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Setting up for a gig. By YetiofHenley. LO1. RCD (Residual current device)
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Setting up for a gig By YetiofHenley
RCD (Residual current device) These are used to protect devices and circuits from surges and fires. If the device detects unusual changes in the current it will trip. This can be the result of someone coming into contact with the mains circuit and grounding. Power Working out what fuse rating you need for your device is not hard, it is simply Wattage divided by the national voltage. (250) If I have a 1000w amplifier, I would need a 5 amp fuse. This means that you have one amp extra to pull. If you have a 4 amp fuse, there wont be the option to pull a little bit extra because the fuse will blow but if you do use a 5 amp, if there is an unusual peak, the five amp will protect the device. A= W V
Earth connections This is how to wire a plug correctly. If the plug has nothing connected to the earth terminal, you can be at a great risk. Devices with out an earth terminal will often fail a PAT test meaning that they are unfit for use. You must always make sure that there is no bare wire in the plug as this can cause a spark and can combust. Al ways remember that brown = live and blue = neutral. The green and yellow wire is the earth. The fuse is always attached to the live terminal. Below, are links to a video I made of “how to safely wire a plug” Part 1- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohiAfDcE-8E Part 2- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErD3GSy6l1Y
Splitters Never ever overload your splitters. It is possible by plugging splitter into splitter to overload the amount of power that is available. You can now buy 2-12 way blocks with internal RCD’s but they can only draw a certain amount of power.
Other checks Visual checks can always be performed. Simply check all areas of the cable/device and look for any bare wire. DO NOT come into contact with bare wire as this can be incredibly dangerous. Always be careful when removing covers for devices as it is possible to receive an electrical shock.
PAT Certificate Pat or (portable appliance tests) are compulsory when using electrical equipment. Many venues will not even let you walk through the door without a pat certificate. Testing proves the equipment is safe for use. The tester will check the device for any electrical leakage and will search for an earth pin. If someone was to have an injury because of an electrical fail, you would be in a lot of trouble.
PAT Tester If the device has passed the test, one of these stickers is to be applied to it. The pass date, appliance I.D, next test date, and fuse rating should be added to the sticker. This will mean that the device is safe to use. If the device has failed the test then one of these stickers is to be applied to it. The device is either to be repaired or disposed of and NOT used.
Power Connectors • There are many different power connections for many different uses, voltages and currents. Believe me, some have to be big.
5amp plugs 5A plugs were used for bedside lamps and small devices that wouldn’t draw a lot of power. They have round pins and are smaller than the conventional household 13 amp plug
13amp plugs 13A plugs are the 3 rectangular pinned plugs that you find in your own home and use every day without even thinking about it.
15 amp plugs 15A plugs are used for stage lighting and high power devices. They are like the 5 amp sockets but bigger.
Single Phase Single Phase power is used for lighting, heating and high power motors. In the UK, Single phase is 240 volts and the power is not completely smooth meaning that it ‘ripples’ almost. The plugs are quite big and they’re blue to represent single phase. It can run at anywhere between 1 and 150 amps.
Three Phase • Thee Phase is used for large lighting rigs and factories where the UK power can run at 480v. • This means there is enough power to run the motors in lathes and drills and milling machines. When setting up a lighting rig, never cross phases. The power is a lot smoother than single phase so you can run motors a lot more efficiently from it. The plugs are big and red, usually signifies danger.
Dimmers Dimmers are used for stage lighting and pretty much waste power. They take the power that is not needed from the lights so they may ‘dim’. They make a loud buzzing noise usually when the lights are at half power.
LO2 • Safe handling and installation.
Always be aware of correct installation. There are numerous ways to install speakers. Make sure that the correct screws are used and you have a large surface area that you can secure the arm or bracket to.
Sound System (Active) Active speakers have internal amps. This means you can minimize the amount of kit you have to take to a gig depending on what kind of thing you’re doing. It also means that if one accidently fails or explodes, you have another one. That’s better than one power amp going and you being left with nothing at all. This means you can have a passive desk, two XLR/Jack leads, 3 kettle leads and what ever you need mic wise for instruments/vocals. That is excluding floor monitors however. The downsides are that you have to have more leads coming from your desk and also, you require more power leads and more power. They are often very heavy and in order to move enough air, they usually have to be quite big due to the fact that the cabs are full of electronics. It does however mean that you can have a mix of different wattage cabs and you can chain as many as you want without blowing anything up. Some active speakers have 8ohm external speaker plugs. This can be very useful sometimes.
