New Lighting Towers

Decided to put some of my extra par cans & a wireless co-pilot system to good use. This is one of the two that I'm building. Inspiration came from many of the guys that are using the box trussing with the moving heads.

http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc220/talkdc/DSC02255.jpg

http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc220/talkdc/DSC02256.jpg

http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc220/talkdc/DSC02257.jpg

Still need to put some final touches on it, such as staining things all black, adding some nice little peg legs on the bottom, adding some additional bracing on the back that will double as a handle and finalizing the carpet work, but after just a couple hours of time and about $20 in wood, I think it came out pretty good.

Any heat buildup issues inside Randy...?

You may need to vent that a bit (I can't tell from the pics whether you already have any).

Both the sides and back will always be open. I won't be enclosing it fully. That should be sufficient venting. That's also why I want to stain everything black.

Wouldn't you do better using antenna tower truss and some plexyglass or something to hide cables... seems like wood will become very heavy and bulky.

if you can use the antenna tower stuff, you will certianly be lighter - and the steel wil give less in transit then wood and screws.

And the antenna torwer stuff is very cheap - I got two 5 foot box sections for about $30. Only thing is it's 1" tube so you need to use c-clamps.

Randy: Very creative!

But that's the gol-darndest stop light fixture I've ever seen! :p :sqwink:

Thanks for sharing that with everyone.

Kirby

I would consider gearing it with C Clamps on each end removeable for your other application. Then you can mount it on two T Stands for a truss effect. Also it appears to be carpeted on the outside which will be durable for transport etc. Am I correct Randy?

Simple, functional, and innovative. As a woodworker myself, you did an amazing job... I can see lots of folks using your brilliant idea!

Thought... get one of those "speaker" sockets (drill a hole in the bottom, and bolt it in place), then mount the fixture on a tri-pod poll for a speedy fast set up.

Tyrone its pretty tall and why he most likely is going to mount short legs on it. Unless you were talking about a low tripod.

What's your total weight, so far?

Wouldn't you do better using antenna tower truss and some plexyglass or something to hide cables... seems like wood will become very heavy and bulky.

if you can use the antenna tower stuff, you will certianly be lighter - and the steel wil give less in transit then wood and screws.

And the antenna torwer stuff is very cheap - I got two 5 foot box sections for about $30. Only thing is it's 1" tube so you need to use c-clamps.

If the antenna look is what I was going for, I would have used it. :) And, the configuration would not have worked for the look I wanted.

I would consider gearing it with C Clamps on each end removeable for your other application. Then you can mount it on two T Stands for a truss effect. Also it appears to be carpeted on the outside which will be durable for transport etc. Am I correct Randy?

This won't be hanging. And, yes it's covered with carpet, matches my entire set up.

[QUOTE=Tyrone Blue;123232]Simple, functional, and innovative. As a woodworker myself, you did an amazing job... I can see lots of folks using your brilliant idea!

QUOTE]

Thanks. I grew up in carpentry, so I can pretty much do about anything I set my mind too, if I only had all the proper tools!

What's your total weight, so far?


Grand total weight --- 38 pounds.

I constructed it to be sturdy, yet light-weight. You can see in the photo, the sides are not solid, only covered in carpet. The top and bottom are made out of 3/4 plywood, the front is 1/2 flakeboard (very light) with the framing 1x3's.

BTW, I'm getting tired of raising lights, no more t-bars or trussing in my set-ups!

I just finished the 2nd tower. I'll be cleaning up the garage and re-engineering some other gear over the New Year holiday. I'll take some additional photos of the set-up and post them as well. I've custom built my entire rig.

I did that over the years as well never bought one coffin built three. Built cases for my equipment etc now I dont want to lift any of it and bring along a roadie and therefore Im not building my gear cases etc. I have Northern Light FX for that.

Actually, I build because I want things a certain way and don't wish to have to pay the big bucks to get it done and because I can....and I haven't found a standard case that will work for me.

I agree Randy but in many cases you can find proper and more quality style componentsespecially cases etc I cant make it as cheap with the bells and whistles including my labor time, for the price I can purchase it for. Including the use of detail tools and unique corners bracing etc that costs a premium if included. I want that look and can purchase for less.
However great job.

Randy:

Don't forget to post some pics the first time you use them at an event. I'm really curious to see these "in-action".

Again, Thanks!

Kirby

I have a gig coming up on the 4th of Jan....I'll be sure to take some photos.

Awesome! I'll be watching for them...and if you forget....I'll remind ya! :sqwink:

http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc220/talkdc/DSC02270600x450.jpg

Sorry for the quality, but I took a 'quick peek' photo for you. I'll be spending this week upgrading a few of my plug-n-play options that I use; should cut off a few minutes of set up time. Also, need to do some touch up painting and replacing of some corners on the speakers.

Hey Randy if you get a wild hair up your arse can ya shoot some video of 'em in action too?

I'll give it a shot. I've not ever used the video option on the camera, but there's always a first time for everything. :)

You know I was just thinkin... and it's scary in there... but, I think those lights would look real cool with some sort of speaker grill over them.... you know the type with large grills.... or even some sort of designer cover like the pro-car audio guys use... to dress them up a bit.

In your last pic they almost look like they have covers on a couple of 'em.

I know it would difuse the light a bit but the dress up would look cool IMHO.

That's not a bad idea --- I have access to a C&C router at work, I may make a few prototypes and see what it looks like.

I took a 60 second video of the towers in my garage tonight.

http://s212.photobucket.com/albums/cc220/talkdc/?action=view&current=MOV02272.flv

I tried the embed code from Photobucket, but didn't work. (at least I couldn't get it to work)

Even though they only weigh 38 lbs, they look kinda awkward to move since they're so tall. If it were me, I'd put a couple of casters on the lower back edge so they could be tipped back and rolled.

Jay - you been in my garage? :)

They were a tad awkward to handle. So, instead of putting legs on them, I put casters on the bottom of each tower. Then, I place them back-to-back and use a handy-dandy bungee strap (that I've attached on the inside of one of them) to secure them both together. They now roll very nicely!

Jay - you been in my garage? :)


Yeah, I was gonna steal one of your vertigos, but remembered I already had one. :sqwink:

Darn popular light. http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc220/talkdc/Emoticons/image31.gif

This is probably going to be a stupid question, but what are you using to make them flash... what hardware is it...
Thanks

It's called a Co-Pilot (http://www.americandj.com/product.asp?ProductIDNumber=1467&cat=Analog_Controllers) and I use the optional wireless controller (http://www.americandj.com/product.asp?ProductIDNumber=1313&cat=Analog_Controllers).

In the clip, they are running in chase mode, but I run them in sound active.

Randy:

Just showed your lighting boxes to Coreen (Wife/Boss) and she said to tell you.....COOL! :sqbiggrin:

You tell her I said 'Thanks!'

They make thier debut this Friday night, so expect some additional photos and some live video coming soon.

Check out another video of the lighting towers in action here! (http://www.ourdjtalk.com/showthread.php?p=156388#post156388)