Strand Act6 fuse holders

[karl]

Hi,

 

I've been asked to help out with a show by a local amateur group who have their own venue. They have four Strand Act6 dimmer packs (non-DMX). Two channels are out of action due to broken / lost fuse holder inserts and as the show needs all the channels it can get I'm looking to source replacements.

 

It is the bit that carries the fuse itself that I'm after. They are 34mm long and 11.5mm in diameter. At the open end (where the fuse slots in) there are two tiny lugs which lock the insert into place in the holder.

 

Does anybody know where I might be able to locate either just the insert or complete fuse holders that I can swap the insert from? Is there a part number or anything like that which I should ask for?

 

I know the simple answer would be to replace the whole fuse holder with a new one but as these dimmers don't belong to me and elderly equipment has a tendency to break when disturbed I'm reluctant to go down that path. Also the dimmers are hard wired in so although I have access to a spare dimmer pack (with a different fuse holder design) swapping out the packs isn't an easy option.

 

Any help would be much appreciated.

[gareth]

We recently needed a few spare fuse carriers for Act 6 racks. After much searching, we discovered that the only place from which they're available is direct from the manufacturer (Schurter) in Germany, who sold us some at a reasonable cost. If I think on when I'm back at work tomorrow, I'll dig out the contact details for you.

[boatman]

Any panel mount fuseholder for 32mmx6.3mm fuses will do the job. This is probably the closest match. Once you have opened an account with Farnell you can order anything with a credit card. Just remember that the prices don't include VAT, but carriage is free.

 

Edited for spelling.

Edited October 4, 2007 by boatman

[gareth]

Not quite true, Boatman. Perhaps some versions of Act6 use panel-mount fuse holders - IIRC (and I'm sure I do!) the ones we have use PCB-mounting ones, which we had to get direct from Schurter.

[boatman]

Not quite true, Boatman. Perhaps some versions of Act6 use panel-mount fuse holders - IIRC (and I'm sure I do!) the ones we have use PCB-mounting ones, which we had to get direct from Schurter.

 

Sorry, I stand corrected. I thought it was only the DMX versions that had PCB mounted fuses.

[gareth]

An Act6 being "non-DMX" doesn't define which version it is - it could be the same as the variation that another user might think of as being the DMX version, but without the DMX input card.

 

If, on the other hand, we're talking about the very early Act6 racks (black rather than grey, with only one socket per channel), then I honestly can't remember what sort of fuseholder they have in them - we only have a small number of them, and it's been a long, long time since I've worked inside one.

[karl]

Okay, I didn't realise there were so many variants!

 

These have six channels (obviously) with each channel having two sockets. The fuses are all mounted to one side of the sockets in a vertical line. There is a multi-position switch and a knob on the front to allow local control of a single channel. I'm afraid I can't remember the colour despite having seen them only a couple of hours ago.

 

Any panel mount fuseholder for 32mmx6.3mm fuses will do the job.

 

Thing is, as I mentioned above, I didn't really want to replace the whole fuse holder just the carrier that slots in. Do the carriers vary between panel mounted and PCB mounted holders or are they all the same?

 

I hoped that getting replacements would be fairly straight forward and Gareth's first reply seemed to confirm that but it now looks a lot more complicated.

 

Edited to fix grammar.

Edited October 4, 2007 by karl

[gareth]

Do the carriers vary between panel mounted and PCB mounted holders?

Sadly, yes. Strand seem to have (or had, at any rate) a habit of using obscure and hard-to-source components in their equipment - sometimes it seems that, if there was ever a choice at the R&D stage between a component that was readily-available in the UK and easy to source if spares are required at a later date, or one that's different enough to make it incompatible with anything else and consequently has to be shipped in from another country, their engineers went for the second option. Barmy.

[Wuddy]

Well perhaps barmy from the end users point of view but sound commercial sense from the manufacturers' point of view as most people are going to have to source spares from the manufacturer on their terms.

[MrPete]

I might've read this thread wrong, but having had to replace one of the fuse holders to our Strand Act6+ dimmers last year, I just popped into our local Stage Electrics branch. I believe they had to get one sent from their central stores but I know it didn't cost that much and was here within 10 days!

 

Could be worth giving them a ring :)

HTH!

[karl]

Cheers for the help I'll give Stage Electrics and/or Schurter a try and see what comes of it.

 

I just popped into our local Stage Electrics branch

I wish I had a local branch, I prefer talking to people face to face rather than on the phone (especially things like this where you can show them exactly what you're after). Since White Light North disappeared I've really struggled.

[Wuddy]

Hi Karl,

 

I'm Huddersfield based and I deal with Stage Electrics via e-mail and mail order.

 

Depending where you are in Huddersfield if you want face to face contact there is Futurist Ltd at Wakefield, Innovation Productions at Skelmanthorpe (Village outside Huddersfield), Northern Stage Services just over the hill at Shaw, Oldham.

 

All within reasonable driving distance of Huddersfield centre.

 

EDIT:- The service engineer/technician at Northern Stage Services is Keith Hartley from (ex) White Light, Sowerby Bridge.

Edited October 6, 2007 by Wuddy

[karl]

Thanks Wuddy for the recommendations, I see from your profile that you too work in the amateur arena so I'm assuming these guys are happy to deal with amateurs. It's a pain when companies have a minimum order threshold that's four times bigger than your budget for a show! I can understand why they do it but that doesn't help when you need just one or two items.

[iamchristuffin]

My school recently bought some fuse holders from Bryson, and then we discovered we only needed the end caps. If you don't need these, I'm sure we can send you some.

[kgallen]

Sorry for thread necromancy.

 

I'm just repairing fuse holders on some Act 6 (version with the "shadowed" pale blue legends in a mid-grey powder coat, fuses to the right of the twelve round "MK" 15A sockets, stepped 7-position test switch with level pot and Bleecon 8-pin DIN, like the centre/top one here) so I'm just documenting the parts for others (I didn't see these part numbers quoted in any of the above thread):

 

Panel fuse holder (non-PCB, solder terminals) is Schurter FEC 6x32 (well 1/4" x 1-1/4"). Datasheet: https://docs.rs-onli...66b8140486a.pdf https://ch.schurter.com/part/0031.1631

 

• Body is: Schurter 0031.1631 Solder tags (Note: This body is used for both 6x32 and 5x20 fuse applications, vendor descriptions may vary due to this). Schurter 0031.1623 is "quick connect" spade terminals that would also work if needed.
• Fuse Holder (6x32) is: Schurter 0031.1613 (slotted cap)
• There is a combined order code of: Schurter 0031.1633 for both parts that some might stock.

If you just want the fuse holder, then Rapid Electronics 26-3066 are the best place (remaining stock ~50) at 67p+VAT ea. Rapid don't stock the body.

 

RS are next, they have both parts at a higher price: Body RS 866-3429 (£1.31+VAT ea), Holder RS 866-3413 (£1.85+VAT ea). (£3.16+VAT for the pair)

 

Farnell also stock, but you need to remortgage: Body 1651783 (£4.51+VAT ea), Holder 1608341 (£4.90+VAT ea). (£9.41 for the pair)

 

Also listed by Mouser and Digi-Key at prices similar to Farnell.

 

Couldn't find on CPC.

Edited July 22, 2020 by kgallen