Return-Path: X-Real-To: stagecraftlist [at] theatrical.net Received: by prxy.net (CommuniGate Pro PIPE 4.2.10) with PIPE id 30498126; Tue, 23 May 2006 17:22:36 -0700 X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.1.1 (2006-03-10) on localhost X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.6 required=5.0 tests=ADVANCE_FEE_1,AWL,BAYES_00, NO_RECEIVED,NO_RELAYS autolearn=unavailable version=3.1.1 X-ListServer: CommuniGate Pro LIST 4.2.10 List-Unsubscribe: List-ID: Message-ID: From: "Stagecraft" Sender: "Stagecraft" To: "Stagecraft" Precedence: list Subject: Stagecraft Digest #819 Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 17:18:14 -0700 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1" Content-Disposition: inline X-TFF-CGPSA-Version: 1.4 X-prxy-Spam-Filter: Scanned For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see --------------------------------------------------- Stagecraft Digest, Issue #819 1. Re: Fire Curtain Rules & Exceptions by "Bill Conner" 2. Re: Fire Curtain Rules & Exceptions by "Nigel Worsley" 3. Re: Contact area of casters? by "Nigel Worsley" 4. Sound Byte by Bruce Purdy 5. Re: Sound Byte by Greg Persinger 6. Re: new job titles... by CAPTF53 [at] aol.com 7. Re: Fire Curtain Rules & Exceptions by Greg Persinger 8. Re: Elevator Doors by doran [at] bard.edu 9. Re: Elevator Doors by "Paul Schreiner" 10. Re: Fire Curtain Rules & Exceptions by "Peter Scheu" 11. Re: Fire Curtain Rules & Exceptions by Jerry Durand 12. Re: Contact area of casters? by Jerry Durand 13. Re: Fire Curtain Rules & Exceptions by "Nigel Worsley" 14. Re: More uses for LEDs by Jeff Grams 15. Re: stopping a telemarketer by Anna 16. Re: stopping a telemarketer by Kevin Lee Allen 17. Re: Taiko Drums by "Salvatori, Jason" 18. Re: Good mixer type by SS 19. Re: Fire Curtain Rules & Exceptions by "RD" 20. Re: Taiko Drums by "Idaho Scenic & Rigging" 21. What caused this cable damage? by "Brian Munroe" 22. Re: What caused this cable damage? by "Peter Scheu" 23. Re: What caused this cable damage? by Bill Sapsis 24. Re: Sound Byte by James Feinberg 25. Re: What caused this cable damage? by Bill Sapsis 26. Re: Taiko Drums by Matt Farrow 27. Re: What caused this cable damage? by "Peter Scheu" 28. Re: What caused this cable damage? by "RD" 29. Re: Fire Curtain Rules & Exceptions by FrankWood95 [at] aol.com 30. Re: What caused this cable damage? by Clive Mitchell 31. Re: What caused this cable damage? by "Delbert Hall" 32. Re: What caused this cable damage? by "RD" 33. Re: What caused this cable damage? by Bill Sapsis 34. Maximum point loads? by "Paul Schreiner" 35. PC/VGA to TV by 36. Re: Maximum point loads? by Bill Sapsis 37. Re: Maximum point loads? by "Paul Schreiner" 38. Re: More uses for LEDs by SS 39. Re: PC/VGA to TV by "Salvatori, Jason" 40. Re: More uses for LEDs by "Paul Schreiner" 41. Re: PC/VGA to TV by "Salvatori, Jason" 42. Re: Fire Curtain Rules & Exceptions by SS 43. Re: PC/VGA to TV by "Jim at TheatreWireless.com" 44. Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! by SS 45. Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! by Jerry Durand 46. Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! by "Jeffrey E. Salzberg" 47. Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! by Jerry Durand 48. Re: What caused this cable damage? by "Delbert Hall" 49. Re: More uses for LEDs by Stephen Litterst 50. Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! by Stephen Litterst 51. Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! by "Patrick Immel" 52. Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! by Jerry Durand 53. Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! by "Patrick Immel" 54. Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! by "Occy" 55. Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! by rwhitco [at] comcast.net (Randy Whitcomb) 56. Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! by "Patrick Immel" 57. Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! by "Delbert Hall" 58. Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! by Stephen Litterst 59. Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! by "Delbert Hall" 60. Re: PC/VGA to TV by David Duffy 61. Academic Plotting policies by Stephen Litterst 62. Re: What caused this cable damage? by "Brian Munroe" 63. Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! by Clive Mitchell 64. Re: What caused this cable damage? by Clive Mitchell 65. Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! by "ladesigners [at] juno.com" 66. Winches are dangerous? (was What caused this cable damage?) by "Peter Scheu" 67. Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! by Bill Sapsis 68. Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! by Jerry Durand 69. Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! by Clive Mitchell 70. Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! by "Bill Nelson" 71. Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! by "Delbert Hall" *** Please update the subject line of your reply to use the subject *** line of the message you are replying to! Please only reply to *** one message subject in each reply. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <037701c67e5c$c22c1e00$6501a8c0 [at] BCA1> Reply-To: "Bill Conner" From: "Bill Conner" Subject: Re: Fire Curtain Rules & Exceptions Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 06:33:48 -0500 Mick A. posted: "And maybe the rest of us academic-types might do the same? The safety folks can't help if they don't know about it." Like the requirement to close the fire curtain when the theatre is not in use which first showed up in the country in modern times in the 1988 edition of the Life Safety Code. Who knew? Besides a few code geeks and members of the committee - and I qualify on both counts - who reads the code or even scans it for the highlighted changes every three years? Bill C. ASTC, ETCP CR-T ------------------------------ Message-ID: <159e01c67e5d$13955590$0c00a8c0 [at] Nigellaptop> From: "Nigel Worsley" References: Subject: Re: Fire Curtain Rules & Exceptions Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 12:36:04 +0100 wrote: > In a message dated 22/05/06 20:00:21 GMT Daylight Time, nigle [at] dsl.pipex.com > writes: > >> When the fire alarm was installed at the end of 2004 it went off about 6 times in >> the first month. Two of these where real fires, where some idiot smoker ( which >> seems to be nearly all of them ) > > I resent that. Most smokers are acutely conscious of fire risks. My experience suggests otherwise. > I am myself > sufficiently confident to tell officious busibodies, and you know who I mean, > to get lost. Confident isn't the word I would use! > There is an ashtray, just outside the door of the lighting store, > that will be there until kingdom come. I think it has already been removed. If it hasn't then it certainly will be very soon, there is no way we would pass a fire inspection with it still in place. And as of next summer, smoking anywhere in the building will be illegal anyway. >> I sometimes wonder if anybody else at the theatre really cares about > safety. > > Well, I do, and so does Pete K. I haven't been called to inspect this, of > late. But I can no longer do it properly. I no longer have access to the room > where the emergency lighting batteries are. Who checks these? Nobody, they don't exist anymore. Central battery systems aren't the way things are done now. Nigel Worsley ------------------------------ Message-ID: <15aa01c67e61$c9f0b240$0c00a8c0 [at] Nigellaptop> From: "Nigel Worsley" References: Subject: Re: Contact area of casters? Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 13:09:48 +0100 "Michael Heinicke" wrote: > Can anyone tell me how to calculate the floor contact > area of a caster? I would like to figure out how much > pressure a cart is going to place on the floor, but I > need to know the area of contact first. I am assuming > that there is a formula for this, I just haven't found > it and don't know where else to look. Place them on carbon paper? Or, if the pressure isn't enough for that to work, wet paint! I am assuming that the weight can be calculated. Do you really need to know this though, for floor loadings the pressure isn't what is important, it is the overall load for a square foot or two. For instance, a stiletto heel can easily exert a static pressure of 1500 psi, that is over 200,000 pound per square foot - but that isn't going to fall throught the stage, but it might leave a dent! Nigel Worsley ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 08:20:47 -0400 Subject: Sound Byte From: Bruce Purdy Message-ID: I believe that it was probably on this list that I first heard about the Mac program "Sound Byte". It's a digital version of a cart machine as used by radio stations. I recently downloaded the demo to try it out, and then bought a licence (Lite version) for only $24. This past weekend I used it for the playback on a dance recital, and it was the best dance playback I've had to date. Rather than deal with a CD player, I simply downloaded their CD onto my ageing iMac's hard drive (using iTunes), and arranged the tracks on Sound Byte's "Rack". Click the first track to play, and it stopped at the end. wait for applause (and the next group of kids to be ready) then hit the space bar and it starts the next track in order. Each "Cart." (Track) has it's own volume control as well as the master, so pre-setting individual levels was easy. At certain times they wanted a track to start - then fade out as a narrator walked up to a mike. No problem, you can set an automatic fadeout rate for each cart individually. Press a hot key and it fades out smoothly and automatically. (Usual disclaimer: I don't work for them or profit in any way, I'm just a satisfied customer!) If you are a Mac person looking for a great playback solution for shows like this, check it out at: http://tinyurl.com/hakkj On a related note, Perhaps some "Computer / electronics geek" on the list can tell me: Is there some device available on the market - or something I could build - that has one button on it that will emulate a space bar on a computer keyboard? Wireless would be great, but wired would be OK. Bruce -- Bruce Purdy Technical Director Smith Opera House ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 08:21:53 -0500 Subject: Re: Sound Byte From: Greg Persinger Message-ID: In-Reply-To: Bruce, Check out the X keys Keypad from Pi Engineering. WWW.Piengineering.com They make a 20 key USB keypad that will playback any key press or combination of keypresses you program into it. It works great with a Mac, or there is a PS/2 version for PC. I use one everyday for shortcut keys for Vectorworks. You could easily put play, stop, and fade out buttons on the keypad and since you can put different kinds of key covers on the buttons it could be all big buttons for this. They are a little pricey but are built well and work great. Greg Persinger on 5/23/06 7:20 AM, Bruce Purdy at bpurdy [at] rochester.rr.com wrote: > > On a related note, Perhaps some "Computer / electronics geek" on the > list can tell me: > > Is there some device available on the market - or something I could > build - that has one button on it that will emulate a space bar on a > computer keyboard? Wireless would be great, but wired would be OK. > > Bruce ------------------------------ From: CAPTF53 [at] aol.com Message-ID: <49b.6366d6.31a467a3 [at] aol.com> Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 09:26:59 EDT Subject: Re: new job titles... " WHO?" ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 08:37:28 -0500 Subject: Re: Fire Curtain Rules & Exceptions From: Greg Persinger Message-ID: In-Reply-To: on 5/23/06 6:33 AM, Bill Conner at bill-conner [at] att.net wrote: > Like the requirement to close the fire curtain when the theatre is not in > use which first showed up in the country in modern times in the 1988 edition > of the Life Safety Code. Who knew? Besides a few code geeks and members of > the committee - and I qualify on both counts - who reads the code or even > scans it for the highlighted changes every three years? Especially when a copy of the code book costs $90 and the handbook that helps explain it costs $150. If this is the set of rules that should be followed (and the law in most places) shouldn't this information be freely distributed electronically or at a very modest price to cover printing ($10 to $20)? It seems as though this would go a long way in helping the cause of safety. I know how could I think of putting a price on safety. What is $90 compared to someone's life? Then again if you are really concerned about keeping people safe why isn't the safety information freely given so people can be educated to do so? Greg Persinger ------------------------------ Message-ID: <1148391965.4473121d6b052 [at] webmail.bard.edu> Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 09:46:05 -0400 From: doran [at] bard.edu Subject: Re: Elevator Doors References:

