ACT6 Digitals Buzzing

[robloxley]

I'm going to phone Stage Electrics on monday and ask them to come down and have a look. The last thing I want is the electricians who did the install to get anywhere near them again. They should, however, expect to be asked to pick up the bill.

No, they should expect that if you have a problem with their work that you get them back in to rectify any problems from their end +/- the dimmers if they supplied/damaged them.

[Andrew C]

I'm with Rob here. I'm afraid that as a pupil at the school, you have no place "getting someone in". You do not have the authority, or knowledge of the contract with the electricians to be able to enter into this sort of negotiation. You may completely ruin any chance your school has of getting a satisfactory resolution to this problem.

 

You need to pass the information, and suspicions raised here to a competent authority. This could be your drama teacher, the Head, the Governors or the Local Authority.

[SEECOL]

Might I suggest that you contact Strand Lighting, after all the manufacturer, direct to obtain their opinion. Go to their web site http://www.strandlighting.com and choose contact and then United Kingdom to get address & phone No. (tip call jujst before or jut after business hours, choose option 1 and then option 3 where you should get someone able to assist.

[Nick S]

I'm going to phone Stage Electrics on monday and ask them to come down and have a look. The last thing I want is the electricians who did the install to get anywhere near them again. They should, however, expect to be asked to pick up the bill.

 

The electricians aren't going to just pay an invoice from Stage Electrics without any problems.

 

As pointed out, you have little authority. You're a pupil, and the best thing to do is to pass it over. You can phone Stage Electrics, but it's not who's being invoiced the call-out fee. If the contract was with the school, you as a pupil have utterly no legal right to expect the electricians to do anything at all.

 

And as an aside, I've had Stage Electics bodge an Act6 dimmer install, the resulting mess of which required them to replace an entire dimmer pack. This is just by means of pointing out that even reputable companies can make mistakes.

[Ben Langfeld]

Myself and the head of the drama department contacted strand today and we spoke to their "Director of Technical Support". He went through all the usual diagnostic questions and we came to the conclusion that it must be something wrong with the install, but can't be sure exactly what. He requested some details of the problem and photographs of the installation via email, so the head of department has asked me to photograph everything tomorrow, and I'm going to liase with this guy at strand, who also said there is someone in the area who he will send to check over everything if the photographs cannot identify the problem.

 

As for all the (in my opinion rather patronising) "you're only a student - leave it alone" comments, it's difficult to get things done when, without any intention of ego boosting or similar, there are no more knowledgable people in the school who can understand what they are being asked over the phone. I'd love to have an employed technician who I could work with, but at the moment I'm the best the department has to work with, so we're making do.

[Jivemaster]

As a student you may be the best tech in the establishment or not, BUT, you have no legal right to issue contracts on behalf of the establishment. A contract issued by you to a third party might start to cost you the full trade price, or you parents if you are a legal minor (u 16)

 

Noises in, come (amongst others) from inductors in the suppression circuitry being disturbed. A skilled repairer may be able to locate the buzzing choke and re-fix it. Do NOT try live wirking until you and your supervisers are sure it is safe and necessary.

[Ben Langfeld]

I never said I'd issue a contract, I said I'd phone stage electrics to see if they would come and take a look at the installation. I'm not about to go phoning contractors and attempting to sign on the school's behalf, I'm not that stupid.

 

Also, I'd never fiddle with live circuitry. I may be a student, but I have sense.

[Andrew C]

As for all the (in my opinion rather patronising) "you're only a student - leave it alone" comments,

If we had not made our "patronising comments" what would you have done?

I'm going to phone Stage Electrics on monday and ask them to come down and have a look.

[grumpy]

Grow up! We made those comments for a reason, you had the wisdom to heed them, you have learnt something and you may be on the way to having your problems sorted out!

[/grumpy]

 

PS Read my sig! I felt just like you at 16, and was doing all sorts of things that wouldn't be allowed now, and the world is a worse place for it. :unsure:

[Jivemaster]

Asking a company to come round and inspect does constitute issueing a contract, unless you make it very clear that you are asking a personal friend who works there to do a private job as a personal favour.

[Nick S]

I never said I'd issue a contract, I said I'd phone stage electrics to see if they would come and take a look at the installation.

 

...and it's highly likely Stage Electrics would have charged you a call out fee, seeing as it wasn't their equipment or their labour that installed it. I know all about your situation, because I've been in it many many times.

[gareth]

Ben, listen to what people are telling you. You are a student at this establishment, you have no power to enter into contracts (written or verbal) on its behalf. That's not 'patronising', it's fact. Back when I was at school, my situation was quite similar to yours - with the exception of a very helpful electronics teacher, there was no-one on the school staff who really gave a monkey's about lighting in the drama studio, so myself and a few friends were, as you put it, "the best that the department had to work with". But none of us would even have dreamed of phoning up a supplier or contractor and making arrangements, however informal, on behalf of the school unless we'd been instructed or specifically permitted to do so by one of the staff. If we had done, we'd have been booted out of the theatre and told never to darken its doors again. If anything needed mending, buying, or otherwise attending to, we used to let the school's bursar know and he'd look into it.

 

As Jivemaster has said, by phoning up Stage Electrics and asking them to visit the premises to perform any sort of service or inspection you are entering into a contract with them. It might seem innocuous enough, but it has implications that you probably don't appreciate right now. We're not telling you this for our own benefit or pleasure, you know - we're trying to help you. If you had any sense, you'd listen to reason and experience.

[Ben Langfeld]

What I said was I'd ring SE to ask if they would come and look at it, not make a booking of any kind. There is a difference you know...

[sam.henderson]

Oh my god, wind your neck in and listen to what (professional theatre practitioners as it happens!!) are telling you. By, even verbally. asking them to come round and have a look means you have issued a contract (look at what Jivemaster has already said)!

 

Sam

 

Oh and by the way, I'm sure Gareth knows the difference, he is after all a PROFESSIONAL and has been in the business longer than you have probably been alive! [/angry and deffensive]

[Ben Langfeld]

Stop telling me to listen to what you're saying, when you quite obviously aren't taking any notice of me. Asking if they would be prepared to come and look at an installation is not issuing any kind of contract. Simple as. You don't need to be a professional anything to understand that.

 

It seems that everyone here needs to learn to not jump on someone at the slightest hint of "something wrong". Jesus christ guys, try lightening up a little. This is supposed to be "Bringing Backstage Online", not "Bringing the parking area outside the stage door online".

[gareth]

Stop telling me to listen to what you're saying, when you quite obviously aren't taking any notice of me. Asking if they would be prepared to come and look at an installation is not issuing any kind of contract. Simple as. You don't need to be a professional anything to understand that.

You're asking the service department of a company to attend a site and carry out an inspection of installed equipment which they neither supplied nor installed in order to identify/diagnose a possible fault, and you expect that to not be a chargeable service?? Righty-ho, off you go. Their phone number is 0117 982 7282. Don't forget to let us know what they say.