Equipments arrived......wupeeee

[mg ents]

Hi all,

All our equipment has arrived today, got it all set up at moment playin around with it....sounds good...just got the stand and lighting to buy now..

I just rang someone about P.A.T , he said he would do it for £3 per item...is that good? Also, the labels that he puts on, is that the proof for the pat validator? What do you have to send them so you can show the validator logo?

[Thames Valley Discos]

Didn,t think new gear needed PAT testing, as its already past Electrical safety checks at the factory. Although, you can never over test it, so all helps.

[mg ents]

i asked this the other day and someone said we should get it tested straight away

[Thames Valley Discos]

Well to be safe i guess yes. But because its new, in theory it has undergone Electrical safety checks already. I,m sure others will beg to differ, but this is my view on new gear. If you can afford a PAT test, it can only be beneficial to yourself, as sometimes even new kit can be faulty.
£3 is an average price. They will give you an itemised list of your tested gear. This is what you supply to get the pat validator symbol.

[wensleydale]

at the risk of getting shouted down you don't need to get it tested - the ideal is to negotiate it into the price when you buy.

the equipment is likely to pass tests when made and many venues accept invoices instead of pat certificates during the first year.

£3 seems a little steep- go for closer to £1.50-£2.

[A1DL]

we charge £2.50 for appliances and £1.50 for leads (+vat)

it is common in practice for new additions to a DJ's equipment inventory to be picked up at the next annual PAT test, however there are a few considerations:

1. we send copies of PAT certificates to customers for them to forward to their venues on request. it is important there is parity between the certificate received and the equipment taken in to the function, therefore this should be borne in mind, i.e. if a DJ purchases several or more new pieces of equipment, these should be PAT tested at the earliest opportunity

2. where equipment is new to the DJ but not brand new as in never used before. some of the worst examples of wiring are those found on secondhand gear from disco shops!

Think PAT as YOUR safety first - you as the user are more likely to receive an electric shock from an electrically unsafe piece of kit than anyone else is!

And sadly, brand new doesn't always mean electrically safe. Over the course of a year I see too many new pieces of kit with loose earth bonding, also new 4-way blocks with loose screws in their plugtops.

tony

[Corabar Steve]

There are venues that will not let you use equipment if t has not been tested, even new equipment can (& has been known to) fail a PAT.

You wouldn't want to turn up to a gig only to be turned away by venue staff.

Make sure you get certification for the test, you're not going to be able to post or email the stickers to the vlidator site as proof

[mg ents]

so the guy that does the pat test said that he puts his number on it, does that mean he is registered to do the job properly

[A1DL]

so the guy that does the pat test said that he puts his number on it, does that mean he is registered to do the job properly

the tester should affix green PASS or red FAIL stickers to each piece of equipment, and also give you a certificate listing your inventory and the test results.

It is the certificate you will send to PAT validator and to any customers/venues that require it.

If venue management are particularly vigilant, they may check your equipment on arrival, either against the certificate you have provided in advance, or, more typically, a visual check to ensure each piece of equipment and each lead you are using has a current PASS label affixed

hope this helps matey

Tony

[Ripman]

Hi all the best with your new equipment.
Regarding PAT testing like the rest say above, even new equipment has to be tested. last year we played at Manchester Citys ground for a big dinner dance event. the guy in charge checked every piece of equipment including all extension leads ect. and even commented on my home made floor lights switch by saying how the hell did that pass. so i would say get every item done.. including al your back up leads

Paul

[wensleydale]

i agree some places require it- the point i am making is that not all do.
many places don't ask for pat at all.
many accept invoices for gear under a year old.
i'm all in favour of doing things properly, but if you can save £200 on pat charges and only miss one disco is it the end of the world?

[A1DL]

i agree some places require it- the point i am making is that not all do.
many places don't ask for pat at all.
many accept invoices for gear under a year old.
i'm all in favour of doing things properly, but if you can save £200 on pat charges and only miss one disco is it the end of the world?

not the end of the world if the one disco you miss is the one where fate was going to put 32a thru you:lightning

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

I must admit, it's normally PLI most places are interested in for me.

When I have sent PAT certs in, I have never had anyone check gear through the door.

[Shaun]

mg_ents....congrats on your gear purchase. No doubt you'll be locked in your room playing around with your "new toys" for a day or two. Have fun!.

[A1DL]

I must admit, it's normally PLI most places are interested in for me.

When I have sent PAT certs in, I have never had anyone check gear through the door.

We have found on average about one in three who ask about PLI also ask about PAT.

And the amount asking about PLI is gradually increasing year on year, which can only be a good thing :teeth:

[Corabar Steve]

but if you can save £200 on pat charges and only miss one disco is it the end of the world?WHAT?!?

If you miss one disco because they turn you away at the door, remember a lot of venues don't ask you in advance for a PAT cert (& on occasion the client will forget to tell you that the venue has asked for it).

Big deal it's only one disco you've missed. WHAT ABOUT THE POOR SOD WHO'S PARTY YOU'VE JUST STUFFED UP BY NOT BEING ABLE TO PERFORM????????

