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MikeW
27-04-2014, 12:11 PM
Hi guys. I was wondering if anyone has had any experience of the QTX Winch Lighting Stand?
I purchased one from the company below a couple of years ago and within 2 months I had a problem with the winch part. It wasn't winding up properly and kept slipping on the spindle/turning mechanism. I had a look inside the turning mechanism and it looked like the "teeth" were worn so weren't doing there job properly.

I phoned the company and told them that it wasn't working and that I had taken it apart to have a look. They were very good and replaced it free of charge.

The exact same thing has happened again with the replacement (which is now over a year old). It seems that the metal used to make the turning mechanism is too soft.

Has anyone used this item, or if not can you recommend a winch lighting stand.

Thanks in advance

Mike

PS the company assured me that it was a brand new item, and not "B Stock"

http://www.whybuynew.co.uk/stands/lighting-stands/qtx-heavy-duty-winch-t-bar-lighting-stand.htm

Excalibur
27-04-2014, 01:30 PM
I have no experience of this type of kit, but logic suggests you buy the highest load rated one you can afford. I'd expect one operating regularly at 50% load to last longer than one running regularly at 95%. Mind you, if lights keep getting lighter, we'll soon only need a rating of 5kg to get 'em airborne.

I remember the Martin Magic Moon, now that bugger was heavy. :D

Pe7e
27-04-2014, 01:50 PM
Personally I wouldn't touch QTX with someone else's barge pole, I think you have 2 options #1 buy an industry recognised brand i.e. Powerdrive or Manfrotto etc, #2 buy a cheaper stand from Thomann, they give a 3 year guarantee on their sales and they do honour them without any hassle (I'm on my 3rd stairville tripod stand and 2nd stairville tri led case)

MikeW
27-04-2014, 06:22 PM
I have no experience of this type of kit, but logic suggests you buy the highest load rated one you can afford. I'd expect one operating regularly at 50% load to last longer than one running regularly at 95%. Mind you, if lights keep getting lighter, we'll soon only need a rating of 5kg to get 'em airborne.

I remember the Martin Magic Moon, now that bugger was heavy. :D

Thanks very much for that. I have just checked the spec on the one I use and it is saying a max weight of 50kg! I will be lucky if I am using any more weight than 8kg! That should really be a walk in the park for it :confused:


Personally I wouldn't touch QTX with someone else's barge pole, I think you have 2 options #1 buy an industry recognised brand i.e. Powerdrive or Manfrotto etc, #2 buy a cheaper stand from Thomann, they give a 3 year guarantee on their sales and they do honour them without any hassle (I'm on my 3rd stairville tripod stand and 2nd stairville tri led case)

Thanks very much, I will take a look

mattydj50
28-04-2014, 01:12 PM
I have two Ultimax heavy duty winch stands and also two arm powered stands, none of which have ever given me cause for concern

Mind you, if lighting does keep getting lighter (I mean less heavy), a couple of helium balloons might suffice!!

MikeW
29-04-2014, 12:09 PM
Problem hopefully sorted! I didn't want to go down the route of buying the same stand again with the risk of another fail. I also was happy with the way that the t-bar part was (I had neatly wired and cable tied it) so didn't want to go through the same process with a new lighting t-bar.

I tried the t-bar part on a normal speaker stand and it fitted perfectly (35mm?). I then started looking at winched speaker stand (if they can hold a speaker which is a least 15kg, then surely they can hold my 10kg t-bar)

I ordered a Rhino Wind Up Speaker Stand which arrived this morning and seems to work perfectly :)

PS The stand can take a max of 30kg.

DJ Jules
29-04-2014, 12:15 PM
I ordered a Rhino Wind Up Speaker Stand which arrived this morning and seems to work perfectly :)

The only problem you'll have now is with the reliability of the Rhino stand.... :D They're not renown for their build quality or durability. Rhino do make wind up lighting stands as well, but they're priced at a fraction of the Ultimax and Manfrotto ones which should give you an indication of their life expectancy.

I do hope I'm wrong and it gives you many happy years of service.

Julian

MikeW
29-04-2014, 12:33 PM
The only problem you'll have now is with the reliability of the Rhino stand.... :D They're not renown for their build quality or durability. Rhino do make wind up lighting stands as well, but they're priced at a fraction of the Ultimax and Manfrotto ones which should give you an indication of their life expectancy.

I do hope I'm wrong and it gives you many happy years of service.

Julian

Thanks Julian, it will be under warranty for a year so will see how it performs.