Joseph Tese

Very cool - will check it out..The WIFI dongle might not be available in the US. The cintennas from ratpak are expensive. is it safe to say that all CRMX components (Transmitters and receivers) are cross-compatible? In other words, If I invest in the AKS transmitter, is CRMX set up so the AKS knows to automatically connect to other CRMX receivers?

I'd like to invest in some Wireless DMX. For a quick and easy set-up, I see a lot of people get a RatPack AKSPlus and its receivers. To my understanding, this allows you to bypass a physical console, and go directly to the software within an APP or Macbook, via WiFi? This seems like a quick and decent solution for quick setups with a few lights. Can anyone confirm its compatibility with a console and other software? Apart from the AKSPlus, what are your go-tos? Looking into RC4 Wireless and CityTheatrical boxes, but I feel like the RatPac designs have a leg up if they are battery powered. Console wise, I'm looking at the ChamSys QuickQ10.. But might invest in this or similar later. The reason for thinking about it now, is I just want to make sure that introducing a console later on won't affect any of the Wireless DMX systems I choose now. I don't see why it would, but want to make sure.

Nevermind - My brain approached it from the wrong angle. 🙂 Anyway, appreciate all the good thoughts here. -Joe

Guy, Appreciate the write up. But as you probably know, the connection pictured is a CS6364, and is indeed a 4-wire setup, so the neutral is there to carry the unbalanced load, which is what most of your write up is about. If I may sum up your post..I gathered the following: 1) Don't split 3-wire 240v receptacles 2) an inspector might not like that style lunchbox, but I don't know why. 3) A transformer provides double the amperage while maintaining 120v. It also helps with long runs and compensates for voltage drop Entertain my considerations.. If I wanted to utilize higher-wattage lights, I can just run straight 240? I suppose an adapter from the 30amp twistlock or the 50amp plug, to a 60AMP or 100AMP bates respectively will work..If utilizing a 4-wire receptacle, the neutral would tie into the ground in the bates plug in this case (Or left capped off?) - but not a problem because everything is staying 240, and the phases are not being split. The only disadvantage would be..well, not having 120v!? Don't know too well how transformers work, but trying to understand how we're able to keep the amp rating you'd expect from 240 after it's stepped-down to 120v..

http://www.ditworld.com/imac

Check out the 350watt Aladdin, it should be plenty soft..light enough to menace confidently, and should have plenty of output too. If I were to interpret your reference and that location I would start with that or something similar, with a grid. Concerning the window, if you don’t want to wait for the sun to hit it, then something like a j400 would work fine through it, diffused and/or closed shears.

Just the casters might not guarantee a smooth swivel, so they make heavy duty lazy Susan type bearings for the center point (talent) then have swivel casters on the sides to help stabilize and support.

What is the distance from camera to the farthest light ? (The one directly behind talent). Is it close enough where you could safely menace/boom ? If the menace base is right behind camera, then it won’t have consistent fall off and intensity (weaker and flatter on sides than behind talent) because of varying closeness. Does the fixture have to be directional, or do you care if it’s an Omni/lantern type light? - If its okay to spill it away from talent, then you don’t have to worry about panning the fixture as it swings. Is the background black? Any set elements? If just the subject, swivel the chair! If table involved, you can build a sturdy platform with 2x4s and plywood, and by having fixed casters the same distance from a center point (talent), it won’t sway when rotating.

Wouldn’t a lunchbox like this be easier and probably more affordable than working with transformers? Though I’m eliminating use of the 100amp boxes, the same end goal is still achieved (which would be 120v Edison access). I assume an inspector wouldn’t have a problem with this.

Beautiful! Would love to see a breakdown of any of your lighting set-ups. Did I see a brute practical in the train scene for the rejoice ad?

Hey JD, there’s no 60amp feeder. Where do you see that? In this scenario, it could only be powered by two phases, and by a 50amp (125/250) plug. Each hot is split and a 100amp Bates connector is put on. The connector accepts the 50amp gauge safely. This works fine, but just needs to be clear and heavily labeled so no one gets the wrong idea, as Ed pointed out.. it’s 50amps per line not 100. To me, this set up just felt a little sloppy, and is my last resort whenever I have to pull power from a 50amp twistlock, and wanted to hears other’s thoughts. So in scenarios I can’t do much where I just need one high-wattage light, and the rest are leds (which happens often) are there actual negatives to pulling from one leg?

Agreed, It seems like some are and some not, depending on material. Polyester is questionable, but if it's Nylon it is most probably flame-retardant. As you said though, always verify prior to purchasing instead of assuming.

Thanks, Phil! I didn't realize Tulle was the same thing. That search alone, yields much more results for a DIY application.

Thank you. Didn’t see this one.

I read the following thread, which was helpful to a degree. Perhaps an in-depth degree. But I still have some questions, as it seemed to just briefly touch on it. Why is it important to balance the load when plugged into a three-phase building? In my case, we have a company switch tied into a three-pole 100Amp breaker. Does everyone agree I should keep it within 20% difference between phases? Prior to this question, I thought this applied only to gennies, but I thought differently after seeing this video Granted, it's in 240v land - but will the same affect result here if unbalanced to that degree? I've never heard of that happening to a cable. What do you do if you have to run just a 5k on one hot, and the rest of the lights are LEDs.... Obviously imbalanced, so do I have to source and burn higher-wattage ghosts on the other phases to be safe and proper? If a shoot just lasts a day or two - Doable? Is this detrimental to the cable, distro, and anything within the building power? Also, concerning the neutral taking the difference between hots: Does this apply only to single phase situations, or three phase as well? Eg, if I run 50AMPS on one hot, and nothing on the other two, can I expect 50AMPs on my neutral? This may tie into my previous question, but in situations where my neutral is carrying a load, how/why is this bad? or is it not? On a sort of similar note - Here's a pic of a two-fer I had made up. It's so I can use a 100AMP lunchboxes on a 50 AMP CS 6364 (125/250v) connection. It splits each hot to get dedicated 120v. Obviously, I'm limited by 50AMPS on each line, and not 100AMPS. 1) Are there any concerns about this? To my understanding, it's the exact same practice as a consumer Generator Y-Splitter from homedepot 2) When using this two-fer in a 3-phase building, does it treat unbalanced loads differently if used in a single phase?