Lights on 'PowerCON'
Printed From: Speakerplans.com
Category: Other Chat
Forum Name: Lighting Talk
Forum Description: All your lampy, laser and 'other' special FX needs....
URL: https://forum.speakerplans.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=84938
Printed Date: 27 March 2026 at 4:05am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.08 - https://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Lights on 'PowerCON'
Posted By: andycw
Subject: Lights on 'PowerCON'
Date Posted: 31 January 2014 at 7:11pm
|
I'm thinking of making a Distro to sit behind the T-bar for the lights I've just got.. (will be truss at a later date) My question is, are lights OK on powercon connectors? I want to used powercon so I can make the distro as small as possible. Like this but with PowerCON obviously..  ------------- No Bass No Fun |
Replies:
Posted By: mini-mad
Date Posted: 31 January 2014 at 7:16pm
|
Sledge hammer to crack a nut but yes. Why not..... i mean the iec's are 10amp rated and the powercons a hell of alot more if its permenant why not hard wire it and save on cost of connectors altogether (fused seperately) ------------- If it sounds like a gorilla is trying to escape, turn it down. |
Posted By: mk2_ginger_biscuit69
Date Posted: 31 January 2014 at 7:20pm
|
yeah you can use them, but as this 'person' said, blooming expensive way of going about it. id just use IEC for the moment and invest that money in that truss and windup's you crave... then more shiny lights to dazzle the pretty  ------------- ''Remember that the object of a subwoofer is to enhance the output of your main speakers, not overpower it'' ''Dubstep - an elongated electronic fart'' |
Posted By: mini-mad
Date Posted: 31 January 2014 at 7:24pm
|
'Person'....... egg shells much??? Lol ------------- If it sounds like a gorilla is trying to escape, turn it down. |
Posted By: Jake R
Date Posted: 31 January 2014 at 10:10pm
|
Depending on how confident you are you can mod' the lights to have power in and link connectors. This is what i have done on my own lights. I run a DMX and PowerCON up using Van-Damme Ambicore type cable to the first T-Bar then link this out to the next one. Just have to be careful it doesn't get overloaded. As others have said this is quite an expensive way of doing things. A 4 gang extension or IEC splitter as you pictured is a much cheaper way.  ------------- Thanks Jake |
Posted By: mini-mad
Date Posted: 31 January 2014 at 10:30pm
|
Bigger lights... daisy chaining with in/outs for power and dmx is a very good idea providing you have a rule of thumb where you wont daisy chain more then 4 at a time if old skool hid lights.... the idea of daisy chaining is superb. Just thing about the power draw on the 1st effects main power feed. that and doing it on anything like parcan36 is gonna be tight. ------------- If it sounds like a gorilla is trying to escape, turn it down. |
Posted By: Jake R
Date Posted: 31 January 2014 at 10:53pm
|
It can get very tight, very rarely do we get a chance to link lighting stands. Just not worth the risk, especially as you say the load one the first fitting if the soldering isn't up to scratch cause a fire. It is very neat though, really does clean up the rig. Another way of doing this method but on very low power items, LED and such is to use one of these costs the same as a single panel mount PowerCON connector. http://www.rapidonline.com/Cables-Connectors/Push-Fit-IEC-Inlet-Outlets-63592 PowerCON link using 2.5mm H07 (Doesn't have to be, but personally best option for cable) are also needed and they are around £13 for meter link where as a fully made IEC are about £2-3 each. ------------- Thanks Jake |
Posted By: mini-mad
Date Posted: 31 January 2014 at 11:34pm
|
Some older dj lighting i have had has had the iec in and out similar to very old pc's.... if your building up at single t-bar or trying to neaten up a trusses wiring its worth while, but then again so id sockets on the bar/truss with the cables run throught it. ------------- If it sounds like a gorilla is trying to escape, turn it down. |
Posted By: Jake R
Date Posted: 01 February 2014 at 12:11am
|