Sound System (Passive) Passive PA systems are a lot better for big gigs. The speakers can be pushed way more by bigger amplifiers an because they are not full of electronics, they can move more air and can be made bigger but still remain fairly light. Thy can be run in series and/or parallel meaning you can have a lot of speakers and still run at full power. The higher the power amp runs, the lower the ohm-age tends to be. Less power leads are needed for a passive system but the danger of loosing amplification is higher. It’s cheaper all together to get two passive speakers and a powerful amp. Powerful and good quality active speakers are very expensive. The connections are either XLR, Speakon or Jack
Monitors In ear monitors are used for big stage and TV performance. They are in the form of headphones or sets. This means that stage managers can communicate with them and tell them to move to certain positions. Floor monitors are placed at the front of the stage. These are used for either playback when performances of dance to a digitally played track is used so that the individuals can hear the music. They are also used for live performances of bands so that they can hear one another and themselves. Live the cab types, they come in either active or passive from and have a flat angled section on the back so that they can be tilted to face the performers. Some of the speakers are directional. This means that only in one certain place the audio from the cab can be heard. This minimizes feedback and also means that other performers monitor mix is not interfered with.
Amplifiers Amplifiers come with different power ratings and ohm-age for example, if you plug 4 ohm speakers into an 8 ohm amp, it will get very hot and could cause a fire. For small gigs you would probably need 100w^ amplifier. These are usually 8 ohm and the ohm-age sometimes goes down the higher power the amp. 2000w-4ohm
Connector types Jack leads are usually unbalanced. They usually have 2 male ends. They are used for most instruments with a pickup, Line signal and can be used for links between low power amps and passive speakers. They have 2 terminals, Live and return. There are balanced jack leads that have tip, ring and sleeve. They can come as ¼ inch, 3.5mil inch and 2.5mil Phono leads are used for connecting devices to desks like I pods, phones and laptops and are also used for CD players. They run in stereo meaning that you get the recorded version as opposed to a ridiculous amount of reverb and the music only playing out of one speaker. They have a red and white connector on the end. Each lead has a live terminal core and a return. The red is usually the ‘tip’ and the white is the ‘ring’. XLR leads have 3 pins and 3 cores. This means that the lead is balanced. These are used for microphones, direct inject boxes (DI) and links to actives speakers and have a male and a female end. Speakon leads have 4 terminals. 1-, 1+, 2-, 2+. This means there is a separate live and neutral for the tweeter and the driver. These are used for links between amplifiers and speakers.
Cable types and care Balanced and unbalanced leads. Unbalanced leads only have two terminals. One core and one return. This usually means that the return is then grounded. It also means that the cables are very susceptible to signal interference from phones and whatever else is floating about especially when they are too long. These are usually jack leads. • Looking after cables means they last longer and you can save a lot of money by doing so. When tying up cables, never strain them. They form a natural coil. Loop them and twist at the same time. This means that there is no strain on the core so it will not fray. You can also tie them in a figure of 8. this means they unwrap without getting tangled. Balanced leads have 3 terminals. 2 cores and an outer casing that is the ground. (Tip ring and sleeve) This picks up any unwanted signal and discards of it. This means that cables can be really long and not suffer interference. Most XLR leads are balanced and some long jack leads are as well. Speakon leads do not need to be as they are transporting power to speakers so the interference will not be amplified.
Radio system • The new cable. Wireless systems transmit audio ‘data’ to a receiver usually by the desk. There are different types of wireless transmitters. Some have preamps for microphones (usually omnidirectional) for vocals in musicals, some transmit line signal and others are built into handheld microphones. Since the frequencies were sold off to civil service and private owner radios, it has become illegal to use analogue systems. They have now been discontinued and have been replaced with the much more effective and better digital systems. This gives anyone who uses it the freedom to move around on stage with instrument or voice and with out tangling cables everywhere. If there is interference, the channel can always be changed.
Multicores • Multi cores are a great way of keeping tidy. They have multiple leads going through one ‘tube’ with either jack or XLR leads on one end and usually a stage box on the other with the same connector types. This means that you can have 1 lead to cover a large distance rather than lots that are short. There are different types of multicore however. Because of the development of modern day technology, digital desks are now on the market. The multi core leads can be in the form of optical or 30^ pin connectors.
Processing equipment. • Processing equipment is used for FX, auto tune, EQ and more. They usually come in the form of a rack mount but can be pedals, belt packs and internally connected to mixing desks. This means instrumentalists can add stuff to their own sounds. You can get 100band EQ’s, multi FX units, and also computer software that can be linked to digital desks to apply any processing to any channel.
Mixing Desks There are different types of mixing desks; active, passive, analogue and digital. Active desks have internal power amplifiers which means that you do not need powered speakers or a separate amplifier. This means you can really cut down the amount of kit you need. These can be analogue or digital. Passive desks are don’t have internal power amplifiers but are much lighter because of this. They are also considerably cheaper and safer to maintain. These can be analogue or digital Digital desks are very clever and are becoming more and more popular. It is possible to have 32 channels in an 8 fader desk. When sound checking multiple bands, you can use pre-sets so that you do not have to adjust anything when the next band comes on meaning that it can be quick, easy and un noticeable by any members of the audience. It is now possible to connect to desks using Ipads so that a technician can sit in the audience and mix from there optimizing the sound for them. Digital desks also offer additional multi effects units and touchscreen controls making the experience more computer related than sound.
