It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Subscribe to our Patreon, and get image uploads with no ads on the site!
Base theme by DesignModo & ported to Powered by Vanilla by Chris Ireland, modified by the "theFB" team.
Comments
There are also some neat 5m long double output IEC splitter cables in the lighting kit which are great for tops and LED PAR lights on the stands or amps/rack/mixer and avoid chaining multiways or reels. HIGHLY recommended if you have gear that uses them or sits close together.
https://cpc.farnell.com/pro-elec/pe01093/lead-uk-plug-to-2x-iec-c13-skt/dp/PL13332?st=iec%20splitter
Velcro cable ties are also useful for tying up cables above doors, etc. as well as coiling long power leads.
Extras include circuit breakers. Have a cable cover too if we need to get across a walkway or emergency exit, https://www.screwfix.com/p/d-line-cable-cover-light-duty-floor-cable-cover-1-8m-black/9345F?kpid=9345F&ds_rl=1249401&gclid=CjwKCAjwge2iBhBBEiwAfXDBRxv9oGa1nrfSZZ5yL7g6yNF1psBBjnB0Og0s_vJB-jE7ntvUKqqdYxoCPzgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
I’ll put in a word for using a socket tester before plugging anything in. I’ve seen unearthed sockets, and sockets with earth and neutral swapped
If you buy reeled extensions then they need to be unwound before you draw a big current through them.
CPC do a range of black 6 ways which look better on stage and are more useful than 4 ways.
Feedback
Where UK mains is about 230V (RMS) then my 600W active speaker will draw about 2.5A (RMS). Is RMS all I need think about? My PA speakers actually state 200VA power consumption, which sounds like 200W to me. So, that's only 0.87A.
Audio waveforms are actually incredible complex so working out the current draw is much more complex that it would be with a simple resistive fixed load. Generally though the max current draw will be 10 to 20 % more than the rated output for class D SMPS driven active speakers and 25 % 40 ish more with linear supply and AB amplifier / active speakers.
Easiest way is to use 13 amp 4 or 6 way extensions from back of the stage running in both directions off a double socket or more than one socket round the sides to the front of the stage. So 2 x daisy chains not one long one.
For most pub gigs the current draw isn't actually a lot. But outside that seemingly small increase of volume required actually involves 3 to 4 times as much current draw due the log nature of our hearing. Thats when it's very important to unwind reels and think about what 4 ways are being used.
I did a corp gig outside once where the hire guys didn't unwind the main feed for the event off the reel and the whole reel got so hot the insulation melted together destroying a £400 cable reel
Feedback
It’s best to use a ‘tree branch’ arrangement not a ‘daisy chain’, ie one heavy-gauge 13A-rated 4-gang plugged into the wall (x2 if it’s a double socket), then four more which can be 5A-rated plugged straight into that, rather than a sequence of them across the stage with some amps etc and the next 4-gang plugged into each. That minimises overloading the ones closer to the wall - the UK fusing system is well-designed, and as long as all the extensions have the correct fuse you can’t blow anything. If you need more than 16 outlets (or 24 if the lighter-duty ones are 6-gang), then tree-branch again as long as the one you’re feeding it from is also 13A.
I’ve seen one melt when a band ran everything through it too.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
1. Theres a fault in either the wiring or equipment downstream from it.
2. The accumulated leakage currents from the equpiment connectedf are greater than the actual trip threshold of the device (each device tests differently but normally they will trip at considerably less than 30mA). In other words, you've just got too much gear plugged in.
3. The RCD may be faulty/oversensitive or an older type which is not suited to the high levels of DC leakage from modern equipment. This is especially true of lots of RCD extension leads which are really intended for use with lawnmovers and such. Not dozens of amplifiers, LED lights and signal processors.
Finally at least once or twice a year take the top off each plug and tighten the terminals , they do wear loose over time