I miss the days when computers could be run from one plug without a 'Y-lead' or a double socket. Internally wired bars can start to get expensive, but then it does depend on what you have fitted and who fits it. ------------- Thanks Jake |
Posted By: mini-mad
Date Posted: 01 February 2014 at 12:30am
|
Put the effort in and you could do it yourself! Its just wiring... Few metal junction boxes with dmx in/out and a power socket. Shouldnt be as hard as it sounds. ------------- If it sounds like a gorilla is trying to escape, turn it down. |
Posted By: JohnnyPyro
Date Posted: 01 February 2014 at 12:43am
 ... try one of these instead of a holesaw next time .. much neaterhttp://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Q-Max-Sheet-Metal-Hole-Punch-24mm-/131088518852?pt=UK_BOI_Metalworking_Milling_Welding_Metalworking_Supplies_ET&hash=item1e857c0ec4 ------------- Pyrotechnics... its not rocket science, well.... actually it is !! :o) Powered by MC2 & XTA |
Jake R wrote:Posted By: andycw
Date Posted: 01 February 2014 at 12:50am
|
Cheers guys - I did think it was an expensive way of doing it, it just looks neater I think! Plus the powercon sockets are fairly 'small' compared to IEC. Looks like I'll just stick to IEC splitter for now - but at least I know it can be done  ------------- No Bass No Fun |
Posted By: JohnnyPyro
Date Posted: 01 February 2014 at 12:53am
|
plus they cant get accidently pulled out like an IEC ... having sex useless things if you ask me ------------- Pyrotechnics... its not rocket science, well.... actually it is !! :o) Powered by MC2 & XTA |
Posted By: mini-mad
Date Posted: 01 February 2014 at 12:58am
|
Lol.... good point pyro... still if its for a rig only you will go near and touch you hould be good to go. ------------- If it sounds like a gorilla is trying to escape, turn it down. |
Posted By: JohnnyPyro
Date Posted: 01 February 2014 at 1:10am
|
I hate em mini.. i had a bad experience just before xmas ... done a gig and one of the IEC's came loose on the back of an mc2 T1000 ..so i lost my HF.. my rack has a speaker grille on the back to stop wandering hands.. so i had to unscrew all that just to plug the having sex thing back in .... ------------- Pyrotechnics... its not rocket science, well.... actually it is !! :o) Powered by MC2 & XTA |
Posted By: mini-mad
Date Posted: 01 February 2014 at 1:18am
|
....amp rack being a little different to lights. Saying that mine are all matrix and have powercons. There is a metal latch thing you can buy to "lock" in iec's if your not up for modding resellable hardware. ------------- If it sounds like a gorilla is trying to escape, turn it down. |
Posted By: mini-mad
Date Posted: 01 February 2014 at 1:21am
|
Could always rewire all the lights to a lockable system with a hardwired fly lead out of said light and then a series of y-leads/t-junctions to daisy chain them together.... 16a cee form is a little over kill before you say it pyro LOL. ------------- If it sounds like a gorilla is trying to escape, turn it down. |
Posted By: Jake R
Date Posted: 01 February 2014 at 8:31am
|
[/QUOTE] ... try one of these instead of a holesaw next time .. much neater http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Q-Max-Sheet-Metal-Hole-Punch-24mm-/131088518852?pt=UK_BOI_Metalworking_Milling_Welding_Metalworking_Supplies_ET&hash=item1e857c0ec4 [/QUOTE]
The hole saw marks are from when i first got it the cable grip was rubbish so fitted a 20mm compression gland over the original hole. Have just brought one of those awesome bit of kit, so simple to use. ------------- Thanks Jake |
Posted By: JohnnyPyro
Date Posted: 01 February 2014 at 1:57pm
Yeah ive bought one now mate..bloody hard to get hold of.. was going to mod the amp.. but its only a year old and still under warranty for another 4 years  ------------- Pyrotechnics... its not rocket science, well.... actually it is !! :o) Powered by MC2 & XTA |
Posted By: mini-mad
Date Posted: 01 February 2014 at 2:15pm
|
1??? Should have bought 50... i cant find the buggers as the old link i had died and i want a few for my bits and pieces :-) ------------- If it sounds like a gorilla is trying to escape, turn it down. |
Posted By: JohnnyPyro
Date Posted: 01 February 2014 at 3:59pm
