred supplier - even after discounts. The justification being that we get better value for the public purse this way (and my meagre budget goes further!). Generally for this type of transaction we will use a corporate purchasing card (similar to a credit card) provided the total transaction value is no more than a few hundred pounds. Most of these smaller suppliers, nor is our purchasing department willing to spend the time and effort to set up an account unless we can guarantee several hundred pounds a month of regular business.

Unistrut (or compatible competitor). Also known as big boy's Meccano.

There is a choice (some good, some poor) of software for most theatre tasks available - in an amateur situation if you dictate what must be used, overriding the user's choice (assuming the user's choice works), then you will lose a hard to replace volunteer/member. What you need to do is ask them to setup the computer in use up to minimise any risks to the show. Outwith show time, ask and help them to explore other software, including what you want them to use. I do use my own computer for a local amateur company's shows. My computer stays in the theatre for show week (if it gets lost or damaged, the lost value to me is just about affordable) so that anyone who needs to can use it for the show. The one I use for shows is not my everyday workhorse and is carefully set up for the show. During show week all irrelevant stuff is turned off, such as wifi, updates, audio/video (depending on intended use) notifications and so on. No passwords are required at start-up, just straight into a locked down user account. Unfortunately many user-provided computers are not set up like this, so there are risks to the show, depending on the (in)competence of the computer provider. We nearly lost one show where the sound op was seriously delayed in unexpectedly slow traffic, we had his laptop and someone who had used it during rehearsals, but no password, the sound op would not respond to his mobile phone (voice or text) because he was driving......

I had similar problems when using a double-insulated brick-in-the-wall type power supply. The cure was to *only at one point in the system* connect power supply negative/cable screen to mains earth. There are various ways of accomplishing this depending on how competent you are at making mains powered electrical things.

I like the idea of it. Rather than buying yet another bit of new 'stuff', has anyone emulated this with an old, serviceable mobile phone cluttering a drawer (or similar USB connected small touchscreen device)? May as well try and re-use something instead of binning it....

You could make up a custom headset lead with isolation transformers (think of a DI Box) to get comms audio to wherever you need, although microphone sidetone into the headphones could be a problem for your application. Alternatively you could make up a Bluecom PCB (look in the workshop thread) in an appropriate project box and plug it into the venue comms system. The Bluecom system is compatible (set audio levels appropriately) with most older partyline intercom systems. There is a pin header on the PCB with access to all the signals you need, however you will most likely need to add isolation transformers between the two audio systems to avoid hum problems. I'd prefer to do it this way so that there is no need to modify someone else's system and you can take it away with you after your show for the next time.

It appears to me that is not completing power-on reset correctly or it is going into the power-on reset state during use. Check and verify that you are using the correct power adapter. If you can, substitute another power adapter in case the one you are using is faulty.

In addition to (I assume) power, DMX in and DMX out, are there any other connectors or controls such as dip switches, pushbuttons or led display on the back of them? Can you show a couple of photos? (You can't post photos here directly - you will need to post your photo on an image sharing website and link to it from here).

The flats that I made used screwed and glued lap joints at the corners. You say you have a router available, so it's simple to fabricate a jig to consistently cut the corner joints repeatedly. If you can, use an industrial stapler or nailer to secure the corner joints because you will be less likely to split the wood (and much more likely with screws, depending on size) here. I used one horizontal piece across the centre back which was dowelled (2 per side) and glued to the uprights. Dowelling was used so that there was no need to cut into the uprights and weaken them. Use a plywood face as a template for construction of the frames - it will be cut much more accurately and square that anything that can be done by hand. There was no need to use corner or diagonal braces on the frames because they are stiff enough with the corner joints used and the plywood facing holding it square. If you do use removable pin hinges, make (and keep!) a jig or template so that all the hinges end up in the same positions on every edge of every flat - if you don't, you will not be able to freely interchange flats which defeats the purpose of using removable pin hinges. Once you've made them, plane a small amount (mm's) off the corners of the facings - that way the frame corners take the inevitable knocks and bashes, saving the facing corners from quickly getting smashed up and looking unsightly. As noted above, I prefer to screw and not glue the plywood face to the frame. @Ynot correctly notes that after a few layers of paint, the screwheads securing the face to the frame are unusable. When the facing needs to be replaced it can be carefully prised off the frame. The remaining (full of paint) screwheads are easily removed with pliers, leaving the frame reasonably intact for the next refacing.. Done that!

