Retro disco being resurrected

[Timetrekker]

Hello from SE London! Years ago I "retired" from mobile discos and stored my ageing equipment. But now I've decided it's time for a resurrection. My aim is to start off by doing 60s/70s/80s/90s events using mainly the equipment of yesteryear. That means absolutely no laptop! It's purely vinyl and CDs for me. I'm wondering if I need to do anything to my 1980s retro light screens and bulgin cables to make sure they pass PAT testing, as I know that's a vital first step. Fingers crossed...

[Excalibur]

Hello Andrew. Welcome along, good to have you here.

Our Fenland Friend has experience of PAT testing Bulgins and light boxes. When I first started, my lighting cable box consisted entirely of " Widowmakers"! All female sockets on the boxes, and all male plugs on the cables, allowing your sweaty fingers to come into contact with 240 volts! Alternatively, getting a couple of cables in the wrong place and finding out three screens weren't working because they were connected to each other, but not the chaser. I still miss those days, if I'm honest.

As to no laptop, well I'm sorry, but I'm not giving mine up without a fight.

All the best with your venture.

[Imagine]

Hello Andrew. Welcome along, good to have you here.

Seconded - especially if you're into Retro

Our Fenland Friend has experience of PAT testing Bulgins and light boxes.

PAT testing Bulgins and screens?????

My PAT tester used to have kittens over this kit and having recently qualified myself as a "competent person", I can see where he was coming from. You CAN'T test Bulgin's and screens in the traditional way because there's no such adapter that I've ever found to do it with. The only parts of my Retro show which are tested with a meter are the controllers (with better pass results than the modern day LED stuff I might add!).

Obviously things like the old fashioned scanners etc. which have a three pin plug on them can be tested in the normal way.

That isn't to say the rest of the kit isn't tested and safe - far from it. There's also the option of "Visual Inspection".

***WARNING - DON'T TAKE THIS STUFF APART UNLESS YOU'RE COMPETENT TO DO SO AND KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING....240V ISN'T PLEASANT IF YOU CATCH IT WRONG! ALSO IF IN DOUBT...SEEK THE ADVICE OF A LOCAL QUALIFIED ELECTRICIAN - IT'S SAFER***

My routine (every January) is to take the boxes apart, physically check the wiring and connections to the lamp holders inside and repair/replace as necessary. This includes the joints coming from the Bulgin's into the screens as well. If you're using old fashioned Pygmy lamps in the screens, they get hot and the wiring will deteriorate over time (I converted mine to LED lamps and it's a LOT cooler)

For the actual Bulgin leads doing the daisy chaining, again, they're taken apart and checked for any wear and tear, things like cable clamps checked for slippage and the "finger test" applied to the male ends. That means running your finger around the pins (turned off of course and not connected to anything....the chasers can still hold and discharge a residual current as I've found out to my pain even when disconnected from the mains!), and see if you can "feel" any of the pins against your finger. If you can, there's been slippage between the shell of the plug and the pins and it's discarded.

A couple of safety features I added to my screens out on the road which also give peace of mind:

* I rewired mine so that it's Female in, Male out. Doesn't get past the Widowmaker effect BUT, the last socket in the chain is always filled with a blank Bulgin (just to protect the pins)
* I put a nice little strap arrangement over my sockets on the back of the screens meaning that when the plugs are in place, a rubber strap is secured over them to stop any chance of them falling out or being pulled out

Enjoy restarting the Retro show. Mine hasn't actually been out since the restrictions eased which is a little strange as it was going out a LOT before we were locked down so not sure what the appetite for such shows is at the moment (things have been strange since the end of lockdowns anyway).

One thing I would warn about - guests have a lot less respect for the kit these days. Try to find a way to buttress the screens from the rear because you WILL end up with drunken guests leaning on them and coming through to your side of you're on the same level as they are!

As for the vinyl side of things.....rose tinted glasses on! I'm afraid I'm either laptops or a Prime4 these days....it's just easier and the punters in general really don't notice the difference sadly.

Hope all of that helps.

[Timetrekker]

Thanks Imagine - the tips are very much appreciated. Plenty of food for thought, and I hadn't considered buttressing the light boxes, but it does make a lot of sense, as does everything else you've suggested. Time to start some modifications...

[Excalibur]

A couple of safety features I added to my screens out on the road which also give peace of mind:

* I rewired mine so that it's Female in, Male out. Doesn't get past the Widowmaker effect BUT, the last socket in the chain is always filled with a blank Bulgin (just to protect the pins)

Now hold on there, Musky!

If we're talking Screens, male sockets for input, and female sockets out ( just like IEC, of course) removes the widowmaker. Or have I misunderstood you?

[Imagine]

Now hold on there, Musky!

If we're talking Screens, male sockets for input, and female sockets out ( just like IEC, of course) removes the widowmaker. Or have I misunderstood you?

Urgh....it was early and I probably wasn't clear (in fact I can see where what I wrote is confusing).
I was of course, talking about the Bulgin PLUGS, not the sockets on the screens (which equates to what you allude to above and the same effect as IEC).

Where did I put my tablets ?

[tc1ooo]

I wonder if you could replace the light box bulbs with 12v LED strips, there must be a controller that would work them.

[Imagine]

I wonder if you could replace the light box bulbs with 12v LED strips, there must be a controller that would work them.

Funny you should say that

https://youtu.be/jIoiRPRhg6c

https://youtu.be/hRY79YQ3_DA


These were powered by a generic four channel DMX decoder. The problem at the time is that it would have been prohibitively expensive to do the entire show.
I seem to recall Justin's done something similar in the past with pixel mapped tape.

[tc1ooo]

Funny you should say that

https://youtu.be/jIoiRPRhg6c

https://youtu.be/hRY79YQ3_DA


These were powered by a generic four channel DMX decoder. The problem at the time is that it would have been prohibitively expensive to do the entire show.
I seem to recall Justin's done something similar in the past with pixel mapped tape.

Very nice