Lighting Inventory Suggestions: Ancillaries / Infrastructure / Extras

[LX-Dave]

Hello All,

I've been tasked with putting a proposal together for an AV company that currently only stocks a tiny amount of lighting equipment (a few LED fresnels, some led pars and a couple of wind-up stands), who would like to invest in a bigger lighting portfolio.

They operate almost exclusively in the corporate event sector - small/medium conferences and awards shows etc. Lighting will be a mixture of even white frontlight for camera, plus some effects for walk-ups etc.

I'm fairly happy with which fixtures I will be specifying, (a mixture of Fresnels, Profiles, Movers, battens etc, all LED). I am looking for some advice and suggestions of all the other bits-and-pieces that I would ordinarily expect to be available from a lighting vendor, but which I may have forgotten about as everyone has them!

Thinking along the lines of; DMX 5<>3 adapters, Powercon couplers, clamps etc.

Any suggestions gratefully received.

 

[Jivemaster]

Ask anyone with stored kit, They have a store full to inconveience and still have to hire stuff in  frequently. Buy some of the stuff you use every time and hire the rest in as needed. OR don't accept jobs that you cannot do from stock!

[xllx]

I would suggest the following:

Spec all lanterns with a clamp and safety bond

Spec all lanterns with a mains lead to a single common connector (probably 16amp CEEForm) dictated by whatever connector your power outlets use. So, if some of your lanterns have IEC, some have Powercon, some have Truecon, they all have an adaptor to that connector from 16amp that lives with the lantern. Then buy a few spares of each type of adaptor!

Same with DMX, ideally all your lanterns will use 3 pin or all of them will use 5 pin DMX, then you only need to buy that particular cable for DMX. If your lanterns have a mix of 3 pin and 5 pin, decide on one as standard (ideally 5 pin) and buy adaptors for all the 3 pin lanterns to 5 pin. Again, keep these adaptors with the lanterns. Again, buy a few spares.

Basically with both power and data, you are converting connector types at the device. Not necessarily the cheapest way, but far better to standardise on connector types so you only stock one type of mains cable and one type of DMX cable.

Then, retain a small proportion of your budget for buying things that crop up as you plan each show. Nuts/bolts/adaptors/splitters/buffer boxes. You are bound to run into situations where you need something out of the ordinary that you will not have thought of, having a bit of money put aside to deal with this is the best way forward in my opinion. Anything you buy, either goes on the shelf in the warehouse after the show you bought it for, or into your travelling spares kit. 

 

 

[James Remo]

On connector type - most lights and video screens are now sold on true 1 connectors, I would stick to true 1 as your cable stock. Streamlining cable stock is an excellent point, but having adaptors at every fixture is pointless

[Stuart91]

7 hours ago, James Remo said:

On connector type - most lights and video screens are now sold on true 1 connectors, I would stick to true 1 as your cable stock. Streamlining cable stock is an excellent point, but having adaptors at every fixture is pointless

Some of the big rental companies have standardised on True1. Anything with a captive lead gets a True1 plug on it, everything else goes out with an adaptor. 

The biggest advantage is that the leads daisy-chain without coupler pieces, and it's much more compact (and corporate friendly in appearance) than CEEForm. 

[James Remo]

A company I freelance for has branches in London, Estonia, Jeddah and LA, keeping stock to soca, true 1 and 5 pin only has enabled them to standardise across the 3 continents, and only heavy mains (powerlock or cam) and distros (240v or 208v) change between territories. Different end of the spectrum to the OP, but relevant.