Bryson

Vari*Lite used to make one: https://www.theatrecrafts.com/archive/documents/vlm_spec.pdf I didn't realize Robe made one as well. Funny thing is I've spoken to the Robe rep about 10 times in the last couple of weeks and he's never even mentioned them. Very niche product, I guess.

...And we're back. I ended up doing it at 1AM GMT rather than Midnight, and a couple of you were STILL logged in. Oh my. 😉 Let me know if anything looks weird. It claims it changed my CSS, but I don't see a change...

I know of some schools that use either Discord, Zello or similar apps, but, they just aren't reliable enough for professional use. Plus the headset situation isn't great. I doubt Clearcom are all that worried.

I'll be honest, I thought the time for moving mirrors was done, but then... https://www.etcconnect.com/Products/High-End-Systems/Lighting-Fixtures/Cyberlight/Features.aspx Huh.

Hello again, I once again have a software update to apply to the forum. I plan to take the forum offline to run the update at Midnight GMT tonight, for as long as it takes me to apply the software update. The previous ones have been a 5 minute process, but who knows what the future may hold? Thanks!

NDI I/O seems like a big deal. Was there a third-party method of doing that before?

I used to get this at my old workplace in Newcastle. Using 220V lamps on our 252.9V supply was the issue. I couldn't get the supplier to move the taps as it was technically within tolerance. Got 240V lamps and it helped, but still we blew them faster than I would have liked.

I totally agree. Spend the 150 quid on spare knobs/keycaps/fader caps and use the real console.

TBF, most projects I design these days don't use a single DMX output from the console - it's all sACN based. In many cases, simply to facilitate the console being in a variety of locations without needing a physical repatch of the DMX. I can easily see myself specifying these with no slots populated.

I too liked the regular Gio @IRW, but I believe the @5 absolutely crushed it sales-wise. I guess we were in the minority. I'm just glad that the @5 remains in the lineup, as we have a building opening in April with an @5 and it would pain me to have them open with a discontinued console... Indeed, the Ion XE is the remaining holdout "grown-up" console with no integrated screens - I wonder if ETC almost see it as a fancy Element+ rather than a stripped-down Apex tier. The Element 2 is now very interesting, as it's lost many of the differentiators it once had. The Apex 20 is pretty pricey though. It used to be that the GrandMA stuff was clearly much more expensive but that line is getting much blurrier now.

ETC Eos Apex range: https://www.etcconnect.com/Products/Consoles/Eos-Consoles/Apex/Features.aspx?utm_source=Hero&utm_campaign=Apex 3 Consoles in different sizes. Apex 5: 1 Big Touchscreen, 5 Playbacks, replaces ETC Gio Apex 10: 2 Big Touchscreens, 10 Playbacks, replaces Eos Ti Apex 20: 2 Very Big Touchscreens, 20 Playbacks, very large, no direct replacement. What are your thoughts? Thing I mused: I was surprised to see Force Touch disappear from iPhones and then show up on an Eos console... Those scroll wheels over the faders give me Fat Frog vibes. The "IO Garage" concept looks nice and flexible, but I am concerned it'll be a pain to specify what you want. RIP the Rate Wheel. No-one ever used you, so I'm unsurprised.

I use a Booq Boa Shift which I've had for several years. I like it a lot, however, in searching that link out, I just found out they went bust in 2019....

Indeed, they want to replace the control electronics rather than repair the originals.

If you decide not to do component-level repair, or if you need hard-to find parts, Johnson Systems (of Calgary, Alberta, yes my bias is showing) are generally the people to talk to about replacing the control side of CD-80s and keeping them going.

Also discovered that the S4WRD Colors (at least, we didn't try the white version) don't fit on some older model S4 Pars / Parnels. Some kind of cooling fin obstruction issue. OP: In your situation I'd look at the CS Jrs. More money for sure, but the best like for like for your Jrs.

We have put them on a number of jobs and haven't heard anything about them failing. I can tell you that the actual "fixtures" themselves are surprisingly reasonable - most of the system cost is in the PSU/Controller so hopefully replacement won't be super onerous. It might be worth casually asking ETC Tech Support if this level of failure is expected - they may be able to help you with replacements.

I'm agreeing with you in the most part - I was unclear at the start of the conversation if the OP is planning on hanging the fixture in "Pendant" mode or directly from the yoke. In pendant mode, I would still want a safety. But mounted as you say, I agree not really necessary, especially if adding one is onerous. (The one caveat is if you have a keen but inflexible inspector who insists on one..)

It might be a term more common in North America, to be fair. To the point above about not needing a safety - that's a fair point if they're clamped, not suspended on the cable, there's nothing moving near them and (crucially) you are somewhere where there aren't many earthquakes. Having said that, I remember the pictures of the ceiling collapses at the Apollo/Piccadilly, and the fixtures hanging on the safeties there after the incidents. I'll bet the ceiling collapsing wasn't on the radar of the Risk Assessor, but I bet they're glad the safeties were there.

If you're using them as a pendant, I would use the same approach as a pendant speaker and make a custom length piece of SWR as a safety with raw SWR and a swaging tool. PS: Chroma-Qs are made in Canada. 😉

Not in the UK*, but Scène Éthique make something in this style that is very, very good. (Cirque du Soleil use it a lot.) https://www.sefabrication.com/en/products/mobile-stages/ 5x5 decks too, so they're pretty light, and it has excellent adjustability for rough ground. They sure aren't cheap, mind. * = I am somewhat obliged to plug the excellent products coming out of Canada these days. 😉

Software update complete, we are now on the latest and greatest. Thanks all!

Hi All, I have a software update to apply to the forum. (Yay, we get software updates these days!) Last time I did one it took all of about 3 minutes, but who knows if this one will be the same. I plan to take the forum offline to run the update at Midnight GMT tonight, for as long as it takes me to apply the software update. My hope is that will be 5 minutes or less. Thanks!

The useful precedent would be if anyone had ever used the defence in court "I use this at my employment and I am am on my way / returning from there." That's the situation that I think would be most applicable to the users of this forum. Do we know if that has ever happened? (Perhaps it's sufficiently obvious that it's never made it to court.) Secondarily useful would be an examination of "I use this at work and so it lives in my work bag, which I am carrying, although not literally on my way there when questioned."

Should be fixed now. There were some permissions issues.

Update to this: I just did a big demo shootout of LED conventionals recently. The Prolights Eclipse was surprisingly good. I would say 98% as good as the Colorsource, at much less money. I was impressed.