Power requirements and connections The UK voltage is 240v. This means that what ever you plug in, needs to be pated at that voltage. Kettle leads. These are the most common type of power connector for sound systems as they have a live, neutral and ground pole. Most passive desks usually tend to consume no more that 50 watts. 9v adaptors are commonly used for foot pedals. They convert 240v AC to 9v DC. This is a step down transformer. Some have variable resistors to alter the voltage and current.
Lighting and types For many years, lighting has been used for stage performances. Starting with basic oil lamps that have developed into today's amazing equipment, lighting has become more advanced, efficient, brighter and has developed to create fantastic visual effects from flood lights and par cans, to strobes and lasers. Most of today's lights use high power LED’s which are far more efficient than the more traditional bulbs.
LED’s LED’s (Light Emitting Diodes) are ‘currently’ (pun intended) the most efficient light emitting components today. They consume far more power than the original Par and GX bulbs and they are also be just as much or if not, brighter. They are also far more robust and don’t smash if you drop them. As far as pulling down lighting goes, they do not emit somewhere equivalent to the suns heat meaning that you can pack down as quickly as possible with out removing the skin from your fingers. This also means that they are nowhere near as much of a fire hazard.
Flood Lights These are used for creating a big colour ‘fill’ usually on the backdrop of the stage. This is the simplest form of stage light consisting of a single bulb in a can often a Strand Patt 137 with a coloured gel. This can create a nice scene and warm filling effect to any performance. They usually draw 500W.
Fresnel This type of lense was invented in 1823 by French inventor Augustin-Jean Fresnel and has been used ever since. It could be seen for over 20 miles. It’s cleaver design meant that you could have exactly the same light but using less space glass and weight. They have a lense that is made up of stepped concentric circles on the front and pebbled on the back. This means that there is more control over the beam but not quite as much as the profiles. They oftern are in the form of a Ftrand Cadenza Fresnel and usually draw 400-500w
Pebble Convex These are very common and are used in most theatres around the world. He lens is very simple made up of one pebbled side and a Plano (flat) side. This gives the lamp that soft edge and warm glow. They often come in a simple form. Strand Cantata PC. They can draw anywhere between 400-650w
Profile (spotlights) • These are the most controllable lights. There are quite a few different types of profile. Strand Pattern 23, Strand Prelude 16/30, Strand Leko 40 and Super Trouper followspots. These lamps create a sharp clear and bright beam using two pebble lenses. This concentrates the beam and can be made small even if the source is far away. They usually run at 800w^
Steel deck is a form of ultra portable staging. It is however very heavy an expensive but it lasts at the same time. There are different types of steel deck staging, some are constructed from scaffolding (usually large festivals I.E Reading) and some come in the form of pallets with removable legs. This makes packing down an setting up fairly easy. Types of staging Modular staging can really easily be packed away. It isn’t cheap and isn’t flexible as far as capabilities are concerned. Lightweight staging is usually made from MDMF or reinforced ply wood. This means that they are incredibly light weight but they are not as robust as the better steel staging. This sort of staging is more commonly used in folk clubs, pubs, bars and churches as it is much cheaper but is also ideal for a smaller venue. There are many different types of staging. Steel deck, lightweight and portable and internal. With ‘internal staging,’ it is possible to achieve all sorts. Some theatres are known to have revolving stages. This mans that band change overs and scene changes for plays or musicals are really quick
Basic rigging for scenic items • You can fly objects across scenes by using the lines above stages. It is possible to have revolving stages so that everything back stage can be prepared before the next scene.
Microphone stands Microphone stands hold the microphones in place so that the artist can use it. With different instruments, different angles are required. Violins With violins, the stands must be hooked over the top of the instrument so that it is not in the way. The mic head is then angled round so that the mic is pointing towards the sound holes. Accordions require two mics with different positions. This means that
Cabling • Cabling must always be checked and laid out in an appropriate way. Having trailing cables can be a hazard. There are different ways to overcome this. It is possible to have wall plates where sockets are accessible. Meaning that the cabling runs through the wall. This is often the case with concert venues and theatres. The other thing is to have a pipe that is cut spirally. This is cheap and easy to do and protects cables and keeps them nice and neat
Monitor positioning • Monitor positioning is very important for live performances. This allows the artists to hear themselves. Monitors can be hung from the bars above the stage and will stay out of sight however, that is fairly uncommon. The most common method is to have floor monitors directed at the artist at a 45 degree angle.It is possible to have monitors that you can change the angle on meaning that they can cover more of the stage area without being in the way. This is usually common for dance acts.
