kgallen

Post on the Zero88 forum, Keith’s on a roll at the moment answering questions about 30 year old desks. https://www.zero88.com/forum/forum/83-other-discontinued-products/

Check with @ianknight, as you’re passing Coventry on your way back south, maybe there are parts you don’t want you can share. 🙂

I've mentioned this on the Zero88 forum, hope that's ok.

So I’m intrigued what folk use to fix their cabling and tripe to lighting bars for production runs. I use Hellermann releasable cable ties and occasionally Advance electrical tape. Given neither are metallic fixings this appears unsatisfactory - since I’m not the type to wind cables of any sort around bars. Interested what others do! (For the record all luminaires and other kit are hung using the usual Doughty metallic hook clamps or trigger clamps with appropriately rated metallic bonds! No cable ties employed in such applications!)

Your photo I would say is wrong. The screen of the cable should absolutely go to pin 1 - and only pin 1. And please put some insulating sleeving on it. And yes the soldering (sorry) is terrible in several ways as mentioned above. Also I’m inclined to think that cable is not twisted pair either which is fundamental to the noise rejection of a balanced signal. Any cable or cable-like structure should just connect 1-1, 2-2, 3-3. You’re not (I don’t think) ‘a piece of equipment’ so connecting the shell to chassis ground doesn’t come in to it. If you’re making a patch bay that uses metal components then the patch bay may be picking up a mains ground through other equipment. Even more reason not to connect the shell to pin 1 as Paul highlights. Not good all around I’m afraid 🙁.

I follow Rane: https://www.ranecommercial.com/legacy/note110.html in which case for a cable, the answer to your question is ‘no, you shouldn’t connect pin 1 to the connector barrel’. This in part is probably because you don’t know if the equipment at each end is compliant with the same recommendations. The cable shield should be chassis ground not signal ground. By connecting pin 1 to the connector barrel you could cause a chassis ground to signal ground short.

Central Theatre Supplies in Brum not got anything? @ianknight would have a view on what they might carry. Are Lancelyn still going in Oxford? (Might be sales only though).

Can you put it to one side (on a wall?) at a suitable height rather than direct-on where it hangs directly in the aisle in the way? If the angle is not too severe then it's not too unnatural. If your camera has an optical zoom (and adequate light sensitivity) then the further back will reduce the side angle. I know nothing about video cameras but at this point it seems like a maths/triangles problem for position, and then finding a camera with appropriate optics.

Funny that I was just looking on Stage Electrics to restock T25/T18 and notice the price has jumped and they are stocking Osram. T26 are now cheaper than T25. Having a Google, one website was claiming GE Tungsram had ceased trading which tallys with what Brian opened with. Thomann are stocking the 240V Osram T25 and seem the cheapest at the moment (1 week lead time).

Done led sounds promising for fpga config. It will be a dedicated output pin on the fpga (or serial prom I can’t remember which).

Quite likely the FPGA ‘programme good’ output could go to any micro so a failed FPGA config could be related. Usually they use a small Xilinx serial PROM for FPGA config and there are extra signals you could probe (take a look at that data sheet linked above there will be a config diagram). Without schematics though any debug will be quite tricky.

So assuming the xtal does go to the FPGA then that Spartan XC3S50A supports I/O at 1.2V, 1.5V, 1.8V and 3.3V. As it’s a programmable device we can’t know which I/O type is selected without the source code. But since you measured 1.2Vpp from the xtal that will be above and below the logic thresholds for most of those I/O options. Gut feel is it’s ok. https://docs.xilinx.com/v/u/en-US/ds529

What's the Xilinx part type - e.g. Spartan or Virtex, will be a number like X3Sxxxxx or X2Vxxx for example. Without more info probably what you're observing is ok assuming your scope is quite low bandwidth and loading the crystal oscillator quite a bit!

Thanks, yes you probably can. It’s in the most forward position it can be but that is still behind what is probably the COG of the lantern - and it’s a 28/40; the 11/30 must be even worse!!

