Re: Insteon now or wait?

["Robert L Bass" <robertlbass@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> I to this day am terrified of hanging Parcans
> above audiences. Haven't quite figured a way
> around it, though. I've seen blown up Par
> lamps come crashing to the earth twice.

There is a way to protect people below.  In addition to the standard
C-clamp, install a steel safety cable on each lamp and another on the barn
doors.  Further, place a steel mesh (looks like chicken wire only much
sturdier) in the filter slot on the barn doors to keep pieces larger than
3/4" diameter from falling.

> Luckily no one was injured either time.  FELs
> are even worse, but have much less glass,
> and are contained by the lenses in front of them.

With FELs the fixture itself is the hazard.  Drop one on someone from 25' up
and they'll probably be killed.  I used to run 2" pipe for my fixtures.  The
pipe is secured with hardened clamps which in turn are screwed onto 1/2" x
8" lag bolts at every beam.  Backup consists of 5,000 lb test chain doubled
around the pipe and through bolted using 1/2" threaded rod at each beam.

I asked an engineer friend to calculate the load limit of the apparatus.  He
estimated it could safely hold a static load of 300 lbs per foot.  This is
how we ran fixtures above the audience.

Above the stage we used a grid of heavy steel C-beams, bolted and chained to
the beams above every 8' in each direction.  It was designed to hold live
loads (moving actors suspended from ropes) up to 400 lbs per foot and static
loads several times that weight.

Of course, in residential lighting systems you might not need something
quite so sturdy.  :^)

--

Regards,
Robert L Bass

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