ADJ and other low end equipment get knocked here because many are trying to use them in a setting they aren't made for. You are correct that they quite good at DJ and small club settings, against a full stage wash of S4s and fresnels, not so much. In a small venue like the OP then they should do fine.
My venue has the world's worst light rig. Need help making it suck less.
- Thread starterfunkOmeter
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funkOmeter
Member
You mean the beam spread? Dunno how do I find that info? They've been kicking around the venue like a lot of other gear that nobody did anything with.
Near the front of the barrel, there should be a silver number. Most likely 19, 26, or 36 but can be 5º, 10º, 14º, 19º, 26º, 36º, 50º, 70º and 90º. Sorry, but I can't find any pictures that demonstrate the location better.
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funkOmeter
Member
They say 26 degrees. I was thinking about putting them about 30 feet back in the room up about 9 feet just below the rafters.
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Oh... I was thinking of the silver writing on the side. And, if I understood Mathematical Formulas for Lighting, then those fixtures about 20 feet back would give you a beam diameter of just over 9'.
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funkOmeter
Member
I'm not suggesting this but have a legitimate question for the world at large. Could you take a lag bolt the same size as what goes in a c clamp and bolt a light into a beam? And then safety around the beam? It's not something I think I'd try but are there anything that would make it inadvisable? Other than it would be hard to pan it could that work for a permanent install?
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Les
Well-Known Member
I suppose you could use unistrut. That would be quick and cheap. I don't see a problem with lagging it straight to the rafters as long as you use enough fasteners per strut and don't use bolts so big that they'll split the wood. As far as safety cables go, you might be able to weld (pre-rig) or bolt forged eye bolts to the unistrut next to where you plan on hanging lighting fixtures (assuming that you can't get a safety cable around the rafter). That said, I'm not exactly sure how people usually safety a fixture to unistrut when it is flush with a solid surface. I do know that I regularly see distribution transformers and unit heaters hanging from unistrut and threaded rod with no provisions for safety cables at all.
Depending on the situation, you could also suspend pipe (even if you only suspend it 3-4"), but I still think unistrut would be best as it is cheap, designed for overhead suspension, and will get your lights as close to the ceiling as possible.
You may also need some big, heavy-duty washers between the fixture's yoke and the unistrut nut. This will allow you to pivot easier while reducing the surface area for compression against the strut, as well as to reduce the risk of the yoke getting bound up in the strut channel.
funkOmeter
Member
Actually after examining my options I'm considering hanging everything we got on UniStrut. It's cheap, safe, and works well with low ceiling like ours, and we never move cans, just aim. Right now everything is just f%#*^ng clamped to the rafters with no safeties or anything! Not even lighting clamps. Just hardware store clamps! Yoke to rafters. No bolts anywhere. That's gonna change first thing. Im not happy about it all. I moved all the cans around and cleaned up the wiring big time and put safeties on everything for now but I think UniStrut is the best solution.
As for the Leko's.. If I put them at 30' back the field is 15 or so feet wide. And they're not zooms. So I either get aperture gobo's , Move them up and risk them being too hard on the performers, or forget using them spots and use them for washes and gobo's. Maybe it's time to learn how to cut gobo's..
As for the Leko's.. If I put them at 30' back the field is 15 or so feet wide. And they're not zooms. So I either get aperture gobo's , Move them up and risk them being too hard on the performers, or forget using them spots and use them for washes and gobo's. Maybe it's time to learn how to cut gobo's..
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funkOmeter
Member
Les
Well-Known Member
A lot of the cheaper dimmer packs (like ADJ/Elation/Chauvet) have a hole for a c-clamp that you can run a bolt through. It's hard to explain, so here's a picture:
Figure A:
Figure B:
You can mount the packs either flat against the strut (horizontally, using the hole on the rear of the pack in Figure B), or hanging down vertically (using one or more of the holes on the top of the pack in Figure A). I'd prefer vertically, just because if the pack is horizontal, there is no way that bolt will keep the pack from swiveling a bit or hanging down slightly on the opposing end (even though the horizontal orientation will get it more out of the way).
If you're using something like a wall-mount NSI with a back plate and one hole in each corner, you'll need to buy or build some brackets.
Figure A:
Figure B:
You can mount the packs either flat against the strut (horizontally, using the hole on the rear of the pack in Figure B), or hanging down vertically (using one or more of the holes on the top of the pack in Figure A). I'd prefer vertically, just because if the pack is horizontal, there is no way that bolt will keep the pack from swiveling a bit or hanging down slightly on the opposing end (even though the horizontal orientation will get it more out of the way).
If you're using something like a wall-mount NSI with a back plate and one hole in each corner, you'll need to buy or build some brackets.
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DELO72
Well-Known Member
If you don't have big $$ for an upgrade, then quite frankly LEDs are the LAST thing you should be considering. You should contact Rental houses (PRG, Upstaging, 4-Wall, Bandit, etc., etc., to name but a few) about pricing for buying some of their used equipment (ERS fixtures, Fresnels, etc.). You can easily get used Source Fours for half the price of a new one this way.
As for Safety cables and unistrut-- Safety cables are ALWAYS needed. That's the entire purpose of it-- to be there as a backup safety precaution if the primary hanging method fails. It isn't a worry that the unistrut (or C-Clamp) is going to mechanically fail, so much as any system is only as good as the person installing it, and EVERYONE has an off-day and can hang something wrong on Uni-strut or with a c-clamp, causing a potential safety concern. Safety chains are their to cover our butts that one time someone doesn't hang it 100% correctly or double-check their work. Bumpers on cars (and Airbags) Shouldn't be needed either-- but they sometimes are, and that's when they shine.
As for Safety cables and unistrut-- Safety cables are ALWAYS needed. That's the entire purpose of it-- to be there as a backup safety precaution if the primary hanging method fails. It isn't a worry that the unistrut (or C-Clamp) is going to mechanically fail, so much as any system is only as good as the person installing it, and EVERYONE has an off-day and can hang something wrong on Uni-strut or with a c-clamp, causing a potential safety concern. Safety chains are their to cover our butts that one time someone doesn't hang it 100% correctly or double-check their work. Bumpers on cars (and Airbags) Shouldn't be needed either-- but they sometimes are, and that's when they shine.
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