It is possible you use SOOW, there should be 2 different
strain relief clamps with the
connector, one for thin cable and one for thick.
It seem that after 2017 you will be able to use 6.6' of cable from the luminary, and 6.6' of cable from a breakout, that both can be SJ, however if you need a 5' extension between those 2, or a 10'
jumper between fixtures, it will still have to be SO cable. Why? Because.......Just...because. Because the
NEC is not there...YET.
You will find MANY commercially available SJ
power con extensions. They are not
NEC complaint. It is NOT a criminal act to use them(though you may be forced to take them out of service in some cases). Why are they not
NEC complaint, you ask? Because the
NEC is mostly a reactive organization. When the industry pushes in a direction far enough, Changes to the codes will eventually catch up to common usage.
The
NEC rules are largely created by manufacturers, in some cases it is people like Steve Terry who genuinely want to help the entertainment industry, and many cases it is people who manufacture things like Arc-Fault
circuit interrupters, who genuinely want to help
line their pockets.
In 2017, hard usage
luminaire supply cords will change to 6.6', but breakout assemblies have
always allowed hard usage cable up to 20', as long as the conditions of section 520.68(A)(5) are met.
The
NEC is created by a wide variety of public inputs, not just manufacturers. BTW, we have never seen a proposal suggesting that hard usage cable should be broadly allowed in theatres and that the extra-hard usage requirement should be dropped. Therefore, such a change has never been considered by Code Panel 15. You, or anyone else, could make such a proposal to the 2020
NEC, along with supporting reasons or evidence as to why that should happen.
BTW, the reason I got involved in
NEC work: In 1980, a rental company that was a competitor of Production Arts began stating to the market: "THE
NEC is changing, and the only type of multicable that will be allowed is the type I have in my rental
stock." If so, PA was going to be at a big commercial disadvantage.
It turned out that was not true, and lo and behold, it was actually possible to
change then-antiquated
NEC article 520 and 530. Thus was born the
USITT NEC Committee, and more than 35 years of dedicated work by a number of people from our industry including Ken Vannice (now retired from
Leviton), Mitch Hefter (Philips), Eddie Kramer (Radio City Music
Hall), and Mike Skinner (CBS). Recent additions to this Code Panel 15 group are Alan Rowe (
IATSE Local 728), Doug Rheinheimer (Paramount Pictures), and R. Duane Wilson (
theatre consultant).
BTW, commercial interests have always had an influence on the
NEC, as well as the emergence of new technologies (photo-voltaic
power generation being just one example). But that is balanced by the wide range of membership on the
NEC Code Panels--and the fact that
safety is always the primary concern. Unfortunately, your comment on
AFCI devices is a
bit off-base, and muddles these two motivations. Yes, somebody gets revenue by manufacturing
AFCI's--but the statistical improvement in fire
safety is overwhelming evidence that
AFCI's are a huge
safety advance. A similar
advance occurred with the
introduction of
GFCI's many years ago--and lives were saved as a result.
If this type of work interests you, new blood is always needed! Joining the
ESTA Electrical
Power Working Group is a good place to start.
ST
