Any number of
DMX cable companies out there, and if sufficient quality in cable type and wiring standards what is wrong with something made in China other than if on short lead time to fulfill the order?
Mostly for a
DMX cable almost standard to the industry from national sound company also making cable (hey we make the same stuff...) to local lighting company that can make it for you, to national Company from TMB to Star and lots of others including
Rosco and High End, there is endless options for any type of and especially
DMX grade cable.
Get your company name,
logo, phone number, cable color for length and even a
E-tape ring of tape on the cable under
clear heat shrink designating what you want for free. Place a large enough order and give time for them to make it and all is normally good.
On
stage pin or
Edison or other cable - same story in any supplier quoting out your cable should be willing without price increase to pre-mark your cable for you as to your needs. A few things of note about cable on the other
hand is the
crimp verses
ferrule based
stage pin plugs. A
crimp plug is one time use. Someone the jobsite finds need as I have indeed in the past to make a 50'
stage to
Edison jumper, and you now have a
stage pin plug if crimped that’s totally useless for future use other than as spare parts for the plastic. Should not be extra charge for your cable in
build to specify
ferrule type non-crimp type screw
terminal based
stage pin plugs or consider that no’ go as part of the bid in not doing so. Otherwise once used, that
plug is for all intensive purposes useless. This unless say saving the pins for say two
wire stringers where you could replace the useless otherwise
crimp pin for that of a
ground pin. Same problem with lighting fixtures, if not specified you might get one time use only
crimp pin plugs for them and shouldn’t be an extra charge for normal screw termial plugs if paying to have them installed.
Edison plugs or
twist lock, no
crimp available but with
stage pin one should as with
DMX cable get a free sample so as to
play test and judge for your standards. Gotten quite a few free samples over the years of cable and at times as “sample of their work” some gear that isn’t up to standard. Be it an
Edison plug that if 12/3 SJ cable is with
strain relief is tightened all the way down thus forcing the rubber insulators out of the way and allowing as little as 1/32" of
insulation between conductors at the place such conductors at the
plug move most to
DMX cable as sample that was spotty workmanship on a free sample of what work they could do for us. Especially common is improper strain reliefs on
DMX cable or over tightened
Edison cables. This much less, sure we can do cheap thermoplastic SJEOW or some form of SEWO cable for you cheaper and the cable is cheaper, but if it touches a light
fixture by accident it’s now useless in having melted
thru and shorted to the
fixture. Lots of details in a bidding process.
I note a preference of
crimp type
ring terminal type
stage pin plugs to
ferrule type plugs. Yes I can see this assuming the proper
ring terminal and lock washer for them as long as not
Leviton that’s too short in body of the
plug to properly use it. The old Union plugs lasted forever and a day in that concept if done properly even with
friction tape to
build up the cable type, and assuming you have the Stakon type proper
crimp tool cut away on its front jaw so it would do it.
I don’t miss Union plugs,
Rosco or other types of
plug in ring terminals types. Even had the
Leviton rep. walk away with his new
plug taking a
Bates plug with him in seeing how much better it was. For the
Leviton... lack of
strain relief and ability to
crimp say a 16ga
wire and in general room enough to get cable to where it needs to get.
On other brands of
ring terminal plug to be fair, there is more ring and often
strain relief options for the cable type used. And if you double up the strip length of the
wire within a
terminal than fold it back on itself it will normally in being about 13ga if starting out to be about 16ga, sufficiently fit within a 12ga
ring terminal. Assuming the user has done this - otherwise its much like with assuming the proper Stakon displacing instead of crushing of the material as if you were taking a Vise
grip to it... just kind of smashing the
ring terminal and hoping for the best.
Same problems if not even worse or more likely the same in using a 12ga
ferrule offered in a
ferrule Bates like
plug with a 16ga
fixture wire if not the same or worse in that set screw just cutting
thru the
ferrule and cutting
thru conductors and making for a
ferrule that you cannot remove. I don’t use the single 12ga
ferrule with 16ga
wire fixtures, I buy hundreds of insulated 16ga insulated ferrules per year for
stage pin plug use than sleeve the 12ga
ferrule over them if not even install a 14ga
ferrule sleeve between both at times. This double or tripple layer of
ferrule than both with main 12ga
ferrule centers the
ferrule on the screw
terminal hole, and with the 16ga
wire under it provides an added
level of metal between turning screw so as to prevent cutting
thru and also locates and better supports the 16ga
ferrule within the
terminal. This or if without a 16ga insulated
terminal I have them fold back on itself the
wire for the 12ga
terminal the same as with a
crimp terminal. Same thing except with a
Bates style
ferrule type
stage pin plug, you don’t need to own or have on site a proper
crimp tool and its more a question of proper tenstion on a screw than proper tension on a ring termianl than also screw.
Hard to get people properly trained enough for screw tension, almost impossible to train people to properly
crimp a
ring terminal - assuming they even have the proper tools especially on the jobsite to do so.
