Socapex wiring

I am trying to covert a few stage pin drop boxes to socapex ends so that i do not need to haul these giant boxes up and down when tours come in. I opened the box up though and there is only one ground wire running in the cable and it is going to a bar in the box that the ground for each circuit is coming back to. my question is how should i run this single ground into the socapex end? do i just solder jumpers to a single point and then attach the ground to that?
 

Attachments

  • IMG_7453.jpg
    IMG_7453.jpg
    474.9 KB · Views: 546
I guess I need some clarity, but I will provide both cases that I can divine...

Iif you are putting a Socapex male panel connector on the box to replace the cable... (I am assuming a 19pin)
You'd take the ground leads from the common bar and route them to the connector on pins 13-18 respective to their hot/neutrals.

Like:
Circuit 1 = 1h,2n,13g
Circuit 2 = 3h,4n,14g
Circuit 3 = 5h,6n,15g

...and so on for the remaining 3 circuits.

If you are trying to add a Socapex male connector to the end of the existing cable, you should replace the cable to keep the integrity of the individual grounds. (unless there are 5 unused leads in the current cable...)
 
Furthermore, you could use a grounding ring and two leads in the cable for grounding.

However, I am not a fan of bonded grounds in Socapex.

My old-person sensibilities say: "well, they gave us the chance to have independent grounds..."
Just my .02
 
my question is how should i run this single ground into the socapex end? do i just solder jumpers to a single point and then attach the ground to that?
The single ground wire would be connected to a ground ring which then connects to contacts 13-18. https://www.controlbooth.com/threads/photos-of-socapex-ground-ring.25756

If you are trying to add a Socapex male connector to the end of the existing cable, you should replace the cable to keep the integrity of the individual grounds. (unless there are 5 unused leads in the current cable...)
Pretty sure you'll find that the vast majority of "Socapex -style" cable is 14 conductor, not the expected 18 or 19. Wires 13 & 14 are both connected to pins 13-18 via ground ring as above.

Side note: Installing Socapex connectors is not for the inexperienced, especially in the field. You might find it prudent to buy 12/14 cable with one bare end and one female 19-pin pre-installed. Then it's a matter of landing the bare wires inside the grid box, and strain relief.
 
I guess I need some clarity, but I will provide both cases that I can divine...

Iif you are putting a Socapex male panel connector on the box to replace the cable... (I am assuming a 19pin)
You'd take the ground leads from the common bar and route them to the connector on pins 13-18 respective to their hot/neutrals.

Like:
Circuit 1 = 1h,2n,13g
Circuit 2 = 3h,4n,14g
Circuit 3 = 5h,6n,15g

...and so on for the remaining 3 circuits.

If you are trying to add a Socapex male connector to the end of the existing cable, you should replace the cable to keep the integrity of the individual grounds. (unless there are 5 unused leads in the current cable...)

I’m not doing anything with the box. It is going away. I am just using the cable from it to connect to a female Socapex.
 
The single ground wire would be connected to a ground ring which then connects to contacts 13-18. https://www.controlbooth.com/threads/photos-of-socapex-ground-ring.25756

Pretty sure you'll find that the vast majority of "Socapex -style" cable is 14 conductor, not the expected 18 or 19. Wires 13 & 14 are both connected to pins 13-18 via ground ring as above.

Side note: Installing Socapex connectors is not for the inexperienced, especially in the field. You might find it prudent to buy 12/14 cable with one bare end and one female 19-pin pre-installed. Then it's a matter of landing the bare wires inside the grid box, and strain relief.

I have done this plenty of times I have just never come across a wire with only 13 leads. I usually see at least 2 grounds and then use a ground ring and I was clarifying if I should do something different with only 1 ground.
 
We have a similar problem a little more north of you. we've got Drop boxes, that we usually have to drop for the roadshows (because we need the pick points) but ours are just run up to points on the grid to drop in an out. The other side of the stage though has soca runs instead of boxes and those we can just extend or add breakouts to as needed.

The pick points/pulleys make it pretty easy to move our boxes around, most of the weight really comes from all the cable you're moving, the dropbox itself is fairly negligible for us really. I talked to Devon and really do just need to get down there and see how you guys do things compared to how we do. I have a lot of changes I'd like to make.
 
Where do these boxes live that you have to haul them up and down.

I would suggest getting some fanouts and some soca cable and dropping picks from their location.

Taking that cable and making into a soca is going to be more of a pain than you think. And done wrong could result in damaged equipment or shock.

TLDR: buy the proper cable.
 
I have done this plenty of times I have just never come across a wire with only 13 leads. I usually see at least 2 grounds and then use a ground ring and I was clarifying if I should do something different with only 1 ground.

Note that NEC does not require two grounding conductors:

250.122(C) Multiple Circuits. Where a single equipment grounding
conductor is run with multiple circuits in the same raceway,
cable, or cable tray, it shall be sized for the largest overcurrent
device protecting conductors in the raceway, cable, or cable
tray. Equipment grounding conductors installed in cable trays
shall meet the minimum requirements of 392.10(B)(1)(c).

ST
 
Looking more closely at the photo...
There appears to be a red wire from the borderlight cable not doing anything, laying on the bottom of the box, so maybe it is 14 conductor.
Further, what does code say about wire color? The left-most 2P&G outlet is wired with three greens! The right-most outlet uses white for both neutral and hot.
 
Looking more closely at the photo...
There appears to be a red wire from the borderlight cable not doing anything, laying on the bottom of the box, so maybe it is 14 conductor.
Further, what does code say about wire color? The left-most 2P&G outlet is wired with three greens! The right-most outlet uses white for both neutral and hot.

Here's what the code says about color. This is a relaxing of the Chapter 1 through 4 color requirements, since high conductor-count multiconductor cables don't have enough whites and greens to meet the general code requirements.

520.44 Borders, Proscenium Sidelights, Drop Boxes, and
Connector Strips.


(3) Identification of Conductors in Multiconductor Extra-
Hard-Usage Cords and Cables.
Grounded (neutral) conductors
shall be white without stripe or shall be identified by a
distinctive white marking at their terminations.
Grounding
conductors shall be green with or without yellow stripe or shall
be identified by a distinctive green marking at their terminations
.

ST
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back