You may already know that copper prices have been rising rapidly over the past few months and you may have expected a price increase on cable from Lex this month. However, we are happy to say that we have once again made a considerable effort to keep your cable pricing at its current level for December - it's like a holiday present from Lex! If you are looking to purchase cable, now is the time - we won't be able to hold these prices forever.

The holiday season is the perfect time to give to Behind the Scenes, ESTA's charitable organization which offers financial assistance to entertainment technology industry professionals when they are ill or injured. Click here to check out what Behind the Scenes is all about or to donate.

You can also contribute to Behind the Scenes by purchasing Lex's 6 Circuit Live Tester. A portion of the proceeds from the Live Tester will go directly to Behind the Scenes, but only until the end of the year. If you've been thinking about buying a 6 Circuit Live Tester, now is the time! Get a great product and contribute to a great cause at the same time.  

Lex East will be closing at noon on December 17th for its holiday party. All calls will be rolled over to Lex West after noon on that day. Lex West will be closing at noon on December 23rd for its holiday party. All calls for the West will be rolled over to the East coast office on that day.

Additionally, Lex will be closed for business on Thursday December 24, Friday December 25, and Friday January 1st.

We've made some changes to the catalog numbers of our 16 Series Cam-type inline connectors that we'd like to update you on.

A while ago, we changed our standard to Marinco 16 Series single pole Cam-type devices. We felt that they were superior in overall quality and that they had the added benefit of fitting a broader range (#6-4/0) of portable feeder cable. The previous brand had only accepted #2 to 4/0.

At the time of our changeover to Marinco, we did not accurately reflect the full cable range in our catalog numbering system. To remedy that oversight, we have created a catalog numbering system that reflects the full breadth of our product offering. You can find the changes by clicking here to download a catalog number cross reference sheet.

Please note that this is primarily an administrative change and that there are no changes to existing Cam-type male and female inline connector pricing. Click here to download the new 16 Series Cam-Type data sheet.

If you have any questions about the transition, don't hesitate to contact Customer Service at 800.643.4460 or customerservice@lexproducts.com.

Thank you to everyone who came out to the Orange County Convention Center last month and stopped by the Lex booth. Lex officially launched its 1.8K Slim Dimmer and its line of Maintenance-Free Molded Multi-Cable Assemblies, EverGrip. We had a great turn out and we're already looking forward to next year!

Slim Dimmer

EverGrip™ Molded Multi-Cable Assemblies

Last month we asked you "Why is one of the power prongs on household connectors slightly different in size from the other?" Some of our correct answers this month came from R. Wil Laneski from Detroit Power and Light, Stephen Snyder from Barbizon Capitol, and John Perovsek from Perovsek Engineering, Inc.

Sherwin Li, one of our Electrical Engineers, provided this response:

"The answer, in short, is polarization. Plugs are polarized in North America because of a ubiquitous appliance: the screw-in incandescent lamp. This appliance, standardized long ago, violates many modern safety regulations but is too common to outlaw. The power connections to the bulb involve the threaded socket and the recessed "button" at the bottom of the socket. The only reason why the prongs on the two prong plug are different sizes is to ensure that the more dangerous connection, the more accessible threaded socket, is always connected to the neutral, or safer, wire. All modern two prong appliances and office equipment are designed so that they can be plugged in either way and they just use the standard plug, which happens to have the differently sized prongs."

This month we'd like you to tell us what was the most common multiplex control protocol before DMX? And what do the letters in the protocol stand for? Click here to answer for your chance at some cool Lex swag!