Ban all
duct tape from the theater - those following you will thank you. Never and never
duct tape a
fixture to anything. It’s not heat rated or any type of code or in any common sense way rated for such an application. Ok, if you absolutely are set in doing so and you should not be, five wraps is a minimum, and that is five wraps per side of the
yoke - in other words, two wraps of five. Do not do this -
duct tape is nasty after it gets old, much less gets heated up. Such a use also does not help with grounding the lamp bar you are attaching to.
Terms and definitions are important to learn, you seem to have lots of interest, time I think to buy/rent cheap for now, put the drill down and learn a
bit more. Go to the various GE, Phillips, Osram, websites and request a catalog than sit down and read it for not just lamps but for the info about lamps. Amazing the amount of knowledge about lamps one can
gain just by way of sitting down and studying a lamp catalog. Go to the
Martin and High End amongst other websites and read all about such info not just in what they do but read further into how they do it. Buy books on
fixture design by way especially of older books on lighting and electrical wiring. Nobody is attempting to stop you from building lighting fixtures in your garage - in fact that’s to your credit 100% that ambition and drive to invent, it’s just that you should save the invented products for the garage while you learn and buy stuff others already invented for use where people’s lives depend upon such things. That time you are spending on R&D much less constructing fixtures from scratch can also be spent on fund raising. Not as fun but all tech people need to at least become proficient with all parts of the other than and even on-stage. You are dirt poor, how many proposals for grants and or donations and discount letters have you written and or looked into? That / those lighting companies in your area, have you even asked them for donations of gear they are no longer using yet? This time spent in gaining your resources for making art is at times more useful than filling a hole in immediate needs. How many scene shops in your area and or theaters in your area have you set up a sort of “dumpster diving” arrangement with? No, legally or by way of insurance, you can’t dive for the stuff, but such places can set aside stuff for you, that you might be interested in. Think about a what.. $14.00 sheet of
Luan plywood your theater doesn’t have to buy - much less a lot of them. Added up, if you have the time and labor to de-construct say part of a set, (lots of pulling staples with a pair of pliers) you now while cut often smaller than optimum, have a source of replenishment in other ways. Get that old set for the local TV news station in your area shipped to you as opposed to just dumped off the back of the truck in a junk yard. Saves who ever is disposing of it the cost of trashing it, and for it’s expected worth, a nice 501c3 tax credit for it’s worth by way of donation. Infrequently you can also get light fixtures, cable and other apparatus by way of this tax donation or simply that the entire thing was being replaced and it would take that company replacing the electrical gear more time to remove and service the gear than it’s worth - it’s normally thrown out. Search the net if nothing else for them $25.00
PAR 64 cans that come with lamps - there is a value one cannot
beat if having no budget. Here is an entire lighting
fixture (possibly without
plug and clamp - negotiable) that would be
UL listed and provide some
base of light for your use so as to free up other gear for other things. One
PAR 64 is worth at least two
PAR 38 if not more by way of design. As opposed to lamping a
fixture for that price as a good price, plus the
fixture price, how about some rock and
roll par cans? How about some used 6" Fresnels and 6" Lekos? Even if radial mounted, ever see a proper
bench focus of a radial
Leko? Thing can be bright and really good. You have nothing now persay, shoot instead of adding more “
flash and trash” for proper. Buy say two even old time and ancient Lekos and they will be an amazing thing. Buy some stuff on the e-Bay that’s cheap for the price of what you might
build stuff for. Better yet, fund raise, get donations and earn the gear by way of paperwork - sitting at your
desk first before you tinker. I get paid as above to in part construct gear, in part it’s other things, and more and more it’s paid to just sit at my
desk and do my job by way of now that I can do, do the paperwork and acquiring. Spent about two hours alone in researching bench vises I wanted to buy, sending out “request for quotes” to a number of sources, than figuring out of the prices given what was best to buy. Saved a hundred dollars at least on the bench vises I specified as a minimum grade of them I would accept. Cheaper than normal store bought crap that would wear out in half the time, and worth the effort in me just sitting at my
desk instead of fixing stuff instead. The more that you know, the more work you will have to do. Less and less time I spend at my work table these days, much more time in research and paperwork type stuff. Gives the chance for others to learn and given the intrest in getting stuff right, it assures that what I’m at my
desk for is correct. Sit down at your
desk and instead of figuring out what size
transformer will work with the servos and lamp for your latest scanner design, figure out how to get the money to get the lamps new from a normal less than “economy” source, and the fixtures at a good discount. Write some letters to anyone under the sun to see if they might take some charity to your cause in even sending you that “spare parts”
fixture they have hanging about so that you can put it to use. Explain with much editing your situation, what you have been doing in the past, the recommendations that you stop doing so and devote your time elsewhere in getting safe gear. Keep it short and well written and you never know, from say High End down to someone’s garage based DJ lighting, what offers of gear or help you might get locally or nationally. This especially if you have that 501c3 in your pocket. Don’t know for sure if teacher or student at this
point but if student, do the
leg work than
hand it off to the teachers and staff to do the tax credit and official deals. For every hour you might devote to wiring, perhaps another to paying for it by way of donations. Slow down with the saving the world of this show all by your own hands, it’s by far better to safe the theater program by way of some funding and
system that will outlive you. Most important person in any theater is the theater manager. Don’t care who you are or how important you think you are, that person that not just balances the budget, but assures there will be another season for all to
play, tinker and make art is that person that more is making art than anyone else - and probably has the most responsibility in all decisions one should be working for to help, and assures that there will be art made. At very least, perhaps it’s time to master that part of your field beyond study into the very specific lamps and fixtures. Raise research grants so as to research the next generation of moving light. While at it, if you are doing this wiring type stuff, get a grant for yourself in getting to college lined up and contacts in the industry to work at during summer break. Gonna find a whole new world out side of the theater at this one place - also consider this and keep your grades up so you can get into it.
