Getting Started

Congratulations on your purchase of the Spotline Practical hoist from Creative Conners, Inc. The Spotline Practical is a fully-fledged hoist for practical, electrified effects. The Spotline Practical is ideal for all locations since it operates on standard 120V power. The Spotline Practical is a Smart Machine, the Stagehand controller is built in. Simply connect the Input power, Ethernet and Showstopper cables and you’ll be ready to Make It Move!

This manual will direct you through:

  1. Unpacking

  2. Installing & Testing

  3. Operation Procedures

  4. Scheduled Maintenance

If you need help along the way, contact us!

A Word About Safety

The Spotline Practical is a powerful machine designed with safety in mind. If used improperly, the 40lb payload can cause significant damage to scenery, machinery, and even people. The integrated ultimate and slack-line sensors help to mitigate these risks, but ultimately depend on you the operator to identify and mitigate any additional risk during installation and operation of your hoist.

  • Proper overhead rigging techniques should always be understood and practiced when installing any machinery including both the Spotline Practical hoist and its payload.

  • Attach the hoist to a pipe using at least (2) pipe couplers, (1) on each pipe at the top of the machine frame.

  • Use a safety cable of at least ⅛” diameter aircraft cable to further secure the hoist to its hanging point.

  • Do not exceed the 40lb payload rating of the hoist.

What’s included

  • Spotline Practical hoist

  • 2 x 10’ Edison to powerCON TRUE1 power cables

  • 1 x powerCON TRUE1 connector (for your electrified payload)

Required Tools

Making adjustments to the Spotline Practical will require a hand tool:

  • 4” long, #1 Flat Head Screwdriver (rotary limit adjustment)

Features

The Spotline Practical is a smart machine, meaning the Stagehand controller is built right in. The all-in-one design incorporates the following safety features:

  • ANSI E1.6-1 - 2019 compliance

  • 3rd party engineering review

  • Emergency Stop circuit

  • Dual brakes

  • Forward and reverse limit switches

  • Ultimate limit circuit (indicating on drum) to prevent overtravel of payload into machine body

  • Slack-line detection sensor

  • Branch circuit protection for both machine power and payload power.

General Features

  • 35’ max travel

  • Flat lifting line to reduce spinning

  • Power (110VAC 10A Max) and data circuit (4 twisted pairs x 30AWG @ 100ohm) in lifting line.

  • 200W servo capable of lifting 40lb payload at 34”/sec

  • 110VAC 60Hz 1-phase machine input power (powerCON TRUE1 )

  • 110VAC 10A (1200W) max payload input power (powerCON TRUE1 )

Overview

Stagehand Controller - Onboard

  1. Momentary Limit Override buttons - When pressed, the onboard Stagehand will temporarily override the FWD, REV, or ULT limits. This feature is intended to be used when manually jogging the Spotline Practical.

  2. Manual Jog Buttons - When pressed, the onboard Stagehand will switch to manual operation, allowing jogging in forward or reverse.

  3. OLED Display - The OLED display shows information about the Stagehand’s status. When idle, it shows the current IP address and the network connection status to the PC running Spikemark.

  4. Multi-function Jog Wheel - The Jog Wheel has two functions:

  5. If either the FWD or REV jog buttons are pressed, the knob functions as a speed dial.

  6. Clicking the wheel (it’s also a button) allows the user to set the IP Address or the Subnet.

  7. Brake Test buttons - When pressed, each brake will be able to independently release. This feature is intended to be used to verify brake functionality.

  1. Input Power - This is the 120VAC single phase power input from the distribution panel or wall power to power the Spotline Practical.

  2. LX Power - This is the 120VAC single phase power input from the distribution panel or wall power to power the payload.

  3. Showstopper Input - The E-Stop (Emergency Stop) receptacle is a 5-pin XLR connector (a.k.a. standard DMX cable). The 24VDC E-Stop signal is provided by the Showstopper 3 system. If the signal is present, the machine is free to move, when the signal is interrupted all motion will stop.

  4. Ethernet - The Ethernet receptacle accepts both Ethercon as well as standard RJ45 connectors. The Spotline Practical uses Ethernet to communicate with the PC running Spikemark software.

  5. LX Data - The Ethernet receptacle accepts both Ethercon as well as standard RJ45 connectors to send data down the lifting line.

  1. Branch Circuit Protection - Individual breakers allow you to de-energize the main power to the Spotline Practical as well as the power to the lifting line.

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