OmegaTech is a manufacturer based in Perth, Western Australia. Director Craig Beatson has always worked on the philosophy of being a solutions-based company, coining the motto, ‘What’s a problem we can solve for you?’. As a former rental company owner, Craig identified gaps in the market for production power solutions and decided to fill some of those gaps with new and innovative product designs. 15 years later, OmegaTech now produces a wide range of power distribution products, including powered stage boxes, cable assemblies, rack strips and power distribution units. All products are designed and manufactured in OmegaTech’s Belmont facility, drawing upon Craig’s experience and with constant feedback and input from customers.
With that in mind, Sales and Marketing Manager, Chris Chalk, sat down with Rob Knowles, Inventory Manager for Audio Technik, one of Perth’s premier audio rental companies, to discuss their relationship with OmegaTech and their products. As a supplier of audio equipment for all types of events, ranging from major arena shows to niche festivals, Audio Technik requires reliable power solutions in various form factors. They have found that quite often, there is no off-the-shelf product that meets their needs. This is where one of OmegaTech’s major strengths has come to the fore: customisation.
Knowles acknowledged, “It’s great to deal with someone local, and we really enjoy the customisation that’s available. Of all the gear we’ve ordered so far, there hasn’t been one instance where we’ve been turned down on our requests or designs. We’ve used a wide range of power products over the last ten-plus years, but everything off the shelf is always missing something. It’s great to get units that are Australian compliant, look good and are custom-built to fit our needs.”
When asked about the design and customisation process, Knowles replied, “We normally decide what we need to power this, and we’ll send that information to OmegaTech. We want something roughly like this. Then you guys will send us some concept renders and layouts. We always add some bells and whistles, such as USB charging, for added convenience. Sometimes it’s something simple. A great example is the CeeForm slot added to the PDU, so we don’t have to waste a rack space for the flip cap on our CeeForm cables. The recess built into the PDU solves that problem.”
OmegaTech has also offered some custom, yet product-specific, solutions. “We’re big fans of d&b, but the d&b distro is designed more for European standards, so it lacks some of the things to meet Australian Standards,” added Knowles. “We were able to get OmegaTech to design us a custom solution that works better for us in terms of our rack design, because we need to be quite flexible in what we use our systems for. The OmegaTech product just had more options for us, but in the same size.”
Starting with one of OmegaTech’s standard OTS-PDU-T-ML, Craig and Rob collaborated to design a unique custom product, the OTS-PDU-AT. Utilising a similar layout but reduced to 9 TrueCon outlets allowed for some unique features. The front panel features a panel-mounted 32-amp CEEForm input, LED indicators for Phases and Neutral, and an Earth fault indicator, as well as a finger guard for the main and output breakers. One innovative feature of the front panel is a slotted recess for the cap of the CeeForm input cable. Built into the chassis, the recessed slot allows the cap to slide into the housing, eliminating wasted space in the rack.
The rear panel features the nine TrueCon outputs, an auxiliary GPO outlet, and a panel-mounted 32-amp CeeForm loop out. The unit is finished in a satin black powder coat to Audio Technics’ specification and features their logo. In conjunction with this product, Craig and Rob also worked together to design a 2U patch bay featuring 4x Socapex inputs and speakon outs. Both units were built at a depth of 420mm to best match the d&b amplifiers and create a neater rack layout.
“We use the PDUs in our amp racks, that’s what they were designed for. They’re great because they’re compact and have a lot of options, but they’re useful for almost anything,” said Knowles. “Recently, we’ve been putting them in rack sleeves and using them for stage power as well. We’ve found a lot of flexibility.
“Again, it’s great to deal with someone local. OmegaTech always responds to us promptly and is easy to work with. We’re able to get products built to our specifications whilst still meeting Australian standards, and the pricing is great, especially considering the amount of customisation involved. I mean, summing it up, it’s the right stuff at the right price and just the way you want it.”
Looking for solutions to problems, try OmegaTech. What’s a problem we can solve for you?
OmegaTech – www.omegatech.com.au
Audio Technik – www.audiotechnik.com.au
