ajack.lights Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Excuse me for a pleading first post but I need some help. I have hired some lighting equipment for a musical just to help out and we appear to have damaged, well in some cased literally blown up some hire equipment. the problems I have are: 1) three damages DMX cards on a custom built set prop, 2) some led fittings not responding to DMX, 3) a novaflower which will no longer power-up although the display is still lit, 4) a MAC 700 wash that powers up but will not calibrate, 5) A strobe that literally had sparks comming out of it, 6) some kino flow ballasts that now only work on 2 tubes out of 4. I am wanting to try to fix some of this before it goes back but to be honest I am just a jobbing lampy and don't know where to start. I can tell the story of why if anyone is interested but in the short term just need some advice on how to go about fixing some of this stuff. Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djw1981 Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Excuse me for a pleading first post but I need some help. I have hired some lighting equipment for a musical just to help out and we appear to have damaged, well in some cased literally blown up some hire equipment. the problems I have are: 1) three damages DMX cards on a custom built set prop, 2) some led fittings not responding to DMX, 3) a novaflower which will no longer power-up although the display is still lit, 4) a MAC 700 wash that powers up but will not calibrate, 5) A strobe that literally had sparks comming out of it, 6) some kino flow ballasts that now only work on 2 tubes out of 4. I am wanting to try to fix some of this before it goes back but to be honest I am just a jobbing lampy and don't know where to start. I can tell the story of why if anyone is interested but in the short term just need some advice on how to go about fixing some of this stuff. Thanks in advance.The hire company would probably want it repaired by either their staff or someone approved by them and to their in-house standards; otherwise when you admit to the damage and the attempted repair, they will have to check the repair job again and may end up removing your repairs and thus you pay twice in effect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony g Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 I second djw1981's comments DO NOT attempt to repair the equipment yourself, at the end of the day it's not your stuff and if you check the T&Cs of hire I'm sure it will say that you should not attempt repairs, if you do they could possibly charge you to replace the kit with new on the basis its been tampered with by an unauthorised or (in their eyes) unskilled person, or at least hammer you with higher repair charges. Your best bet is to get in touch with the hire company ASAP, come clean over what happened and reach an agreement re: repairs, most hire companies I know are staffed by decent ladies & gents who will be much more ameanable if you are up front about it all, do you by chance have any insurance you can call upon (was any included in the hire package?)? Do tell us what happened, it sounds most impressive to have done such widespread damage And in all seriousness and sincerity best of luck with getting it sorted, this kind of thing is always really embarrassing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Do tell us what happened, it sounds most impressive to have done such widespread damageSeconded! You must've been really going for it to have killed that much gear on a single job! Seriously, tho - as others have said, don't attempt to sort any of it out yourself. You really do need to fess up to the hire company and take it from there. Perhaps your insurance will cover some, or perhaps all, of the repairs if you can convince them that it was accidental damage. Probably worth looking into, at any rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmeh2 Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Hi That amount of destruction can really only be caused by a power problem. Did someone lose their neutral or send 415v down the wrong wire? Where did the rig power come from, Local supply or generator? Hopefully your insurance will cover it, but be prepared for a hefty bill. All the bestTimmeh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony g Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Hi That amount of destruction can really only be caused by a power problem. Did someone lose their neutral or send 415v down the wrong wire? Where did the rig power come from, Local supply or generator? Hopefully your insurance will cover it, but be prepared for a hefty bill. All the bestTimmeh What Timmeh says here did occour to me as I was writing my earlier reply, IF (it sounds probable) your kit got full 415V either as stated from a dropped neutral or being connected between phases you may have a claim against the insurance of the venue, genny hire company or electricity board (whichevers fault it was), however if it was something you did, er.... IF 415 did hit those electronic items however and smoke and sparks flew I'm afraid it may be more a case of replace rather than repair as it tends to be quite devastating for microelectronics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmeh2 Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Hi Just to back up Tony's point this would indeed be the case, a while back I was on a gig and the generator man somehow managed to confuse his tails and connect the blue phase to neutral. The net result was 8 destroyed heads and a Pearl Expert up in smoke. The loss adjuster wasted no time in writing the entire lot off, much to the dismay of the genny company. All the bestTimmeh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony g Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Hi Just to back up Tony's point this would indeed be the case, a while back I was on a gig and the generator man somehow managed to confuse his tails and connect the blue phase to neutral. The net result was 8 destroyed heads and a Pearl Expert up in smoke. The loss adjuster wasted no time in writing the entire lot off, much to the dismay of the genny company. All the bestTimmeh The harmonised colour code has caused quite a few disasters such as