partyanimallighting

Hey guys, based on what you've advised, I've basically ignored the mainboard and I've focused on the small DMX input PCB with the 75176B transciever. I swapped out the 75176 with another from an old LED PAR mainboard and tried DrV's method using a AA battery and testing at pin 1 and used ground at pin 5. In both instances the two readings were around 0.1V with a very slight increase to around 0.3V when the battery wires were reversed. Now this immediately put doubts in my head that the 75176 from the old mainboard was bad so I took out a brand new LED PAR mainboard, tested it via DMX first, and swapped out the new 75176 onto the DMX PCB but same result. I then cleaned off as much of the lacquer as I could and checked the few resistors and diodes and they all seem to be fine. I'm then started pointing an accusing finger at the 8 pin IC which, with a good magnifier, turned out to be 6N136, a high speed optocoupler. I'm thinking that this controls the voltage coming into this PCB via the 5 pin connector at the DMX output and thus powers the 75176 and maybe this is the problem component. I checked the datasheet and tested across pins 2 and 3 and 7 and 8 and I'm getting continuity both way across 2 and 3 and OL across 7 and 8 which, according to the datasheet, doesn't seem to be correct to me. Am I on the right track here?

Sorry timsabre, I don't consider myself technically inclined enough to invest in a scope as yet (maybe some day) but I could simply swap out the 75176B with another and see if that resolves the issue. That's a simple enough attempt to start with. There's another 8 pin IC on the DMX input board but I can't identify it because the PCB is coated in lacquer. I was suspicious about the 7805 and 7812 but, seeing that the hazer functions fine in manual mode, I can't see how these can be faulty so that's why I was thinking that the remote/display could be the issue but one of these regulators should be sending voltage to the 5 pin input/output on the DMX input PCB so maybe I should check for voltages at these pins. That DMX PCB has a 5 wire terminal so I'm figuring two wires for + and - and three wires for DMX +, - and data ground. By the way, can you enlighten me? You say that the DMX goes into pins 6 and 7 as a differential signal and comes out on pin 1 as a normal serial data stream. How would this differential signal and serial data stream appear on the scope?

Hi all. Anyone familiar with the Chauvet Arena Hazer 3? It's your basic fog machine with a fan disguised as a hazer and I've got one that's working fine but only manually via the remote, no DMX function. The mainboard is straightforward, AC in feeding relays which power up the heater, low fluid and thermal sensors and output to the pump. The unit heats up fine but doesn't function via DMX control so I'm wondering if anyone has encountered this problem with these. I took a look at the mainboard and also the DMX input PCB which carries a 75176B transceiver so I'm figuring that maybe the LM7805 or LM7812 on the mainboard is not feeding the DMX input PCB or maybe it's a faulty remote control. I'm just throwing this out there without going into too much details (as yet) in case someone has encountered the problem before, resolved it and can point me in the general direction of a solution. Any feedback would be nice. Thanks in advance.

indyld, you've brought some peace to my heart. Come to think of it, I dumped probably a couple hundred pounds of ballasts and power supplies for old style MSD250 and MSR575 moving heads a while back. My "some day" pile was full of these 380VDC PSU's and a variety of 5R/7R ballasts but, in the back of my mind, poking around that high voltage was a deterrent from the get go but I'll still willing to attempt to repair the lower voltage 12VDC, 24VDC etc PSU's for LED PAR's and those types of fixtures. A lot safer. Onto the next forum post.....one of my MAC 101's is acting up and I also have a Rogue RH1 driver board to repair since 2018 or thereabouts. Let's see how my free time goes. Thanks again for the help.

So I pulled some components, the X2 capacitors, the main cap etc and all gave good readings but I decided that the risk was not worth it and dumped all without delving any deeper into the mysteries of the possible problems. This dumping was followed by the ceremonial dumping of some 5R ballasts that I was hoping to repair. So that old parts bin is pretty empty now. Thanks for pointing out the inherent dangers involved and all the advise proffered.

Trust me, I know the dangers involved and we're talking almost 400VDC, not something I want to mess around with live. The good news is, I DO have an isolating transformer but that does NOT encourage me to test anything live anyway, 400VDC is 400VDC, isolated or not. These PSU's blew out because faulty lamp leads went to ground because the tech (before I took possession of these units for cheap) installed the lamps in the wrong orientation so there was a violent blowout of the ballast and this PSU. You guys have thoroughly discouraged me from attempting to repair these and with good reason but, for want of something to do in my spare time, I'll take indyld's advice and pull individual components and test them one by one. If and when I actually reach the stage of testing any repair work, it'll be via a 50 foot extension run out to the middle of the back yard. Let the lawn, not my face, burst into flames. We'll see how it goes.

