Mac 250s

[uglyfish]

Hey everyone,

 

I left my school about a year ago, and when I left, I left behind 10 fully working mac 250s. (6 washes and 4 kryptons.)

I went back to my school Friday and found most of them dead. I'm self taught, so I might not be able to explain everything exactly, but they're connected to a pearl 2004.

When I flick the switches on stage to power them up, all of them respond react. Automatic lamp on is set to off, but through the closed shutter I can see that 4 of them have beams.

When I open the shutters, use the lamp on macro and locate fixtures, only four beams come on.

3 washes go straight to hot every time.

1 krypton says lamp error.

2 kryptons flick very quickly between their DMX addresses and an error message I can't read - it's like the effect you get when you push really hard on a calculator screen. I did get one of them working for about ten minutes before I had to turn all the power off, and if you use it in a playback and then use the playback, it doesn't remember its pan and tilt data, just the gobo and colour.

 

I'd like to just say it was a case of cleaning the fans and changing the bulbs, but according to the lamp hour times, they haven't been used for more than 1700 hours, and I'm confused as to why some have gone and others haven't. This might be usual, I don't know, and if it is I'll be very relieved. I know for a fact no one else in that school knows how to use the lights, but the switches are at the back of the stage and easily accessible to every student. They look exactly like light switches, and I was wondering if students flicking them on and them flicking them off repeatedly would have caused any damage.

 

I'm no longer a pupil in that school, and although I think just changing the bulbs and cleaning the fans will fix most of them, I don't want to suggest this to them, make them pay a huge amount and then still have broken lights. I also don't know anything about the two kryptons that flash very quickly through error messages.

 

The lights are maybe 5 or 6 years old and have never been serviced.

 

If anyone has any advice or suggestions I would be extremely grateful. Thanks very much in advance.

[Big Jay]

Maybe it's time to get them serviced then???

[uglyfish]

It's not up to me, the school won't. I've told them to before. Unless I can come up with a pretty solid reason for them not working, they'll just leave the lights broken.

[david.elsbury]

What a shame. Also, what a brilliant example of why moving lights are quite often a poor idea in schools.

 

Mods, how about making this topic a sticky or something?

[Ynot]

What a shame. Also, what a brilliant example of why moving lights are quite often a poor idea in schools.

Exactly.

 

A typical blinkered reaction from a school which has NO idea of what this kit is worth to them if it were working.

[csg]

glad to see my hard earned tax payers money is being spent in such a worthwhile fashion.

 

all you can do is advise that they get a servicing company in to give the lamps a good going over - and to arrange a regular contract with said company to ensure their investment does not end up beyond repair.

[paulears]

Yearly servicing doesn't have legislation or even the dreaded heath & safety tag behind it, so it's in the same box as piano tuning - equally painful, and equally unlikely to have regular money spent on them.

[uglyfish]

I didn't realise this would get everyone so angry. I'm sorry.

 

It seems any action is beyond my abilites. I tried to take care of the lights while I was in that school, but being a student there I wasn't in any posistion to insist they get a professional in to check them.

I'll tell them to get them serviced otherwise they'll be wasted, and give them no alternatives.

 

Just out of curiosity though, if anyone does know what could be wrong with the two kryptons with the flashing screens, I'd love to know. I doubt the school will ask me back in again after this so I might never find out!

 

Thanks for all your help, and sorry again, it seemed to spark some anger!

[Ynot]

As you're not a student there any more you really have no vested interest in the kit.

You don't say why you went back - were you asked to go and light a show?

 

The fact that you have said that no-one else at school now (apparently) has any idea how to use or maintain them is pretty much the end of the story. Even if they were serviced now I suspect they'd be back in a poor state soon thereafter.

(Yes, by the way, an idle student flicking switches on/off repeatedly is very likely to cause at the least a blown lamp in short order - Mac 250s are NOT a hot-restrike lamp).

 

Maybe it would be best all round if the school sold the lanterns as a make-do-or-mend option - that way they may find themselves a better home.

 

Whereabouts are you? Maybe we have a BR member who'd like to make them an offer...?

[uglyfish]

I was asked to go back and light a show a while ago and noticed the two kryptons being a bit odd, but nothing more. They asked me to come back in and have a look, but I then got a job and couldn't until Friday. I guess I feel I owe it to the school because they let me use them so often while I was there.

 

I'm going back in tomorrow, I'll ask them about selling the lights and if they seem interested I'll let you know. Thanks again.

[tommulliner]

For me, its a perfect example of why movers are not recomended in schools. The schools fork out a load of their money on them, and when they're borken, 'oh, we cant afford to have them fixed'. A waste of money and time if you ask me. What is wrong with just hiring them??

[TomG]

For me, its a perfect example of why movers are not recomended in schools. The schools fork out a load of their money on them, and when they're borken, 'oh, we cant afford to have them fixed'. A waste of money and time if you ask me. What is wrong with just hiring them??

 

I've just left my school, and to be frank hiring is the way to go, definitely in a school environment, because over the last year we have used say 15 moving lights on 3 different shows for a bout a week at a time each. The hire cost never being more than £400 per show, that wouldn't have bought use one Martin Mac over the year.

 

This topic also reminded me of a show I was doing a couple of years back, we had a Martin Mac 600 catch Fire, due to a faulty temperature sensor. They were on hire from WhiteLight at the time, so we just called them up on the out of hours number, and they sent us a replacement the next day, they weren't to bothered about the situation either, because they have the facilities to deal with repairing the fixture that a school wouldn't.

[abbotsmike]

They are quite welcome to donate the lot to me! even a few would be fine!

[csg]

perhaps it should be a requirement, when justifying or trying to justify the purchase of such equipment that the school have a plan in place to maintain the equipment, and therefore protect their ( my) investment. This really does make me furious.

 

Do the Staff involved here drive their cars without any servicing, untill the car stops working? This really should be a case of common sence, and if it's not, then they should not be in the position to spend my ( our) money on this type of kit, when the money could clearly be put to better use.

 

sorry for the rant folks.

[uglyfish]

I completely understand people's anger. The school is a performing arts school though, the lights were put to good use (the lamp time is something else that confused me, I could put money on them being used more.)

I really didn't want to start an arguement about it, I was just wondering if anyone knew what was wrong with the lights and if they could be easily fixed.

I'm sorry for getting everyone angry, and I'm sorry for giving everyone a bad view of my school.