Stuart91

Was the stage OK? 🤣 One thing I found helpful was buying some clear pencil cases, to replace the invariably black ones that come with the mics. They're perhaps not as well padded but still protect against scratches and mean you can identify mics at a glance.

One factor is how long they stay on for. I've still got a collection of Molefay-style blinders, 650w per lamp. Often these days they are the only incandescent lanterns at the show. However all they are used for is brief flashes at the audience, maybe on for a brief chorus when a sing-a-long is called for. So even though the instantaneous consumption is very high, the kilowatt-hours used is relatively low. Using incandescents for front wash, where they're on for most of the show, is a very different and much more expensive proposition.

Excellent advice. Every time I've seen that happen it's been a disaster.

It's worth keeping an eye on Gumtree / Craigslist and the various Facebook buy and sell groups. I come across quite a few listings along the lines of "I've knackered my back so I'm selling the whole rig". Whether the prices are realistic or not is a whole other conversation... I'm not sure too many hire companies will have elderly speakers languishing on the shelf. The cost of storage space is such that most companies have to be quite merciless about what they keep. Somebody somewhere probably has a barn of Laney / Peavey / Carlsbro etc. but tracking it down could be tricky, especially if you're on a deadline.

If he turns towards his fan it'll be a fine visual representation of how many shows go...

You're right, they were discontinued fairly quickly. My experience with the two we bought wasn't great. MagicFX have a much better, but far more expensive unit. I sub-hired some recently. The effect itself was very good and easily controlled. The granules need careful cleaning out afterwards so that they don't work into the innards of the machine during travel.

It's an interesting move. Probably sounded sensible when someone proposed it in a boardroom. TBH when I hear "Vari-Lite" I automatically think of moving/automated lighting. It'd be a bit like deciding to put the Sennheiser brand on mixers.

Thanks, I'll drop them a line.

Thanks, plenty to dig through here. It's probably evident that I'm a complete novice in this area. The Lego-style stuff that Dave recommends is a useful tool to have in the armoury but is the wrong shape for this application. (I came across a custom projection screen built from it a few years ago, had always wondered what it was) The profile we need is relatively complex compared to what I can see of the "standard" ones, but I'll have a chat with some suppliers and see what they can manage.

Another option would be optical HDMI cables. Should be immune to loop interference, no crimping required and relatively straightforward to install with no converter boxes etc. Potential downsides are that the ends are relatively large so harder to run behind walls or under floors. And they can be fragile - be careful with tight corners etc.

I'm looking for a company that could manufacture some custom aluminium extrusion for me. The dimensions we're needing are roughly 85mm tall by 20mm deep, with a couple of slots for bolt heads to slide in. We'll probably be needing 100-150m of it. The companies I can find online seem to be concentrating on double glazed window frames, or are making high-precision products for aerospace etc. which is overkill for this project. I'm guessing/hoping there'll be a small manufacturer somewhere that isn't ranking on Google. Does anyone know someone that might be able to tackle this?

Very happy user of Roland switchers here. We own three different models ourselves and have installed plenty more. The V-1 is a very capable little unit. I would certainly take it over an ATEM Mini any day. Crucially (unlike the wretched ATEMs) it has a separate multiview and main program output, each on their own HDMI sockets. The V-1HD+ essentially adds more audio mixing facilities, which could be useful but it's more expense compared to the base V-1 if you know you aren't going to use them. For VGA and other legacy inputs, the cheapest option may well be a second-hand Kramer switcher-scaler, something like a VP-728 will give you a lot of capability for a very modest price.

At that point, surely it's almost cheaper to install a fully automated rig that can be focussed from ground level? I've read of some venues that have gone that way due to time constraints (tight turnarounds between events) but it would also give wheelchair users full access to the rig.

