DJ Lighting - The Complete Evolving Guide

[LiteTrix]

I'm not sure I would make one 100' cord at 12 gauge. 10 or 8 would be better if your going to do it that long. Why not make that 100' into four 25' sections with quad boxes on the end?

[DJHoss]

I'm not sure I would make one 100' cord at 12 gauge. 10 or 8 would be better if your going to do it that long. Why not make that 100' into four 25' sections with quad boxes on the end?

I could, I'm just throwing ideas out there. That would probably be more flexible anyway. I don't know where to get cabling, or boxes or adapters either.

[LiteTrix]

Home Depot, Lowe's, any large hardware store should carry all that stuff. For cabling make sure that sure that you get SOOW and not SJOOW. This is very important and if you use anything but SOOW, you could get into legal trouble not mention fry some of your equipment. If my memory serves right, its illegal to use anything but SOOW in a live performance situation. SJOOW, I believe is only allowed to be used if it's under 10-12ft. (I believe) Mystic or someone else should be able to back me up on this. Another tip when you begin to make these cables, make sure that you are grounding all these boxes. Hope that clears things up a bit

[Mystic]

Yes, you certainly want SOOW cable, though I'm not certain about the legalities when it comes to DJing so I can't really say. DJing isn't exactly considered "performance" in most cases for mobile DJs. That is more geared towards high amp distros I believe. It's really something that can differ from place to place and you should consult a local electrician about if you want to know all the legalese.

None the less, you can just save yourself the hassle and get SOOW and not have to worry about it.

But yes, Lowes will have everything you need.

[Dave Daschofsky]

Where do you reccomend buying black extention cords for lights on truss and to run some to my speakers(active). Ive been trying to find some of the heaviest gauge (12-14) but I cant find any besides on google shopping, and there insanely expensive. Suggestions? How big of a gauge should I look for? I was always taught the heaviest gauge I can buy.

I buy almost all of my cables (power, USB, XLR, etc) from monoprice.com $67 for a 100' and $35 for a 50'. The 100' cables are 12ga and high qualiy, worth the price. (their XLR cables are really nice too, very thick with good strain relief and solid connectors, $32 for 100')

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

[Brandt Slater]

The SJOOW statement isn't 100% accurate. Many big lighting and sound companies (my company does) use this type of cable in various lengths for single end equipment. Such as powering moving lights, band power, convience power, or anything that doesn't exceed it's rating. However your main (lead) wire(s) must be SOOW 600 volt rated. The likelihood as a mobile DJ you get inspected is a million to one shot. Most banquet halls, event coordinators are more concerned that you have liability insurance than what cable you use.

Good posting overall Mystic.

[KLH]

Great article! I've been digesting it over the years so know that this is most appreciated.

I've just learned that DMX can be done wirelessly. Do you have any insight or experience with it? Is it recommended or does it need refinement?

-KLH

[DJStevieRay]

I have been using wireless for all of my lights. (26 at one time was the most) for around two years. It works well.

[ampnation]

Someone posted this website recently for black 600v SOOW cable. The pricing seems good to me.
I would get as many 100' 10 gauge as you think you'll need for primary feed, then as many shorter lengths as you need. Switching over to this is on my list. I currently don't have any black and doubt any of mine are SOOW but I do have around 500' of extension not counting IEC cables.

[Brandt Slater]

Someone posted this website recently for black 600v SOOW cable. The pricing seems good to me.
I would get as many 100' 10 gauge as you think you'll need for primary feed, then as many shorter lengths as you need. Switching over to this is on my list. I currently don't have any black and doubt any of mine are SOOW but I do have around 500' of extension not counting IEC cables.

If you're gonna go all 10 AWG then you might to consider looking at a distro at some point. Edison to Edison no matter the cable type is still single phase. That's a lot of money to be dumping out for individual stems. Or if the power run is that long check to see if the facility may have a power drop for you. Also known as a spiderbox. Many facilities have this you just have to ask in advance.