Ben Posted November 29, 2008 Share Posted November 29, 2008 For every out door job (especially firework jobs in fields in the middle of nowhere) keep a bottle of water, camping stove, tea, coffee, sugar, milk, cups and a kettle in the kit, its amazing how much work gets done in 15 mins when you say teas up in 15 if you get to a point to stop. When running cables through a roof for a series of events run extras to start as one will always fail 20 mins before doors open and its never nice to have to crawl in the ceiling when the punters are in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce Posted November 29, 2008 Share Posted November 29, 2008 When running cables through a roof for a series of events run extras to start ... and pull in a bit of rope or string as well, to act as a draw wire so that you can pull in additional cables if needed. And if you ever actually use this, make sure you pull in a new draw wire with the cables! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IRW Posted November 30, 2008 Share Posted November 30, 2008 When running cables through a roof for a series of events run extras to start ... and pull in a bit of rope or string as well, to act as a draw wire so that you can pull in additional cables if needed. And if you ever actually use this, make sure you pull in a new draw wire with the cables! Also a handy idea if, when laying your floor for panto, you don't have time to cut the boards so as to still give you access to your diptraps...I've prelaid my pyro cabling in them but you can guarantee that something else will need running through tomorrow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikienorth Posted December 1, 2008 Share Posted December 1, 2008 And, if you didn't put a draw-wire in, a peice of mini trunking lid (plastic clip on stuff) makes a brilliant tool to fish a fresh one in with. If you have a broken bit of kit, FIX IT. Not later, or tomorrow, but as soon as possible, or it will never get fixed and be added to the pile... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Siddons Posted December 1, 2008 Share Posted December 1, 2008 Label everything! Best bit of advice I can give is don't be afraid to label something even if you think this is going to make you look "unproffessional" ie which aux has the reverb on, "kick gate" and "vocal comp" etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex_kyuss Posted December 1, 2008 Share Posted December 1, 2008 One thing I have noticed about arena touring crew do is as above Lable everything every mic cable, sub box channel and then nothing can get mucked about. I also met an engineer today that had pink noise tracks on his Ipod that were the frequency band of each speaker in the boxs. so all the speakers ion an array could be tested separated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palantir Posted December 1, 2008 Share Posted December 1, 2008 every cable is labelled at my desk: anything going in has white tape; anything coming out has blue - Makes the chaos at the top right corner of the desk, where all the groups, fx sends & returns etc. terminate, just that little bit easier to decode in the semi-dark.<br /><br />Pet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pritch Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 If you need to invisibly mark things on the stage and have CCTV cameras available, infra-red LEDs with either batteries or a DC adaptor running them gives a nice point of light on the monitor. Especially useful where someone needs to spot if an actor is on their mark, on a completely dark stage - put the LED behind the mark, and when they're in place, the light disappears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roderick Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 Along the same lines, if you are unsure if your IR remote is working.Just point it at any digital camera and push a button. If it works, you will see the IR LED flash on the camera screen.Even works with the camera in your mobile phone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lightsource Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 For every out door job (especially firework jobs in fields in the middle of nowhere) keep a bottle of water, camping stove, tea, coffee, sugar, milk, cups and a kettle in the kit, its amazing how much work gets done in 15 mins when you say teas up in 15 if you get to a point to stop. We take a microwave and kettle to most gigs, saves a fortune on 'fast food' As others have said labelling (or colour coding) cables is also a real timesaver. Custom wiring looms also help if that is an option in you're situation, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDP Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 One thing I have noticed about arena touring crew do is as above Lable everything every mic cable, sub box channel and then nothing can get mucked about. I also met an engineer today that had pink noise tracks on his Ipod that were the frequency band of each speaker in the boxs. so all the speakers ion an array could be tested separated. Absolutely. Everyone should label everything all the time anyway!! But this especially applies when touring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter1210 Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 I use a Behringer cable tester http://www.behringer.com/ct100/index.cfm?lang=ENG to hold connectors when soldering, it is my 3rd hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berry120 Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 Personally I wouldn't use the cable tester to hold connectors whilst I was soldering them in case of heat damage. On similar lines though I have got a piece of wood drilled and fitted with some cheap chasis XLR and 1/4" jack connectors I had lying around - used for the same purpose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nb705 Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 Always say thankyou, and mean it. It smooths your way a huge amount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boggy Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 My small backpack (rucksack / bag) which I use to carry my personal gear has a clip in the front pocket for your keys. I would never use it for keys as I am sure the bag will go missing one day. The clip is very handy though to hang my USB memory stick so that I can find it quickly when I need it. P.S. it amazes me how many technical people working on a show will be carrying a laptop! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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