Recent content by robartsd

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    Wire Tension Grid Load Calculations

    If you have an panel engineered to meet the deflection specification, any smaller panel constructed with the same wire, spacing, and tension would also meet the deflection specification. The smaller the panels, the easier it is to keep the absolute deflection low.@Yaro you're right that the...
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    Changing Dimmer Assignments

    Twofer - cable with one plug and two outlets (often a Y shape 18-36" long). Jumper - extension cord (be sure it is SO cable not your everyday extension cord). Run from outlet on the electric to where you need the power, using twofer if it is more convenient to double an outlet than run power...
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    Greetings Fellow Techies!

    I see "techie" as a term used primarily by non-technical people to refer to technical people. Most often the non-technical people who use the term don't understand technical things well enough to distinguish between different levels and/or disciplines. Offensiveness of the term is based on the...
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    Phase rotation?

    I would not be surprised at all to see Black, Red, Blue. In single phase wiring I have seen, the hot is usually black with red added when there is a second hot. Anyone starting from that could naturally think of blue as the third hot when they encounter three phase.
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    Phase rotation?

    I don't think I've ever called them anything. I'd likely always refer to them by however they are labeled for what I am working on. Recently the only designation I've seen is the A, B, C on my dimmer pack (connected to service with at Blue 3P+N+E IEC 60309), so I'd be most likely to refer to...
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    What would you buy next for my venue?

    Based on your post, I'm guessing that you're wanting to spend most of your 5-6k budget on lighting this year. A little more details on your infrastructure might help some make better recommendations. I'm guessing that you have a dimmer rack with a bunch of unused circuits. You say only a portion...
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    Making a lift

    One inch of depth for each foot of length is a very good rule of thumb (especially for wood construction). With a bit of engineering you might beat it a little, but not much unless noticeable flexing of a relatively long bending member is acceptable.
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    Wireless signal app

    I remember having a similar app on my iPod Touch (don't remember if it was from the App store or an alternate source after jail breaking). I'm sure it did not analyze spectrum, but did list wifi networks with their channel and signal strength.
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    Building a Safe Stage Extension

    You haven't described your existing extension or proposed extension enough to really give much feedback. I suggest adding pictures and describing what you feel is unsafe about the current extension. If you show things that are unsafe, you will very likely get feedback from this forum. Depending...
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    Hi guys

    As structural sheathing in building construction OSB and plywood are interchangeable. I understand not liking OSB for set building because it really is designed to be a structural material and not a finish material. In building construction, it is nearly always covered with some sort of finish...
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    LED Lighting Questions for Purchase

    If you're designing the system to light using McCandless method, I'd want both the front lights to have the ability to provide a high quality white. All other directions could utilized decent quality color mixing lights (RGB) without as much concern for the quality of white. It would be nice to...
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    Camera recommendations for portfolio

    Personally, I think GIMP is quite capable of the same quality as Photoshop, but do understand that commercial products can be much easier to get work done quickly. To me, the biggest limitation of GIMP vs Photoshop is the lack of adjustment layers. This can lead to quality issues as you tweak...
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    Control/Dimming Requirement for fusing an onstage switch?

    I'm certainly not an expert, but I'm not convinced that equal rated OCPD in series poses a critical safety risk - I can certainly see an AHJ being OK with it as installed even if it's not up to code. I would have hoped that they would catch the code violation in plan check and verified that...
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    Followspot Suggestion Help

    I really like using the Altman Comet for a 100' throw with an all conventional stage wash. Check that it gets wide enough to meet your needs at 75'; I find it too tight at 50', but haven't tried it much in between.
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    Control/Dimming Requirement for fusing an onstage switch?

    I could see it being annoying to have both OCPD trip when high current is detected requiring resetting of both. It would be quite a nuisance if the inrush of resetting one OCPD caused one in series to trip. I certainly can see how it could be poor system design, but the only safety argument I...
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