Stuart91

Just to be 100% certain, make sure that the blue band shows up on the projector menu and with other inputs selected. As others have said, it does sound like a physical fault with the projector itself but worth double checking. I'm always wary of spending money on projector repairs - especially if you're not 100% sure of the provenance of the machines. I've seen quite a few of my customers throw good money after bad. (Classic manoeuvre is buying a fresh bulb for a projector that's got a faded LCD) Cannibalising the two you have into one serviceable projector might be the best option, if you can have a go at it yourselves.

Scrap scavengers. Scrap metal is sold by weight so stage weights are a dense, compact way of acquiring a decent amount. A Unistrut distributor used to have premises beside us. Scrap thieves plagued them, even though it's relatively awkward stuff to nick. One guy spent a weekend in the cells because he'd been caught stealing a small rucksack's worth from their offcut pile.

I'd take Powerdrive over K&M any day of the week. We've got four 21302 stands, and the winch handles are a weak point (admittedly, mostly if they fall in vans etc.)

+1 for Sandall's suggestion of Powerdrive. We have some that have been kicked around for over 15 years, and are still fully functional. These might be another option. They're very stable when set up, we tend to try and use them when outdoors etc. Build quality is not on a par with the Powerdrives, but they still seem to last OK. The weakest point is people knackering the wind up mechanism, but even then you can strip it out and use them without.

Thanks for all that - some decent possibilities to chase up. I think the flats could be hard rather than fabric, the other side is going to be mirrored so it's not that they need a soft surface for any other reason. The paint looks like it may well be the best option. The Rosebrand fabrics could work well too, although it's not immediately obvious if anyone distributes their products in the UK. I suspect there'll be a process of trial and experimentation in the new year, but this has given me some good starting points.

This week I have a new entry onto my list of "strange things that customers have asked for": black coloured projection material. (At first I assumed they were after back projection material and had made a typo) It turns out that the plan is to have standard 8x4ft flats covered with material which looks black (possibly a glossy finish) that can also be projected onto. This is all part of a performance piece so the black is a non-negotiable, I've already made it clear that it will make the task of projection much more difficult. They are looking to project from the front, which I suppose rules out things like gauze or spandex. I'm needing to source material that is stretchy enough to be able to be pulled tight and give a smooth surface. Can anyone think of anything suitable to try out?

Danley Nano Cube? I've seen some in the flesh and they are tiny, not had the chance for a proper listen but if they're anything like the rest of the product range I doubt you'd be disappointed. What does the main system consist of?

We had one of those Screwfix winches for a while, it was used for lifting flight cases up onto the first floor of a building. The wire has a nasty habit of snagging and tangling, especially when there isn't much load on it. After the second one broke we decided to buy something more professional (albeit 10x more expensive). I don't think I'd recommend them for anything, never mind lifting scenery above a live stage.

That could be quite interesting if the punters can accidentally pick up the technician's channel. Is there some way of locking receivers, or using different ones for the technicians' channel? Although there might be some who would prefer to listen to the show cues.

Those look like very sturdy units. I imagine they'd be ideal for use on stage, but I'm not so keen on the idea of one bouncing around in a dog box with the mixer.

I think I'll be having a couple of these! Thanks. E2A And a couple of these too. My link A very good find, looks like it'll be ideal for the purpose. I suppose it's just as well that CPC have 400-odd of them in stock...

Could you restrain the pan and tilt movement somehow? Maybe restrict the values on the console, or a custom fixture personality? I'd expect you won't need the full ~540deg of rotation that most moving heads offer, maybe 180 at the very most? This might be an easier way than cracking open the fixture and trying to find a path through for a cable.

That's a good shout - it hadn't occurred to me that a small transformer would be an option. And they're cheap enough that I can buy a couple to experiment with.