At the cheaper end of the market, I've found that I can get some spare parts and some servicing/repair information for Eurolite equipment. I have not used enough of their equipment to make any comment about quality or reliability.

Remember that any timber flooring (including plywood) will expand and contract noticeably with changes in temperature and humidity. Always leave a small gap between pieces, or if this is undesirable, leave a gap around the edges (as one would with household laminate flooring going under the skirting boards) so that the floor does not rise into ridges as it is squeezes into the walls.

Having made a set of 8ftx4ft and 8ftx2ft flats on 3x1 PAR timber frames for a local community theatre a year or so ago..... If you do not want to use Calico/Canvas for the facing, use 3.6 or 4mm plywood for facing because it is considerably lighter than hardboard. Staple/screw and glue the frames together, but screw the plywood onto the front with no glue so that the plywood face can be easily replaced if needed. Fit removable pin flap hinges on the backs in consistent positions (top, middle, bottom) so that the flats can be quickly set/struck and interchanged - impossible if they are screwed together. If you can, recess the hinge plates to fit flush with the rear surface of the frame so that the flats can have a second facing tidily added later so that they can be used double sided if needed. These flats are a sensible size for a village hall production and can be safely be lifted and moved by one (competent) person. They can be stacked and stored tightly together face-to face and back-to back - if you're accurate and consistent with the hinge position and fit, the hinges will slot into each other in the stack, reducing the stored volume a bit more...

From BS7671, two core rubber insulated 1.5mm2 copper wire will have a voltage drop of 31mV/A/m. The thermal limit (conductor temperature rise to 90C) is about 24A lying open on a floor from the same information. So 5m of 1.5mm HO7 operating at 15A will get warm and drop 2.3V along its length - not relevant when working with mains operated stage lighting, but it will stop this project from working. Don't forget that the intended load for your chosen PSU is 125mOhm (ie 5V@40A), which for most uses near enough a short circuit and as noted above, it is unlikely to notice the difference between the intended load and a fault and keep going regardless. You will start off with a good data signal from the sender, but this signal must still have the correct relationship to LED ground at the LED - with power voltage drops this may not be the case. To improve relability you will need to put some kind of ESD/spike protection or buffer at the LED and probably the sender. Randomly plugged in data lines straight into the LEDs is asking for destroyed parts and it's not always desireable to have to chop the first LED off yet agian....

The 30A fuse on the PSU output will never blow. The power supply will not produce enough fault current to make it operate as intended. Large currents and voltage drop on the 5V system WILL be big problems to making it work. If there is any significant length of 5V power wiring the cable will need to be very thick (minimise voltage drop) to make the system work correctly. As noted above, for long runs of tape you will need to feed power in at multiple points. The LED tape is fairly fragile and is easily damaged by poor handling or repeated flexing. The LED tape will become noticably warm in use, (but not dangereously so if in free air or on a timber surface) causing it to expand along its length. The heat also softens the glue on the backing. This will cause long runs of tape to come away from the surface it has been stuck to, particularly non metallic surfaces. The LED control signal is a TTL level signal at around 800kHz, so it will not go any significant distance before it becomes unusably distorted. The control input to the LED strip is a static sensitive logic gate input and probably will not survive for long with random bits of wire directly hanging off it. (Or being connected to the system before the power is connected). Consider converting the control signal to RS485 or similar at the master station and a suitable receiver at the start of each strip.

For quick, simple welding occasionally, I go for a MIG welder. After several months doing no welding at all, I can produce useful work after a quick refresher on scraps with a MIG machine - it takes me a good bit longer with a MMA machine. There are many other factors you should consider before choosing and investing in equipment. What are you going to be welding, where (workshop, outdoors, at height), how frequently and how much each time will you be doing? Cost of sticks, wire and gas? Are you likely to want to work with materials other than just mild steel? Does any local college do a metal fabrication or metal sculpture course so than you can try different things and learn how to do it correctly. There are other more relevant UK based web forums around which would be able to better inform you. Whatever you choose, practice and workpiece preparation are the key to good results.

