nickb12345

I used a UPS on an X32 for a tour last year and on two different shows in two different venues the X32 lost its sync with the S16 mid show. Music Group put it down to being the UPS.

While (having an IT background) I agree I would never run important computer equipment without a UPS, I would never run my X32 on a UPS again - not worth the risk. If there is a power outage I an explain that to the relevant parties and it isn't generally my fault. But how do you explain a piece of kit that was meant to make the show 'safer' stopping the whole thing?!

How about one of these:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/3-5-Inch-Floppy-Drive-Emulator/dp/B0083Z29JO

No idea how well they will work in this desk but I believe they work fine on the Frogs etc.

Nick

If you have site electricians, or can arrange it next time an electrician is on site, it's a fairly easy measurement to take. Measured at the connection point for the dimmers it might give you an idea of what is going on.

There are electricians on some sites, I will enquire and try and get a reading taken. Any idea what would be considered to be high or low?

Do you have these dimmers installed on any sites where they don't exhibit the problem?

Nope, only got these on the two sites. Everywhere else is either Betapacks, Rack 6's or older Pulsar units.

Ta

Nick

You might just have a very low impedance supply

I appreciate its possible but does it not seem a bit odd that these two venues, out of 24 up and down the UK, are the only two with triac issues, and the only two with these dimmers. One site is in South Wales and the other in Portsmouth.

Silly thought, but what are the 610s using as snubbers?

This was something I discovered through the powers of google a while ago and all triacs purchased since then (about 6 months) have defiantly been the snubber version (off the top of my head cant remember the code - is it a W or something?!) and I believe any used before that time were, but cant be sure. The snubber versions are required by these dimmers, I have confirmed that with Lightprocessor directly. Could using non-snubber triacs in the past have damaged another part of the dimmer maybe?

Another thought, were the original parts by any chance sensitive gate types? Replacing these with conventional units will often cause poor behaviour (either failing to trigger reliably or triggering but generating excess heat).

Not sure - how do I tell the difference?

What is the PSC measured at the dimmer supply terminals, the presence of large induction motors or close proximity to a sub station can often cause a supply to apparently be very stiff.

What is the PSC?

Generally speaking our sites use a fair amount of power and tend to (I have only been involved with any mains work on a couple) have their own stepdown transformers on site - by substation would you be referring to these, or something bigger?

Thanks for your help so far, I really do appreciate the suggestions and help.

Ta

Nick

Odd, I don't think I have ever lost a triac in a dimmer rack.

Have you used the 610's?

This is why im confused, I have lost one or two but most of our venues use Betapacks or older Pulsar units - never a real problem with these and they get just as much use as the dimensions - and most of the pulsar racks use BTA12 triacs iirc. Thinking about it I believe most of the triac failures I have seen have been caused by something other than lamps, like faulty wiring etc - cant think of any caused by lamps blowing, apart from these two venues.

I just dont understand why im having to put such massive triacs in these packs - and if they are required then why are the packs not supplied with them by standard. Its not like we are doing anything unusual with them.

Oh well, replacement with Betapacks is on the capital expenditure list for both venues.

Ta

Nick

We have tried all sorts of fuses, quick blow, normal, glass, ceramic. All blow, but the triacs still blow at the same time!

Has anybody else used these dimmers before? I cant help but think we have checked everything and tried all possibilities and they just dont seem to be up to the job. As per my original post these are located in two different venues in two different parts of the country so it cant be supply related. Problems have been ongoing for a long period of time so can rule out suspect batches of lamps/triacs/fuses. So far the BTA48s seem to be a lot more reliable and we havent lost as many (one or two in a couple of months) but surely if these triacs are needed then the dimmers should be shipped with them as standard?

Ta

Nick

Indeed I understand that occasionally the fault current can be high and damage triacs etc - hence the need to replace them every now and again...

But this is happening every time a lamp blows, across several batches of lamps and several batches of triacs. Surely if the BTA12 triacs are not big enough to handle a normal fault current then the packs shouldnt be supplied with them?

Does anybody else have these dimmers? Anybody had a similar problem with them?

Ta

Nick

Hi All

We have 4x Dimension 610 dimmers from Lightprocessor on a couple of our sites which seem to eat triacs for breakfast.

The load on these dimmers is either 2x 500w P64s or 2x1000w P64s - either way under the 10A load of the channel.

They were shipped with BTA12 triacs which, as 12 amps should be protected by the 10A ceramic fuse... but just about every time a lamp blows the triac (and fuse) blow too. The lamps are from GE I think, supplied by SLX, so not cheap ones or anything, and its been ongoing since the installation so rules out an iffy batch or anything.

We have tried upping the rating of the triacs each time and are now on something like BTA48s (massive great things) which (so far) havent blown, but everything below has. Lightprocessor tech support didnt seem that interested, just said keep putting bigger triacs in... but surely this shouldnt happen? Is it a design fault, or something else going wrong?

The two installations in question were done by the same company but about 2 years apart.

And anybody who is on the ball will notice I have just posted a thread in the Electrical & Power forum about a potential wiring issue on a site with Dimension 610 dimmers. Yes is the answer, that installation is one of these. Therefore I had assumed the triac issue was related to that, but its happening on a seperate site which isnt showing any other problems as per the other thread.

Any ideas?

Ta

Nick