There’s a ton of different types of cable connectors in use, and it’s important to choose the right one for your application. Both feeder and motor (fly) cables are required for our jobs, and our electric shop often encounter the same type of connectors used throughout entertainment production specialists.
This visual guide below gives a quick reference to what these common cable connectors look like, and what they’re used for. Take a look!
Here’s another printable chart to pin up in the production shop. This chart helps you easily identify the amperage requirement for your hoists for when you need to order cable or control systems.
With the vast amount of CM Lodestar models and the variable voltage, phase, and hertz settings, this chart provides a quick reference for chain hoist models A through RRS.
Check it out and feel free to share with your colleagues!
Fall protection is a must, but don’t neglect stocking up on drop prevention items as well. Python Safety’s drop prevention products include tethers, holsters and wristbands that keep your tools and loose items safe from accidental drops at height. Our Drop Prevention Package includes the Hammer Holster (includes Hook2Quick Ring Coil Tether), Adjustable Radio Holster, and Slim Pullaway Wristband (available in SM, MED, and LG). Be a safety role model on site with these 3 reliable products that keep you, and those below you, safe.
When performing maintenance on your CM Lodestar chain hoists, it’s important to know the style and model of hoist you’re working with, as each Lodestar model requires different components. One electric chain hoist part that has a variety of part numbers per hoist model is the contactor. In CM’s Entertainment Product Maintenance Manual ©2010, they outline the different contactors that have been used over the years, which part numbers refer to which hoist, and if they are still currently in use. We’ve put this helpful information in a chart below that’s a great resource to have available next time you’re reordering parts. Enjoy!
We’ve just added two more product bundles to our Rigging Shop – the Down Rigger package and the Stagehand bundle. Take a look at what’s inside:
This product bundle caters directly to down riggers, and the specific equipment they need to get the job done and support their up riggers. Along with personal protective equipment, this package features the Leica LINO P3 three-point laser that is perfect for shooting accurate points up to the grid. (Leica’s tools are accurate to within 1/16th of an inch!) We threw in the Leica GLB30 Red Laser Glasses to improve laser visibility when shooting your points.
Servicing and maintaining chain hoists is critical—no questions asked. But how do you know that those who are working on your motors have the experience to diagnose and repair any issue successfully? Always research the company you are sending your motors to—after all, these are your valuable investments that must be operated safely (faulty operation or technical problems can and have caused serious accidents). One of the companies that excel in proper hoist maintenance and servicing is HARP (Hoist and Rigging Professionals) Rigging.
It’s already the end of May, and your CM hoists have already hit the road for shows in your summer season schedule. It’s important to maintain and repair any hoists returning from a show so that the next event runs just as smoothly. At Mountain Productions, our motor shop is busy year round performing hoist servicing, repairs, and more, and our in-house inventory of genuine CM replacement parts is extremely diverse.
One of the goals for our e-commerce website was to provide an easy way to quickly find and order CM replacement hoist parts. We’ve separated, organized, photographed, and documented every component of a Classic Lodestar, Next-Gen Lodestar, and Prostar (including both Small and Large Frame models). You won’t find a more comprehensive and detailed inventory of CM replacement hoist parts anywhere on the web.
We can’t do our jobs without the help of safe lifting equipment. Entertainment production workers are no strangers to roundslings and chain hoists—both critical to rigging and material handling. We deal with this gear every day, and only trust the safest, highest quality sling products. Mountain Productions proudly uses and distributes LiftAll® roundslings. LiftAll manufactures a wide variety of web, mesh, chain and wire rope slings along with lifting devices, straps, sling protection and more. Chris Shaffer, District Sales Manager for LiftAll, visits Mountain Productions a few times a year to perform training sessions and present at our annual CM Hoist School. We spoke to him recently for a Q+A article discussing LiftAll and how they have become a valuable asset to the industrial and entertainment markets.
Some of the most popular products on Mountain Productions Rigging Shop are the variety of chain hoist bags we offer. Our in-house softgood shop has been manufacturing chain bags for decades with the support and design from our engineering team. Combined, we have perfected a line of chain bags that fit Lodestars, Prostars, and CM manual chain hoists, along with custom chain bag solutions for specific needs.
Our chain bags are available in a range of materials with different style installation bracket options. Here’s a breakdown of our main chain bag styles:
Standard Sizes: 13”, 16”, 20”, 25”, 32”, 36”, 40”
Material: Vinyl Mesh or Cordura