This my argument as other than the
Bates style
ferrule type
stage pin plug. On other types of
plug... most all major
plug manufacturers provide both instructions with each
plug and even cast into the back of the
plug strip length
templates. Assuming even the most professional of tech people might at some
point during their years of experience read or see such a thing it’s not surprising at at any
point to see like 1/4" worth of sripped
wire and all the
conductor shoved into the
plug - clamp now clamping down on the
insulation of the
conductor and
strain relief for the
plug clamping down onto outer
jacket striped cables. This much less in those making adaptors “professionally” in taking the
stage pin plug off, inserting the
wire ferrule and all into the clamp of the
plug and tensioning the
strain relief onto the outer
jacket lacking cable. Thanks for the help but I would prefer less damage in ferrules now stuck inside the
plug and or at very least properly wired cable.
Anyway overall concept, if
stage hands in the field cannot
wire a
plug safely or properly... them paid much less as non-pro had at best in sample of their work be inspected. Should you see such a sample of bad work be it
DMX or
Edison or what ever... would cross them off the quote.... years later they contacted someone else to get us to buy cable from them... yeat it all goes
thru me and here is the problems with their cable...
Save your records by the way in why you chose one over another by the way, comes in useful later.
Ibid, the properly terminated
ferrule for what
gauge of
wire it’s used for.
Clamps... Something interesting came up today. Been buying the Kupo CL-17 Eye Ring
coupler for about a year now. Like at least $20.00 each less and in constantly needing more so as to rig the next
LED wall flavor... it was a great choice. In the past I have been using a Doughty #T57000 clamp with side lock
nut an shoulder eyebolt. Very expensive to use and it’s assuming our guys assembled such a thing correctly as opposed to having cut corners.
Something installed at the factory and as not modified as factory rated verses a clamp used in the past with shoulder eyebolt in assuming proper supervision of assembly of. No question that I bought hundreds of factory installed eye
bolt clamps over the past year in both cheaper, load rated and given it’s factory installed and out of supervision for how its made I no longer have liabilabilty for it.
Gosh Da@& them especially freelance crew chief people in taking it upon themselves, (our trained guys will no doubt have asked first - assuming proper training) that figured out of their own huge knowledge in knowing what the heck they were doing in not asking permission, them who started to remove the set screws from such fixed eyebolt couplers so as to swivel. Gee, thanks for now totaly screwing the factory specification of these clamps for us in any potential liability the Master Rigger and I debated out very heavily in citing this problem with the clamps in buying that someone might undoo but in cost effectiveness and liability we found this clamp to be the best option in both cost effectiveness and liability.
Few hundred of these clamps now in
stock - no matter where made they were load rated but some people made it at random at this
point what in show comes back in tossing clamps back into the bin as to what’s still factory specification and what is now potentially unsafe. Even if I lock up such things, in need or end user it would no longer assure proper after usage. Back again to the game with the Doughty clamps with eyebolts on them in assuming those installing eyebolts on them were competent to install them proper in the proper hardware we were trying to get away from in idiot proofing the
system for
safety in overall goal. Gee, was that sidelock
nut even a sidelock
nut, was it gripping properly, was the eyebolt now in not thinking about such a concept now damaging the
truss in sticking out a wee
bit too far? Lots of common problems in production both of us were trying in this new type of pre-assembled clamp were trying to solve.
The KCP-833 swivel eye ring
coupler seems to solve as concept much of the above problems in being swivel
coupler not before now an option.
So as of today was brought up today in noting of the
SWL of this clamp by the Head of
Hoist Dpt. or for all intensive purposes head rigger at the shop, the clamp says 500KG but the eyebolt itself rates itself at 440 Lbs. Website rates this clamp type with eye ring both swivel and fixed for 500Kgs / 1,100Lbs, yet the eye ring itself is only 440#
SWL rated. It’s Kupo/China and perhaps liability wise there might have been a misunderstanding - this much less what is the class of
“
SWL” load
rating in comparison to tested
breaking strength in such gear in
SWL is at times differernt for different industries. Is it 8:1, 5:1 or 2:1 this
rating for it in all being different for
SWL rating. Kind of disappointed my Moonlight rep. in the US sales rep. for Kupo didn’t instantly reply today. If no a day in response time by them I would think it bad.
Still though overall, this is as product a separate question from China country product verses brand name. There in stamped on the clamp is not a doubt that the 500KG half cheseborough clamp on such a thing would be as rated. This is more or less a more detailed thing about the clamp than the assembly as perhaps ovelooked in specification for it as published for its
rating as a mistake.
China type of thing in quality of product pre-assembled verses say Euro type product for clamp which would do an eyebolt below it for at least twice the price and domestic Eyebolt we bought separate which would now have to be assembled in the shop? This assuming I couldn’t assure someone was not removing set screws from the pre-built eyebolt assemblies we bought to factory specification, how would we assume some to assemble something domestic in Eyebolt with Euro clamp that could work with it would be assembled with it any more safely?
At this
point for me at least it don’t matter where it’s made, more a question of you doing what you also need to in being the master of your space and accepting bought when it’s not your’s in doing so only to your specification for quality (assuming you have such a standard to
base it off of.) Domestic or foreign made don’t matter even which continent or time zone made from for that standpoint. Even on these Kupo Eyebolt clamps, and I’m up for the swivel versions of them in being cost effective and solving the problem.. If now properly rated for like 400# this is fine and safe as long as now properly rated for it. Want to see the testing for it of course but in doing so where its’ made I do not have any more Ill thoughts from this China company than a domestic one or a contintntial one. All bad until I see the product.