Hi techs, I recently changed out four power supplies out of some 15R beam units and I was wondering if it would be worthwhile to repair them and keep them as spares. There's no output in each one because the 10A line fuse is blown so I tore one apart and bridged the blown fuse with a single strand of wire and this blew out once 120VAC was applied so something's screwed up somewhere down the line. I also noticed that all the NTC 5D-15 thermistors at the AC input were either cracked or blown out completely so I'm assuming when the ballasts blew, these thermistors blew out trying to protect the power supply (??). The ballasts that these power supplies were driving were badly burnt out (beyond repair) but these power supplies seem to be in somewhat good condition and I'd like to try to repair them using my limited knowledge with some guidance from you guys on this forum. I don't know too much about repairing power supplies but I recall that they're divided into two sections, the primary, dealing with the AC side and the secondary which handles the DC side. I'm suspecting any of the three components 20N60C3 (2) and STTH8S06FP but I'm not sure where to start looking. Any advice?

Well, I took another stab at this final board and I've basically given up. The GREEN leg is fine so I pulled the two caps (one is 470 and the other is 100 and I swapped them out with those on the RED leg. I also swapped out the 9910 driver, the MOSFET, the current sense resistor and even the actuator coil, all from the working GREEN leg. I also metered the SS310 rectifiers next to the actuators and all had similar readings. And........the GREEN output is still outputting fine and the RED output is low. I'm thinking that the problem may well be the microcontroller but I've spent enough time on this one board so "parts bin" it is. I would have loved to find the problem but it's really not worth the effort. Thanks for all the help you heroes!

Hi guys, still on the topic, I've gone through about a dozen mainboards in different layouts and output configurations and I've sorted out and repaired four (the others were cannibalized for parts because of bad microcontrollers or bad scorching on the board itself) and these are now fully functional. However I've encountered this one last board that's baffling me. This particular board has dim output throughout with no output on the GREEN leg. So I started swapping out 60N100 MOSFET's and 9910 LED drivers. One of these was obviously bad on the GREEN leg because, after the swapout, the GREEN leg is fine, but I can't get the dim output on the other three legs sorted out. My only other guess is maybe those green caps above the LED drivers or the current sense resistors. I won't consider the actuator coils as you've said the chances of failure of these is slim and none. Now there is the possibility that I'm swapping out the bad parts with bad parts from the cannibalized boards but what are the odds? Am I on the right track with those caps and resistors?

Well, thanks to you guys and your advice, I've gotten a couple boards fully functional again, be it replacing DMX control IC's or LED drivers or MOSFET's. So far so good!! And I also encountered a blown microcontroller!!

Based on your advice, I've basically been on the right track all the time. So what I'll do now is pull a couple of those faulty boards out of the "Old Parts Bin" and start fooling around with them to see what progress I can make. As timsabre mentioned, DMX failure will probably be caused by the 75176 (after checking harnesses and terminals).There are usually a fair amount of slack connections and harnesses in these units from being banged around during everyday use so that's another easily fixed issue and it's a P.I.T.A. to disassemble an outdoor rated unit just to reseat a harness. Hot glue to the rescue. I usually test these boards connected to a functional diode plate so if I don't get a particular color output, that points to the mainboard. From there, it'll be the MOSFET's and the driver IC's to check first. As you advised, I should basically ignore the microprocessor and the inductors as these rarely fail. Following up on indyld's comment, pure IPA is not available locally and what's available seems to be watered down so I use acetone or lacquer thinners and both work great for me with that old toothbrush. Regarding the circuitry flow I have just a couple other questions. What is the purpose of the sense resistors in the circuitry? What component regulates the input voltage on the last board? I don't see a standard LM2576 type voltage regulator. There are only two radial capacitors on this board compared to the others, one I'm assuming filtering the input voltage from the power supply and another on the bottom filtering the display voltage. Is my guess correct? The rows of capacitors on the top two boards....are those for filtering the individual color outputs? And thanks for all the advice!

Hi guys, I'm just looking for a little guidance/assistance with a variety of LED PAR mainboards. I use RGBW, RGBWA and RGBWA_UV PAR's and when a mainboard fails, be it no output, leaking colors, no display output etc I swap out the mainboard with a new one, toss the old one aside and carry on. I've done some repairs to a few of them in the past, such as replacing burnt out DC IN terminals, burnt out Molex connectors and maybe a burnt out voltage regulator or two. I'm interested in learning more as to how these boards function so that I can actually try to repair some of them in my free time (can't say when that'll be). So, from what I can figure, DC voltage comes in at the terminal then into the voltage regulator (normally LM2576). There are the capacitors for filtering, actuators, CSD60N100 MOSFETS and SQ9910 LED drivers. What I'm looking for is a little guidance to repair the different issues. Leaking colors? Do I check the LED drivers? No output on a specific color? DO I check the MOSFETS first? No output at all? My first impulse would be to check the voltage regulator. Would the CPU's / microprocessors be prone to failure? DMX issues? Do I replace the 75176 IC located close to the DMX input? I've attached some images of the 3 different types of mainboards. The RGBW and RGBWA are similar but the RGBWA+UV seems to be a cheaper build and I don't see a voltage regulator anywhere on this board. Hope to hear from you!!

