Hello, This is my first post on this forum, I am having trouble with some Eltec lighting equipment and wondered if anyone could help me. A bit of background about me, I am not a professional or qualified lighting person, I just like and collect old electrical equipment. This old equipment is not for professional use, I just like it to work and intend at some point to make a display piece of it. I have used analogue lighting racks and desks in the 1990's, firstly at Senior school and later at an Amateur dramatics society. I have a lot of electrical knowledge, but no formal qualifications. A while ago I obtained an Eltec 3000 12 channel lighting desk, in very good cosmetic condition. I had no racks to test it with, so it just sat in a storage box. I don't know the history of the desk, although inside it there is a test sticker bearing the date May 1987. About a month ago, I obtained two Eltec Studio 80 racks, again I know nothing of the history of these as they were sold to me as untested. I powered the racks up after fitting them with a 13A plug, and all seems well, the red indicator lights on the front of the unit lit up. When I connected the desk to the racks and switched on, the small chip in the desk (an Op-Amp) literally exploded and broke into two parts. I have salvaged the parts to get the code and bought a replacement, which has subsequently exploded again. When I checked the output voltage on the positive and zero volt pins of the racks, they read about 38v (with no load on anything and the desk not connected) Could anyone advise me on why the chip exploded and if the output voltage is normally this value, or indeed if the rack and desk are even compatible? If I get a different desk am I likely to explode or damage it if I connect it to the racks? Also any other help or advice would be appreciated. Thankyou.
