Most hated equipment
- Thread starterBNBSound
- Start date
When well built and marked so it does not wander, that adaptor will be useful for the future. As opposed to building over the years a few hundred adaptors per year for me, I'm down to under 100 per year now and it's now often involving Euro to American as adaptor as it were. This given such adaptors are well built and marked with both a systm of what it's for by color code and specific markings as to who it belongs to so it has a hope of getting back to me should it wander. "GTC" who ever you are, sorry I don't know who you are. Your cable just became mine. This as opposed to good markings as to specifically who and the phone number.
Eboy87
Well-Known Member
My most hated gear; anything with the name Carvin on it. I had to use a Carvin PA system (mixer, amp, speakers) in church until I bought my own gear. Those speakers had such a bad sound, like a tin can. Now I use JBL SR4700 series and two SF12Ms as monitors, and a Mackie board. Now we sound like a band. I have a gig in about 10 minutes, I may be able to post pics of it. I'll try.
Radman
Well-Known Member
Our sound system is going haywire, so thats on the list. An amp keeps working when it is off and the mixer does't do things it should and does do things it shouldn't. Also the now broken again genie, which was broken before but I "improved" not quite fixed. Now it seems to have broken again, and it apparently happend while AME was on his way down. Luckily it broke in a way that it won't come down any more, and not the other way around. Our 20' little giant ladder hasn't worked in the time I've been there, someone has found a way around that problem and we still must use it. I'd like to burn the asbestos cords on some of the old fresnels, and the cracked lenses on alot of our lights, as well as the fried plugs and lamps. Smash bad lampbases, torch unistrut nut springs, and nuke all the garbage. Oh yea and recycle the followspot op's collection of pop bottles up in the cats (he's got at least 10 half empty orange crush bottles up there.)
RiffRaff54
Member
my most hated gear is the 6x9's we have. we have way to many of them, think about 20 or so. we dont use them much and when we do use them, they look horrible. the only good thing about them is that we use them as weights to keep the pipes balanced
If Altman 360Q 6x9, you should E-Bay or stagecraft (once a year per poster) a trade for other lens configurations that are of more use to you. Short of the 4.5Q6.5 lens train, it's the most valuable one out there and you should easily be able to at least trade some for 6x16 if not choosy, or some 6x12 lens trains. Heck, I have lots of the above and might thru one of them do a trade for a configuration I can more easily sell off.
This all given you have not tried a Osram HPR 575/115v lamp in the fixture. Darned good lamp.
20 6x9 fixtures to me seems like about one first electric and needing more for a full stage show. Might be best off saving them for a time when they are used to their fullest intent. Just because you don't have a use for a fixture does not mean the next person that comes along won't curse you for trading them off. This given a otherwise balanced inventory in other fixtures and a sufficiently sized stage.
This all given you have not tried a Osram HPR 575/115v lamp in the fixture. Darned good lamp.
20 6x9 fixtures to me seems like about one first electric and needing more for a full stage show. Might be best off saving them for a time when they are used to their fullest intent. Just because you don't have a use for a fixture does not mean the next person that comes along won't curse you for trading them off. This given a otherwise balanced inventory in other fixtures and a sufficiently sized stage.
RiffRaff54
Member
i would love to get rid of them, but i dont think my boss would like that seeing as how he is the one who bought them. the two things we use them for is front lighting off of the electrics, and for gobos.
now that i think about it, i think we have a lot more that 20. a lot more.
now that i think about it, i think we have a lot more that 20. a lot more.
Oh my GOD. The whole darn* theatre. My TD could complain* for hours (HOURS) about our lousy* architect. To give you an idea of what an prick* this man was, our ORCHESTRA PIT is too shallow. TOO. SHALLOW. The Cello and Bass players STUCK OUT last show. Agh.
In terms of equipment, though.... the first thing I'd kill would probably be our friggin* radio mics (I'm not actually a sound person, but I've run it enough to know our radio handhelds are CRAP.)
They're really moody. This, coupled with inept variety show performers who keep turning them off via the switch, makes for some crappy talent shows.
Admin Note: asterisk's indicated edited words.
In terms of equipment, though.... the first thing I'd kill would probably be our friggin* radio mics (I'm not actually a sound person, but I've run it enough to know our radio handhelds are CRAP.)
They're really moody. This, coupled with inept variety show performers who keep turning them off via the switch, makes for some crappy talent shows.
Admin Note: asterisk's indicated edited words.
SketchyCroftPpl
Active Member
For a school the size of us we have gear thats pretty good but some of it I can't wait till we get a new one. The one that I would have to say I don't like the most would be the light board itself. Its a pretty nice one for the time and is still working, the problem is that alot of the functions seem to just be mysteriously not working. Most of the keys stick (when we were rehersing for the 5th grade play, I was running it and my friends wrote the cues. I hit the 7 Key and it put it in twice, which happened to be the right cue even though 17 turned into 177 becuase it always happens lol). Alot of the funtionality is just going down hill and varios times we've had to just wipe the entire HD and start over with something which SUCKS. Its getting pretty old though, but I doupt our school will let us buy a new one untill it totally dies.
~Nick
~Nick
SketchyCroftPpl
Active Member
Its an Omega 2 by EDI. I think we're looking into having it fixed but its so old (at least 11 if not more years) our school may just have decided to let it break completely and then guy a new one. The TD does some work with it but its mostly students who do everything at my school (which is awesome) so I think its one of those we live with it. I just hope that it doesn't go when we have like a week left to a show and just wrote all the cues and everything.
