Socapex
Encyclopedia
Stage lighting
Modern stage lighting is a flexible tool in the production of theatre, dance, opera and other performance arts. Several different types of stage lighting instruments are used in the pursuit of the various principles or goals of lighting. Stage lighting has grown considerably in recent years...
to terminate the ends of a multicable
Multicable
In stage lighting, a multicable is a type of heavy-duty electrical cable used in theaters to power lights. The basic construction involves a bundle of individual conductors surrounded by a single outer jacket. Whereas single cables only have three conductors, multicable has ten or more...
. They are wired with six hot pins, six neutral pins, and six grounded pins, the final pin being a center pin used to help the male end of the connector align properly with a female receptacle. While "Socapex" is a brand name owned by Amphenol-Socapex, the term is often applied to similar off-brand connectors. "Breakouts" are used to connect the fixtures to the cable. The breakout consists of a male socapex connector with six "tails" with female Edison plug, stage pin connector
Stage pin connector
A stage pin connector is a standard cable type for theatrical lighting in North America.-Uses:...
or CEE/BS4343 16A (IEC 60309
IEC 60309
IEC 60309 is an international standard from the International Electrotechnical Commission for "plugs, socket-outlets and couplers for industrial purposes". The highest voltage allowed by the standard is DC or AC; the highest current, ; and the highest frequency,...
). A "breakin" is the opposite, consisting of "tails" with male Edison, stage pin connectors or CEE/BS4343 16A feeding a female socapex connector. These are used to connect Socapex cables to dimmer packs that don't have Socapex outputs.
Socapex is also occasionally used for other high-current applications within live events; most commonly, it is used as a trunk cable to connect PA speakers or stage wedges to amplifiers, usually using breakin and breakout cables to NL2/NL4/NL8 or EP5.