Costs a few thousand dollars for UL to test a piece of electrical gear for
safety within the stipulations for testing the gear they are testing for. Until you have the ability to get what you make tested or have a few million dollars liability coverage of what you invent, than also have years of training, even for a
PAR can, it’s not wise even if the goal of $$$ no budget and attempting to make magic is necessary to put your neck out on the chopping
block in doing so for productions, much less risk other people’s lives for such things. Sure there is exceptions and specials but overall for the bulk of your lighting you should concentrate on getting gear that’s already designed and proven safe for use, rather than spending the money on building gear. By lack of detail about what specifically you intend, it means a serious tinkering over design by way of what’s said. Xenon
bulb verses
halogen one - you are engineering a
fixture and have not even begun to cusp the amount of range in even this question still not answered sufficiently entails. Hmm, as opposed to just right off the top of my head, your
fixture instead of using a XOP 4500w.OF.ofr
xenon lamp might instead say use a say JC 6v-2.4w
halogen one by way of specified range in what you intend to use for an unknown expected output. Tinkering is useful but not engineering or safe around an audience. You have a 110c temperature and a 7 Amp load, what
gauge and type of
wire is the correct to be using? How much ventilation and cubic size do you need as modified by CFM of the
fixture? Beyond
lining up reflectors and mirrors, there is lots involved in
fixture design. Believe me if of help in recommending further study and also study into lots of other parts of doing your intended mission. I
build lighting fixtures in part as my living, (granted another department normally makes the electronics part - they know things I don’t, I know things I don’t. If we were to make a moving light
fixture, there would be four departments involved and there in fact was. No one department or person has the mastery of all skills sufficient to do any such thing safely or best. This much less by way of department I mean more than one person per department with ideas also. Heck even these days, even if I’m wiring up some
transformer or other piece of gear and am sure about it, normally I ask another person with more or just as much experience to look in on what I’m doing. Verification to say nothing of getting other ideas is the key - you had at best have a mentor to ensure you are doing your work correctly, to train if not even debate with.) On actual cost of what’ invented over rental once you consider in R&D costs, drill bits, tools to drive them, stupid stuff like one type of
nut over another
etc. and overstock so you can pull a say Marathon
block off the shelf where not though of but would be good to use - than the proper
wire size and choice of double, insulated or non-insulated
ferrule to use in it, than you tend to want a
ferrule crimp tool.... fixtures get really expensive to
build. This before you even add in your own time as part and it is even if free. How many more hours could you have spent studying say for a Spanish test that was instead invested into this light? That loss of a grade even in high school by way of saving the show is an investment lost that must be balanced. Lots of gear for service I never even see simply because me looking at it is not in the budget. Lots of stuff you should not be spending time on simply because of it not being within the scope of what you can make happen while at the same time having a life and going to school.
I have heard of “scanners” just have no idea of other than in general something that wiggles, what it means. Officially, there are only three fixtures that have the title of “scanner” that I’m aware of amongst all fixtures on the market I tend to
track. Genius DJ Scanner using a: Philips #6958 & 7748XHP, Terbly TB 2000 Scanner using a: MSD 200/2, and Terbly TB 3000 Scanner:
MSD 250/2. That’s it with “scanner” in their description code.
This just as “
High End Systems” doesn’t do much for me - they make a lot of products. I seriously doubt that a High End digital
projector lamp - say a POA-LMP101, would be within budget or cost effective. Bulbs you plant in the
ground, lamps you install in luminaries.
“
Halogen (outdoor) flood by term is meanless - there is no definition of a
halogen lamp that is “outdoor” and flood - no idea but in the context of
PAR 38, if you mean some lighting
fixture that is rated for outdoor use and some form of home center light fiture, can you install a spot lamp in it? Sure, it’s just a change of lamp. As long as the
fixture is rated for the wattage, it does not care what
beam angle lamp is installed in it. If asking if your “flood” lamp meaning normally in lamp terms, some type of “flood” or Medium Flood, will work as a spot - by way of definition a “flood” is not a “spot” but dependant upon
throw range, often a flood is more useful for short range spotting throws than spots. A focus of say three feet with a spot would get you say a 1' beam of light. A focus in the same length with a flood might
gain you enough light in a spot lighting application to light the entire person. Depends upon the distance, wattage, shutters and top hats
etc. Can it, sure. Will it for the design and situation - don’t know, that’s a design question that
photometrics will answer. Gotta learn that part of design also because that is design. Looks good as opposed to engineered to look good according to planned to correctly fit the purpose and need.
Yes, to some extent you can get a
haze effect with some
smoke in the air. You will have to tinker with timing how soon and much of a burst to do to get the
smoke in the air and how long it lingers.
Again, you are doing well and things you should possibly be doing or attempting in your situation. Think for the most part all advising are recommending that you take a step back and consider what you are doing with tunnel
vision verses what’s sensible and really wise to be doing. A failed show or one that just in some ways is the best you can do with what you have even if it could be better is in many cases the best you should do. Worry about the season not just the show if at
fixture construction
level. Than once concerned about the season, start getting into the business and fund raising end of it where your drive will be much more useful in paying off for the benefit of the production over a few lights bodged together. Might be great lights you can
build, still don’t be doing it for production use if at all possible not to.