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Electrician's Tip: Don't Leave The Ends Of Stingers Plugged Together

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April 1st electric tech electrician Stinger

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Electric Tech: Astera App-Astera ART7 Box Glitch

Astera App running on an iPad with an Astera Box and an AX5 par I recently had a near disaster for me as a gaffer using the Astera App with an Astera Box (ART7). I was working on a commercial using Titan tubes and AX5 pars the last week of June. My Astera Box disconnected from the app during the shoot for no apparent reason. It had been working normally. I could never get connected again including using my backup Astera Box. Titan tubes on the truss and AX5s behind the band I won't go through all the things I frantically tried to get the Astera Box to reconnect. I did all the tricks I know and then some. No luck. I would not call myself an Astera expert but I am proficient having worked with these lights since the AX1s were introduced. The Titan tubes were inaccessible on truss (while we were shooting) but fortunately they were doing the correct effects when I lost control of them. The AX5s I was able to switch over my Exalux Contr...

Electric Tech: Power Stations

There has been a revolution with battery power the past few years. Batteries have gotten smaller, lighter, more powerful, and more affordable. One of the most useful tools available to me, as a gaffer, are "power stations." These are large watt-hour batteries with built-in DC-to-AC power inverters. I own 4 of these 1500 watt-hour batteries. At work, I generally just call them "block batteries." These power stations usually have multiple Edison 120-volt receptacles. They have other power options, too, like DC and USB outputs. One of the most useful features of these batteries is the digital readout. You can see: the charge level of the battery; the output in watts; and the estimated run-time at the current load. This screen shows the battery with no load. It is fully charged. There is zero output. It shows a runtime of 93 hours with the battery on but I don't know if those numbers mean anything without a lo...

Best Practices: Shiny Boards

Resurfacing a shiny board with a heavy duty, high-reflective mylar It's spring. I've been using the good weather to catch-up on maintenance. I recently recovered my shiny boards or 4x4' reflectors. Shiny boards are a tool as old as Hollywood. They have a soft and hard side with a brake for locking the board's tilt angle. They are a valuable tool to have on any grip truck. Here's a before & after; an old board on the left and a refinished one on the right. It's a big improvement! One of my earliest memories as a young, green, grip was using shiny boards. The key grip showed me how to set them up: mount the board in a combo stand; point 1 leg directly away from you and set the board at the same angle; put a 35 pound shotbag on your shoulder; and then, using the leg pointing away from you, tilt the board back onto your shoulder, balancing the reflector and stand. You can walk a long way with the shiny board like this w...

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