Getting Started
Congratulations on your purchase of the Spotline hoist from Creative Conners, Inc. Spotline is a hoist designed to meet the demands of scenic automation in vertical applications.
This manual will direct you through:
Unpacking
Installing & testing
Operation procedures
If you need help along the way contact us either on our website
(www.creativeconners.com), via email
(support@creativeconners.com), or by phone (401.289.2942)
A word about safety
The Spotline hoist is a versatile and powerful machine for moving scenery and performers in a vertical application. With the addition of the Spotline Tensioner, the Spotline hoist can become a formidable deck winch. Such power requires a great deal of respect and attentiveness as the repercussions could be hazardous to the equipment and more importantly people. Proper rigging techniques should be understood and practiced when installing, rigging, and operating the Spotline.
ANSI E1.6-2012
The Spotline conforms to ANSI E1.6-2012 Entertainment Technology – Powered Hoist Systems. It is built with redundant brakes, redundant limit switches, and when used with the Stagehand Pro, can detect an overspeed condition and safely stop the hoist if the motor or encoder fail to operate properly. Lifting scenery directly above people is inherently dangerous. Even though the Spotline has been rigorously engineered by Creative Conners and reviewed by third-party engineers, you should take every reasonable precaution to keep performers and technicians safe on stage. During a fullspeed, downward movement, the sensing technology in the Stagehand Pro control may take several inches to recognize that an overspeed condition has occurred and stop the hoist.
Consider a cue that is supposed to lower 500 pounds of scenery and stop just an inch above a performer’s head. If the encoder, the sensor that measures the distance the hoist has traveled, fails right before the hoist reaches position the hoist will overspeed for several inches before the safety circuitry detects the problem and triggers both brakes on the hoist for an abrupt stop. Even though the possibility of this particular failure is incredibly small, the tolerance for failure is zero since a failure would result in serious injury or death. Is this risk avoidable? Of course, simply re-block the action on stage so that the performer is not standing underneath the moving load.
The risk analysis outlined above should be considered anytime you are moving scenery that could pose a danger. The ANSI Specification mentioned above has an excellent section describing a formal process for risk analysis. It is not a magical process, rather it relies on competent people discussing the possible risks in the performance and ways to reduce those risks. For general use, we recommend never moving a load that is suspended directly above people. The risk of equipment failure is small, but the result of such failure would be terrible and can be almost always easily avoided with good planning. When the load is stopped, it is very safely held in place by two mechanical, spring-set, fail-safe brakes. The risk grows greater once those safety brakes are released and the load begins to move. If you have a performance that requires moving a load directly above people, please contact us so that we can assist in the risk analysis and engineer a solution with you to keep your production safe.
ANSI E1.43-2016
The Spotline conforms to ANSI E1.43-2016 Entertainment Technology – Performer Flying Systems. It is built with redundant brakes, redundant limit switches, and when used with the Stagehand Pro, can detect an overspeed condition and safely stop the hoist if the motor or encoder fail to operate properly. When using the Spotline to lift performers every precaution must be taken to ensure the safety of the performer and to mitigate the effects of a Category ‘0’ Stop. For instance, if a performer weighing 125lbs is traveling at the maximum speed will result in force on their harness & body of 569lbs.
The best approach to mitigate these issues is to consult a Performer Flying Specialist.
Spotline Overview
Spotline hoists are designed for vertical lifting applications. The Spotline is constructed to be rugged and versatile allowing the user to mount the Spotline in multiple orientations. The Spotline is equipped with a redundant safety brake and a four position limit switch. The Spotline has a maximum lifting capacity of 500 pounds with a maximum speed of 3 feet per a second.
The Spotline hoist is constructed to be easy to use and tough enough to withstand the rigors of any show or venue. All Spotline hoists come equipped with the following components (shown in Figure 1.1):
Gearmotor with integrated brake and encoder
Redundant brake
8” grooved drum
Delrin cable keeper
4-Pole rotary limit switch
Electrical Box
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