SparkySteve Posted April 28, 2004 Share Posted April 28, 2004 Come on guys, we wanna hear all your stories to do with movers.... What worked well or what didn't work at all. Kit falling apart on you or just not working as it should. Even mover reviews, what you thought of 'x' brand we wanna hear 'em! ok, I'll start.... (in response to 'nix in the Mac vs Stage scan thread) we had a show come in carrying robe washes.... I think they were the 575 wash XT... was very impressed, particularly with the colour mixing. and a few of the profile versions and they were really bright and could see them clearly through the washes. Focus was good too. But that's just my 2p's worth, not heard a bad thing about robe it'd be interesting to see if anyone's had problems with robe?? I've got a few others but I don't want to post them all together, post your stories to do with movers good or bad, here Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted April 28, 2004 Share Posted April 28, 2004 Not going to repost my War 'n Peace (you can do a search for it if you want to read it) on the PR Pilot 250s but I love em and have never had any problems with them. Never cared much for Roboscan Pro 518s, the ones I've used have always had something wrong with them. Stu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksm Posted April 29, 2004 Share Posted April 29, 2004 Had one rig of about a dozen movers - mixture of MAC 250's and 300's. Everything fine when first powered up - would get an hour into programming and then one by one the MAC's would start hanging - not moving or constantly going through reset or just going back to zero position. Tried new board. Same thing happened. Tried re cabling the entire DMX run. Same thing. Eventually, after many tears and much door slamming and recriminations, I tracked down a faulty MAC300 unit. When it got above a certain temperature it obviously started to short its own DMX and send out random commands to all the other units. Of course in powering down it cooled down and fixed the problem and when tested all the DMX was clean until it warmed up again. Took me 3 days to find the problem and got through hundreds of metres of DMX cable and 2 jands boards. Happy? Me? You do the Math. Keith :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Mander Posted April 29, 2004 Share Posted April 29, 2004 I have had the unfortunate opertunity to use a little known moving head called a MOTORHEAD... these units made by gemini (yes the DJ equipment manufacturers) are not only the nosiest moving lights I've worked with but they also break regularly. I used one rig of 8 of them and had 2 working by the end of the show...never again! I've also seen a MAC 250 dropped from a height of 5 metres, it still tried to work when powered up but has since been scrapped for spares. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted April 29, 2004 Share Posted April 29, 2004 I worked in a small venue where the main dancefloor lights were three lampo columbus pro's (1.2k discharge 10ch DMX things. they regularly got their knickers in a twist so they had installed a "bump" button in the control psu line (push - to - break thing) This is more of a story about poor maintinance though rather than anything else. These units were installed when the room was refited. They were then used - continuously for months - no lamp hour checks were done on them as they were innaccessable. Until one day - just before doors luckily one blew badly, It also shattered the reflector and distroyed the primary lens. The guys working that day were treated to the hot fragments of glass raining down on them from above the dance floor than in an hour or so would be full of 500 or so partying people. They checked lamp hours regularly after that. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac500 Posted April 29, 2004 Share Posted April 29, 2004 At heaven we have had an SGM Rig installed. The units arent bad SGM Giotto Spots/Washes. They've got a nice zoom on them, different gobo's. They do have problems with the gobo wheels sometimes not hitting the slots full on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparkySteve Posted April 29, 2004 Author Share Posted April 29, 2004 Doing a bit of work with quite a large hire company, I went to lift a MAC 250 + out of the case and the base came away from the head.... this was one returned to us from a hire. Was on a show as moving head tech and we had a dozen or so movers, Mac 500's + 600's.... one of the 500's wasn't working to well, making wierd clunking noises so I opened it up and before I could look the prism fell out and shattered on the floor. Obviously worked itself loose over the tour but admitedly more than likely was bad maintainance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac500 Posted April 29, 2004 Share Posted April 29, 2004 I remember spinning a Goldenscan HPE on a powerdrive stand to derig it and the focus lens fell off! D'oh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryson Posted April 29, 2004 Share Posted April 29, 2004 Oh dear: Someone mentioned Motorheads and resurrected a memory I had supressed. They were without a doubt, the worst piece of gear I have ever had the displeasure of working with. And I include the Intellabeam controller in that. (Which, btw, suck big time) Avoid at all costs, folks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnhuson Posted April 29, 2004 Share Posted April 29, 2004 Well I'm not going to chip in my opinion on whats a good mover and whats a bad move because, well there is no such thing. Granted we've all had problems with X brand and Y brand do this. But at the end of the day there is a lot of technology and moving parts in a moving light and therefore chances are you going to have problems with any brand at sometime or another, lets face it our PC's for example don't always work as they should do! One thing that is often a cause of moving lights failing is poor or lack of maintainance, you wouldn't expect your car to run forever without going to the garage for a service! There are some brands which are much better quality than others and therefore inherently more reliable, but nothings perfect. Generally in life you get what you pay for, the more expensive something is the better quality it's going to be, although there are often exceptions to the rule. At the end of the day the best moving light to you might not be to another person. I think it all boils down to personal preference and familiarity. One thing I always take into consideration is the application. I wouldn't use a MAC 2000 to light a show in a venue with a 4mtr trim height for example, doesn't mean the MAC 2000 isn't a good fixture, just not the best one for that application. Sadly there is often another factor we all have to take into consideration, and thats budget! At the end of the day, you make the most of what you can get with the money you've got. Sad but often true! Just my humble opinions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac500 Posted April 29, 2004 Share Posted April 29, 2004 Exactly, I don't mind using MAC 250's in the right situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Frazer Posted April 29, 2004 Share Posted April 29, 2004 Toured 12 High End Studio Spots on Chicago. Within 6 months the motors had started failing due to excessive heat. We changed over 40 motors in one day when the problem got really bad. High end actually admitted they had a problem after that. MAC2000 shutters are another one. Touring 30 at the moment and I am having to replace shutter blades on a regular basis as they tend to melt. Martin are aware of the problem and as far as I know are still trying to find a solution (and yes I do leave the shutters open when they are not in use). Not exactly Good or Bad but has anyone else seen the MAC2000F at stage electrics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter Posted April 30, 2004 Share Posted April 30, 2004 Yep, I've seen it. Rather clever, if a little OTT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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