Blue neutral

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chris kennedy

chris kennedy

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Location
Miami Fla.
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60 yr old tool twisting electrician
I read through a couple old threads and am not comfortable.

I have stage lighting by Martin from Denmark. I tried to E-mail them but get an Outlook Explorer screen wanting me to open an account. Phone number starts with +45.

So, these units have a range of 100V to 230V, 50Hz to 60Hz. They are electronic. Google search gave no comfortable results either.

Am I correct to assume the blue is the neutral for 120V units?
 
Any single phase equipment I have worked on from 'across the pond' used;

Grounding: Green with yellow

Grounded: Blue

Ungrounded: Brown
 
Yes blue is neutral. The Fantech fans always come with a blue neutral conductor. This is common on european models.
 
Dennis Alwon said:
Yes blue is neutral. The Fantech fans always come with a blue neutral conductor. This is common on european models.
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I read your link to them on the old thread. Just want to be sure as this is very expensive equipement.

Thanks all.

Russ, how did you "doble check"?
 
chris kennedy said:
Just want to be sure as this is very expensive equipment.
Click to expand...

It won't make a difference unless they have connected neutral to ground which is a violation.

If the item has lamp sockets or receptacles on it reverse connection could lead to a bit more hazard to people.
 
chris kennedy said:
I read your link to them on the old thread. Just want to be sure as this is very expensive equipement.
Click to expand...

Oh I see, you didn't trust me, you needed Bob to confirm, hey. Okay Chris you not my friend anymore.;) I see where I stand. Are you still checking those 3 ways in your hall? :grin:
 
Dennis Alwon said:
Oh I see, you didn't trust me, you needed Bob to confirm,
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He's not trusting me either...:grin:

But that's a good thing, no one should believe anything they read on the Internet without checking into it. :)
 
Dennis Alwon said:
Are you still checking those 3 ways in your hall? :grin:
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LMOL:D:D:D

I read that link before I started this thread. Wanted to make sure it was a european industry standard.

Bob, I thinking that if these things are smart enough to operate on that range of voltages and frequency, reverse polarity probably wouldn't matter.
 
chris kennedy said:
I thinking that if these things are smart enough to operate on that range of voltages and frequency, reverse polarity probably wouldn't matter.
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Chris, forgetting any issues with lamp sockets and personal shock hazard when and why would polarity be an issue?

It's AC, the equipment will not care which conductor is grounded.
 
iwire said:
Chris, forgetting any issues with lamp sockets and personal shock hazard when and why would polarity be an issue?

It's AC, the equipment will not care which conductor is grounded.
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Thats a good point, I don't know about elecrtonics. I know my computer has a polarized cord cap. These lights are little computers.
 
Essentially the power supply in a PC is an SDS so reverse polarity on the supply side changes nothing on the load side.


BTW....that aside I would also try to get it right. :)
 
This is scary.

Martin are one of the best known companies in the entertainment lighting business, and have their web site at the very obvious www.martin.com, from which manuals for all of their products can be downloaded.

Every product manual has a section on powering whatever bit of Martin kit one has, and tells you what colour wire to connect where. It also says in the powering section "if you have any doubts about proper installation, consult a qualified electrician"...

Europe has harmonised wiring colours, which are always:
Brown = Live = Hot = US Black
Blue = Neutral = US White
Green / yellow stripe = Earth = Ground = US Green

Actually, those wiring colours (for equipment anyway) are now pretty much standard over most of the world, except the US and affiliates; time you guys got into step. For equipment to be brought to market in Europe the European colour scheme is mandatory, and I think that UL permits the European colours, so changing would be fairly easy...
 
This is scary

This is scary

dbuckley said:
...

Europe has harmonised wiring colours, which are always:
Brown = Live = Hot = US Black
Blue = Neutral = US White
Green / yellow stripe = Earth = Ground = US Green

Actually, those wiring colours (for equipment anyway) are now pretty much standard over most of the world, except the US and affiliates; time you guys got into step. For equipment to be brought to market in Europe the European colour scheme is mandatory, and I think that UL permits the European colours, so changing would be fairly easy...
Click to expand...

Is that Carolina Blue or Duke Blue ? ? :roll:
 
dbuckley said:
This is scary.

"if you have any doubts about proper installation, consult a qualified electrician"...
Click to expand...
It sure is scary there pally. Can you believe I have a license?

dbuckley, I have the specs in front of me. I said I went to thier web site and just went back to see if I missed something. Instead of insulting me could you show me where it shows how to hook up an Atomic 3000 DMX for 120V? Please help since your the smartest man in the world.

Thanks
Chris
 
Finally a question I know the answer to...

Finally a question I know the answer to...

As has been posted here, the Blue is your neutral/grounded conductor, the brown is your hot, and the green/yellow is the EGC. The Atomic 3000 unit is an auto-ranging electronic power supply, you can find the cut sheet at http://www.martin.com/marketing/files/Atomic_col_deto_broch_low.pdf . The good news is, this unit is pretty difficult to mess up. Let me know if you need any information on the DMX Connections.

And no, I did not go check anything to verify the answer. It would be kinda like asking you to go verify how to wire a standard 3-way light switch. :grin:

I also commend you for going through the effort to check, I've been in some situations where the EC didn't ask, and made the wrong choices.

---------------
Paul Beasley
ETCP Certified Entertainment Electrician
 
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