I got caught out with something similar at a posh dinner. Local music teacher dropped off a keyboard in the afternoon, which was to be used to play the national anthem after the meal. I needed to line check it, and since I was working there myself I hit the "demo" button to get some noise out of it. Stopped the demo once I'd dialled in a level. What I didn't realise was that, whilst the demo cycled through different patches/voices, the keyboard stayed set on the voice it was playing when the demo stopped. The teacher didn't go near the instrument until it was time to play, and the assorted dignitaries were treated to the first few bars of the national anthem played in a comical plinky-plonky tone until she realised what was going on. This was naturally my fault...

We have always done well with Hot Covers. I'd recommend their canvas finish over the faux leather.

The Swedish guy who wrote the technical blog has moved on to the Great American Song Contest.

I had a customer experience a similar problem with a Jester. What was happening was they had managed to connect the DMX output back into the DMX input socket on the console. (They thought it needed to be wired like a ring main) QuickCue doesn't have that option, so Bryson is probably on the money. (Unless there's something fishy going on in a DMX merge or similar?)

I was reminded about this when a mail shot for the Arena Frame landed in my InBox today. It looks like a very good design, but is way too high for this application unfortunately. (Think "garden party" rather than "arena rock show") One thing I notice is that their four-way leg adaptors have a conical shape. I wonder if this helps eliminate the problem of decks jamming and needing lifted directly upwards from underneath to get clear.

I owned four or five sets of Trantec S4000 for a few years. They were absolutely fine for wedding band type gigs. I ended up selling them when we got our hands on more Sennheiser, as Paul says they're more adaptable frequency-wise and tend to be more readily accepted if you're hiring them out. One thing I would notice is that you'd begin to hear a low buzz / fart sound through the receiver if the battery was running low. It would start on kick drum or long bass guitar notes, and get gradually worse until the pack died completely. I'm not sure whether it's a bug or a feature, but it was a useful indicator that the battery didn't have long left. Does it matter if you're using 9v rather than AA batteries?

It could be the LED itself, but sometimes the driver circuitry can be the underlying cause. If you bought it retail then there might be some warranty cover - Thomann seem to sell a lot of Eurolite and are pretty generous.

I remember one lighting company who had a "special" distro for their strobes, populated entirely with D-curve breakers...

That's interesting, thanks. The projector is in a mount, high enough up that I've not physically got to it yet but I'll try moving it around just in case that's the cause. Did your tint affect the colour, or was it just the overall brightness that changed?

That's a good thought, Tony. I've come across similar problems with VGA in the past, although usually affecting the whole image. However I can see the same problem using the projector's built-in test patterns. (A bit easier to narrow down the problem using a laptop though, as you can compare the projected colours with what it's meant to look like)

Thanks, everyone. As far as I can see, the projector is still on its original lamp. It's at ~1200hrs out of a rated 4000. The projector is hanging from a ceiling bracket, and whilst I can't rule out that it's been smacked by a football at some point, it doesn't seem to have had a hard life. The picture was still perfectly lined up on the screen, so I don't think it's been knocked recently. One thing I'm not sure of is what happened during lockdown, e.g. if the building was mothballed and left cold/damp for months on end. I managed to find a support number for Panasonic (they're listed here , the old UK number no longer works). Awaiting a definitive reply from them, but their first impression was that it wouldn't be the bulb. I think we have a consensus emerging...

I've just been trying to troubleshoot a projector for a customer. It's a Panasonic unit, 5000 lumens, UXGA res, and only a few years old. It seems to have developed a colour cast over much of the image. Essentially a lack of blue, so white comes out looking yellow. This doesn't occur over the entire image, roughly the top right quarter looks acceptable whilst the rest is way off. The customers were convinced that all it needs is a new bulb, I'm more inclined to think that the LCD panel is away and all a fresh bulb would do is present the same problem fractionally brighter. I've tried to get in touch with Panasonic support, who don't seem to offer any telephone support any more. Customers are in a rush due to an upcoming event. I think I'm correct in advising them that either a repair or new projector is required, and a fresh bulb would be a waste of money. But I'm not 100% sure, is anyone aware of some quirk or optics or specific bulb fault that could cause this kind of problem?