KeepOnTruckin
Member
Most of us in the eventing business are familiar with bistro/festoon/string/cafe lights that look like the attached picture.
Typically the light strings are zip tied to aircraft cable which is strung up to some type of existing support structure. Usually we are lucky to have trees, tent frames, or other suitable supports. When these aren't available, we move to truss totems or sch40 pipe and base. These two items of course require significant ballast to resist tipping, and the height is fixed. The fixed height occasionally presents a problem in adjusting the arc of the hanging bistro strand as when hanging several parallel strands we want the arc to be the same on each one. And, nobody enjoys hauling tons of 50 lb bases and sandbags out to the middle of a field.
One of my techs suggests "just use an adjustable pipe and drape upright and some tent stakes."
I'm curious what the team here thinks of this. Suppose we did a set of three adjustable drape uprights in a line. Pound a 4' tent stake halfway in the ground and slip the drape upright over it (as though it were a drape base pin). The upright on each end would have two guy lines staked in opposite the lighting hang.
Does this seem sketchy? Am I missing a simpler way to do this?
Typically the light strings are zip tied to aircraft cable which is strung up to some type of existing support structure. Usually we are lucky to have trees, tent frames, or other suitable supports. When these aren't available, we move to truss totems or sch40 pipe and base. These two items of course require significant ballast to resist tipping, and the height is fixed. The fixed height occasionally presents a problem in adjusting the arc of the hanging bistro strand as when hanging several parallel strands we want the arc to be the same on each one. And, nobody enjoys hauling tons of 50 lb bases and sandbags out to the middle of a field.
One of my techs suggests "just use an adjustable pipe and drape upright and some tent stakes."
I'm curious what the team here thinks of this. Suppose we did a set of three adjustable drape uprights in a line. Pound a 4' tent stake halfway in the ground and slip the drape upright over it (as though it were a drape base pin). The upright on each end would have two guy lines staked in opposite the lighting hang.
Does this seem sketchy? Am I missing a simpler way to do this?