The loss of a legend

Well guys we've reached the end of another year and a pretty successful one for the installs team. We are now off until the 4th of January. As good as this year has been we end it on a sad note.....the legend that is Mr Simon Pawlowski has left us.....sigh.

Si is moving on to pastures new with HM Forces and we wish him all the best for the future and may he stay safe on operational duties. His off the cuff thinking and humour will be missed.....his inability to answer his phone or be on time will not!!!

We do have a direct replacement for him and it could not be more direct......his identical twin brother Dan. This is not a wind up...you just cant make this stuff up.

Anyway ill sign off for this year and wish you all a Merry Christmas and a fantastic new year from all the team at Primary Technology.

Bad weather stops play

Even the mighty installs team have to bow down to the weather gods. We lost 2 days last week with the snow and ice. Our manager had a nice 7 hour journey home. I was thinking of him whilst at home with a brew after only a 2 hour journey home.......Funny thing is he sent us home!!!!

Spreading the Primary Tech wings....

An Hitachi starboard and ultra short throw projector install here. Had to travel to Middlesborough for this one, a stones throw from the Riverside stadium. It was for the Accent group who help train young people up in various trades. If you happen to pass there call in and see Gemma.....she makes a cracking cuppa!!!

Companies in bed with each other......tut tut!!

One of the primary schools we support has a Promethean Active Board 2 system in one of its classroom. This has board, height adjustable mounting system and a Sanyo PLC-XE 40 projector.

Slight problem here, what happens when the projector fails. You would think get a new one. Not possible as the PLC-XE 40 is no longer made. Promethean only use Sanyo kit with mounting systems generic to their projectors.

They do have an identical unit with identical chassis, identical everything except the mounting holes. The customer can purchase a converter for the mount at a price of £94......guess where from...Promethean. Cant see these converters costing more than £10 topside to make.

Two companies in league here making money from schools on the sly???? Ill let you be the judge but I know what I think.

Brand new classroom install

Installed another short throw projector yesterday. It was a Sanyo PDG-DWL 2500. Nice unit with a good quality and bright image. Not to keen on the mounting system though. Horizontal movement is extremely restricted which doesn't allow much room for error. Also the instruction manual giving measurements for hanging the mount is based on a 16:10 format not the standard 4:3 format mainly used. This caused a few problems in aligning the image/projector correctly.

Where do you put your speakers and PC??

Clevertouch LCD touchscreen monitor on a mobile trolley appear to be quite popular at the moment. One issue with them is where do you put your speakers and PC? The last thing you really want is cables trailing everywhere....kids and wandering hands!!

One solution is custom made brackets which integrate with the mounting plate. As you can see from the photo's everything is behind the monitor. Speakers are mounted either side as well. We are currently looking at a solution for a bracket at the base of the screen for a keyboard to sit on.....ill keep you posted.

Half term

Well its the first day of half term. Not much exciting happening at the moment. Currently awaiting delivery off essential stock for works to be carried out this week. We have two full Hall AV installations to carry out. One has been booked in for a while, the other was a last minute request. Only too happy to oblige. Look out for photo's of said works at the end of the week.

Boom, Boom, Boom.....!!!!!

Another successful install of a boom arm yesterday at a small Primary school in Bradford. The class in question was suffering with disturbance from rooms above causing severe image problems due to vibration. Not any more!

Ceiling mounts unusable....

Sometimes when installing a projector the preferred method of using a ceiling mount is not viable. This could be there is no suitable surface to attach to or the ceiling is simply at too extreme an angle. A good alternative is to use a boom arm. These can extend out to a maximum length of 3.2 metres thus giving plenty of scope for different throw distances on different units. Attached to the wall with 8 anchor bolts they are extremely sturdy.

They are also a good alternative where a classroom unit, which has been mounted on the ceiling, is suffering from disturbance from a classroom above. Nothing more annoying than a constantly shaky image caused by doors slamming or people exiting the upstairs classroom.

Above are two photo's of before and after. This reception classroom had a ceiling that was at too extreme an angle and there was nowhere to attach to the ceiling.

Installs spreading their wings

It appears our work is being noticed and we have received queries from outside Bradford. We have a definite install in Scunthorpe to do and one hopefully in Liverpool. Once this work is complete I will post photo's and updates on the work carried out.

