Legal Videographer – Video Depositions
A videographer’s View Down The Table
OK, court reporters, please listen. I know I have spoken to a number of you about the torturous way you treat your power cords. I know some of your spouses and significant others have spoken to you about the electrical-cable-abuse you commit with wanton abandon. I don’t know how many of you have ever suffered from a power outage secondary to the criminally sadistic manner in which you coil your cords. I do know that if it hasn’t happened to you yet, it’s going to happen to you soon.
I do know that your videographers take great strides to ensure that their power cords and cables are coiled with love and care. We don’t claim to have a greater knowledge concerning electrical wire “shorts.” We don’t think ourselves superior for our angelic treatment of our wires. It’s just that, with very few exceptions, none of our equipment runs with a battery backup.
After five-and-a-half years of video depositions, I had my first power outage. It happened just before we were to go on the record and it was obvious to the whole room, as I had my auxiliary light plugged in on the same circuit. When the light went out and the room was plunged into relative darkness, my first thought was the lamp-bulb itself. Doom! Oh sure, I have a spare. It’s never been tested but I have one. The “DOOM” part is: it takes about 10 minutes for a halogen lamp to cool down enough to change! And yes, thanks for asking, it WAS a doctor depo! But, immediately, it became apparent that my whole “stack” was dark and the lights on my industrial strength power strip were as dark as closing time. Whew! I reset the breaker on my power strip though it hadn’t tripped, and I moved my cord to another socket on the same wall. This part of the hospital was enduring renovations so it was assumed this was the problem, and with power restored we went on the record. For ten whole minutes.
That’s how long it took before the room went dark again and my stack powered down before my stunned and unbelieving eyes. I relocated my extension cord to a different wall ( Madame Court Reporter didn’t lose power ) and all was bright and ready to proceed, after an interminable wait as the dvd recorder chewed on the disc “repairing” it after the outage. I actually have a battery powered backup as I record to a computer simultaneously. Belt, suspenders, staples, duct-tape…whatever it takes.
We got through the morning, all of us believing it was just something to do with the construction. Still, upon reflection I had to wonder, could it be something about the new dvd recorder? Something about the iCharger plugged into the strip? For my next deposition I was going to lighten the “load” on my power strip, just in case.
Fast forward one week. Different case, different doctor, different hospital. No construction. iCharger not plugged in. Power for my mobile wi-fi hotspot across the room on a different wall. Ready to go. Holy reruns Batman! It happened again. I couldn’t get power to the stack! It took less than five minutes to locate the fault. My orange extension cord. Arguably the most “abused” piece of wire in my kit. Six plus years old, it was very stiff and never liked all of the recoiling it had to endure. Still, it was very high quality and it’s not like I abused it as a child. While there were no visible signs of breakage or damage, it looks like the hands of the most painful arthritic you have ever seen. Because you can’t carry a spare “everything,” I was suddenly without an extension cord. Lucky for me, no Nun can resist a poor soul with a ducky neck tie and Sister Louise let me use hers. It did cost me a Diet Pepsi for the poor box, though! Haven’t quite figured that one out yet….
So what, John? So, dear friends, wires break and fail when they’re well taken care of. When is your twisted and twisted and twisted power cord going to fail? But John, our equipment runs on batteries. Yep. Batteries that have to be charged. And when your “low-battery” lights start flashing like a disco light show – that’s the time my friends! That is when your cords are going to fail. You know I’m right. So be kind. Also, look at doing something to protect the “ends” of your cords. I use “Rescue Tape” around the terminal ends of all my wires and power cords. Any of the places where stresses are always put on the cable. It prevents them from bending so radically and this will help to extend the life of your cables and cords. There may be other products available and the same result can probably be had by using a liberal amount of electrician’s tape. Also, straighten them out and gently loop them before you put them away.
John Spohnholtz
Legal Video Services
Tags: court reporters, equipment, legal video services, power cords, video depositions, videographer
June 28th, 2012 at 1:51 pm
John, Thanks for the reminder to take care of our power cords. This is so true. I have had mine go bad before and had to wait a week to get a new one. It is a good idea that we check them periodically to make sure they look good.
June 29th, 2012 at 8:28 am
That’s true. I see so many court reporters take their laptop chargers and tightly wrap the cord round and round the charger. I can just see the end of the cord being pulled away from the charger, and it makes me cringe. All of the little things are important. Thanks John!
June 29th, 2012 at 9:16 am
Words of wisdom as usual, John. It’s the simple things that can cause the most problems and are hardest to figure out. Thanks for the heads-up!
July 1st, 2012 at 11:30 am
John, It’s ironic you wrote this! I am always diligent in taking care of my cords, although, with daily use, they are bound to not last forever. I was just inspecting my cord last week, and I noticed the slight wearing away of the rubber sheathing. I bought a backup cord for my steno for when my rainy day hits. Thanks for the reminder!
July 1st, 2012 at 1:03 pm
I learned how to wrap a cord after watching you, John. You and Dean handle your equipment with care and much love – and it does make a difference!!
July 13th, 2012 at 11:19 am
I had an older computer that had a fraying power cord. I ended up having to buy a new cord that had multiple adapters to it so that it would work for a variety of different computers. It’s great to have the back-up in case I have any difficulties in the future!