RoseWired Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 Hey Guys, Does anyone know where I can get a hold of a manual for a Avolites FD Series Dimmer rack? I have tried searching online and so far haven't really come up with anything useful. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonny DMX Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 Have you tried calling Avolites? I've found them very helpful in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scjb Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 Were you looking for an operating manual or a service manual? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoseWired Posted August 21, 2009 Author Share Posted August 21, 2009 Were you looking for an operating manual or a service manual? Operating manual (mainly concerning patching, etc) but both would be ideal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathanhill Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 The Art 2000 and 4000 manuals deal with patching, albeit briefly, and is not radically different from the FD series. The newer dimmers just use slightly better connectors for the patch leads. What specifically are you unsure/require further information on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoseWired Posted August 31, 2009 Author Share Posted August 31, 2009 Thanks for your help so far. Having never used this type of dimmer before, I was looking for more info on how to use the patch panel, as it's not entirely clear. The rack is 72 way, and on the patch panel we have dimmer modules labeled A,B,C,D,E,F. A & B are on the same module, and seem to have 2 sockets per channel. C & D have there own module, and seem to have 4 sockets per channel. E & F are on the same module and only appear to have 1 socket per channel (the bottom half of that module is label SHORTING PLUGS, which I am not really clear on either). This is all based on the assumption that the channels run vertically from the top down. So, would I be right in saying that on most of the dimmers (bar E & F), I can patch 2 lanterns to a single channel using the patch leads? What are the shorting plugs for? Sorry if this sounds like a silly question, like I said, these dimmers are completely alien to me and I'm just trying to get my head around it. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 The fact that you have shorting plugs suggests to me that somewhere on the patch panel you have outlets wired in series pairs (to enable you to patch two 120v loads in series onto a 240v dimmer outlet). The shorting plugs enable you to connect a single 240v load to one of the series pair, and then short across the second one. Very handy if you know what you're doing, but they add another level of complexity to a hard patch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikio Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 (the bottom half of that module is label SHORTING PLUGS, which I am not really clear on either). This is all based on the assumption that the channels run vertically from the top down. The third module across (the one you assume is dimmer D) Doesn't have "DO NOT USE" written in the same place vertically as the SHORTING PLUGS label does it? Our FD patch (admititly on a 48 way unit) has "DO NOT USE" and then "SHORTING PLUGS" repeated twice across the patch bay. This is because all the outlets are in parallel, so a shorting plug would short out the dimmer. On our 48 way FD rack, the first block of patches is for dimmer A (each channel appears 4 times) the second for B, third for C and fourth for D. HTH Rikio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoseWired Posted September 1, 2009 Author Share Posted September 1, 2009 @Rikio: Yes, our patch bay does have "DO NOT USE" written in the middle of A/B, C & D and then "SHORTING PLUGS" in the middle of E/F. Given what you have said, I would therefore have to assume that our outlets are also in parallel. Thanks. That would also lead me to believe that in actual fact A,B,E & F have 2 outlets per channel and C & D have 4 outlets per channel. BTW - I emailed Nick @ Avolites and turns out there isn't a manual for this rack (apart for info listed @ http://www.avolites.org.uk/products/special/fd-dimmer.htm and also http://www.dimmercity.co.uk/ ). Thanks Guys, it's starting to make sense :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiendproductions Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Hi We have just uninstalled a few old FD 10's, we are selling them for parts if you're interested. Best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.elsbury Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Hi this post is 6 years old! Reckon they should be sorted by now :) Best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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