How NOT to re-wire your lights.
- Thread startergafftapegreenia
- Start date
I showed these pictures to a fairly new stagehand and told him they had two sets of four shutters and he didn't think it was a good idea. When he told me why, I kind of had to agree with him, as many times I've been calling an FOH focus and asked for a bottom cut to the edge of the stage and gotten my head cut off!
I can only imagine: "No, no, not the soft shutter, the hard shutter, not that one, the one on the other side of the fixture. No, the other one."
I can only imagine: "No, no, not the soft shutter, the hard shutter, not that one, the one on the other side of the fixture. No, the other one."
STEVETERRY
Well-Known Member
dj_illusions
Active Member
I work in 3 venues that have rigs mostly out of Stand Patt Fixtures, many still in their original state including lamp bases. I have NEVER seen a strand Patt fixture in Aus that has orange cable. Majority of them have the old asbestos style heatshrink tape style cable on them and the newer Patt fixtures had a variation of Silicone Cable. Any modern fixture is replaced with heat resistant cable or Silicone cable which you can purchase with a Lamp Base Conversion Kit from Strand or their local reps.
But yeah, never have seen one with an orange cable, only the other two types. Looks like someone has done a real dodgey job =)
But yeah, never have seen one with an orange cable, only the other two types. Looks like someone has done a real dodgey job =)
I don't think I need to apologize. We've only determined that some lights in the UK were factory wired orange. I doubt the seller himself rewired these as well.
Why I think its a re-wire:
The plugs are all different.
I've painted orange extension cord with black spray paint before, and those were my results.
The seller also has several old Kliegl's for sale, wired with the same orange cord.
Why I think its a re-wire:
The plugs are all different.
I've painted orange extension cord with black spray paint before, and those were my results.
The seller also has several old Kliegl's for sale, wired with the same orange cord.
Uh oh, you're in trouble now!
David Ashton
Well-Known Member
Firstly red silicon cable has been used on Strand lamps but infrequently probably when black was not available, secondly the beauty of the double shutter system was that you could hard shutter the edges of the prosc and soft shutter the stage side to blend in with the wash, it was never confusing as that was what we did all the time.Finally I do not believe that pvc cable would work in 264's the top gets hot enough to burn off the paint, I'm sure they would fail very quickly, like an hour or so.
I still want to know what's on these kliegls then.
I've never had the change to check out these dual shutters, so I withhold my judgement.
I'd also like to see the Patt. 263, the version with the Fresnel lens, in action some day.
I've never had the change to check out these dual shutters, so I withhold my judgement.
I'd also like to see the Patt. 263, the version with the Fresnel lens, in action some day.
And I doubt you ever will, unless you buy these. To my knowledge no Strand Electric fixtures were ever sold in the US, and I suspect the only way they could have gotten here is that they came over with a West End to Broadway transfer, which wasn't all that common until ALW. Maybe Richard Pilbrow or David Hersey demanded them for something here?
That seller is nutz! $149 for a pair of 1355s?! Which by the way, came with fiberglass sleeved leads which itched like the dickens, a 6 7/8" (?) color frame, a hole in the reflector one could drive a truck through, and step lenses with black painted risers so every fixture projected concentric rings on stage. But is it wrong that through some sort of mis-directed nostalgia, I miss them?
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A-ha, I see what you did there.
David Ashton
Well-Known Member
Tomorrows question of the day.
TupeloTechie
Active Member
to eliminate the prismatic breakdown due to the angle of the light hitting the steps
