Lighten the load

B

Bill Forbes

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Jan 25, 2011
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splsystems.net
Hey All,
Anyone have creative ways/idea's on how to lighten truck loads? Seems like I'm always pushing the weight limits on non-CDL trucks. (I don't want to go the Class A or B route unless absolutely necessary)
Less smaller racks in favor of fewer large racks? Bringing fewer "extras"? etc..etc..?

Thanks in advance,
Bill
 
Re: Lighten the load

Bill Forbes said:
Anyone have creative ways/idea's on how to lighten truck loads?
Click to expand...

Helium tanks?

In my experience, the historically heaviest items have been amp racks (much improvement in newer high-tech amps) and cable trunks (not much one can do to make copper and insulation lighter). Neo drivers can make cabinets lighter. Beyond that, it's sorting through what's absolutely necessary.

Dave
 
Re: Lighten the load

In addition to Dave's advice, cabinets can be made of composite foam/epoxy materials (like surfboards) and reduce weight by 50% or more, steel can be replaced with 6061 aluminum- but the cost may be a lot greater than going with a Class A or B.

If the truck has a lift gate, replacing it with an aluminum ramp can cut a lot of weight (about 500 pounds between gate and batteries) from the rear axle, and speed up load in and out.
 
Re: Lighten the load

The lowest hanging fruit is modern switching power amps that reduce transformer and heat sink mass.

I've seen SR speakers made from carbon fiber composites that were both light and worked very well, but were too expensive for practical use.

JR
 
Re: Lighten the load

More efficient equipment can require less power, and thus lighter cable trunks.
Digital snakes tend to weigh rather less than 56-pair multicore.
LED lighting can eliminate dimmer racks.
Splitting the load over multiple trucks can help bring both under the CDL limit, but imposes other costs.

Your best bet, though, is to weigh your current gear, and identify which items in your inventory make the most sense to reduce weight on.
 
Re: Lighten the load

Steve Payne said:
...and the monitor versions slide around the stage like greased pigs. :-)
Click to expand...

I recall a demo of the guy standing on top of a carbon fiber floor slant monitor, surprisingly strong for being so light. The speaker magnets and power amps (that might as well be inside too) will keep them from blowing away in a stiff breeze. :-)

I was shown the speakers because there was interest in the possibility of using Peavey's class D amps to continue the weight saving trend. This was several decades ago, long before class D amps became cheap and ubiquitous.

JR
 
Re: Lighten the load

It all depends on what you are willing to spend-and on what.

Without knowing what you have-it is hard to make any suggestions.

The ideas on amps has already been presented.

What about getting more efficient loudspeakers. Horn may be larger-but the weigh less for the same SPL and it takes less of them

Also with fewer more efficient loudspeakers you will not need as many speaker cables or as many amps. You might could scale down your power distro as well.

What sort of console are you using? Analog or digital?

As usual-it depends-------
 
Re: Lighten the load

Powered speakers are a further load lightener - power modules usually weigh in the 5-7 lb range, even the lightweight power amps need a rack to ride in and are usually heavier when all is factored in; trading speaker cables for AC power cables might be a wash. Obviously, getting rid of analog mixers and effects racks and going digital, especially with CAT cable replacing multicore. Aluminum truss for lighting. although there are not a whole lot using steel anymore except for stands.
 
Re: Lighten the load

Ivan Beaver said:
What about getting more efficient loudspeakers. Horn may be larger-but the weigh less for the same SPL and it takes less of them

Also with fewer more efficient loudspeakers you will not need as many speaker cables or as many amps. You might could scale down your power distro as well.
Click to expand...

+1... I have been out of the loop for over a decade so do not have much feel for the modern efficiency calculus.

Way back when, speakers were more efficient because they had too... but then amp technology got more powerful than the typical speakers, so drivers had to adapt to increase voice coil thermal dissipation, often increasing the moving mass and hurting efficiency, but consumers were happily purchasing watts instead of SPL (like buying a vacuum cleaner based on how many amps it draws). Since the customers are always right they got what they wanted, not what they needed.

Hopefully, powered cabinets are efficient, but they get painfully difficult to compare.

JR
 
Re: Lighten the load

Rick Powell said:
Powered speakers are a further load lightener - power modules usually weigh in the 5-7 lb range, even the lightweight power amps need a rack to ride in and are usually heavier when all is factored in;
Click to expand...

This calculus works only up to certain size and type of systems. Powered speaker amplifier modules only power one speaker. Amplifiers in racks power multiple speakers on a line.

