pmiller056

Because this adapter has been widely available for a long time and is affordable as a 'first buy' for a beginner, there is chatter about these in other lighting-related online forums about them. Can you get this adapter to work with different DMX control software? There are some useful tips about getting this adapter to work on the QLC+ website (free to download and use). Use the correct USB drivers, taking into account if you are using a 32 or 64 bit version of your operating system. There appear to have been a few different versions over the years. Make sure there is sufficient power from the USB host - if necessary, use a powered external USB hub. Reliability problems may be fixed by reducing the DMX refresh rate and the DMX universe size.

The wiring loom may be faulty. In the first instance, trace the wiring back and check that the hall effect signal is getting to the relevant connector pins on the controller PCB. With any moving head fixture, after a lot of use, cores in the loom will break where it goes through and around moving parts, twisting and turning as the fixture operates. When this happens there can be many intermittent, varied and weird faults to find. If this is found to be the case, the effort and cost of repair will likely be uneconomic on such a cheap fixture. Budget fixtures tend to use internal wiring that will not survive this use for long.

The circuit diagram I have says 100k Ohm for this one. This pot is in the feedback circuit around an opamp, not (more conventionally) directly in the audio path. I don't know if it is a linear or log potentiometer.

If the venue is part of a chain of hotels, they likely to have a requirement as part of their conditions of hire that any drapery provided by the hirer must be be flame retardant. If this is not a required by their entertainment licence, then it will be required by their insurers. Drapery/curtains as well as soft furnishings used in any hotel room where people sleep should be flame retardant anyway, so the requirement will most likely apply over the whole hotel site. Unfortunately, you will need to find another supplier who has a better understanding of your requirements.

The Philips lamps linked to dim correctly from off to on, both ways. No flickering, popcorning or 'step' at low brightness. The dimming curve takes a bit of getting used to - it is noticeably 'S' shaped. The dimming curve is very flat around 'off' and 'on' and steep in the middle. They work well and correctly with an all-led load on the SCR dimmer in use. The filter inductor in the dimmer no longer buzzes like it used to! Please thank @sandall for directing me to these lamps. These lamps are less than a year old, so I've no idea how well they will age. In our case, they are in open fixtures so heat related ageing should be minimal.

The community theatre I work with has successfully swapped their tungsten GU10 houselights to LED, retaining the SCR/Triac dimmer. The following post has relevant information. https://www.blue-room.org.uk/topic/77016-small-theatre-house-lighting-update-suggestions-anyone/#comment-603906

My choice would be (my employer's) Weller W101. Big chunky tip that holds lots of heat and can heat a joint quickly before the heat 'runs away' up the wire being soldered. Much lighter and less tiring to use than a 'gun'.

In an installation with a mains electrical supply present, I would reasonably expect to find green/yellow coloured cable cores to be used as the safety earth/ground connection and never for any other purpose. If a green/yellow core in a cable is used for another purpose (even in a SELV application), it should have another colour sleeve fitted over it to show that it is not being used for an earth/ground function.

I'd be very wary about using 3d printed replacement plastic parts without understanding more about the end-use application and materials used for both the original and replacement part. Most 3d printed plastics will soften, potenetially deforming at relatively low temperatures. Plastics used in the construction of electrical/electronic equipment will have well understood and deliberately chosen flame retardant or self extinguishing properties - does the (unknown) plastic used for the replacement part have the same or better properties? For me the risks and potential liabilities of this approach for equipment used in a public place or for commercial gain are not worth it.

I'm of an age where I learned my technical drawing and design skills with a drawing board and T-Square. There is a big shift in mindset required to use modern 3d design software. My original learning was to use lines, circles, triangles, rectangles etc as the elements to construct the needed item. With 3d design software the design elements to build your 'thing' are spheres, cylinders, cones, cuboids and so on. Once I got my head past that, progress was quicker. Being able to view your design from any angle in 3d is great.

I have used something similar. My experiences are... The beam of light is narrow with sharp edges. The beamwidth is fixed-ish (and not documented), so you may need to move the fixture to get the desired illuminated area. The 'spot' of light is reasonably uniform to the naked eye. There is a 'focus/zoom' adjustment that does not appear to do much. The spot of light has fringeing at the edges when using mixed colours (eg a Yellow spot will have some red and green fringeing) because the LED light sources are not all in exactly the same place inside the lamp. The fans are small and fast turning, so fan noise may be an issue in a quiet environment. The short power lead will probably be terminated in a non-UK plug. DMX control works, but documentation is usually unhelpful, so be prepared to do some exploring. They can also be set to go to a preset colour when turned on ('wake up' delay is 1-2 seconds in this mode).

I had a look at the ETC cueing system suggested by @themadhippy. It is too sophisitcated for our simple needs. I have spent a lot of time browsing the web looking at many different systems from various vendors, but I could not find anything obviously suitable for our application. To be honest, a system with functionality similar to an old Stonewood/Granite Audio one would be adequate for our needs. Unfortunately this manufacturer no longer exists, nor is there any obvious alternative supplier of similar equipment. The simple cue light system designs I've found all require individual wiring from each outstation to the central control station. With the exception of a very simple 1 or 2 remote outstation system, extra electronics will be needed to do anything more complex when using conventional data network installation cabling. Other suggestions I found to use the data network wiring for a cue light system included audio tone signalling (DTMF and/or CTCSS) and RDM/DMX control (with modifications to suit the wiring topology), however nothing is popping out as a simple, obvious way of getting the job done with simple components. Maybe I'm thinking about this in the wrong way to fit in with today's way of doing things....

The community theatre that I work with is in the final stages of installing a wired data network throughout the building. We currently use a very simple cue light system between stage prompt corner and the tech gallery operators. This system uses illuminated Red and Green pushbuttons at each end. It works well. Crucially for us, this system allows two-way signalling which is used and appreciated by all who use it. This functionality must be provided by any new system. The new data network brings new wiring to places where on occasion we can usefully use cue lights to aid a performance. We want to try and use this infrastructure for a cue light system with a single master control station and up to 4 remote outstations. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions on how we can do this? I've had a rummage online and I've not found any simple cue light system that can be hosted on data network cabling. For such a simple system, I'm uncomfortable with going down the full 'IT' and networked data route. Our members/users cannot be assumed to have good data network setup, management and fault finding skills. This could make future maintenance and reconfiguration very difficult. Is there some simple, older technology that can be used to make a simple cue light system, which uses the network cabling as 4 twisted pairs or 8 cores to each outlet? We have access to the main network patch panel. Provided essential services are not disturbed, we can reconfigure and use elements of the network infrastructure system as needed. Thanks, Peter

Is the IC socket contact with the EEPROM slightly tarnished? Remove and re-seat the IC and check if the equipment now works correctly. It is a known problem with cheap IC sockets. Sockets like the one shown in the photo make repair easy, but they make the equipment less reliable. If you are making something and have to use an IC socket, use a 'turned pin' socket - the extra cost is worth the improved reliability, particularly if the equipment will be stored or used in a less than ideal environment.

Read the manufacturer's datasheets for the lamps and the ballasts you are trying to mix'n'match before trying anything. Depending on the manufacturer, there should be compatibilty information included in this documentation. Use the lamps that the ballast was intended to run. Different lamp technologies will have different ballast requirements, even for the same output power. Without further research, your proposal is likely to end with expensive equipment being wrecked for no good reason.