djburnage Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 Hi, I have two iSolution IM5S Moving heads, which I wish to use in a small drama studio for my GCSE Drama lighting. The problem I have is that, because the studio is a small space (compared with a theatre etc), you can hear the heads' fans very clearly when they are running. They have 3 fans in total, one in the base, and two in the main head (one airflow in, one airflow out). Disconnection of all 3 fans is very easy and I have tried removing them (as the heads will only be used for short periods of time in the production). However the heads have their own overheat detection, which switches off the lamp (Halogen 24v 250w) until the unit has cooled down. So I need a solution of silently cooling the heads, silent fans are an option, as they could easily be replaced, however I have been unlucky as yet to finding a distributor. If anyone knows of a distributor or another method in which I could cool the moving heads silently, it would be very much appreciated. Cheers, Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 Welcome to th world of moving lights - with only a few exceptions, what you are experiencing is normal. What you have are budget movers and the manufacturer would love to cut production costs even further by removing fans if they could. The fact that they have 3 fans suggests a real need for them. In a small space, they sound even louder as you've noticed. Maybe you can find some quieter fans. but most noise is airflow, not motor noise. So if you do find quieter fans that fit - they may not cool enough. The reality Chris is put up with the noise, do without them, or hire in some convection cooled movers. To be honest - are they critical to your GCSE - the spec doesn't reward candidates for using 'clever' kit - to cope with schools who don't have it? As they are pretty dim anyway - and you only have a small number, used for a small percentage of the production's time - why not just knock it on the head? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WiLL Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 All valid points, Paulears beat me to the post button ;)Those movers will always make a noise, this is why fixtures which boast to be 'near silent running' etc. are often in the higher end of the budget. Not the answer you wanted to hear I know but c'est la vie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ollie Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 As Paulears and Will have said they will always make noise. However we have been using intelligent lighting in our pantomime for the past 4 years. The last count on this years show was 13. Yes, you could hear them when the hall is quiet but with even the smallest amount of dialogue it drowned out the noise completely. Try setting the fan speed to minimum or auto, this is what worked for us. I don't know how our village hall compares to your drama studio in size so this might not be the answer, worth a try though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LampieManPro Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 Sadly you have budget movers and the problem wont be solved without removing the fans and replacing them with a silent version. You will not find a function on any budget moving head to change the fan speed. Ive never relly had a problem with noise from any mover in theatre venues apart from the said chinese budget movers vince Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 I have! From the most unusual turns. The thoughts of Chairman Alf, Jim Davidson and a Jehovah's Witness convention all requested the noisy things be turned off. Two Mac 250s and two wash lights on LX1. Of course, any show with music will be fine - but one man and a mic? Not so good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamtastic3 Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 Yeah, I have to say that Clay Paky Miniscans are pretty noisy too and they aren't exactly budget end stuff! ... Acoustic recording and luckily the audience were noisier than the scans! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt_beal Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 I use a couple of Showtec Explorers which came with very very noisy fans. I replaced the fans a few months ago which has worked pretty well, but as others have said the airflow alone is still pretty noisy. In terms of over heating, the fans we fitted are a bit slower and one of the movers has overheated once, but that was after being on for about 15 hours during a stint of programming. Despite being much better, they still aren't really suitable for much other than musicals. Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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