Its the only 1 my local electronics store had ... plus its the only amp i have with an IEC .. the rest are E series ------------- Pyrotechnics... its not rocket science, well.... actually it is !! :o) Powered by MC2 & XTA |
Posted By: dylan-penguinmedia
Date Posted: 01 February 2014 at 11:16pm
|
IEC's are for kettles. Everything pro audio and lighting should be on Powercon if you ask me. If it was more widespread it'd bring the price of connectors down. So many times i've had IECs not seat 100% in the connectors, or come loose, or get pulled. Proper nut ache. |
Posted By: JohnnyPyro
Date Posted: 01 February 2014 at 11:26pm
bravo ...  ------------- Pyrotechnics... its not rocket science, well.... actually it is !! :o) Powered by MC2 & XTA |
Posted By: Jake R
Date Posted: 01 February 2014 at 11:56pm
+1, Amen to that. ------------- Thanks Jake |
Posted By: mini-mad
Date Posted: 01 February 2014 at 11:58pm
|
Im not saying your wrong... he's working to a budget so until the nuits have paid for themselves and making serious money theres nothing wrong with iec.... Like lighting on a truss my pc stays put and have yet to have it"be a bit funny" with me and its moved serveral times in the last year... ------------- If it sounds like a gorilla is trying to escape, turn it down. |
Posted By: dylan-penguinmedia
Date Posted: 02 February 2014 at 12:06am
|
Cost wise, if you buy decent rewireable IEC's (Schurter etc), they're not that much cheaper than Powercon anyway. And cheap pre-made IEC > IEC cables are usually pretty skinny. Then you have to bundle them up because they're almost always too long or too short for what you need them for. Buy once, buy right  |
Posted By: Andy Kos
Date Posted: 02 February 2014 at 11:53am
The sound industry adopted the speakon, it has not brought the price down, Neutrik have just sat their on their throne milking the product for years until the patent ran out.
Now they just spend their time stopping anyone using the word 'speakon' as its their registered trademark, but as far as Im aware, they cant actually stop people making copies now.
However, although the copies are cheaper, most of them are utter crap
I cant see it being any different with Powercon, if more widely used, Neutrik will just make more profit. Although to be fair, they are very nice connectors, and do the job very well. Im not keen on not being able to link powerconns easily, so I prefer 16A CEE for most things. ------------- just a guy with a warehouse and a few speakers... www.bluearan.co.uk |
Posted By: dylan-penguinmedia
Date Posted: 02 February 2014 at 11:57am
|
Their 16a version is a good compromise - linkable, and with the in/out chassis connector, just don't think it's pushed hard enough. You have a point with Neutrik sitting on the profits, but I don't really have an issue with the price of a Speakon / Powercon at what I pay for them. And I know when they're in, they stay there. |
Posted By: norty303
Date Posted: 02 February 2014 at 12:40pm
|
My Indigo 4600 came with blue locking IECs. First time I've seen then and wonder why they're not more widespread ------------- My laser stuff: http://www.facebook.com/SubsonicSystems" rel="nofollow - Frikkin Lasers |
Posted By: Andy Kos
Date Posted: 02 February 2014 at 8:36pm
If they were to decrease the price first, then I think they would be used more.
With the speakon, the produced a connector that fixed a big problem with speakers, and filled a gap in the market for a reliable, rugged speaker connector,hence it became the industry standard for a lot of people (I realise there are exceptions..)
With power, there are sooo many options, the powercon, although a very neat, tidy option, hasnt filled the same niche the speakon did.
With lighting, I think the over-riding factor is that the panel mount iecs will be a lot cheaper in china than buying in a powercon, so the manufacturer will make the choice to fit IECs.
Since its standard practise to supply a mains lead with a new fitting, a moulded IEC is the cheapest option.
------------- just a guy with a warehouse and a few speakers... www.bluearan.co.uk |
Posted By: mini-mad
Date Posted: 03 February 2014 at 7:50am
|
beta-max vs. VHS....... and thats where i rest my case. ------------- If it sounds like a gorilla is trying to escape, turn it down. |