this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musht Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 Think it was John Huson who posted picture of a moving head that a hirer had attempted to repair, then routed loom wrongly....... have to see the picture. Hire company will spot straight away any attempted entry and/or repairs on their gear. To be honest their people work on this stuff day in day out with spares and test gear right on the shelf. Use of a third person, even invented, to blame when informing the hire company is probably a useful device , MrX can shoulder the blame for the damage and you can move on together with the hire company to rectify the damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lightnix Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 ...Perhaps your insurance will cover some, or perhaps all, of the repairs if you can convince them that it was accidental damage...Hopefully your insurance will cover it...Ah yes... the insurance :D Use of a third person, even invented, to blame when informing the hire company is probably a useful device , MrX can shoulder the blame for the damage and you can move on together with the hire company to rectify the damage.No disrespect, but that's not really very fair, is it? Even if the hire co's insurance picks up the tab, it'll knock onto their premiums and nobody needs increased overheads. Apart from that: If you get tumbled telling porkies, then you definitely will look a cnut. People will be unwilling to trust you and your reputation will suffer greater damage, for a longer period of time. ...Your best bet is to get in touch with the hire company ASAP, come clean over what happened and reach an agreement re: repairs, most hire companies I know are staffed by decent ladies & gents who will be much more ameanable if you are up front about it all...It can be painful in the short term, but IME honesty is always the best policy and far more likely to earn some empathy, if not actual sympathy. ...a while back I was on a gig and the generator man somehow managed to confuse his tails and connect the blue phase to neutral...The harmonised colour code has caused quite a few disasters such as this!Along with not checking your mains before connecting :( I had this happen to me, on one of my very first "big" gigs. The house guy wasn't familiar with wiring in 3 phase tails, I didn't check the output and... :o Luckily I was working for the company and we weren't too far away from a source of fresh kit. Also: this was in the days before movers and IIRC all we really lost in the end, were the varistors(?) that protected the electronics from over voltage supply. Needless to say, I always checked my mains after that. Always. Good luck - I hope it all gets sorted out smoothly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musht Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 Use of a third person, even invented, to blame when informing the hire company is probably a useful device , MrX can shoulder the blame for the damage and you can move on together with the hire company to rectify the damage.No disrespect, but that's not really very fair, is it? Even if the hire co's insurance picks up the tab, it'll knock onto their premiums and nobody needs increased overheads. Sorry, should have been clearer, signature at bottom of hire agreement dictates who is liable. Having had to be the bearer of bad news on more than one occasion, sometimes the use of the conversational device of a third person can be employed to allow consternation, empathy or agression to be transferred on to the never present third party. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lightnix Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 Use of a third person, even invented, to blame when informing the hire company is probably a useful device , MrX can shoulder the blame for the damage...No disrespect, but that's not really very fair, is it? ...Sorry, should have been clearer, signature at bottom of hire agreement dictates who is liable. Having had to be the bearer of bad news on more than one occasion...Sorry, it was a bit late and I'd been asleep. Your post is somehow clearer in the cold light of day :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aidso Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 Having worked for a hire company in the past and had to deal with this on a regular basis(we hired P.A. to DJs who didn't give a feck). The best bet is to ring the hire company BEFORE the gear is due back and tell them. But be prepared you will either end up paying a hefty repair bill or pay for the replacement. As others have said if it was a mains fault either in the gen set or you fixed supply(very unlikely if you were running of pre-installed supplies) the liability falls back to the spark not the generator company(unless the gen set itself failed) In any case you will more than likely end up paying upfront yourself then claiming back from who ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnhuson Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 As many others have said call the hire company ASAP and explain exactly what happened, and be honest about exactly what happened, this is far more likely to get amicable results than attempting to cover up the damage. Please also bear in mind that many (if not all) hire T&Cs stipulate that in your situation, you the hirer are responsible for the on going hire cost of the equipment until it is repaired/replaced so the sooner the wheels are set in motion the better. Think it was John Huson who posted picture of a moving head that a hirer had attempted to repair, then routed loom wrongly....... have to see the picture.You have an extremely good memory, it was indeed me but I seem to be unable to find the post or in fact remembered where I hosted the image! If anyone is interested I'll try and dig it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 Another reason for telling them early is that you may be liable for their loss of income if they cannot repair them quickly, and they're booked on another hire. Wear and tear is usually fine - but if you have damaged them, then you may have to pick up extra costs too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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