| Adam Pace wrote on Mon, 06 April 2009 07:09 |
I am doing an install for my friends with the Boy Scouts. It is a fairly good system, JBL MRX tops and bottoms, ULX wireless, Midas board, and XTi amps.
Here is my question, the cabs and booth are easy, but what do I do about the cable runs and the stage pots? Do they make waterproof stagepots or boxes? If not, what should we use?
It is an "amphitheater" style setting and I was wanting to put two panels on the wall that goes between the seating and the stage. they would have 24 xlr sends, 6 xlr returns, 4 speakon nl4 sends, and a mix of rca and vga ins and outs.
|
Well, to answer your question, I would look at Hoffman,
http://www.hoffmanonline.com/ for boxes (I have to admit that I am not familiar with the term "stagepot", at least in reference to sound). FSR also just came out with an exterior box,
http://www.fsrinc.com/products/OWB.htm, but it may not have the capacity you desire.
Cabling could be an issue if it runs underground. In theory, nothing is required but in practice, unless you have a way of draining or otherwise keeping the conduit run dry it will almost always end up with water in it at the low end. My favorite approach is to terminate the conduit at the lowest point into a pit with a sump pump so that any water that does get into the conduit can readily drain into the pit, pool in the pit below the level of the conduit and be pumped out before it gets up to the the conduit. If you have simple point-to-point conduit runs or no conduit, then you'll probably want to consider direct burial rated cable.
However, I noted a couple of possible issues with what is planned. One is that from the stage to some undefined switcher or projector location could be a long distance for simple VGA in most amphitheaters. Are you converting to bundled five wire coax for the main run or using an buffer amp? Also consider your signal separation since you apparently have everything from mic to speaker in the same box, you don't want all that in one conduit.
The JBL MRX speakers also seem a bit of an unusual choice for this application. Is the entire stage area under cover or do you plan to setup and tear down the system for each use? The MRX are not only not a weatherproof/weather resistant speaker, but they are also intended for ground stacking or 'speaker on a stick' type applications and are not designed to be flown or permanently mounted. The nominal 70x70 pattern of all the MRX mains combined with the MRX series not really being intended to be arrayed also makes them an unusual choice for most amphitheater applications. Maybe you have considered all this, but just thought it worth noting.
Author
Topic: Outdoor Install (Read 1923 times)