Jason
 
Re: Lighten the load

Bill Forbes said:
Hey All,
Anyone have creative ways/idea's on how to lighten truck loads? Seems like I'm always pushing the weight limits on non-CDL trucks. (I don't want to go the Class A or B route unless absolutely necessary)
Less smaller racks in favor of fewer large racks? Bringing fewer "extras"? etc..etc..?

Thanks in advance,
Bill
Click to expand...

Every time I buy a new road case and get the bill for shipping I'm surprised at how heavy an empty flightcase is. We have mixer flightcases that are almost 100Kg empty!

Once we have gone from analog multicore to CAT, from analog FOH do digi and from transformer-PSU amps to SMPS the next step is to look at casing. It's a fine line, as we need good cases to keep the gear safe.

Various case-in-case solutions add up a lot in wheight. Many small cases are heavier than a few big ones. Plastic can now be used as a buidling material even in traditional case construction, not just for roto-molds.
 
Re: Lighten the load

Yep, Lighter amps amps Digital Consoles/stage boxes with all networked audio = less copper. More efficient and light speakers, if they are powered you have no amps or racks, if they are networkable you can run one cat 6 down your entire array in some cases. LED lights are lighter as well as less power draw so you may need less copper to power them as well. And then there are freakin road cases.......as you buy them get them only large and heavy enough to cover your specific need/truck pack.
 
Re: Lighten the load

kristianjohnsen said:
Every time I buy a new road case and get the bill for shipping I'm surprised at how heavy an empty flightcase is. We have mixer flightcases that are almost 100Kg empty!

Once we have gone from analog multicore to CAT, from analog FOH do digi and from transformer-PSU amps to SMPS the next step is to look at casing. It's a fine line, as we need good cases to keep the gear safe.

Various case-in-case solutions add up a lot in wheight. Many small cases are heavier than a few big ones. Plastic can now be used as a buidling material even in traditional case construction, not just for roto-molds.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, good stuff! I currently have separate cases for Feeder, AC, Spkr cable, and snake. ( all have room to spare) combining contents would eliminate height. Same with amp racks.
 
Re: Lighten the load

kristianjohnsen said:
Every time I buy a new road case and get the bill for shipping I'm surprised at how heavy an empty flightcase is. We have mixer flightcases that are almost 100Kg empty!
Click to expand...

Back when I was still Legit™ and worked directly to make shows happen, I had a console case made with plastic sides by LM Engineering. It was about 20% lighter in the end than a similar wood case, but even better was that it was more durable. Even after sustaining a heavy scratch the plastic was still black, and of course the usual lacerations had no real effect at all since the material is slick.
 
Re: Lighten the load

Bennett Prescott said:
Back when I was still Legit™ and worked directly to make shows happen, I had a console case made with plastic sides by LM Engineering. It was about 20% lighter in the end than a similar wood case, but even better was that it was more durable. Even after sustaining a heavy scratch the plastic was still black, and of course the usual lacerations had no real effect at all since the material is slick.
Click to expand...

Is that LM's composite series? Or was it a complete custom thing?
 
Re: Lighten the load

John Roberts said:
Way back when, speakers were more efficient because they had too... but then amp technology got more powerful than the typical speakers, so drivers had to adapt to increase voice coil thermal dissipation, often increasing the moving mass and hurting efficiency, but consumers were happily purchasing watts instead of SPL (like buying a vacuum cleaner based on how many amps it draws). Since the customers are always right they got what they wanted, not what they needed.

JR
Click to expand...

Most people just want "more watts".

OK then-go buy a toaster if you want power handling hooked up to your amps.

OHHHHHH You just want a lot of sound???????

Then maybe we need to look at something other than simply "watts".
 
Re: Lighten the load

kristianjohnsen said:
Every time I buy a new road case and get the bill for shipping I'm surprised at how heavy an empty flightcase is. We have mixer flightcases that are almost 100Kg empty!

Once we have gone from analog multicore to CAT, from analog FOH do digi and from transformer-PSU amps to SMPS the next step is to look at casing. It's a fine line, as we need good cases to keep the gear safe.

Various case-in-case solutions add up a lot in wheight. Many small cases are heavier than a few big ones. Plastic can now be used as a buidling material even in traditional case construction, not just for roto-molds.
Click to expand...
This ad is from 2 decades ago but FWIW I was thinking about weight even back then (you must supply your own roadie.

JR.
 

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