Welcome to the February edition of LiveWire! As always, we'll start off by giving you your Lex pricing - our prices remain stable this month. Log-in with your customer number on our homepage to get your February price list. Read on for Lex news and trivia!

We are proud to announce that the KMP Division of Lex Products - which focuses on metalworking and producing portable power distribution boxes - has achieved ISO 9001:2008 certification. The ISO 9001:2008 requirements reflect an international consensus on good quality management practices and allows for processes to be standardized to optimize customer satisfaction. This certification is the result of Lex's dedication to delivering the highest quality products and the best level of service. We hope that our efforts will allow us to continually meet and exceed your expectations.

Over the past year Rebecca Lore has been the Sales Associate supporting both the Midwest and Southeast territories. With business in both of these territories continuing to expand, we've added a Sales Associate to concentrate exclusively on meeting the service levels that our Midwest customers expect from Lex. Jack Hogarth has taken over as Sales Associate in the Midwest. Rebecca is now devoting her efforts to the Southeast full-time. Jack comes to us from Hubbell where he was a Technical Sales Representative for two years. In addition, he is a licensed electrician and worked for an electrical contractor for 10 years before beginning his career in sales. He brings a great deal of experience and energy to the table and is looking forward to assisting Lex’s Midwest customers with quotes and sales support. Jack can be reached at (203) 274-9955 direct or jhogarth@lexproducts.com. Please welcome him to the Lex Products Midwest team!

Click here to download the PowerRACK brochure for more information and specifications on Lex rolling racks or click here to receive a quote on a custom rack.

Last month we asked you "In what shape are power cables commonly wound into when in use? Why?"

We accepted answers that addressed heat reduction, but what we were really looking for were answers that mentioned electromangetics. Justin Wardell from DesignLab Chicago hit the nail on the head with his answer:

 "Power cables are commonly wound into a figure-8.  Passing electric current through a copper coil is how you construct an electro-magnet.  Winding cable in a figure-8 cancels the electro-magnetic fields generated."

Andrew Errato, a Lex Products Electrical Engineer elaborated on this Justin's answer with this answer of his own:

Power generation, especially in the entertainment industry typically comes from a house feed which may be stepped up or down using a transformer depending on the venue’s power requirements, or from a portable generator.  In either case, each source is prone to noise, both in the form of electromagnetic interference (EMI) as well radio frequency interference (RFI).  Dimmer control systems for lighting are notorious sources of both types of noise.  With loads such as these, power cables tend to radiate emissions in the form of EMI and RFI.  This can cause unwanted noise to couple onto audio and video feed cables which can cause distortion and waveform degradation.  For these reasons, audio and lighting system are typically connected to separate power sources.  To mitigate radiated emissions from power cables, the principle of phase cancelation is utilized.  By coiling power cables in a figure eight pattern, EMI and RFI frequencies which are 180 degrees out of phase from one another will cause a cancellation of those unwanted frequencies.

Audio and other signal cables should always be separated from one another where the cabling arrangement is practical.  Whenever a situation occurs where crossing of the cables cannot be avoided, it is always good practice to maintain an angle of 90 degrees between the power and signal cables.

This month we would like you to answer: When cam connectors are used in 120/240 systems, the phase connectors are red, blue and black.  What colors are specifically used to identify the phases in a 277/480VAC system?

Click here to answer for your chance to snag a Lex t-shirt!