Recent content by sotonfan

  1. sotonfan

    Swipe Card entry system

    Thanks, all. I would love to see us keep the keypad system alongside a card system. This will be an interesting conversation with City IT. I will report back!
  2. sotonfan

    Swipe Card entry system

    For the last few years, our theater has used a custom-designed keypad entry system on all backstage doors. The system is very flexible, and its computer interface allows us to assign/revoke codes on the fly for visitors and performers. I give a tour manager their code for the day, they share...
  3. sotonfan

    Control/Dimming Strand Neo Compact 10?

    Our theater was an early adopter of the original NEO. We'd been using LF already, and it made sense at the time to go for the console, especially as the price was right. We really wanted it to be a good move. But after several hardware failures, components going bad, and embarrassing software...
  4. sotonfan

    Backup generator for a theater

    Thanks much to everyone for your replies. This is exactly the kind of "you get what you pay for" kind of advice I was hoping for! I shall present my boss with some options and see what direction I'm supposed to go.I'm not so concerned about uninterrupted service. My main task was to come...
  5. sotonfan

    Backup generator for a theater

    My boss has asked me to develop a proposal for installing one or more backup generators for our theater. We have a 1700-seat auditorium on one side, and a 350-person ballroom on the other side. Twice in the past few years we have had a major power outage on our block when there was a wedding...
  6. sotonfan

    So... who still has a job?

    Our theater is city owned, and for the moment the Mayor has kept all city staff on salary. So I'm really grateful to have a job, at least for now. We are dark at least through June. Spending a lot of time doing desk work, learning new software, and updating files. We have now live-streamed...
  7. sotonfan

    Soundcraft delivery woes

    Our theater handles a mixture of road shows - rock, country, jazz - as well as being the home of a large community theater company which puts on 5-10 musicals a year. For the last decade, we've had a Soundcraft Vi4 as our FoH desk. That console died over the summer, and we ordered a Vi5000 to...
  8. sotonfan

    Neo vs Ion

    We had a NEO as our main desk for several years. This year made the switch to an Ion XE20. The NEO had lots of interesting features, but we kept running into glitches during shows. Regrettably, once for the Beach Boys, once for 38 Special. In both cases, the LD from the show looked at us...
  9. sotonfan

    Sticky Stage - getting rid of Coca Cola

    We recently changed to an oil-based paint for our stage. It's much tougher than the old latex paint, but it's also much more slippery. Last week we had a Chinese acrobat show on stage, and they asked to mop the stage with coca cola to allow them more grip. That old trick worked fine for the...
  10. sotonfan

    Replacing balcony rail camera

    Thanks, all. I appreciate all the advice. Sounds like it's time to pull the Extron MTP from the system and move to HDBase-T. I'll try and report back next year... whenever my new budget lands. Cheers.
  11. sotonfan

    Replacing balcony rail camera

    Ben, thanks for your questions. Weakest link point is well taken. I don't think we need PTZ - as long as we get the right lens, or zoom things correctly to get a view of the whole stage, there's no need to be moving around. The Extron extender is an MTP 15HD - so we've got ethernet going from...
  12. sotonfan

    Replacing balcony rail camera

    I'm hoping to replace our balcony rail camera. It's an older Sony model BRC-300 PTZ, installed in 2011 - we use it for feed to the lobby and for backstage stage manager's rack monitor. (connection is via Extron/ethernet line).Patrons complain that the image is really grainy - and they're...
  13. sotonfan

    Mover fans - how fast is good enough?

    I'm swapping out cooling fans on some of our movers this week. I'd like to use silent fans where possible, since we use these fixtures for theatrical applications, but I'm concerned about getting enough air flow to keep lamps cooled properly.When I called tech support at one manufacturer...
  14. sotonfan

    Direction of circuit numbering?

    Awesome - I will follow that thread. Yes, we provide a full circuit map - it's just confusing if someone is trying to call stuff up on the fly in a 1:1 patch. More of a rock concert thing than a theatrical plot where we have things totally set up ahead of time. Thanks to all!
  15. sotonfan

    Direction of circuit numbering?

    Ha! Well said. So I guess my proper question just has to do with best practices. Is there an industry standard, or is it just whatever works best at the time of install?
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