Hanging cradle for projector

[syzygy]

We use a 'custom built' (well, you might say knocked together) cradle for our projector but a promotor we work with regularly is buying his own projector and wants to get a 'proper' hanging cradle for it.

I assumed it would be easy to find dealers who sell cradles for projectors but so far we've only been able to find ceiling mounts - we need a cradle with a clamp on the top of it.

Any suggestions for where to buy such a thing?

Cheers,

Dan.

[sleepytom]

http://www.unicol.com/

[unjulation]

i've just gone to look at the brackets a hire company i use from time to time in Leeds, use, and it's the same one "unicol" so i gues they seem to be prety standerd :)

[DNXR]

A friend of ours welded, with iron L-type profiles, two 'cradles' in which our eiki-projectors slide in perfectly, we mount them with steelcable and adjust the angles with cable-adjusters (don't know the proper name but I guess you know what I mean). The nice thing with these cradles is, the projectors fit in them upside down as well, no extra problems with shift and key-stone.

We also often use those cheap TV-stands (wall-mounts) which you can find in your local DIY-store (search for the one's with long arms), we modify these stands and drill holes in them to use the proper screw-holes in the bottom-plates of the projectors, so they can hang as well. We even adjusted a few with an extra arm for ceilings.

If you can find someone who can weld, it wouldn't be to hard to place a clamp on them to fit in the grid.

I rekon your local blacksmit is even cheaper than an 'original' from one of the specialized manufacters, and when it's gona be a permanent installation you can have it made with your own pecs too.

[sleepytom]

the bloke round the corner from our office who made the cradels we use (no welds involved and so no certificate required) will make more - they cost about ?100 each which is less than half price of the unicol ones - there made from sheet steel and are galvinised for durability / rust proofness and they swivel nicely to allow you to position the image.

they look like this....
http://brightonart.org/user/tom/cradle1.JPG http://brightonart.org/user/tom/cradle2.JPG

[syzygy]

Those cradles look good to me but I'll have to see whether they are 'proper' enough for the promotor in question...

If not then it sounds like unicol is the way forward.

We definitely want to avoid welds and the associated certification issues.

Cheers,

Dan.

[BagheeraRC]

two ideas for quickly and securely hanging projectors that have worked well for me in the past:

get hold of a cheap nylon hammock, and stick the 'beamer in it. trim excess as desired, and tie off the hammock above the projector by putting a carabiner through the holes in the mesh. the whole thing can be suspended from the ceiling by the carabiner using whatever means necessary (rope, cable ties, extension cord, belt, etc).

an alternative involes those plastic cable ties you can find in hardware stores. i'm not talking about the cheap little ones you use for tying a bunch of wires together- go for the military-grade ties. they have a tensile strength of 75 lbs. each, and they're pretty cheap (100 for $5 US). you can make a rig out of these for your projector, and then use more cable ties or whatever other means you have at your disposal to hang the rig from odd places. i hate having to worry about it, but the strength of the ties also makes it difficult for bad people to walk off with your proejctor. the primary advantage i see to this method is that once you make a rig out of cable ties, you can pretty much leave it on and reuse it until you find something better, it's less gear than netting/metal plates, and breaking down just involves cutting the rig off the ceiling.

hope someone finds this helpful

[sleepytom]

this is dangerous and illegal

please don't rely on plastic to hold up your projector - it is against the law and could result in you projector falling and breaking or worse injuring / killing someone - ether get a proper cradle or don't hang your projector - it is not worth the risk of something going wrong.

[syzygy]

I'm with you there Tom - you've got to be careful with these things.

Compared to the price of a projector, a safe metal cradle isn't very expensive and compared to a liability claim it is nothing at all.

Dan.

[murph]

we're working on a show where the promoter wants to hang the projector from the ceiling, pointing down at the screen which will hang over the stage, parallel to the ground. It's in a climbing gym, so we'll be hanging from the ceiling setting it all up most of the day, should be interesting. =] (maybe they'll let me swing around tarzan-style during the party)

[BagheeraRC]

thanks everybody for being so concerned and correcting me quickly. i don't mean to question anybody's authority or proficiency at hanging really really expensive things from the ceiling, but why is this a no-no? regarding the legality.....you got me, i have no idea. i'll inquire into this when it's daytime again and people are at their various jobs so i can ask all sorts of funny questions.

but other than that, why'd everyone freak? have you seen something like this fail in the past? i just threw two ties over a peg above my doorframe, and hung from them until i couldn't feel my fingers any more (not the first time i've done this). my rig consists of a series of 6 interlocking rings, using 8 ties that evenly distribute the force. i'm not a huge guy, but i weigh at least 35 times what my projector does. the ties themselves are military-grade, and retain their tensile strength under temperatures up to 185 F. i know for a fact that if my projector gets anywhere near that hot, it'll shut itself off, and i'll have bigger worries than a bum rig. thus goes my reasoning....


please don't mistake this as an attempt to argue- i just want to learn the best way to go about doing this, and it's my nature to question.

peace
: : ray

[stevefromNewcastle]

The main problem with using plastic is heat. Cable ties can strench with the heat kicked out from a pjortector over an evining, also if there is afire they will melt compltly endangering anyone below the projector.