An alternative to IWB's

We have installed a 42 inch clevertouch LCD this week in the early years of a Bradford primary school. Combined with a mobile trolley these are a good alternative to IWB's. The cost of these is dropping all the time and compares quite nicely to a full IWB install with projector and speakers. Also being on a mobile trolley it can be used in different areas in schools.

This interactive solution is very useful in the early years of Primary schools. They are very robust and use Infra Red to detect movement. The kids can use a paint brush on the screen and with the correct software it is actually like painting but without the mess. Being mobile it can be used in smaller groups in different areas of a class thus allowing more one on one time for the children.

No need for IWB's.......

One of three Epson interactive projectors we installed this week. The projector provides interactivity via a usb cable even on an ordinary white display board. No need for the expense of a Smart/Promethean board. For those schools with a smaller budget this is a good option. Two were fitted at my son's school and the children and staff are over the moon with them.

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Another Hall AV install.

We completed another school hall AV install yesterday. Again with a 3.5m screen, full PA system with wireless microphones. I managed to escape site before the teachers insisted on testing the sound system with Rod Stewart............so grateful the tower scaffold had to be back before half 5!!!!

Projector image with screen burn compared to new unit in its place

These photos are of an image before the unit was replaced and after. The one below is before. Note the yellow blob in the middle of the image.

Return of a hero....ish!!!

Well I'm back after a weeks rest and recharge. It appears I haven't been missed(sigh). Once I get back into the swing of things I'll update with all that is happening in the world of our installs team. More photo's will appear of our work as it is completed.

Photos of our works over half term

Why oh why????

It was our last day of work for half term, Sat the 20th to be precise. Id got myself out of bed and ready to go. Made my way to the van to set off and found the van blocked off...........i was not amused. I then had to wait for two of my work colleagues to turn up so we could push the little van out of the way. Some people clearly have no sense/intelligence!!!!!

Job done!!!!

Half term works are all complete. Three full AV hall installs, a meru wireless system over three buildings, two hitachi short throw units with new smartboards and two full classroom installs after renovation work and a couple of odd jobs and loose ends to tie up. Not bad going for 6 days work.

One of the hall AV installs work required a tower scaffold.......how that fitted in our van along with all our tools is quite amazing. Luckily cabling was already in place which saved some time. A full PA system was installed as well which included 4 wireless microphones.

Happy teachers/pupils

The Hitachi short throw projectors we are installing at the moment are going down a storm at one of the schools we are working for. Teachers and pupils are loving them.

The teachers are enjoying the ease of use, brightness of the image and the fact there is no glare as they are a short throw option. The pupils on the other hand think they are something space age because the lens housing opens automatically, a bit like a garage door!!! Well that's what they told me.......

The madness continues......

Been really busy this last week. One school are currently having 5 Hitachi short throw projectors fitted. There seems to have been a flurry of new network points to install at various schools. Also we have 2 Hitachi starboards to install this week as well. Photos will be posted once the work is complete.

Also quite a few schools have expressed interest if not requested full AV installs in their halls. Another Meru wireless install is booked in for half term at a primary in Leeds. As you can imagine the 3 man install team is very busy at the moment..........

Photos of our half term work will follow once everything is complete.

Another iwb install

Quite an interesting install this one. It was pretty straightforward but the room was very crowded. As well as myself and my workmate there was a joiner, plumber, decorator, and two guys installing air con all at the same time. Ladders and tools everywhere!! This large Primary are hoping to have this classroom in full use early next week as part of rolling rennovations throughout the school.

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Snow days!!

The reason why things have been chaotic!!

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1st install this year!!

At last parts are making it through. This, due to the weather, is our 1st install since schools returned. A nice install of an Hitachi AD100 short throw projector.

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The weather continues

Well not much to report really as the weather is still playing havoc with work. We are waiting on delivery of parts for a number of jobs but circumstance dictates we have to be patient with the parcel companies. No doubt they are SNOWED under with a huge backlog of parcels!!!! Bad joke, I apologise.

Fingers crossed the big thaw kicks in so we can start the wonderful game of catch up!!

The first week back....

Well been an eventful week back weather wise. Managed to chase a few loose ends on Monday. Yesterday and today most schools are shut due to the snow and freezing conditions.

Bit of a problem for us guys as we have installs booked in this week and cant get into the buildings......I can see a backlog coming on. Fingers crossed the conditions improve and we can catch up.