Safety of rigging.

[James]

It's that time of year when I'm comming round to a regular amatuer gig where I provide sound for a week long run for some combined churches in a church hall.

 

I normally go about this by flying a pair of SX300's, one either side of the pros arch 3m in over the audience.

 

Now I've heard a fair bit of muttering about flying objects from people on this and other forums.

 

I am not a qualified rigger.

 

My thinking has been that these speakers weigh less than some lights I would think nothing of rigging in the same place. They are rigged with the manafacturer's aproved rigging hardware and have more safety than an equivenlant weighted light. Am I missing something here or is there some magic reason why it is more dangerous to rig speakers rather than lights?

 

Cheers for your thoughts and experiance

 

James

[gareth]

The same criteria applies to hanging speakers as any other piece of kit.

 

You need to make sure that the point you want to hang from will support the weight of the speaker - if there's any doubt about that, don't do it. The flying hardware needs to be the right stuff for the job (manufacturer's approved flying frame, etc.). You need to make sure you have suitable secondary suspension, and somewhere to secure it to. And you need to make sure that your obligations under LOLER are met.

[Big Dave]

The main issue with hanging speakers of that kind i.e. plastic moulds, is where the secondary suspension should be attached.

 

If my memory serves, the frame for the 300's is attached by 3 bolts at the top and 3 at the bottom. In this case, the secondary suspension should then be attached to the flying frame and not the speaker itself as there is no where on the mould that is rated to withstand the load from a fall. I have seen the second line attached to the handle on several occasions, which is not appropriate.

 

Don't forget to include the weight of the flying frame in your calcualtion.

 

The manual for the speaker will tell you exactly how it is supposed to be done.

[Andrew C]

I think that there is perhaps a fundamental difference, but that in your case it may not apply due to the length of run. I am thinking here of the vibrations caused by the speaker doing it's job.

 

You should consider whether there is a need to lock any bolts to stop them working loose. How, would depend on the type of bolt, where fitted, sound levels & a host of things I haven't thought of.....