[telekinetix]

We made our cradle from metal mostly bought from B&Q for about 30 pounds. Only bit that we couldn't get from there was the hook clamp which was 5 pounds from Stage Electrics.

Here are some pics, should be able to see how we made it from the pics but if anyone wants instructions or design notes I'll try and post a simple and easy to follow guide to making your own! Ours was made for a BenQ MP610 projector. It was tested at a 500 capacity venue on friday night and worked a treat! Didn't fall on one persons head.....not one!:yep:
http://www.photobloggers.net/photos/telekinetix/dbfebd_dsc01355.jpg
http://www.photobloggers.net/photos/telekinetix/fadeef_dsc01351.jpg
http://www.photobloggers.net/photos/telekinetix/efeafe_dsc01353.jpg

[Ocular]

I use the Magic Arm with the monitor attachment.


http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?A=details&Q=&is=REG&O=productlist&sku=5180

It is super portable and can be setup pretty much anywhere (trussing, lighting, poles, ceilings)

Here is the monitor attachment for it http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=5405&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

maybe not what you need for a permanent installation but worth a share

[magiclantern]

"high street"shopping basket & safety chain with climbing clamps to adjust....easy to hang almost anywhere

totally ventilated and with big sides to catch it in case of wobble

really easy to adjust


and i believe very safe

[telekinetix]

"high street"shopping basket & safety chain with climbing clamps to adjust....easy to hang almost anywhere

totally ventilated and with big sides to catch it in case of wobble

really easy to adjust


and i believe very safe

haha!!! an interesting idea and free!! wish id thought of that :lol:

not sure if the tilt would be accurate enough though as it would only adjust every 1inch or so or whatever the distance was between links in the chain.

[magiclantern]

have set it up in quite a few places and always got it where i wanted it to beam!

it was a flash of inspiration i'm very happy with

not sure if "high street supermarket" would see it that way though

[magiclantern]

haha!!! an interesting idea and free!! wish id thought of that :lol:

not sure if the tilt would be accurate enough though as it would only adjust every 1inch or so or whatever the distance was between links in the chain.

it all depends on "the angle of the dangle"

it fits my <go on then take the piss> in focus x2 perfectly

[USE]

We made our cradle from metal mostly bought from B&Q for about 30 pounds. Only bit that we couldn't get from there was the hook clamp which was 5 pounds from Stage Electrics.

Here are some pics, should be able to see how we made it from the pics but if anyone wants instructions or design notes I'll try and post a simple and easy to follow guide to making your own! Ours was made for a BenQ MP610 projector. It was tested at a 500 capacity venue on friday night and worked a treat! Didn't fall on one persons head.....not one!:yep:
http://www.photobloggers.net/photos/telekinetix/dbfebd_dsc01355.jpg
http://www.photobloggers.net/photos/telekinetix/fadeef_dsc01351.jpg
http://www.photobloggers.net/photos/telekinetix/efeafe_dsc01353.jpg

that is genius. ?30 from bnq bits? spot on. ive got a gig on saturday in a big town hall type venue and im broke and cradleless. ive just knocked up a 2x3 m screen out of lycra today, so im in a diy type of mood. an afternoon of uber-mecano, i can hardly wait.

[VGA]

Hello,

I am designing and building myself a couple of cradles this week.

They will be designed so the beamer can be mounted upside down by default for mounting from the ceiling, and the right way up to be mounted from a T-bar on a tripod.

This is because my projectors are designed to be mounted like this, sticking them on the ceiling the right side up means you have to use extreme keystoning and the image size gets really small.

Now, it is time to go to the beach.

[jason5d]

gotta say I reckon our custom designed trays are still the best I've seen

http://www.5dg.org/tray.jpg

notice the powder coated black finish and easy tilt knobs

does anyone else hate the unicol brackets?

[gnomatron]

I don't see any safety bonds on them?

Get some asap if you don't have them - contact stage electrics or your local lighting supplier, should cost about a fiver. It's a legal requirement if you're hanging stuff using hook clamps etc., and if it were to fall, you'd be fucked if it didn't have a safety on. The safety should be secured to the proj itself, ideally too. It's highly unlikely that your cradle would fall, but it's not impossible.

But, anyways, nice cradle, I like it, better than most I've seen.