Thanks DrV, understood. But confusingly similar also. Once again, thanks again to both you guys for all the help and advice. I'm thinking about putting up another post soon and hopefully you guys can give me some feedback. It pertains to LED PAR mainboards. Normally, when I get a failure like the unit not powering up, leaking color outputs, DMX issues, I usually just swap out the offending mainboard but I'm hoping that, if a post something here, I'll get some advice to actually repair some of these mainboards instead of tossing them in the "Old Parts Bin". Hope to see or rather, hear from you soon!!

The datasheet carries a number BUK98180 but the original part carries 918010. Will the values be the same and will it serve the same purpose? The AliExpress picture carries both numbers so I'm assuming yes?? Seeing that I don't have a datasheet for the 918010 to compare it with.

Here you go. W2n 918010. You are right. Low level dimming has always been a problem with LED's but this being a Martin product, their dimming would have to be on point. I still haven't found a datasheet as yet but it also seems to be used in the automotive industry based on my searches. https://www.auto-chips.com/918010-p3918.html

Hi indyld, Hi DrV, I took another stab at the mainboard a while ago. I swapped out the diode plate again with a known working one (just to be sure) and there was no GREEN output so that pointed back to an issue on the GREEN output leg. I then went to ground with a meter at the LED outputs and I got continuity on one leg only on both RED and BLUE but got on both of the GREEN legs so there was a short somewhere on that leg. So, I started to check individual components, comparing between the GREEN and the working RED or BLUE legs but I could find nothing (inductors, L31, resistors R22 those tiny 8 pin IC's [IC25 and IC26, not sure what these are]. I noticed a component numbered 918010 [Q28] but there was only one of these on the board and I was going to bypass it and then I turned the board over and DUH!!!!, there were two more 918010's on the other side so this was a component used on each color leg. Sooooooo, I tested the one on the GREEN leg and it was shorted to ground. I replaced it with one from the old mainboard that I got the other old parts from, started up and BOOM! GREEN output! The 918010 seems to be a MOSFET of some sort but I haven't found a datasheet for it with a cursory search. So, I have managed to repair this mainboard thanks mostly to all your assistance, knowledge and feedback. What I'll do now is order a few of these MOSFETs once I can find them and keep them in stock for future failures (hopefully this was the last one). I've attached images of the three components that were changed ZXMP10A16 (I did find the old one and tested it and it was shorted), C25I3310 (diode I believe?? This tested fine with a meter) and 918010 which is listed as a MOSFET but I haven't found a datasheet for this as yet. THANKS AGAIN!!!! 👍

Hi indyld, that MOSFET is somewhere on the bench so I'll search for it and test it. Should the fact that the unit started up fine with the replaced parts convince me that these old parts are fine? As you said, in these units, all the LED's (each color) are wired in series and if one diode blows, all are out in that particular color. I also checked the mainboard with a known working diode plate and still no GREEN so it's still something on that leg of the mainboard so I'll do some more checking tomorrow (tonight). It was a lot easier to swap out the diode plate than to check each individual GREEN diode with the meter and these are those tiny 3535 CREE chips which are a pain in the @r$3 to change out but I've done so successfully in the past on these units. My suspicions are pointing me towards the 680 2350 induction coil. Other suspects would be the R22 resistor and another tiny "coil" labelled L31. Am I looking in the right direction?

Hi indyld, Some good news. I took some readings again and everything pointed to there being an issue on the GREEN leg so I took your advice and I decided to 'divide and decide'. Each leg has it's individual components so I removed C25 I3310 listed as D33 (diode right?) and ZXMP 10A16 which is a P Channel Enhancement Mode MOSFET (not sure what that means) from the GREEN leg, connected both PSU inputs and the unit started up fine, without any terminals connected. I then connected all the terminals and again, the unit started up fine of course with ERROR messages because the PAN and TILT motor leads are disconnected. Sooooo, I took the one old mainboard that I have and I removed the two components and installed them in place. The unit started up fine once again and I could initiate TEST MODE without an issue but there is now no GREEN output (RED and BLUE are fine). So I'm assuming that either C25 I3310 and ZXMP 10A16 (or both) were causing the original short. So now it looks like all I have to do is figure out which component on the GREEN leg is causing the output failure but I think I've made some really good progress under your guidance. "In general, I would investigate if there was somewhere that I could 'divide and decide' on this leg of the circuit. Or even just remove something that would isolate the green leg and verify that R and B legs are actually fine and that 48V will work without the G connected."