As others have said, this genre of lights are cheap and cheerful. There really is 'No User Serviceable Parts Inside', however if one of your group or congregation is competent with modern electronics, it is straightforward to swap internal parts around if needed. Internal repair to component level is much harder. Even if you do get a decent waranty, any warranty replacement may not be completely compatible with the rest of your stock because most of this type of light will have subtle batch dependant internal and external differences. If you do buy a set, always buy at least one extra (then 10%) for spares. Don't get anything with a fan - the combined noise of several running together is irritating (unless you are doing rock n roll and disco) and totally wrecks any quiet drama. These cheap lamps are more likely to have cheap noisy fans fitted. Buy from a UK/EU 'bricks and mortar' supplier beacuse what you are buying should to be safe and any warranty worth the paper it is printed on. Unless you really know what you are buying, don't buy off any online marketplace because some of the stuff I've seen is dangerous and any claimed warranty is in practice worthless. If you have always used tungsten lights and not used LED before... The RGB ones produce great saturated colours - much better than tungsten but. whites and yellows are poor and colour rendering can be dire. If you are using them in conjunction with tungsten lamps it's not really a probem. If you can, do so get some RGBAW ones because the whites, yellows, pastel shades and colour rendering are much better, to the extent that you may be able to reduce the amount of tungsten light used.

Can you elaborate further on 'Needs a Service'? Do not try to use it until it has passed a pat test, which should happen annually in a school environment. Your school will have a preferred contractor for this service. If the item has recently passed a pat test then it should be safe to use. The operators manual is available online, so have a play with it and verify that it works as the operator manual says it should. If it does not work as described, then it's time for a service. If you can clearly describe any problems found, it will help the repair process. Bear in mind that these currently sell for around £250, so any faults found which are not a quick and simple fix will likley mean that the item is beyond economic commercial repair. Peter.

I sure there were some theatres in the past (probably with a very crude fire alarm system by today's standards) which had a policy of leaving the iron down when the building was unoccupied. I do recall seing photos of the aftermath where there had been a major fire in an auditorium overnight and the lowered iron had done its job and saved the stage space from any significant damage. I'm not sure if anyone does this any more, although I would reasonably expect a serviceable iron to be automatically lowered whenever the fire alarm system operated, even just to provide compartmentation.

What display resolutions are you trying to use? Try and force a commonly-used low resolution interlaced display in the first instance and make that work, then go to higher resolutions until it starts to fail. Some display driver software does allow the HDMI drive level to be changed as well which may be relevant.

Does anyone have any experience or ideas on how to connect standard telephone equipment to a Blueclone-type system? (I do NOT want to connect Blueclone to the public telephone system!) A bit of background.... Our community theatre finds it impractical to have a wired beltpack for all users. The backstage manager/stagehand/gofer/dogsbody has to be able to do things away from the beltpack location and will frequently forget to put the headphones back on when they return. We need a wireless system so that this person can do their job and be on the headphone system reasonably continuously. Two way radios are not appropriate in many locations backstage. I don't want to use bluetooth (there are commercial bluetooth interfaces available) or any 2.4/5GHz system because of potential interference from the multitude of mobile phones in audience pockets. I'm thinking of using something based on a DECT cordless phone which natively does full duplex, unlike a two way radio based system. I'm happy to modify a phone handset to headphone use, taking into account possible microphone interface and battery lifetime/charging issues. What I'm getting stuck with is interfacing the cordless phone base station telephone line connection to the intercom system party line. Dialling and ringing are not relevant, and we can live without the intercom signal lamp function. I know I'll need to use an isolation transformer and some DC blocking capacitors, but I'm not sure about signal levels. I think there may have been some commercial telephone interfaces available for similar systems in the past, but I've drawn a blank for model numbers, never mind the internal workings of them. Any ideas anyone? Thanks, Peter

Unfortunately for the person concerned, he was probably told to sit in front of the brass section because that's where the Viola's sit. If he'd asked or tried to move to a different place I suspect he would have been handed his P45.

I'm out of further ideas at the moment. You have done all that I would have done. The only other things I would try is experimenting with only some of the beltpacks to find if there is a particular unit that causes the problems. Also try different connecting cables. Peter

Hi Look at the power supply schematic in the first post of topic 'http://www.blue-room.org.uk/index.php?showtopic=59644'. Components R2/R4/C5 (or R3/R5/C7) are required to be fitted at one location (usually the power supply for convenience) to ensure stable operation of the audio part of the system. Your power supply appears to be sufficiently rated - it may not have a big enough output capacitor to cope nicely with the sudden change in load imposed by the signalling system. If not already done, try adding 2200uF/50V (C3 or C4 in the above referenced schematic) electrolytic capacitor to the system to reduce the multiple audio thumps. It may also be useful to add 0.1uF/100nF ceramic or plastic film capacitor at this location too to try and reduce the background whine probably caused by the switch mode power supply unit in use. Regards Peter