[wensleydale]

i was kind of working on the principle you check on this before you go there.
in the same way you check you know where the venue is and whee you parked your car.

[Thames Valley Discos]

WHAT?!?

If you miss one disco because they turn you away at the door, remember a lot of venues don't ask you in advance for a PAT cert (& on occasion the client will forget to tell you that the venue has asked for it).

Big deal it's only one disco you've missed. WHAT ABOUT THE POOR SOD WHO'S PARTY YOU'VE JUST STUFFED UP BY NOT BEING ABLE TO PERFORM????????
But surley any DJ worth his sort contacts the venue before the booking date. I do. And like Darren says, in the last year, i have only been asked for PAT certificates once. The original thread was talking about new gear. If this is dangerous, then you have your own consumer rights for being sold dangerous goods not fit for the intended purpose.All new kit has to conform to electrical safety before coming to market. Second hand kit, yes definately get it checked.
I know of only one Hotel in this area that requires both PLI and PAT. Which is great, because i can charge more! :teeth:

[Corabar Entertainment]

Admitedly, it only happened once, but we did get caught out some time back: having sent through copies of the PAT & PLI, our DJ turned up on the day only to be told that copies were not good enough and they had to see the original and 'check off' every piece of the equipment as it came through the door. It has also happened on other occasions that we have been told by one person at the venue that they do not need to see it, but on the day someone has asked for it - so contacting the venue beforehand does not always help!

... and as for venues accepting invoices / receipts: we have actually never come across one who would (not saying they don't exist, just that we have never found one!). The thing is, the venue's insurers are starting to put clauses into their policies that all equipment brought on site must be PAT tested. It does not say 'must be pat tested or less than a year old', and, unless ALL equipment is PAT tested, the venue's own insurance would be void if they let you on site.

Yes, venues asking for PAT tested equipment is still very much in the minority - and it is not asked for as often as PLI - but we have noticed an increase in requests in the last year.

[Corabar Steve]

But surley any DJ worth his sort contacts the venue before the booking date. I do.That's what the office staff are for :teeth:

[Corabar Steve]

Anyway the MDA promote use of PAT & PLI, it should be an industry standard.

No PAT, no PLI, no work.

[Thames Valley Discos]

That's what the office staff are for :teeth:
I wonder, who do you mean :)

[wensleydale]

fair enough- i am happy to promote safety and professionalism, but as people are so keen to point out with new equipment being faulty- there is no reason why PAT tested equipment could become faulty the day after testing.
Surely there's some point to educatiing new DJs about the importance of looking after there gear and doing visual checks where poss, knowledge about electricity supplies and the best way to wire everything up etc etc.
A PAT test and a PLI cert does not a safe disco make- it isn't the solution to every problem.

Again, I will probably get shouted down again but think sometimes people think that if you aren't doing things the "right" way then you should not be DJ'ing.
Maybe I don't follow all the "rules" but I am pretty certain I can do a better job than many that do.

[A1DL]

Surely there's some point to educatiing new DJs about the importance of looking after there gear and doing visual checks where poss

absolutely - I find the most "frustrating" failures are those that don't need me or the PAT test equipment to fail a piece of kit, i.e. the visual inspection!

in any walk of life, be it at work or at home, a common sense visual inspection of a piece of electrical equipment or a lead takes a few seconds and can save lives.

[CRAZY K]

in any walk of life, be it at work or at home, a common sense visual inspection of a piece of electrical equipment or a lead takes a few seconds and can save lives.
__________________


It also reduces the risk of your equipment electrocuting YOU or breaking down during the gig or crackling which makes you look unprofessional and will lead to a bad reputation and no repeat bookings!

Mind you, if you get electrocuted you dont have to worry how the gig went anyway :sad:

CRAZY K

[Have a disco]

Anyway the MDA promote use of PAT & PLI, it should be an industry standard.

No PAT, no PLI, no work.


After all the jumping about trying to get members to get it, you finally admit Im right YEH WOOHOO Ive finally got the message through. BOING BOING

I believe the documents on the night are the just thing ie certificates etc etc without the need of checking every item into the premises would suffice in most cases....

[Paul James Promotions]

After all the jumping about trying to get members to get it, you finally admit Im right YEH WOOHOO Ive finally got the message through. BOING BOING


At no point did anyone disagree with you, just made it clear that although the directory encourages and recommends PLI and PAT, it cannot force DJ's to comply.

Jamie

[Have a disco]

An Incentive to join the MDA would help in a way now the 10% off PLI insurance seems to have lapsed

[CRAZY K]

now the 10% off PLI insurance seems to have lapsed


When did that happen? :sad: my PLI is due in September

CRAZY K

[Corabar Entertainment]

As far as I am aware, you should still get that. :confused:

[Corabar Steve]

Ive finally got the message through.
The message was there long before you joined up, but keep up the good work :teeth:
fair enough- i am happy to promote safety and professionalism, but as people are so keen to point out with new equipment being faulty- there is no reason why PAT tested equipment could become faulty the day after testing.
No different to a car's MOT, people accept this no problems, but when it comes to PAT........