lessons learnt at the Chicago International

The Chicago show proved to be somewhat stressful, but resulted in enough orders for me to return a happy camper. My new lights were very positively received and my new plug setup worked exactly as I had hoped- no lights flickered and/or died during the entire show and when required, it was very easy to unplug any given light. I'm definitely going to recommend to clients that I install lights in roomboxes using this kind of plug.

I displayed an Art Deco/Moderne room and it also drew many favourable comments, but I also found that some people found the light temperature (colour) too cool. I had been trying for that effect, as fluorescent lights were very new in the 30's and would have been cutting edge fashion, but I found that most viewers prefer a warmer look. These photos show what the difference would sort of be like - I'm cheating and using photoshop for now. The top one is warmed up, the bottom one is as I displayed.

plugging in those new lights

One of the things that I dislike the most are the unreliable, fragile, finicky plugs used with miniature lights. At shows they are a nightmare as one never knows if they are going to work and if by some chance they do work at first, will they  keep on working (not bloody likely is the answer). The main problem is that they rely on mechanical contact - friction to hold the wires in place and feeble springs in the sockets to make contact with the pins,   Today I started the process of replacing all the plugs, using electronic machined pins and sockets instead. The left photo show a cir-kits plug, a pin partially cleaned up and ready to use, a strip of pins, and a small socket. Once I cut a pin off the strip, I cut off the remaining plastic and solder in the lead. I then put a jacket of shrink tubing to cover the pin top and the joint
The leads are soldered into the plug pins, so they won't get shaken or pulled loose, nor will the contact be broken by oxides.
The other photos shows how compact the setup is and how many lights I can plug in securely in a very small space. For any techies out there, I'm driving LED lights, so the amperage is very small.