~Nick
~Nick
SketchyCroftPpl
Active Member
RiffRaff54 said:
Than if he would not be interested in trading (Lens train assembly only,) perhaps he might be convinced to "supplement" the inventory with a few lens trains of other sizes. This way, per his intent you will still have the equipment he purchased and also have some flexibility for other purposes. It's very common to have extra lens trains or more of them than fixtures.
"What's a Lens Train?" A lens train on a 360Q series ellipsoidal reflector spotlight would be the lenses and spacer and retaining ring as housed in the barrel as an assembly. Most often since the tube coming off the rear end of the fixture to support the lens train will change dependant upon the lens train and it's focus, this would in swapping out lens trains also have to be exchanged for one of the proper size. So you have the lens train as something that's easily removable and the tube that retains it in the fixture as mounted to the fixture by four screws as a lens train assembly.
Sometimes with removing the lens train, the screws will sheer or get stuck, at other times the holes won't line up. On the while it's a easy enough thing to do with a properly maintained light fixture.
SketchyCroftPpl
Active Member
Ah ok, you wern't talking to me, mind explaining what one is anyway I'm confused.
~Nick
~Nick
My most hated equipment:it's a new brand of moving light that i saw, called "TRITON BLUE"...you'll don't know how much difficult could be a gig until you try to program with this fixtures...and could be worse if your desk is an LT HYDRASCAN...this could be happen if you come to Spain and don't have an strong production behind you...
jyenish
Member
In regards to the topic of sub standard equiptment. The senior team has it right. Proper maintenance is the best bet to 1) keeping instruments from "Crapping Out" 2) identifying chronic and reoccuring problems.
If you don't already it might be worth your while to keep maintenance logs. This can be a tad bit tedious (recording all the intrument serial numbers and logging every repair), but in the end it is quite worth while.
The logs serve to make your case to the "powers that be" in your given theater or school. From personal experience when I first arrived at my college lighting was, derilct in the least. It has taken four years of constant repair and basic maintenance has increased my working inventory to about 90% of my total instrument inventory.
In addition to that, the maintenance logs have illustrated to the "powers that be" what needs attention in our theater. I have found that the best way to get those things you want, is to find out who it is that controls the money in your school or theater. Spend genuine time getting that person into your space and talking to them. Building relationships is key. (The department chair has been known to cast the chief administrators wife in a show or two) After a time when you do decide it is time to ask for money, those people who make your decisions may be more willing to help you out, over just coming to them when you need something.
The relationship coupled with the documentation over time of things that have chronicly occured will aid you in making your case.
As to the topic of equiptment, I have done a decent job of relplacing a lot of the disfunctional equiptment, however those pieces have not been carelessly tossed aside. Haveing a graveyard of older instruments is a nice cheat way of having spare parts. I canniblize from old pieces of equiptment all the time.
Learning to work with little makes you more marketable in the future. Most theaters are not fully outfitted with the latest Strand or ETC gear, you are going to run into leko's and ancient altman's knowing how to utilize them and being able to do spot repairs is going to get you a lot further than wishing you had a S4 instead.
Thanks for listening...
If you don't already it might be worth your while to keep maintenance logs. This can be a tad bit tedious (recording all the intrument serial numbers and logging every repair), but in the end it is quite worth while.
The logs serve to make your case to the "powers that be" in your given theater or school. From personal experience when I first arrived at my college lighting was, derilct in the least. It has taken four years of constant repair and basic maintenance has increased my working inventory to about 90% of my total instrument inventory.
In addition to that, the maintenance logs have illustrated to the "powers that be" what needs attention in our theater. I have found that the best way to get those things you want, is to find out who it is that controls the money in your school or theater. Spend genuine time getting that person into your space and talking to them. Building relationships is key. (The department chair has been known to cast the chief administrators wife in a show or two) After a time when you do decide it is time to ask for money, those people who make your decisions may be more willing to help you out, over just coming to them when you need something.
The relationship coupled with the documentation over time of things that have chronicly occured will aid you in making your case.
As to the topic of equiptment, I have done a decent job of relplacing a lot of the disfunctional equiptment, however those pieces have not been carelessly tossed aside. Haveing a graveyard of older instruments is a nice cheat way of having spare parts. I canniblize from old pieces of equiptment all the time.
Learning to work with little makes you more marketable in the future. Most theaters are not fully outfitted with the latest Strand or ETC gear, you are going to run into leko's and ancient altman's knowing how to utilize them and being able to do spot repairs is going to get you a lot further than wishing you had a S4 instead.
Thanks for listening...
Foxinabox10
Active Member
All of our wireless mics are aweful. Some interfere with the local TV stations, others with the heating system, and even more from who knows what. Out of the 14 that we have, only about 3 work to their full potential, which isn't a lot to begin with. We have a new principal next year, so it will be interested to see how the funding goes, considering we've had to beg for the little amount that we've received.
However, I was with the new Director of Technology the other day in our Auditorium, and he said "I didn't realize that you guys had so little that worked in here." It was amazing that someone actually realized that it wasn't just the equipment that didn't work, but our booth doesn't even work. We're losing cables left and right from people taking them because all of the locks are broken. We lost our USB cable for our DMX adapter the other day, and the sound board, which is three years old already has one channel not working, the internal feeds to the mains don't work anymore and one of the subs doesn't work. Hopefully next year will bring money and a new booth.
However, I was with the new Director of Technology the other day in our Auditorium, and he said "I didn't realize that you guys had so little that worked in here." It was amazing that someone actually realized that it wasn't just the equipment that didn't work, but our booth doesn't even work. We're losing cables left and right from people taking them because all of the locks are broken. We lost our USB cable for our DMX adapter the other day, and the sound board, which is three years old already has one channel not working, the internal feeds to the mains don't work anymore and one of the subs doesn't work. Hopefully next year will bring money and a new booth.
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