[pianotech] To unplug or not to unplug

[Gerald Groot]

Why can't they just use an extension cord if a plug is not nearby?  Giving
them a green light to leave it unplugged even for short periods of time is
often a light that will be taken advantage of by leaving it unplugged for
longer and longer periods of time and then eventually, possibly not being
plugged back in at all.  

 

Jer

 

From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Andrew Anderson
Sent: Monday, January 24, 2011 8:46 AM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [pianotech] To unplug or not to unplug

 

It really depends on how far the hall climate is from the climate maintained
in the piano.  I was tuning a S&S D that got unplugged while I was working
on it.  Everything was moving within a couple minutes, and not just a
little!  When I showed the manager how much, he made a hard rule: the piano
is never unplugged.  They have a stage hand specifically to manage the cord
when it is moved between numbers in a concert.  

When the tuning moves that much, the unisons do not come back perfectly when
it is plugged in again.  

 

This is the problem with using a DC system, either you use it or you don't.
I maintain a piano in a bad environment where they were inconsistent.  We
ended up permanently unplugging it because the cycling was horrific.  We had
conferences with the people who used the hall and they just did not take it
seriously enough to protect the piano.

 

Andrew Anderson

 

 

On Jan 24, 2011, at 7:19 AM, Conrad Hoffsommer wrote:





I cut the power cord short and attached it to a back post. Arranged a loop
to act as a strain relief/release for when the piano got moved beyond
extension length. (after one poor humidistat got turned inside out)  Got a
number of extension cords to use as replacements for bare wires caused by
repeated runovers.  One piano prof made a little bag which could hold the
extension cord and hung it by a cord from a lid hinge. (up out of audience
line-o-sight)

I laminated a sign with a message to plug the piano in and attached it to
the cover.  

It worked if;
a. the people can and do read (professors seemed to have a problem with this
one)
b. they put the cover back on. (provided they didn't put the cover on
inside-out.)

YMMV
Conrad Hoffsommer




> Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 06:56:55 -0600
> From: mike.spalding1 at frontier.com
> To: pianotech at ptg.org
> Subject: Re: [pianotech] To unplug or not to unplug
> 
> Barb,
> 
> No problem for the 2 or 3 hours of rehearsal. It's the "plug it back 
> in" part that will be critical. If they can remember to do that they'll 
> be fine.
> 
> Mike
> 
> PS Help them avoid ripping the cord off the DC. Coil the cord and 
> clip it to the beams/rim such that only a couple feet hang down, not 
> enough to reach the floor and get caught under the stage truck wheels. 
> Maybe the extension cord hanging out of the wall outlet will remind them 
> to plug it back in??
> 
> On 1/23/2011 10:28 PM, Barbara Richmond wrote:
> > Hi List,
> >
> > I will be installing a full DC system with undercover on a Yamaha C-6 
> > that lives in a large parish hall. The piano is stored on near the 
> > wall on one side of the room. Every week it is rolled out mid-room 
> > for a chorus rehearsal. It seems like it would be OK to unplug the 
> > system, move the piano and use it for rehearsal, and then roll it back 
> > and plug it back in. Or, I thought about using some sort of 
> > retractable extension cord, but am concerned about how well that would 
> > really work--then there is the concern about the chorus members 
> > tripping over the cord.
> >
> > Thoughts?
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Barbara Richmond, RPT
> > near Peoria, Illinois
> 

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20110124/411d602a/attachment.htm>