[sleepytom]

most domestic projectors have a kensington lock which is a very good way of attaching a safty chain.

[VGA]

Excellent last two points.
Anyone wish to comment on cradles for mounting things upside down?
How about adapations of the matching ceiling mounts for screwing to the ceiling in permanent installations?

[2cool4school]

I use Blue Tack to hang my projector. 6 packets does it.
After about a couple hours the weight of the projector and the heat is too much and the projector gives way. when this happens I just yell at the person dancing under it to look up and catch it. I also have a mate that stands by ready to push said dancer out of the way incase he doesn't look up in time.:hide:

[VGA]

Do you use the white stuff or the original blue?

[2cool4school]

The original Blue ofcourse. My exstensive tests using a television attached to the bottom of a London Eye carriage has proven the blue to conduct heat less. Plus, the white is easily mistaken for bird doo doo.

[Grim]

if anyone wants instructions or design notes I'll try and post a simple and easy to follow guide to making your own!


That would be cool.:yep:

[SleepyLampy]

Hi all.

Ok, so I noticed a bit of talk about hanging gear here then... And freaked a little bit over what some of you guys are doing.

As a professional rigger and general tech with experience of flying everything from PAR cans to Barco R20's let me give you my insight into this... thought not verbatum, it's about right.

Hanging stuff is a Health & Safety minefield.

If you're doing it, make VERY sure you have good insurance. ?5 mill liability would be my minimum reccomendation in the UK and (i believe) the minimum required by law, though it may be ?10 mill now. Also, be aware that some insurance policies put a height limit on them, stating you cannot rig above a certain height. This is usually around 30 feet (10 meters). Also some general event policies DO NOT COVER rigging of equipment above public spaces.
If you're working above this height (and in reality any height above 6 to 10 feet) you should have done a working at heights course. Ask you local HSE office about one, they'll be happy to supply details. They're not too expensive and alot of venues are now insisting on seeing the certificate.
You should all be aware that the HSE has now finally turned it's attention to the entertainments industry after finally clamping down hard on building sites, having had it's attention drawn by a spate of fatal accidents in the past few years... This has meant that we now have to deal with them and all the beurocracy that entails. :o(

So, if you are hanging stuff, and I'm assuming from the thread you are, then make sure that you safety everything!
The law states that a secondary mechanical fixing should be present to prevent any item falling in the event of a primary failure. So, if your cradle has nut and bolt fixings on each side, you should have one set as a pivot and a second that locks the angle AND is capable of taking the weight if the pivot breaks (like USE's example, though that should also have a way of securing the projector to the cradle. A ratchet strap would be ok i think...)
Finally, you should then safety wire/chain the projector AND the main body of the cradle directly to the rig you're hanging from, be it a lighting truss, scaff bar or hand rail.
Try not to use the carry handle on your projector as a safety piont... it isn't! As SleepyTom said, kensington points are possable a good option.
I know this sounds excessive, but I've seen the mess made by even small things falling from a rig onto someone... a wingbolt from a Lampy's hook clamp can knock someone cold from 15-20 feet if it hit's them on the top of the head, so think of the mess a projector and cradle would make!

As for Unicol, that is the AV industry standard for hanging desktop (ie small to medium) projectors.
However, just like Jason5D, I hate it all!
Apart from being overly expensive, it's a pain to rig.
You need tools to fix it properly and tools to adjust it.
And it's heavy....
Be aware that there are cheaper, better versions out there...

Ok, so now to the guy who hangs his projector using cable ties....

I assume you're in the States?

Need i say more? ;o)

You guys in the US don't have as stringent safety laws as us here in Europe, that's why everyone was freaking over your cradle idea. But bare in mind that though the law doesn't require it so much there, Law suits are generally more expensive and more common.
I would take to heart our way of doing stuff and save yourself the legal fees before they happen... and think of it like this, although your zip ties are heat resistant to what your projector puts out, if there was a fire in the venue, your kit falling from the roof may be the cause of injury to an escaping person or firefighter.... that's why we specify that all safety wires and chains should be steel... or backed up by a steel safety when hanging from steel isn't apropriate.

As a last point, CPC.co.uk? sell a 'universal' projector mount that is reasonably priced and with the addition of a couple of half couplers (available form Adam Hall, AC-lighting, Flints, or Thommann.de etc etc) and maybe a short piece of unistrut, makes an excellent budget cradle for anything upto the size of a VPL-PX41 or so. Sorry i can't remember the link off hand, but search their website and it'll pop up.

I'll leave you with my golden rule... If in doubt, leave it out!

Hope that helps.

If you need any more info, ask. I'm happy to help if I can. If i can't, then I'll know someone who can for sure.
If you need a rigger for an event, there's plenty of us about who'll do a night's work for a free entry to a decent night and a couple of beers... ;o)