Hmm, Coldplay... remember pulling spares for it but don't remember if for a
current tour or most recent one. That said it's becoming normal for what ever can be put into the air to be put into the air for tours. Easier to run
feeder cable to a
truss than a multitude of cables and or more centralized often. As said, if you have a
breaker blowing, you have other problems that should have already been figured out during rehearsals, this much less you already have people in the
truss if a problem.
I'm somewhat constantly at this
point replacing a brand of small ac
distro plastic panels that are not persay well designed to be ratchet strapped to the
truss, which later warp in a way that they don't work as a panel
cover any more. Way to rig such panels that frequently are up in a
truss is well under way towards solution if I have a say and I do. I know of other racks both
hoist and especially 208v
distro that are constantly up in the
truss. Not gonna fall, on the other
hand for one tour I was given recently a request for 100x
safety cables that was new for me, it was
safety cables for the
ratchet strap hardware in saying something. First, if the
ratchet strap fails, the ratchet mechanism is the least of your problems but still
safety cabling them is perhaps a good idea and done. Second, that spells new technology in ratchet straps - ones that are fire proof or like with spansets -
wire rope core lined. This no doubt will be the future of rigging stuff to
truss, as with racks that have
ratchet strap holes a rig
point for them in the future I think. The next vendor or inventor that makes a steel core
ratchet strap is the one to make big bucks as is the state of the art in the industry. Ratchet straps - more than just strapping gear, beyond
truss Grapples, it's how it is done for the most part if not at a place a
corner block will work.
Just as ten years ago I made my personal
road box with hard fly rig points to it after noting a common trait to them in having been flown on
stage, these days racks are often flown or installed on a cart at least if left on the
deck. More than one show I see with a 96way
dimmer plus a few 72way 208v distros all pre-wired and installed on a traveling
deck/cart as it were which wheels out of the truck already wired, if not even that 96way flown. Say a 4x8 cart, how long will it be before such a heavy cart
dimmer/
power supply cart becomes just another part of the rigging? Seen some heavy and carpeted platforms go out over the years that are like 16' square for follow spots to project from. Such
truss could if the
house could support the
platform easiy support a flown
dimmer beach. Not yet in the
dimmer/
distro cart flown as opposed to a few of them just more simple as a all
in one cart just pushed on a truck, but I suspect not long before that
dimmer beach form of flown
truss support for them will be on the market. One or few piece castered
unit that is flown.
I'm thinking the only limitation these days is the racks in the industry which are not riggable in reflecting
current trends for the future for how soon most of as it were "
dimmer beach" gets flown. Run your
feeder cable up to the
grid as it were and you save lots in cable lengths and or
voltage drop even often. I'm thinking and already designing future gear for it being rigged. This all granted we fight at this
point the limitations of CamLoc plugs and 4/0 cable in if not doing I believe it to be the "star method" of a back feed solution,
voltage drop with that 400A limitation plus the limitation of being domesic and Euro in tour will be finding a new solution soon. That's another investment concept.
For now, most of what you see is indeed ratchet strapped to the
truss but have no fear in most cases - them guys with like 20x or more years in the industry under their belt are the ones doing it in knowing at least for us who is doing it, and if they didn't feel it safe they either wouldn't or they would design a way to do it. I know many of the crew chiefs doing the shows with racks on the
truss and even work on some of their gear including considering main
breaker remote switches for them (it's coming in me already started pricing out such things) and even doing the proper
GFCI main
breaker gear for them as part of the spec. First
GFCI distros for me at least just left my area today in fact.
Times' a changing, lead, follow or get out of the way. Racks on
truss... yep. How to if a problem control such a thing, good question other than in main
breaker where one can with expense. Coming new technology in doing.... yep it's coming if not just plain
dimmer beaches on a
platform in general flown and only for the most part
feeder cable flown to the
grid of
truss. On the other
hand if one can control a
hoist with a remote, can one not also at some
point both do so with a remote a individual
breaker by a remote and or with a light board in the future in not in the future having to physically have to touch that
breaker switch at all?
This all granted one has to solve the problem before flipping the
breaker will solve the problem and just tonight I saw my oil /
electric heater go up in flames as it were before it blew my garage's
GFCI. Cleaned the sucker, didn't see anything wrong with it last time I saw
smoke coming out of it beyond dirt and oil within but I suppose it at this
point is "bad" at this
point in seeing the flames within the control part of it die down. Hmm, home heaters... I'm better than that... If I designed such a thing... Anyway stuff goes bad and fails.
Off the
road photo thing... Any photos of the AC/DC tour err baloon that went up in flames results on a Colemar and or Hunguro Flash
Strobe end results? I seen them - not pretty of the fixtures nearest and didn't work afterwards. But didn't take photos. Urr, Luke... we kind of need this totally melted down moving light fixed by tomarrow. Gee thanks in your commitment to your career and in getting it up and running again. One if not photos just has to invision a moving light with its side plates totally melted into the
fixture and otherwise exposed and than imagine that chief moving light tech's response to that request by way of middle finger. Ain't nothing about that moving light that is more than spare parts at this
point, much less the
strobe... hopefully it can be fixed in only seemingly having melted dripped plastic all over it and a cracked
lens.
Thinking someone on some baloon used on the tour substituted helium for hydrogen or something in the baloon going "
boom" in a big way I'm told or seen the after results of. Never before seen a totally melted down moving light
fixture before - way cool.