I've just bought a new digital console, and one limitation is that there are no jack or phono inputs, everything is XLR. For "walk in music" etc. I need to have a minijack available at the console. The obvious answer is a simple minijack to dual XLR lead, but I'm a little concerned that at some point phantom power will get accidentally applied. (Imagine, for example, a visiting engineer loading a show file etc.) The other option is a stereo DI, but even the smallest ones will be a bit annoying kicking around in the case. And they are likely to get nabbed for use elsewhere. What I'd ideally like is a compact way of isolating the +48v from the minijack. Looking around for potential circuit designs, I can find this: It's clearly intended for protecting mics on a balanced connection. My connection will be unbalanced, so I could make just one half of the circuit and potentially fit it inside an XLR connector. Is that likely to work, or have I overlooked something?

We're in the process of moving away from Worldpay, who have been slowly creeping up their charges whilst reducing the features on offer. They might have different things on offer for newer/smaller customers, but if you do go with them keep an eye on what happens once you're out of a fixed contract.

Genesis were the first band to use moving/automated lights. I'd start by looking though videos of the band in concert and try find looks and ideas from there that you can imitate. Even if you don't have the kit on hand to faithfully replicate it, having the general feel and ambience can help a lot.

It depends. Your overheads will be very different from even a very small rental company. If the £150-£200 budget includes them dropping it off to the venue, then there's staff and vehicles to cover. Most jobbing bands are paying "mates rates" when they need kit and that's also reflected in the money they take themselves. It's a very different picture from, say, an orchestral player on a union contract. There are also quite drastic price variations between different parts of the country. London and the South East is typically most expensive, partly due to the inflated cost of living. Although in my experience the cost increase has been reflected more in the service side of things than dry hire rates themselves.

+1, I don't think we've had a recording fail with it yet. We did do some ridiculous tests when we first set it up, including recording 48 tracks on an i3 notebook, which it seemed to cope with just fine.

I remember seeing some that were manufactured by Proel, they used a mechanism similar to a BNC and seemed to hold fine. We were quite taken by them but didn't purchase any as they were more expensive than the stands we were using at the time. I can't find any trace of them online, so they might be discontinued or may have a different name.

There are some manufacturers who offer 8x4ft decks with the same extrusion and leg clamp style as StageDex. These ramps adaptors might physically fit that decking (unlike traditional steel/litedeck which has deeper leg sockets). However I'd expect that with the different length of deck, the figures for leg lengths and angles will be incorrect, so it'd be a case of trial and error to get the correct pin for the application. I think that rules it out. Are there any better alternatives, or is it best just to use adjustable legs and tweak to suit? Neither Prolyte or Sixty82 offer any specific ramp products on their websites - the Admiral supports caught my eye because I hadn't seen anything similar before.

Certainly easier to remove than half a roll of insulating tape...

That's a fair point, Kerry. The requirement is a bit vague at the moment, but basically we need to construct a sloping ramp. Used mainly for loading (wheeling flight cases etc.) but potentially the occasional wheelchair user. The actual height required for the ramp will vary depending on terrain, as the main stage will be jacked to suit the terrain. I'd expect that it'll fall between 1m and 1.3m most of the time. Part of the challenge is that whilst the crew will be competent, they're not seasoned experts, so I'd like something that requires as little tweaking and fettling as possible. If there's an easy technique for ramp building using standard parts that I've overlooked, then I'm all ears. Like Hippy, I did wonder if 8x4ft decks would be an option, the additional width would be handy. One potential snag is that the extrusion that's put into the slots between the decks will fall short, as will the wedge section at the bottom. I suspect we could find a way around these limitations, but in general I'd prefer not to be straying from the manufacturers spec.

I was wondering if anyone has had any hands-on experience with the Universal Ramp Support system offered by Admiral. It seems like it could be a good solution for an upcoming job that we have, but it's not the sort of thing I like buying blind. My biggest concern is how much hassle it is to set up in practice. It looks like a straightforward enough system and seems quite cleverly engineered, but the devil is always in the details...

+1 for Mark's suggestion, keep the cable connected when not in use. You could even get a rack door like this to hide it behind when it's not in use. Also, getting a loom made up with the thinnest, nicest multicore cable will help, and the cost will still be less than buying and terminating multipins.

Good idea, but I'm short of vertical space as well! What might work is a 1U blank sitting between two fully loaded panels, bearing the labelling for both above and below.