Emergency Tech Box - What you might need

If you are working in a live show environment, be it theatre, music or conference, you will undoubtably be aware that things do not always go to plan. It is impossible to plan for all eventualities but it is possible to prepare to handle them better. One way is to ensure that you are carrying a range of useful tools, spares and other accessories that will help you get around the problems. So here is a list of contents that should be carried inside your 'Emergency Box'.

The Basics

Whether you are a lighting technician (Lampy), a sound engineer (Noise Boys) or a stage technician, the following items are pretty much essential.

Screwdrivers - flat heads and phillips, assorted sizes.

Adjustable Wrench (x2) of, very useful for rigging.

Mole Grips - Incredibly useful tool.

Stanley Knife

Wire Cutters

Torch - Maglite is standard issue here.

Cable Ties - assorted sizes.

Tapes - PVC tape, Gaffa Tape, Camera Tape, Masking Tape

Multimeter

Fuses - 5amp and 13amp Domestic Types

Lighting Tech Stuff

If you are working with lighting, the following are useful extras...

Fuses - 5amp and 10amp for the older dimmers.

Spigots - 19mm and 29mm

Hook Clamps - there are always some missing.

Nuts and Bolts - M8, M10, M12. Again, there will be some missing.

Rope and pulley - for hoisting up lamps during rigging.

DMX Tester

DMX Adaptors - 3-pin to 5-pin

Sound Tech Stuff

For the sound engineer, the following should come in useful...

Assorted Adaptors - e.g. XLR-Jack, Jack-Phono, Gender changers, etc

Micropore Tape - for attaching radio mic leads to people,

Hair clips - for tying mic cables into people's hair.

Cable tester.

Soldering Iron and Solder

Loose connnectors - for bodging cables.

Batteries - for radio mics, DI's, etc.

Mic clips and stand-thread adaptors

Pop Shields