Hi indyld, So far I did the following as per your instructions. I disconnected all the terminals (pan and tilt motors, sensors etc.) with the exception of the display and the fan and connected both 24VDC and 48VDC legs from the PSU. No startup at all, as expected. I then disconnected the 48VDC leg and everything immediately started up fine, fan, display with reset process and so on. Reconnected the 48VDC leg again, no function. So now I'm figuring that the short is on the 48VDC leg as I suspected and that's the leg that drives the LED diode plate. I then checked for continuity from the RED, GREEN and BLUE LED outputs to ground and I got continuity on all three output grounds and a reading on the + side on the RED and BLUE outputs. However, I got continuity on both + and - on the GREEN leg to ground. Am I to assume that there's a short on the GREEN output leg of the mainboard? I need some sleep but I hope there's a response and further guidance when I try some more troubleshooting later today. Thanks for all the help so far.

Hi indyld, thanks for this great response. It appeals to my basic learning skills when it comes to troubleshooting and repairs. My skillset so far consists of basic parts replacement (easily recognizable scorched or burnt out components makes this easy), continuity testing etc and I am slowly learning as I go along. The board receives two DC voltages, 24VDC and 48VDC and I might be correct in thinking that the 24VDC drives the mainboard circuitry and the 48VDC drives the diode plate. The voltages at these wires disconnected from the mainboard are correct so I will follow your instructions and report back to you as your student ready and willing to learn a little more day by day. I do know that the input voltage, be it 24VDC will be broken down by a voltage regulator, probably to 5VDC, to drive the circuitry as in other PCB's. I'm accustomed to them being called voltage regulators and when I'm troubleshooting voltage issues I usually start there but I did not know they were also referred to as buck converters. I'm assuming that the linear regulator or zener diode goes across the current flow to also reduce the voltage. You are also correct that the issue is not with the main DC from the power supply in the base of the unit as I swapped a known working base and the problem follows this mainboard and probably one of the "mini power supplies". I will report back to you soon and thanks again for the advice.

OK indyld, I'm not that versed in the electronic jargon but based on my limited experience I'm interpreting this to mean to check the four main spade terminals coming in at 24VDC and 48VDC for shorts at the solder points to the mainboard so I could just reheat and get a good solder flow to fix any possible shorts. As for the diodes near the DC in, off of the picture I'm seeing D21 and D22 in the general area and D20 a bit further along to the bottom left of the image. As for the reference to "next power supply", "inductor" and "buck converter"???? By power supply do you mean voltage regulator? Inductor ~ Choke (630 2350 in the image)? Would the buck converter be listed as an IC on the mainboard (such as IC27)? Yes....it's a slow learning process with me but you have helped me a lot in the past.

Hi all! I'm having an issue with one of my MAC 101's. I have 4 units and despite little issues such as blown diodes, faulty sensors, glitchy displays (which I've been able to repair myself) they've been true little workhorses despite being discontinued by Martin. Parts are really scarce and really pricey for these units so I'm hoping the fault I've encountered can be resolved. The problematic unit does not power up at all, I get only a light spin on the fan and a flash on the display. I've pinpointed the problem to the mainboard and not the main power supply in the base (which outputs 24VDC and 48VDC to the mainboard) by simply swapping out the base from a working unit and the problem is constant with the mainboard. I'm assuming that the 48VDC leg powers the LED diode plate and the 24VDC drives the mainboard circuitry but I am not seeing any burnt or scorched components on the mainboard. I will be very grateful for any assistance to resolve this issue and get this unit up and running again. Help!!!!

DrV, what would cause such a fault in a PSU?

A simple swap out of that power supply should straighten things right out. I just took a look at their parts website and it's a 36VDC PSU. This will drive the entire unit, mother board, display board, LED driver, everything. Hence the unit is dead in the water if this PSU has no output.

Hi indyld, I'll disassemble the ballast to check the components in the burnt out area. The general area appears to be where the PCB with the input terminal that leads from the display PCB is attached and I believe that, once the unit starts up and al stepper motors home into place, this display PCB sends a signal to the ballast to strike the lamp. As for water damage, these units are IP54 rated and are well sealed and there is no sign of water leaking in anywhere but you can never be sure. As for the insulation, that's all in place but the blowout on these two particular ballasts was so severe, holes were burnt through each piece of insulation. The mounting holes were in their appropriate places and far away from anything that could cause a short or blowout.