NJD Spectre Weird Problem

[adamski1010]

Ok guys, I've got a bit of a problem and for the life of me I can seem to sort it out. I have two NJD Spectres that I use for dry hires, mostly small discos and the like. I normally control them with an Elation DMX Operator 2 mini DMX console.

 

They both work fine in this setup and I've never had any problems, now today I plugged them into a larger rig, controlled by an Avo Azure Shadow, and one of them worked as per usual, the other didnt. I checked and double checked my fixture profiles on the desk, the DMX addresses and all the usual stuff. Both fixtures were recieving power and DMX. I still couldnt get one of the lights to work. So then I set both fixtures to the same DMX address so if one works, the other should aswell. One fixture worked, however the same fixture that didnt work before, did nothing.

 

Next, I plugged the dodgy fixture back into the original DMX operator 2 console, using the same address that I tried to use on the Avo, it worked perfectly, no problems. I've repeated this process multiple times, changing out cables, terminators, adaptors, plugging the dodgy spectre directly into the Avo and still it refuses to do anything...

 

Any ideas before I rip my hair out?

 

Cheers

[Whizzzy]

I've had similar problems with Spectre's myself and ended up buying a new micro-controller from the manufacturer. In my case driving the Spectre from a FatFrog caused one channel to pulse on and off at random yet driving it from a different DMX controller it behaved faultlessly. After swapping over the micro the fault transferred to the other unit so the diagnosis was pretty conclusive. From memory the replacement micro wasn't too expensive so it could be worthwhile investigating this.

 

A quick work around could be to try daisy chaining the problem Spectre off the first one which is working ok however this will limit you to both Spectres doing the same thing in terms of colour / intensity.

[adamski1010]

I've had similar problems with Spectre's myself and ended up buying a new micro-controller from the manufacturer. In my case driving the Spectre from a FatFrog caused one channel to pulse on and off at random yet driving it from a different DMX controller it behaved faultlessly. After swapping over the micro the fault transferred to the other unit so the diagnosis was pretty conclusive. From memory the replacement micro wasn't too expensive so it could be worthwhile investigating this.

 

A quick work around could be to try daisy chaining the problem Spectre off the first one which is working ok however this will limit you to both Spectres doing the same thing in terms of colour / intensity.

 

Unfortunitely I cant even link them. One of the units is refusing to accept signals no matter what, even if its set to the same address and daisy chained to the first (working) unit.

 

Cheers

[Chris Beesley]

Depending on the version of the Spectre you sometimes have to skip DMX CH1 and the RGB fall on CH2,3&4. Might be worth double checking the personaility on the Avo...

[KevinE]

There's a common fault on the Spectres that occurs if the led on the back panel gets knocked. It breaks a track on the pcb that not only supplies the LED 0V but also the 0V to other parts of the circuit, it might be worth checking that.

[LX-Dave]

I figured I'd revive this thread, rather than create a new one... since the problem is similar...

 

I've recently acquired a 2nd (or more) hand Spectre, supplied with the SFC1 controller and RJ45 cable.

 

To start with I connected this to the unit, and everything worked as expected. I then tried using DMX control.

 

The controller was a a velleman interface and supplied demo software (only thing to hand).

 

The PC and interface was showing DMX transmitted, and the LED on the back of the spectre showed a DMX signal, however the unit didn't respond to commands.

(this was with the MX90, 8 Channel mode).

 

I then tried the 3 channel mode, and upon setting this mode on the dipswitches, the unit lit up solid white. However when I moved a fader on the controller the unit would go black, and the status LED return to RED (No Signal).

 

Any pointers?

 

Dave

[KevinE]

Most NJD equipment needs reverse polarity DMX if sourced from a generic controller as opposed to a genuine NJD one. Check that!

[LX-Dave]

Most NJD equipment needs reverse polarity DMX if sourced from a generic controller as opposed to a genuine NJD one. Check that!

 

Eventually found time to look at it properly, and having reversed the polarity and re-tinned dry joints all is well.

 

Thanks