Metric Socapex

[gbdesign]

What are standard lengths for multi-cable in countries that use the metric system? For 25', 50', 100' equivalents? is it 7.6m, 15.2m, 30.5m or something else?

 

[JD]

Wheeeu!
For a second I thought someone was marketing a connector that ... slightly didn't fit the normal Soca connector!

 

[Chris15]

Generally nice numbers, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 etc.
Intervening intervals are somewhat vendor specific

 

[TNasty]

Interesting question.
You'll find that any cable that's made around a certain type of measurement, will usually be nice numbers.

Oddly worded, I know. But if something's cut in imperial, it'll usually be to the nearest normal whole foot. If it's cut in metric, it'll usually be the same case, but in meters. Heck, if there was some alien life form that made cables with their own standard measurement unit, you can bet it would be to the nearest normal whole unit (provided they work with numbers the same way we do...)

 

[Scarrgo]

There is a company from our friends across the border(to the north) that their multi-cable runs are lengths that equal the 8' sticks of truss that they own, and to make things more interesting they use resister code colors to show cable length, making you think first thing in the morning(I had to carry a cheat sheet)...very fun

Sean...

 

[gafftapegreenia]

I wish I could remember how the Christie Lites cabling works out. It's Metric but they convert it to Imperial so all the lengths are odd to us Americans.

 

[RonHebbard]

I wish I could remember how the Christie Lites cabling works out. It's Metric but they convert it to Imperial so all the lengths are odd to us Americans.

So far as I know, Christie's cables are in multiples of 8' increments to work with their 8' sections of truss and they use the resistor color code to denote the various lengths. They do a few other things with color as well, If I'm remembering correctly, their 5 pin DMX cables are green, the entire cable jacket, not just tape near the ends.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.

 

[porkchop]

You see a decent amount of 7.5m, 15m, and 30m. Guess they're taking pity on those of use that use the wrong measurement system.

 

[gafftapegreenia]

So far as I know, Christie's cables are in multiples of 8' increments to work with their 8' sections of truss and they use the resistor color code to denote the various lengths. They do a few other things with color as well, If I'm remembering correctly, their 5 pin DMX cables are green, the entire cable jacket, not just tape near the ends.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.

I'd never heard that it was about conforming to their truss sizing. Techs have always told me that the odd Imperial sizes were metric standards being "lost in translation". But perhaps that is just a stagehand myth.

Also, yes, those DMX cables are still a gorgeous shade of green.

 

[irked]

I've always heard it was sized to their truss as well. You may be thinking of their ancestor Westsun, which was a horrible mess of imperial/metric/stagepin/edison/twistlock cabling with what seemed like different standards per shop/region.

 

[RonHebbard]

I've always heard it was sized to their truss as well. You may be thinking of their ancestor Westsun, which was a horrible mess of imperial/metric/stagepin/edison/twistlock cabling with what seemed like different standards per shop/region.

I don't believe there's any ancestral history between Christie's and Westsun. To my recollection, Huntley and Doug began Christie's out of the back alley door of a small shop in downtown Toronto. Westsun began out west and dispatched Ben Kantarovich and his wife to Toronto to service the needs of a now defunct Canadian production company originated by a lawyer who I believe did jail time. Personally, I can only speak well of Doug, Huntley and Ben.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.

 

[irked]

Interesting, I hadn't realized there wasn't any direct lineage. There's a whole lot of personnel overlap, from account reps to techs, though, so I just assumed.