In-Reply-To: Jon, What you want for this is a system like a Guillotine fire curtain or some freight elevator doors, where one side of the door moves at twice the rate of the other, but they operate from a common control line. Rig one door as a double purchase, and the other single, and attach each to the same control loop at one side. Easier to think of with an up-and-down travel on the doors, but it's the same thing as a counterweight fly system. You only have your pick lines through the carriers, though. Good luck, Andy Champ-Doran Quoting Jon Ares : > I had seen (but don't have) a design that's in the Tech Briefs somewhere > that shows a rig-up of the type that both doors slide to one side. Don't > have any idea which volume it was in..... > - Jon Ares ------------------------------ Subject: RE: Elevator Doors Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 09:59:02 -0400 Message-ID: <6E497ADB607656479C24E6D7BF6B505A042A9C7D [at] exchange.rmwc.edu> From: "Paul Schreiner" > I had seen (but don't have) a design that's in the Tech=20 > Briefs somewhere=20 > that shows a rig-up of the type that both doors slide to one=20 > side. Don't=20 > have any idea which volume it was in..... It's also been reprinted in one of the two volumes of Technical Design Solutions... ------------------------------ Reply-To: From: "Peter Scheu" Cc: greg [at] vividillumination.com Subject: RE: Fire Curtain Rules & Exceptions Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 10:05:02 -0400 Organization: Scheu Consulting Services, Inc. Message-ID: In-reply-to: Greg Persinger wrote: >Then again if you are really concerned about keeping people=20 >safe why isn't the safety information freely given so people=20 >can be educated to do so? The organizations which write standards and model codes (like ESTA, the NFPA, etc.) are mostly private (non-governmental) organizations or associations. They fund their work by charging for their work product. = And most of us who work on these things (myself, Mr. Sapsis, Mr. Conner, = Doom, et. al.) are volunteers who travel all over the country to meet and = create these. In a perfect world, yes, these should be made available to everyone for free, but then where would the funding come from to put them together? = Would you want only rich, private entities with "agendas" to fund the writing = of the standards for life safety related systems ("I paid for it, I'll = write what I want"), or have an open, consensus based process involving all = those affected by the standards and codes? To make this happen, the only = business model that exists at the moment is to charge for copyrighted work = product. I would suggest that if you want to see these for "free", check you = local library. They should have all the current codes and standards in their collection. If not, your local municipal building department or fire = marshal should have them and probably would be happy to let you look them over. Peter Scheu =20 Scheu Consulting Services, Inc. Syracuse, NY www.scheuconsulting.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 07:33:10 -0700 From: Jerry Durand Subject: Re: Fire Curtain Rules & Exceptions In-reply-to: Message-id: <72317DA8-1236-4235-A832-F9CCE9280E4F [at] interstellar.com> References:

On May 23, 2006, at 4:36 AM, Nigel Worsley wrote: > > Nobody, they don't exist anymore. Central battery systems aren't > the way things > are done now. Isn't it now a bank of hamsters on wheels connected to dynamos? :) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 07:35:06 -0700 From: Jerry Durand Subject: Re: Contact area of casters? In-reply-to: Message-id: <7B895D81-E945-47CB-A76B-4B0FEE2AD1AD [at] interstellar.com> References:

On May 23, 2006, at 5:09 AM, Nigel Worsley wrote: > Do you really need to know this though, for floor loadings the > pressure isn't > what is important, it is the overall load for a square foot or two. > For instance, > a stiletto heel can easily exert a static pressure of 1500 psi, > that is over > 200,000 pound per square foot - but that isn't going to fall > throught the stage, > but it might leave a dent! The first all-metal airplane had a problem when the dignitary's wife's high heel punched through the floor with her first step on board. Sometimes you need to know the spot loading. ------------------------------ Message-ID: <160f01c67e79$5d2a8c90$0c00a8c0 [at] Nigellaptop> From: "Nigel Worsley" References:

Subject: Re: Fire Curtain Rules & Exceptions Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 15:58:31 +0100 "Jerry Durand" wrote: > On May 23, 2006, at 4:36 AM, Nigel Worsley wrote: >> Central battery systems aren't the way things are done now. > > Isn't it now a bank of hamsters on wheels connected to dynamos? :) No, the costs of providing a fireproof enclosure for the hamsters turned out to be more expensive than batteries, even taking into account that the hamsters where self-replacing at the end of their usable life. Nigel Worsley ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 11:00:23 -0500 From: Jeff Grams Subject: Re: More uses for LEDs In-reply-to: Message-id: References: Yeah but it includes wheels and tires, so it isn't that bad. j. >--------------------------------------------------- > >Sweet until you see the price tag starts at $12,500.00 YIKES! > >Steve > >--------------------------------------------------- > ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20060523150531.60729.qmail [at] web37213.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 08:05:31 -0700 (PDT) From: Anna Reply-To: Anna Subject: Re: stopping a telemarketer In-Reply-To: Steve Larson wrote: "A friend of mine actually convinced a telemarketer to give him their 800 number, telling them he was busy, but interested in the product. He promised to call them back. Oh, did he." Former-ad-exec-turned-writer Augusten Burroughs in his book "Magical Thinking" has a short story "Telemarketing Revenge" that takes a twist on just that situation. It is a very clever (if cruel) way to get rid of telemarketers that involves harrasing the guy... Anna LabykinaTD, Salem State College 978.542.7201 office 617.388.5656 mobile ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 11:10:08 -0400 From: Kevin Lee Allen Subject: Re: stopping a telemarketer In-reply-to: Message-id: <9EFB18AA-42C6-4B24-A51D-D62294890453 [at] klad.com> References:

details? On May 23, 2006, at 11:05 AM, Anna wrote: > It is a very clever (if cruel) way to get rid of telemarketers =20 > that involves harrasing the guy... > ----- Kevin Lee Allen Architect of Dreams http://www.klad.com 973.744.6352.voice 201.280.3841.mobile klad [at] klad.com =F0 ------------------------------ Subject: RE: Taiko Drums Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 11:37:40 -0400 Message-ID: From: "Salvatori, Jason" Thanks for all the input from everyone. Just to clarify, the reading was 106dBA, slow. And it=20 was a near continuous 106, spiking higher at louder parts. =20 I tried using our drum shields, but that seemed to make=20 it worse - deepening the bass rumble, and only blocking=20 the higher sounds of the rim shots. Is there such thing=20 as an absorbing drum shield? (rather than the reflective=20 plexi ones) Seems to me like that would be the best bet. Jason _________________________________________________________________________= _ This e-mail, including any attachment(s), may be confidential and is = intended solely for the attention and information of the named = addressee(s). If you are not the intended recipient or have received = this message in error, please notify me immediately by return e-mail and = permanently delete the original transmission from your computer, = including any attachment(s). Any unauthorized distribution, disclosure = or copying of this message and attachment(s) by anyone other than the = recipient is strictly prohibited. ------------------------------ Message-ID: <8231e7ea0605230849rc4a5623y1b55119dac93daac [at] mail.gmail.com> Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 11:49:34 -0400 From: SS Subject: Re: Good mixer type In-Reply-To: References: >>>>Fifteen years is a bit of a stretch, though. I wonder how many people on the list are currently using consoles (made by *any* manufacturer) that were built in 1991? Not many, I'd guess - and of those, how many wish they weren't...<<<< Uh.... We're running around here with a Yamaha M916 in one of our spaces. So, if my memory serves me correct, they began production on that console in 1985. So....we're looking at 21 years now. How's that grab ya'? Oh, and, yes. I wish we weren't. -SS TTS-EKU "Diplomacy is the art of saying "good doggie" until you find a suitable roc= k. " ------------------------------ Reply-To: From: "RD" Cc: bill [at] bcaworld.com ('Bill Conner') Subject: RE: Fire Curtain Rules & Exceptions Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 09:55:10 -0600 Message-ID: <060001c67e81$45e4eeb0$c083c447 [at] doom1> In-Reply-To: Bill et al: can I raise my hand on this one without being ..... well. Thanks. Doom -----Original Message----- From: Stagecraft [mailto:stagecraft [at] theatrical.net] On Behalf Of Bill Conner Sent: Tuesday, May 23, 2006 5:34 AM To: Stagecraft Subject: Re: Fire Curtain Rules & Exceptions For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see --------------------------------------------------- Mick A. posted: "And maybe the rest of us academic-types might do the same? The safety folks can't help if they don't know about it." Like the requirement to close the fire curtain when the theatre is not in use which first showed up in the country in modern times in the 1988 edition of the Life Safety Code. Who knew? Besides a few code geeks and members of the committee - and I qualify on both counts - who reads the code or even scans it for the highlighted changes every three years? Bill C. ASTC, ETCP CR-T ------------------------------ Message-ID: <002e01c67e82$cc800cb0$6401a8c0 [at] amd2200> From: "Idaho Scenic & Rigging" References: Subject: Re: Taiko Drums Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 10:06:06 -0600 >Is there such thing >as an absorbing drum shield? (rather than the reflective >plexi ones) Seems to me like that would be the best bet. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Salvatori, Jason" Jason.Salvatori [at] vaughan.ca From my experience: they are inches thick and quite opaque. But hey; what about that new astro-jel (?) that NASA captured space / comet dust with? Rob't ------------------------------ Message-ID: Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 12:31:34 -0400 From: "Brian Munroe" Subject: What caused this cable damage? This is a picture of damaged 1/4" wire rope. See http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigbrian/151956435/ or http://tinyurl.com/kgnvs. These cables are from from a roughly 3000 pound set of scenic legs. The legs are a seven line set, 1/4" cable, flat truss top, counterweighted with a 5hp winch replacing the hauling line. Saturday night as the piece was moving from it's in trim to the out trim, the automation computer stopped the piece with an overspeed fault. The piece had traveled about 2' before it stopped. There was no obvious indication of a fowl or collision either onstage or near the arbors. The overspeed fault was cleared at the computer and the piece was taken out. An examination immediately after this problem revealed the damaged cables, a few feet above the arbor. This damage occurred at identical locations on 3 of the 7 cables. The location on the cables would be in the headblock when the piece is in and when the computer stopped the piece. We do frequent inspections of the rigging and we like to think that we would have noticed this damage if it was there prior to the overspeed fault. We took the legs and the adjacent show curtain out of service for the rest of the show and did a brief inspection following the Saturday evening show. Sunday we checked the rigging for the adjacent pieces and returned the show curtain to in-service. We left the legs with the damaged cables out of service. Today, Tuesday, we replaced the damaged cables, ran the cues, and returned the legs to OK status. We have not found an obvious reason for the cable damage or the overspeed f= ault. Anybody have any thoughts on what caused the cable damage? Thanks, Brian Munroe bpmunroe [at] gmail.com ------------------------------ Reply-To: From: "Peter Scheu" Cc: bpmunroe [at] gmail.com Subject: RE: What caused this cable damage? Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 12:47:26 -0400 Organization: Scheu Consulting Services, Inc. Message-ID: In-reply-to: Brian Munroe wrote: The condition you show is a "popped" core, and is most likely due to a = shock load. Shockloading occurs when a wire rope goes from no load to full = load in a matter of seconds, which may have happened when your overspeed = protection kicked in. The sudden release of this tension tension causes high = stranding and core protrusion. Peter Scheu =20 Scheu Consulting Services, Inc. Syracuse, NY www.scheuconsulting.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 12:48:01 -0400 Subject: Re: What caused this cable damage? From: Bill Sapsis Message-ID: In-Reply-To: Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. Pretty cables. What you have, my friend is a shock load condition. The damage is caused by instantaneous changes in direction of the cable (bouncing will do this very nicley). What you are seeing is the center bundle (7 X 19 GAC) that is forcing itself out through the other bundles. And what's even more fun are the strands in the center bundle separating. That makes it even prettier. (Yeah, I know. I have got to get a life) Why is this happening? Some thoughts. You replaced the operating line with a 5 hp winch. (big motor) How fast is the winch running. Is it an AC or DC motor? Do you have acceleration and deceleration ramps built into the control system? What is the drive line? How is it tensioned. I bet dollars to donuts that the arbor is bouncing a bit. Bouncing that you can see. The reason the center bundle bounces out of the other 6 is because, being the bundle that runs straight through the rope assembly (the other 6 bundles are wrapped around it) that center bundle is actually shorter than the other 6 bundles. Being shorter (hey, no short jokes!) means that it takes the load a little bit sooner than the other 6. It doesn't like to do that. It wants the other 6 bundles to take an equal share of the load. So it shows it's displeasure by popping out through some of the other bundles. Check your speed, your control head and the method of driving the arbor. Any one of those elements, or all of them together, could be the root of the problem. Zat help? Bill S ETCP Certified Rigger - Theatre www.sapsis-rigging.com 800.727.7471 267.278.4561 mobile Join the Long Reach Long Riders on their 3rd annual cross country charity motorcycle ride. On 5/23/06 12:31 PM, "Brian Munroe" wrote: > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see > --------------------------------------------------- > > This is a picture of damaged 1/4" wire rope. See > http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigbrian/151956435/ or > http://tinyurl.com/kgnvs. > > These cables are from from a roughly 3000 pound set of scenic legs. > The legs are a seven line set, 1/4" cable, flat truss top, > counterweighted with a 5hp winch replacing the hauling line. > > Saturday night as the piece was moving from it's in trim to the out > trim, the automation computer stopped the piece with an overspeed > fault. The piece had traveled about 2' before it stopped. There was > no obvious indication of a fowl or collision either onstage or near > the arbors. The overspeed fault was cleared at the computer and the > piece was taken out. An examination immediately after this problem > revealed the damaged cables, a few feet above the arbor. > > This damage occurred at identical locations on 3 of the 7 cables. The > location on the cables would be in the headblock when the piece is in > and when the computer stopped the piece. > > We do frequent inspections of the rigging and we like to think that we > would have noticed this damage if it was there prior to the overspeed > fault. > > We took the legs and the adjacent show curtain out of service for the > rest of the show and did a brief inspection following the Saturday > evening show. Sunday we checked the rigging for the adjacent pieces > and returned the show curtain to in-service. We left the legs with > the damaged cables out of service. Today, Tuesday, we replaced the > damaged cables, ran the cues, and returned the legs to OK status. > > We have not found an obvious reason for the cable damage or the overspeed > fault. > > Anybody have any thoughts on what caused the cable damage? > > Thanks, > > Brian Munroe > bpmunroe [at] gmail.com ------------------------------ In-Reply-To: References: Message-Id: <8c8013c90bb763de3aaee031d4d7936b [at] sandiego.edu> From: James Feinberg Subject: Re: Sound Byte Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 09:59:19 -0700 I've never used it, but Griffin makes a little device called the Power Mate which can be programmed to emulate anything you want. Might be just the ticket... http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/powermate/ --James Feinberg San Diego, CA On May 23, 2006, at 5:20 AM, Bruce Purdy wrote: > On a related note, Perhaps some "Computer / electronics geek" on > the > list can tell me: > > Is there some device available on the market - or something I could > build - that has one button on it that will emulate a space bar on a > computer keyboard? Wireless would be great, but wired would be OK. > > Bruce > -- > Bruce Purdy > Technical Director > Smith Opera House > > ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 13:06:11 -0400 Subject: Re: What caused this cable damage? From: Bill Sapsis Message-ID: In-Reply-To: Peter. Unless the piece was moving at a very high speed or was ridiculously out of weight (or both) I don't think the problem would have occurred with simply one incident. It usually takes a repetitive action to cause this kind of damage. I think more info is needed. Bill S. ETCP Certified Rigger - Theatre www.sapsis-rigging.com 800.727.7471 267.278.4561 mobile Join the Long Reach Long Riders on their 3rd annual cross country charity motorcycle ride. On 5/23/06 12:47 PM, "Peter Scheu" wrote: > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see > --------------------------------------------------- > > Brian Munroe wrote: > > The condition you show is a "popped" core, and is most likely due to a shock > load. Shockloading occurs when a wire rope goes from no load to full load in > a matter of seconds, which may have happened when your overspeed protection > kicked in. The sudden release of this tension tension causes high stranding > and core protrusion. > > Peter Scheu > > Scheu Consulting Services, Inc. > Syracuse, NY > www.scheuconsulting.com > ------------------------------ In-Reply-To: References:

Message-Id: <089BFE3D-893D-4A87-A5CF-DA0C79DEA335 [at] gmail.com> From: Matt Farrow Subject: Re: Taiko Drums Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 13:12:04 -0400 I have used Clearsonic's IsoBooth drum shields that have velcro strips on the bottom half of the shield to which you can stick sound absorbing panels which helps absorb some of the noise while still letting you see the drummer. The same system also uses sound absorbing panels laid across the top of the shield creating sort of a little drummer cave that was surprisingly effective at containing the sound. Matt Farrow Technical Director Walnut Hill School On May 23, 2006, at 12:06 PM, Idaho Scenic & Rigging wrote: > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see stagecraft.theprices.net/> > --------------------------------------------------- > > >> Is there such thing >> as an absorbing drum shield? (rather than the reflective >> plexi ones) Seems to me like that would be the best bet. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Salvatori, Jason" Jason.Salvatori [at] vaughan.ca > > From my experience: they are inches thick and quite opaque. > But hey; what about that new astro-jel (?) that NASA > captured space / comet dust with? > > Rob't > ------------------------------ Reply-To: From: "Peter Scheu" Cc: Bill [at] sapsis-rigging.com (Bill Sapsis) Subject: RE: What caused this cable damage? Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 13:18:23 -0400 Organization: Scheu Consulting Services, Inc. Message-ID: In-reply-to: Bill Sapsis wrote: >Check your speed, your control head and the method of driving=20 >the arbor. Any one of those elements, or all of them together,=20 >could be the root of the problem. And >Unless the piece was moving at a very high speed or was ridiculously=20 >out of weight (or both) I don't think the problem would have occurred=20 >with simply one incident. It usually takes a repetitive action to = cause this kind of damage. =20 >I think more info is needed. Agreed. Definitely more info needed. But the damage to the cable IS = classic for shock loading. The system may have been "shocking" the cables for = some indeterminate time prior to the failure. The last incident may have been = the proverbial straw... Brain may also want to check trim at each lift line as well, as well as verifying the weight of the load and how well it is distributed. While = it is impossible to get all the cables to share the load equally (unless you = break a few laws of physics), make sure that there's no slack in the lines and they share as much as the load as possible. That may explain why only 3 = of the 7 cables were damaged. Just speculation... I'm curious to know exactly which cables (short, short-center, etc,) = were the ones that were damaged. May give some clue. Peter Scheu =20 Scheu Consulting Services, Inc. Syracuse, NY www.scheuconsulting.com ------------------------------ Reply-To: From: "RD" Cc: peter [at] scheuconsulting.com Subject: RE: What caused this cable damage? Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 11:29:35 -0600 Message-ID: <064b01c67e8e$76d78750$c083c447 [at] doom1> In-Reply-To: Shocked load it is. Doom -----Original Message----- From: Stagecraft [mailto:stagecraft [at] theatrical.net] On Behalf Of Peter Scheu Sent: Tuesday, May 23, 2006 10:47 AM To: Stagecraft Cc: bpmunroe [at] gmail.com Subject: Re: What caused this cable damage? For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see --------------------------------------------------- Brian Munroe wrote: The condition you show is a "popped" core, and is most likely due to a shock load. Shockloading occurs when a wire rope goes from no load to full load in a matter of seconds, which may have happened when your overspeed protection kicked in. The sudden release of this tension tension causes high stranding and core protrusion. Peter Scheu Scheu Consulting Services, Inc. Syracuse, NY www.scheuconsulting.com ------------------------------ From: FrankWood95 [at] aol.com Message-ID: <38b.39de16b.31a4a0fd [at] aol.com> Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 13:31:41 EDT Subject: Re: Fire Curtain Rules & Exceptions In a message dated 23/05/06 12:37:09 GMT Daylight Time, nigle [at] dsl.pipex.com writes: > > There is an ashtray, just outside the door of the lighting store, > > that will be there until kingdom come. > > I think it has already been removed. If it hasn't then it certainly will be > very soon, there > is no way we would pass a fire inspection with it still in place. And as of > next summer, > smoking anywhere in the building will be illegal anyway. I should be interested to know how. When I put it up, I put it up for keeps, with non-unscrewable screws and penny washers. > > Well, I do, and so does Pete K. I haven't been called to inspect this, of > > late. But I can no longer do it properly. I no longer have access to the > room > > where the emergency lighting batteries are. Who checks these? > > Nobody, they don't exist anymore. Central battery systems aren't the way > things are done now. I know. Pete and I have been advocating a different system for many years, so I suppose that I should be glad. What annoys me is that, if what you say is true, I haven't heard about it. Not in Questopics, nor TOAD, nor in the minutes of the Lighting Committee. And, it just diverts the question. Local batteries need checked, too, and replaced from time to time. They are not immortal. Has provision been made for simulating a mains failure, and checking that they will hold up? Who will do it? I appreciate that, given we are trying to go public, some responsibilities will have to change, and extend. I know more of the potential problems than most. But we seem to being more and more run by our management, rather than by our members. This is not why I joined, and may well be why I quit. Frank Wood ------------------------------ Message-ID: Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 18:27:45 +0100 From: Clive Mitchell Subject: Re: What caused this cable damage? References: In-Reply-To: In message , Brian Munroe writes >Saturday night as the piece was moving from it's in trim to the out >trim, the automation computer stopped the piece with an overspeed >fault. The piece had traveled about 2' before it stopped. There was >no obvious indication of a fowl or collision either onstage or near >the arbors. The overspeed fault was cleared at the computer and the >piece was taken out. An examination immediately after this problem >revealed the damaged cables, a few feet above the arbor. What sort of sensor was being used to detect the overspeed condition, and where was it mounted? Could the blip of the damaged cable going over a sensor pulley have caused the system to see a sudden burst of speed? Could it have been a false trip due to excessively close parameter setting and a high speed winch that was able to achieve a high enough speed before an emergency stop to cause cable stress? So many questions.... -- Clive Mitchell http://www.bigclive.com ------------------------------ Message-ID: Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 13:45:58 -0400 From: "Delbert Hall" Subject: Re: What caused this cable damage? In-Reply-To: References:

Brian, The cable is a 7x19 construction - six strands twisted around a seventh (core) strand. The core strand is shorter that the outer strands and takes more of the load as the cable stretches under a load. When you overload a cable, the wires in the core strand break first. The reason that these wires are protruding out between the outer six strands is that when the load is released and the cable shortens, the brokens wires are unable to go back to there original position, so they have to go somewhere, so wires protruding out like this occurs. Since the core strands of the three cables all broke at the same location, it tells you where the scenery was when the shockload that finely broke the wires occured. I agree with Bill that this break was probably the result of multiple shockloads occuring over a long period of time. Were two of the three cables that were damaged the #2 and #6 lift cables (of seven)? These two cables hold a greater percentage of the load than the others (16.2% if the load was evenly distributed over the length of the batten). Since these are legs, more of the load is probably on the outer cables, so it is certainly possible that these cables are getting a significant portion of the 3,000 lbs. When the shockload of starting a stopping a 3,000 load is figured in, well, the forces could get very great. I suggest that you install a dynometer on a cable and run the system a few time to get an accurate determination of the load on that cable. Move it from cable to cable to get a reading on each cable. This will help you understand the real forces you are dealing with. -Delbert --=20 Delbert L. Hall ZFX Flying Director Phone: 714-585-7070 ------------------------------ Reply-To: From: "RD" Subject: RE: What caused this cable damage? Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 11:58:03 -0600 Message-ID: <067401c67e92$70951020$c083c447 [at] doom1> In-Reply-To: And it must never be forgotten that the cable is a machine and has moving parts, et al doom -----Original Message----- From: Stagecraft [mailto:stagecraft [at] theatrical.net] On Behalf Of Delbert Hall Sent: Tuesday, May 23, 2006 11:46 AM To: Stagecraft Subject: Re: What caused this cable damage? For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see --------------------------------------------------- Brian, The cable is a 7x19 construction - six strands twisted around a seventh (core) strand. The core strand is shorter that the outer strands and takes more of the load as the cable stretches under a load. When you overload a cable, the wires in the core strand break first. The reason that these wires are protruding out between the outer six strands is that when the load is released and the cable shortens, the brokens wires are unable to go back to there original position, so they have to go somewhere, so wires protruding out like this occurs. Since the core strands of the three cables all broke at the same location, it tells you where the scenery was when the shockload that finely broke the wires occured. I agree with Bill that this break was probably the result of multiple shockloads occuring over a long period of time. Were two of the three cables that were damaged the #2 and #6 lift cables (of seven)? These two cables hold a greater percentage of the load than the others (16.2% if the load was evenly distributed over the length of the batten). Since these are legs, more of the load is probably on the outer cables, so it is certainly possible that these cables are getting a significant portion of the 3,000 lbs. When the shockload of starting a stopping a 3,000 load is figured in, well, the forces could get very great. I suggest that you install a dynometer on a cable and run the system a few time to get an accurate determination of the load on that cable. Move it from cable to cable to get a reading on each cable. This will help you understand the real forces you are dealing with. -Delbert -- Delbert L. Hall ZFX Flying Director Phone: 714-585-7070 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 14:10:38 -0400 Subject: Re: What caused this cable damage? From: Bill Sapsis Message-ID: In-Reply-To: Delbert. It is extremely rare that strands break in a shock load condition like this. Take a look at the photo again and you'll see that there are no breaks. This is one way of telling the difference between a shock load and an overload condition. The dynamometer will identify an overload condition but will not necessarily show a shock load condition. In a shock load scenario the actual loads applied do not have to be all that high to have a core pop occur. It's usually the repetition of the shock load coupled with the speed of the vibrations that causes the center core to push through. I had a core pop on a cable where the loads did not get to even 50% of the rated strength of the wire rope. But it was a nightclub and the unit was running all night with a defective acceleration ramp...as in...no ramp was working. Don't get me wrong, a dynomometer is a good idea but it may not give you the entire picture. Bill S. ETCP Certified Rigger - Theatre www.sapsis-rigging.com 800.727.7471 267.278.4561 mobile Join the Long Reach Long Riders on their 3rd annual cross country charity motorcycle ride. On 5/23/06 1:45 PM, "Delbert Hall" wrote: > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see > --------------------------------------------------- > > Brian, > > The cable is a 7x19 construction - six strands twisted around a > seventh (core) strand. The core strand is shorter that the outer > strands and takes more of the load as the cable stretches under a > load. When you overload a cable, the wires in the core strand break > first. The reason that these wires are protruding out between the > outer six strands is that when the load is released and the cable > shortens, the brokens wires are unable to go back to there original > position, so they have to go somewhere, so wires protruding out like > this occurs. > > Since the core strands of the three cables all broke at the same > location, it tells you where the scenery was when the shockload that > finely broke the wires occured. I agree with Bill that this break was > probably the result of multiple shockloads occuring over a long period > of time. > > Were two of the three cables that were damaged the #2 and #6 lift > cables (of seven)? These two cables hold a greater percentage of the > load than the others (16.2% if the load was evenly distributed over > the length of the batten). Since these are legs, more of the load is > probably on the outer cables, so it is certainly possible that these > cables are getting a significant portion of the 3,000 lbs. When the > shockload of starting a stopping a 3,000 load is figured in, well, the > forces could get very great. I suggest that you install a dynometer > on a cable and run the system a few time to get an accurate > determination of the load on that cable. Move it from cable to cable > to get a reading on each cable. This will help you understand the > real forces you are dealing with. > > -Delbert ------------------------------ Subject: Maximum point loads? Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 14:17:33 -0400 Message-ID: <6E497ADB607656479C24E6D7BF6B505A042A9C81 [at] exchange.rmwc.edu> From: "Paul Schreiner" Just a (hopefully) quick question to alleviate my curiosity...assuming everything else is beefy enough to withstand it, what would be the maximum point load you could put on a batten (say, at C/L) fabricated from 1.5" schedule 40 pipe without the pipe noticeably and permanently bending? ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20060523181927.68121.qmail [at] web81811.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 11:19:27 -0700 (PDT) From: Subject: PC/VGA to TV I am looking for an external device to take a VGA output from my laptop and turn it in to a composite source. I have found a few of these on the web but I would like to hear what others think of these and suggestions on brands/models to use/avoid are appreciated. Some details for its use: -will be used for Power Point most of the time. -Most of my presenters put too much text on each slide so the image must be clear. -Must have composite out, either BNC or RCA. -I only plan on using it with an LCD projector. And yes I know that I can hook up the computer right to the projector but I am trying to get hardware off the edge of the stage. -Would like to spend less than $200.00 Thanks in advance. Ken Zinkl ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 14:37:20 -0400 Subject: Re: Maximum point loads? From: Bill Sapsis Message-ID: In-Reply-To: Not enough info. But to take a stab at it anyway... If you are directly under a lift line point then the determining factor would be the limit of that point. In almost all cases the weakest link is usually the loft block. You can't quote me but I believe the load rating for their nylatron blocks is somewhere in the neighborhood of 600 pounds. If you are between pick up points then the amount of weight is determined by the distance between pick up points, the distance to the nearest pick up point, etc. I would say you are probably looking at 300 - 350 pounds point load before you had permanent deformation in the pipe. The pipe will bend, of course, at much smaller loads, but the pipe would straighten out after those loads have been removed. Zat help? Bill S. ETCP Certified Rigger - Theatre www.sapsis-rigging.com 800.727.7471 267.278.4561 mobile Join the Long Reach Long Riders on their 3rd annual cross country charity motorcycle ride. On 5/23/06 2:17 PM, "Paul Schreiner" wrote: > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see > --------------------------------------------------- > > Just a (hopefully) quick question to alleviate my curiosity...assuming > everything else is beefy enough to withstand it, what would be the > maximum point load you could put on a batten (say, at C/L) fabricated > from 1.5" schedule 40 pipe without the pipe noticeably and permanently > bending? ------------------------------ Subject: RE: Maximum point loads? Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 14:44:05 -0400 Message-ID: <6E497ADB607656479C24E6D7BF6B505A042A9C83 [at] exchange.rmwc.edu> From: "Paul Schreiner" > If you are between pick up points then the amount of weight=20 > is determined by the distance between pick up points, the=20 > distance to the nearest pick up point, etc. I would say you=20 > are probably looking at 300 - 350 pounds point load before=20 > you had permanent deformation in the pipe. The pipe will=20 > bend, of course, at much smaller loads, but the pipe would=20 > straighten out after those loads have been removed. That's what I was looking for...thanks. And, yeah, not enough info...forgot about location relative to the lift lines! I'm just ballparking here for future reference/guidelines where we've got about 10' between lift lines... ------------------------------ Message-ID: <8231e7ea0605231145k54c87b93r9ebb3915bec46a98 [at] mail.gmail.com> Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 14:45:12 -0400 From: SS Subject: Re: More uses for LEDs In-Reply-To: References: >>>>But you gotta admit... pretty sweet.<<<< Yeah, she definitely had a pretty sweet set of....er....rims. On the SUV folks, the SUV. Heads outta the gutter!! :) -SS TTS-EKU "Diplomacy is the art of saying "good doggie" until you find a suitable roc= k. " ------------------------------ Subject: RE: PC/VGA to TV Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 14:54:40 -0400 Message-ID: From: "Salvatori, Jason" >-will be used for Power Point most of the time. > >-Most of my presenters put too much text on each slide >so the image must be clear. > >-Must have composite out, either BNC or RCA. =20 > >-I only plan on using it with an LCD projector. And >yes I know that I can hook up the computer right to >the projector but I am trying to get hardware off the >edge of the stage. > >-Would like to spend less than $200.00 You could try: http://www.grandtec.com/ultimateEZ.htm But I have found that going down to TV res. (on any converter) tends to blur and fuzz text, so it might not be your best option. But it does fit your budget. If you can get more money, your better bet might be a wireless VGA sender - good to 100' and no change of resolution, no composite dot crawl associated with composite video signals. see: http://www.grandtec.com/wirelessVGA.htm Hope this helps. Jason _________________________________________________________________________= _ This e-mail, including any attachment(s), may be confidential and is = intended solely for the attention and information of the named = addressee(s). If you are not the intended recipient or have received = this message in error, please notify me immediately by return e-mail and = permanently delete the original transmission from your computer, = including any attachment(s). Any unauthorized distribution, disclosure = or copying of this message and attachment(s) by anyone other than the = recipient is strictly prohibited. ------------------------------ Subject: RE: More uses for LEDs Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 14:57:57 -0400 Message-ID: <6E497ADB607656479C24E6D7BF6B505A042A9C84 [at] exchange.rmwc.edu> From: "Paul Schreiner" > >>>>But you gotta admit... pretty sweet.<<<< >=20 > Yeah, she definitely had a pretty sweet set of....er....rims. >=20 > On the SUV folks, the SUV. Okay...it does give a whole new meaning to the words "rim job". Sorry. Had to be said. :) > Heads outta the gutter!! I dunno 'bout anyone else, but I gotta reach up quite a ways to get back to merely "gutter" level. ------------------------------ Subject: RE: PC/VGA to TV Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 14:58:19 -0400 Message-ID: From: "Salvatori, Jason" They also have some other products in your price range. I've never tried any myself, so I can't comment on their quality / reliability http://www.grandtec.com/prod01.htm Jason _________________________________________________________________________= _ This e-mail, including any attachment(s), may be confidential and is = intended solely for the attention and information of the named = addressee(s). If you are not the intended recipient or have received = this message in error, please notify me immediately by return e-mail and = permanently delete the original transmission from your computer, = including any attachment(s). Any unauthorized distribution, disclosure = or copying of this message and attachment(s) by anyone other than the = recipient is strictly prohibited. ------------------------------ Message-ID: <8231e7ea0605231200y5bdc4df8g835c0da91ac324b5 [at] mail.gmail.com> Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 15:00:38 -0400 From: SS Subject: Re: Fire Curtain Rules & Exceptions In-Reply-To: References:

>>>>>I didn't understand the reasoning then or now. It seems a person standing in a doorway would be the first one out.<<<<< To quote the late Mitch Hedberg: (insert your own stoner voice delivery here....) "if there's a fire, and you have legs, you are NOT blocking a fire exit". -SS TTS-EKU "Diplomacy is the art of saying "good doggie" until you find a suitable roc= k. " ------------------------------ From: "Jim at TheatreWireless.com" Subject: RE: PC/VGA to TV Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 15:02:42 -0400 Message-ID: <007001c67e9b$7844c000$7f9bfea9 [at] p3m866> In-Reply-To: Several years ago I worked with a few different models. I was never pleased with the output of any of them. Unfortunatly, I can't remember the makes/models. I searched through a couple of boxes of old stuff thinking I'd find one, but no luck. I strongly suggest careful testing and evaluation before purchase. At least ensure you can easily return something you don't like. I've found the images to be atrocious on this stuff. Jim www.theatrewireless.com > I am looking for an external device to take a VGA output from > my laptop and turn it in to a composite source. I have found > a few of these on the web ------------------------------ Message-ID: <8231e7ea0605231209n7cbf6517j9470a8329771595 [at] mail.gmail.com> Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 15:09:57 -0400 From: SS Subject: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! Anyone seen this clip yet? http://www.break.com/index/reporterhit19.html -- SS TTS-EKU "Diplomacy is the art of saying "good doggie" until you find a suitable roc= k. " ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 12:15:50 -0700 From: Jerry Durand Subject: Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! In-reply-to: Message-id: <7.0.1.0.0.20060523121508.01efd9f8 [at] interstellar.com> References: At 12:09 PM 5/23/2006, SS wrote: >Anyone seen this clip yet? > >http://www.break.com/index/reporterhit19.html So, you think they'll start using safety cables? Nah, they'll just claim it was an unforeseeable accident. -- Jerry Durand, Durand Interstellar, Inc. www.interstellar.com 219 Oak Wood Way, Los Gatos, California 95032-2523 USA tel: +1 408 356-3886, USA toll free: 1 866 356-3886 Skype: jerrydurand ------------------------------ Reply-To: From: "Jeffrey E. Salzberg" Subject: RE: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 15:17:05 -0400 Message-ID: <00c201c67e9d$7ad013e0$6501a8c0 [at] Dell> In-Reply-To: TV studios are using chrome PARs now? ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 12:23:59 -0700 From: Jerry Durand Subject: Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! In-reply-to: Message-id: <7.0.1.0.0.20060523122252.01f07c78 [at] interstellar.com> References:

At 12:17 PM 5/23/2006, Jeffrey E. Salzberg wrote: >TV studios are using chrome PARs now? They often show some of the lights in long shots, have to make them look nice. Lights have become part of the set (hmmmm, does that change the union that maintains them?). -- Jerry Durand, Durand Interstellar, Inc. www.interstellar.com 219 Oak Wood Way, Los Gatos, California 95032-2523 USA tel: +1 408 356-3886, USA toll free: 1 866 356-3886 Skype: jerrydurand ------------------------------ Message-ID: Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 15:57:13 -0400 From: "Delbert Hall" Subject: Re: What caused this cable damage? In-Reply-To: References:

It was presumptuous of me to assume the any of the wires of the core strand (what Bill calls the "center bundle") were "broken" without actually inspecting it. A shockload can certainly cause wires to break, or they can merely be stretched and poke out between the outter strands. While a mechanical dyanmeter will not show shock loads accurately, some electronic dynameters work similar to a load cells and take measurements at a fast enough rapid rate to get fairly accurately shockload readings. Some dynameters can even send data to a computer via RS-232 so that charts of changes loads can be made. I saw a demonstration of Dillion's EDxtreme (http://www.dillon-force.com/products/edx.php) about a year ago and person doing the demonstation showed how it could be used for measuring fairly accurate shockloads. This dynameter sends its measurements to a handheld device (a communicator) via RF so we did not have to be near the meter to get the readings. Very convienent. IIRC, we sat the communicator to show the highest force on the dynameter during our test. By running several identical tests, we were able to compare the reads and determine the shockload. Our readings were consistant with what we had anticipated based on manual calculations. -Delbert --=20 Delbert L. Hall ZFX Flying Director Phone: 714-585-7070 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 16:20:52 -0400 From: Stephen Litterst Subject: Re: More uses for LEDs In-reply-to: Message-id: <44736EA4.7060707 [at] ithaca.edu> References: Paul Schreiner wrote: > --------------------------------------------------- > >>>>>> But you gotta admit... pretty sweet.<<<< >> Yeah, she definitely had a pretty sweet set of....er....rims. > > Okay...it does give a whole new meaning to the words "rim job". > Uh, Paul. I think Clive has hacked your account and is posting from it. :-D Steve L. -- Stephen Litterst Technical Supervisor Ithaca College, Theatre Arts 607.274.3947 slitterst [at] ithaca.edu ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 16:25:34 -0400 From: Stephen Litterst Subject: Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! In-reply-to: Message-id: <44736FBE.2030406 [at] ithaca.edu> References: SS wrote: > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see > --------------------------------------------------- > > Anyone seen this clip yet? > > http://www.break.com/index/reporterhit19.html Well of course the can fell -- there's no clamp on it! Steve L. -- Stephen Litterst Technical Supervisor Ithaca College, Theatre Arts 607.274.3947 slitterst [at] ithaca.edu ------------------------------ Message-ID: Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 15:38:41 -0500 From: "Patrick Immel" Subject: Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! In-Reply-To: References:

> > Well of course the can fell -- there's no clamp on it! > > Steve L. The c clamp probably shattered. I mean the whole thing shattered / vaporized! It looks a little setup to me! Pat --=20 Patrick Immel Lighting and Scenic Designer Northwest Missouri State University patrickimmel.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 13:44:28 -0700 From: Jerry Durand Subject: Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! In-reply-to: Message-id: <7.0.1.0.0.20060523134324.01f082f8 [at] interstellar.com> References:

At 01:38 PM 5/23/2006, Patrick Immel wrote: >The c clamp probably shattered. I mean the whole thing shattered / >vaporized! It looks a little setup to me! Or the bolt unscrewed from the C-clamp or broke. Now, I know nobody ever leaves these loose or over tightens them... -- Jerry Durand, Durand Interstellar, Inc. www.interstellar.com 219 Oak Wood Way, Los Gatos, California 95032-2523 USA tel: +1 408 356-3886, USA toll free: 1 866 356-3886 Skype: jerrydurand ------------------------------ Message-ID: Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 15:50:47 -0500 From: "Patrick Immel" Subject: Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! In-Reply-To: References:

> Or the bolt unscrewed from the C-clamp or broke. Now, I know nobody > ever leaves these loose or over tightens them... > > > -- > Jerry Durand, Durand Interstellar, Inc. www.interstellar.com > 219 Oak Wood Way, Los Gatos, California 95032-2523 USA > tel: +1 408 356-3886, USA toll free: 1 866 356-3886 > Skype: jerrydurand > Some of those bolts that connect the clamp to the unit are pretty long. That would have to be pretty loose! Call me a skeptic, but I think its setup! Pat ------------------------------ Message-ID: From: "Occy" References:

Subject: Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 13:53:57 -0700 And it be an old aluminum Altman par can too! Not to mention the 15 amp twist lock plug which I have never seen in any TV studio. >Well of course the can fell -- there's no clamp on it! >Steve L. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jerry Durand" > At 12:17 PM 5/23/2006, Jeffrey E. Salzberg wrote: > >TV studios are using chrome PARs now? > > They often show some of the lights in long shots, have to make them > look nice. Lights have become part of the set (hmmmm, does that > change the union that maintains them?). > ------------------------------ From: rwhitco [at] comcast.net (Randy Whitcomb) Subject: Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 20:54:54 +0000 Message-Id: <052320062054.22216.4473769E0002BC77000056C82207300793010C9B0708999D [at] comcast.net> And wouldn't we see the bolt fall as well? -------------- Original message ---------------------- From: "Patrick Immel" > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see > --------------------------------------------------- > > > Or the bolt unscrewed from the C-clamp or broke. Now, I know nobody > > ever leaves these loose or over tightens them... > > > > > > -- > > Jerry Durand, Durand Interstellar, Inc. www.interstellar.com > > 219 Oak Wood Way, Los Gatos, California 95032-2523 USA > > tel: +1 408 356-3886, USA toll free: 1 866 356-3886 > > Skype: jerrydurand > > > > Some of those bolts that connect the clamp to the unit are pretty > long. That would have to be pretty loose! Call me a skeptic, but I > think its setup! > > Pat ------------------------------ Message-ID: Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 15:58:23 -0500 From: "Patrick Immel" Subject: Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! In-Reply-To: References:

> > And it be an old aluminum Altman par can too! Not to mention the 15 amp > twist lock plug which I have never seen in any TV studio. > The can also hit her sideways and the yoke is in the straight down position= :-) Pat Patrick Immel Lighting and Scenic Designer Northwest Missouri State University patrickimmel.com ------------------------------ Message-ID: Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 17:02:05 -0400 From: "Delbert Hall" Subject: Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! In-Reply-To: References: > And wouldn't we see the bolt fall as well? Probably not, but I could not find anything else about this anywhere and it just looks too "edited" to me to be real. Still, it is a good video to show what "could" happen. -Delbert --=20 Delbert L. Hall ZFX Flying Director Phone: 714-585-7070 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 17:05:40 -0400 From: Stephen Litterst Subject: Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! In-reply-to: Message-id: <44737924.5000803 [at] ithaca.edu> References:

Delbert Hall wrote: > --------------------------------------------------- > >> And wouldn't we see the bolt fall as well? > > Probably not, but I could not find anything else about this anywhere > and it just looks too "edited" to me to be real. Still, it is a good > video to show what "could" happen. Hmmm... not a bad idea. I could start using that in crew training to communicate the importance of safety cables. Steve L. -- Stephen Litterst Technical Supervisor Ithaca College, Theatre Arts 607.274.3947 slitterst [at] ithaca.edu ------------------------------ Message-ID: Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 17:09:02 -0400 From: "Delbert Hall" Subject: Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! In-Reply-To: References:

> The can also hit her sideways and the yoke is in the straight down positi= on :-) I noticed this too and thought about it for a long time. It seems to me that the instrument would have had to have been pointinghorizontally for it to have fallen and hit her we way it (did) appears. This seems very unlikely to me. -Delbert --=20 Delbert L. Hall ZFX Flying Director Phone: 714-585-7070 ------------------------------ Message-ID: <44737B79.6060304 [at] audiovisualdevices.com.au> Date: Wed, 24 May 2006 07:15:37 +1000 From: David Duffy Subject: Re: PC/VGA to TV References: In-Reply-To: kzinkl [at] sbcglobal.net wrote: > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see > --------------------------------------------------- > > I am looking for an external device to take a VGA > output from my laptop and turn it in to a composite > source. I have found a few of these on the web but I > would like to hear what others think of these and > suggestions on brands/models to use/avoid are > appreciated. > Cypress make some nice units. www.cypress.com.tw Not sure who sells them over there. I've tried the CPT380 and it's not bad for text too. David... ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 17:18:18 -0400 From: Stephen Litterst Subject: Academic Plotting policies Message-id: <44737C1A.1080208 [at] ithaca.edu> Hey folks, We're currently reviewing our plotting/printing policies for our department and are wondering what other institutions do. Currently we charge a fixed lab fee for our CAD class but find that invites abuse. (As in, "I've paid my lab fee, I can plot anything I want!") Having students purchase their own paper and ink just seems silly, and too hard on the plotter. Does anyone else have a "fair" system for this, or do people just not worry about it. As a side-issue to this, what paper resources do you provide to mainstage student designers? We notice that we expect hand-drafters to provide their own vellum, while CAD/VW designers have been allowed free access to the plotter. Thanks, Steve L. -- Stephen Litterst Technical Supervisor Ithaca College, Theatre Arts 607.274.3947 slitterst [at] ithaca.edu ------------------------------ Message-ID: Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 17:53:59 -0400 From: "Brian Munroe" Subject: Re: What caused this cable damage? In-Reply-To: References:

Thanks for the info Guys. Some answers to your questions - It is a 5hp ac motor, mounted on the grid opposite the headblocks. The piece does not move particularly fast and there are decent accel and decel ramps programmed into the computer. There is no obvious bounce in the arbor when it is moving and we tend to keep fairly tight tension on the hauling lines. The hauling line is also a 1/4" cable. It is a long run for the hauling line so tension could be an issue for us. This piece moves 4 times in the show (in, out, in, out). Delbert is correct about the weight distribution, being that they are legs. The damaged cables were #1 (long) #3 and #4 at center. The weight of the legs, but not necessarily the tension on the cables, is under cables 1&2 and 6&7. Dynos are a good idea but not practical for us. This set is a 2 headblock/married arbor set. The damaged cables were all in one headblock. The overspeed is determined at the drive based on actual versus expected encoder pulse counts as compared to a maximum allowed encoder count at 100% ( ie - max allowed counts is at 100% is 1000 (for example), so 250 at 25%, etc). The encoder is mounted to the winch and driven from the drum by a roller chain. We did get a lot of false overspeeds on many drives when we first teched the show, several years ago. The automation shop adjusted the overspeed parameters and we have been fine since. In the interest of full disclosure, I should note that these cables were installed just over a year ago. We replaced headblocks on this set and the show curtain, do to groove damage from excessive fleet angle between the headblock and loft blocks on the short cables, which we corrected. The is still some fleet angle on the long cables, and the grooves in the new headblocks feel "tight" to us. I have the automation shop coming on Friday for some other maintenance, so we will be taking a good look at the winch as well. Again, thanks for your answers, it is very helpful. Brian Munroe bpmunroe [at] gmail.com ------------------------------ Message-ID: Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 22:57:01 +0100 From: Clive Mitchell Subject: Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! References:

In-Reply-To: In message , Patrick Immel writes >The can also hit her sideways and the yoke is in the straight down position :-) Can we see it again with a Mole 10K? :) -- Clive Mitchell http://www.bigclive.com ------------------------------ Message-ID: Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 23:15:45 +0100 From: Clive Mitchell Subject: Re: What caused this cable damage? References:

In-Reply-To: In message , Brian Munroe writes >In the interest of full disclosure, I should note that these cables >were installed just over a year ago. We replaced headblocks on this >set and the show curtain, do to groove damage from excessive fleet >angle between the headblock and loft blocks on the short cables, which >we corrected. The is still some fleet angle on the long cables, and >the grooves in the new headblocks feel "tight" to us. The overspeed sounds like it was just a random occurrence if there were problems before. It might be set too close to the normal speed. That's quite a powerful winch. I wonder if there has been an unreported "snag" where something has hooked up and the cables have been put under considerable load as a result. This could even have been during initial commissioning when the limits were first set if the load was allowed to stall against it's upper range. Any tightness is going to be amplified somewhat by a load, so it may be that the cables have suffered stretching on an ongoing basis and it's just chance that the trip brought your attention to the matter. Those darned winches are scary beasts when things go wrong. All that torque and nowhere to go. :) -- Clive Mitchell http://www.bigclive.com ------------------------------ From: "ladesigners [at] juno.com" Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 22:15:07 GMT Subject: Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! Message-Id: <20060523.151510.28134.1981 [at] webmail34.lax.untd.com> Naw - it is more dramatic with a 20K, especially when the current is rup= tured under load by the leads pulling out during the light's fall. /s/ Richard ____________________________ Can we see it again with a Mole 10K? :) Clive Mitchell ------------------------------ Reply-To: From: "Peter Scheu" Subject: Winches are dangerous? (was What caused this cable damage?) Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 18:48:33 -0400 Organization: Scheu Consulting Services, Inc. Message-ID: In-reply-to: Clive Mitchell wrote: >Those darned winches are scary beasts when things go wrong. All that >torque and nowhere to go. Gee, and I thought that manual counterweight systems were supposed the dangerous ones.. ;-) Peter Scheu Scheu Consulting Services, Inc. Syracuse, NY www.scheuconsulting.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 18:51:14 -0400 Subject: Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! From: Bill Sapsis Message-ID: In-Reply-To: For all of you old pharts out there that remember a Dodge auto commercial that had a girl with a white cowboy hat. The slogan was "the good guys wear white" or some such nonsense. The story goes that she caught a fresnel in the head after it fell from a rather high grid. I was told it practically took her head off. Set up or not, would someone please tell me why we still use those cast iron "C" clamps. I mean, I'm just a rigger and I don't know much about lighting, but why would I want to put something up in the air over my head that I could break with an 8" adjustable wrench? Anyone? Bill S. ETCP Certified Rigger - Theatre www.sapsis-rigging.com 800.727.7471 267.278.4561 mobile Join the Long Reach Long Riders on their 3rd annual cross country charity motorcycle ride. On 5/23/06 5:05 PM, "Stephen Litterst" wrote: > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see > --------------------------------------------------- > > Hmmm... not a bad idea. I could start using that in crew training to > communicate the importance of safety cables. > > Steve L. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 15:54:10 -0700 From: Jerry Durand Subject: Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! In-reply-to: Message-id: <7.0.1.0.0.20060523155346.01f03988 [at] interstellar.com> References:

At 03:51 PM 5/23/2006, Bill Sapsis wrote: >Set up or not, would someone please tell me why we still use those cast iron >"C" clamps. "Because that's the way we've always done it." -- Jerry Durand, Durand Interstellar, Inc. www.interstellar.com 219 Oak Wood Way, Los Gatos, California 95032-2523 USA tel: +1 408 356-3886, USA toll free: 1 866 356-3886 Skype: jerrydurand ------------------------------ Message-ID: Date: Wed, 24 May 2006 00:19:48 +0100 From: Clive Mitchell Subject: Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! References:

In-Reply-To: In message , Bill Sapsis writes >Set up or not, would someone please tell me why we still use those cast >iron "C" clamps. I mean, I'm just a rigger and I don't know much about >lighting, but why would I want to put something up in the air over my >head that I could break with an 8" adjustable wrench? Most of us in the UK think they're dead scary. I've only ever used your American clamps on one job (Disney) and didn't like them. They also made it hard to carry more than two lights in each hand while rigging. The serrated grips really cut into your hands. I'll stick to our primitive folded metal hook clamps thanks. Never seen one snap, just bend a bit. -- Clive Mitchell http://www.bigclive.com ------------------------------ Message-ID: <1160.205.215.254.25.1148428629.squirrel [at] webmail.peak.org> In-Reply-To: References:

Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 16:57:09 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! From: "Bill Nelson" >>Set up or not, would someone please tell me why we still use those cast >>iron "C" clamps. I mean, I'm just a rigger and I don't know much about >>lighting, but why would I want to put something up in the air over my >>head that I could break with an 8" adjustable wrench? I have never seen one damaged by tightening with a wrench - although I have seen them clamped down tight enough that the clamping bolt was bent. I never could figure out why some people feel they have to tighten the bolt as tight as they can get it. Bill ------------------------------ Message-ID: Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 20:02:02 -0400 From: "Delbert Hall" Subject: Re: Can Falls Down, Goes Boom... on Reporter's Head! In-Reply-To: References:

I have watched this video now several times at half-speed and it has definately been "created." Several new things stand out after a closer look 1) the sound that occurs when the instrument falls is not natural, 2) the reported does not scream, yell, or whimper when the instrument hits her, 3) there is no distinct sound of the instrument hiting the reporter or the desk, just the odd background sound of it falling, and 4) the instrument falls faster AFTER it hits the reporter than before it hits her. Someone had a good time making this. -Delbert --=20 Delbert L. Hall ZFX Flying Director Phone: 714-585-7070 ------------------------------ End of Stagecraft Digest #819 *****************************