Indeed I think the last time I used one, the moon gobo experienced a "sinking effect". Guess what I need to use a Prelude for this time...

Interesting thought Don, that had crossed my mind too when inspecting the washer position the other day. I think I might chuck one on under the handle and see how it goes (wonder whether I should add another plain washer too, as the handle is a Bakelite-type hard plastic). Thanks!

Confirmed - it's handle-plain washer-yoke-friction disc-coach bolt head. No washer on the head side as I incorrectly said at the start. Rigging tomorrow, I'll see how we go with sagging - although I think it's more of an issue when the lanterns have warmed up!

Thanks Don. Maybe I have misrepresented the existence of the washer - and I agree with you that the coach head bolt should be the friction brake. So I will make that check on the lanterns to ensure there isn't a washer in place: so thanks very much for the comment in that respect and the diagram for the Patt23.

25+ years too late I realise... I've used all of my Source 4s in the rig in my current show and need some more profiles so some of my Strand Prelude 22/40s need to come out to play for the first time in a while. They are otherwise well maintained and looked after but I recall the last time I used some I had an issue with them sagging over time, even though their tilt locks were adequately tightened. Have any of our more "experienced" members got any good tips for helping avoiding the sagging. I'm most interested in "proper" maintenance tasks that can help, rather than stringing them up with some stiff wire. For example if I remove the clamp discs and rub them down, would that help? The discs are otherwise in good condition - in the correct shape, not bent etc, and the clamping handwheel is the correct original Strand one and the washer is in place over the bolt head which is what clamps to the tilt disc affixed to the lantern body. Thanks in advance for any ideas, and I hope you gain some satisfaction from going down "memory lane" a little! Kevin

I think the solution to the OPs original question is really split down the pro/amateur line. For Pro (on a large stage), I'm sure you'd use the "proper gear". For amateur, I'm sure the most cost effective approach is to use the (cool) white emitters in a number of RGBW (or similar) PARs. Certainly that's what I do, although I do have access to a DMX-controlled Xenon strobe - it's just often it's too much of a faff to rig that unit when there are a load of RGBW PARs already in the rig for other purposes! As mentioned earlier in the thread, having some sequencing over a number of (say) sidelight units is useful along with a generally darker stage, at least for the "lightning" cues.

It's all a bit confusing with the recent Signify mergers with "Strand" and Zero88. Also the offerings in the US versus the EMEA markets look like they need to settle down a bit. The Vari*Lite website used to have that splash screen about "coming soon" on this mythical console, but it seems to have gone for me tonight and I can't find any mention with a quick blast around their website (at least from the UK side of the pond). From the (UK) Zero88 stable, the "full size" FLX and the Server seem to be added to the range, whereas previously only the more entry-level FLX S consoles were rebadged "Strand" for the US market. Then the existing Strand Neo range still seems to be hanging about. Nothing else shows on their Console page: https://www.vari-lite.com/global/products#.htmlpage=1&filters=Product Category%2FConsoles%2CStatus%2FCurrent Products%2C&page=1 So overall, "Errr, dunno..."!

Also interested and sent a PM a few days ago but heard nothing in reply...

I have a Martin MAC250 (original type, not Entour etc) in good condition. When I last tried it a couple of years back it was fully working, but I don't know how many hours of lamp life remain. It's in a flight-case "of sorts" - it's not one specifically for the MAC250 but one discarded from work that it fits in, although it's not padded for the MAC250. Free to a UK Blue-roomer, but you will have to come a pick it up (or make courier arrangements, your risk) as it's pretty heavy and more so in the flight case. I just need the space back and I don't use it any more. PM me.

Not Horizon, but if it helps, see here where Keith describes the method to set preheat on a Betapack2 - the method on the Horizon dimmers should be similar: https://www.zero88.com/forum/topic/3748-betapack-2/#comment-19272

You’re right it was Autosol metal polish I used not Brasso.