Warm Mac500

[dmxtothemax]

For a fan to move more air you need to put more power in!

Generally you get nothing for nothing,

More air requires different pitch of the blades,witch in turn needs more power to turn, due to more resistance from the air.

So the motor power must match the expected load of the blades.

Small gains might be made with better efficencies but any significant increase

means a bigger motor.

 

I'd strongly caution AGAINST upgrading the fans (unless martin gives the ok) because they use specific fans for specific reasons. Installing a more powerfun fan could draw too much current damaging other components or causing a voltage drop within the PCB.

 

Surely if you just bought fans with a higher airflow but have the SAME current/voltage (and other various specs), this would be an advanced benefit.

[timmeh2]

Hi

 

More often than not marketing factors get in the way when it comes to cooling. No-one wants a noisy light and whilst fan noise doesn't really matter in clubs it certainly does make a difference in theatre. Martin were so concerned with this that even on the relatively quiet Mac 500 and 600 they included Studio mode which puts the fans and steppers at half power.

 

The units can also be cooled passively and I've seen lots of old Macs where one or both fans aren't running but they still keep going. The 600 is almost fully passive anyway with half of its chassis being a massive heatsink.

 

I agree with the above posters about current issues, standard 3000rpm fans like you find on most moving lights consume just a few hundred mA each, whilst hi-speed 7000 rpm ones consume more than ten times that, so you are risking damaging the power supply or control board.

 

In comparison to something like the VL2000/2500 the Mac500 runs cold anyway. The cooling on the Varis is pitiful and even if the fans are working 100% the components are subjected to heat way above their design limitations and frequently go wrong!

 

All the best

Timmeh

[medina]

Maybe I should explain my "borrow". One of our other venues has closed while new operators are found, 2 Macs were on the deck so we borrowed them on a kind of permanent basis, so if I can get them working reliably I have saved a small fortune. The offending Mac now runs for about an hour until it desides that its had enough, I would rather not shell out on Martin repairing them so all ideas gratefully recieved

[timmeh2]

Hi

 

The fans are just off-the-shelf standard types. I used go get mine from CPC or RS, I'm sure someone else can give you the part number as I've forgotten.

 

After all that if the lamp is still shutting off then I'd suggest testing the heat cut-out switch as old ones can sometimes be a bit sensitive. Run the unit up with the covers off and when the lamp goes off test the continuity at the switch. If you've got an open circuit then order another one off Martin and fit it yourself as they only cost a few quid.

 

If the lamp is going off and the switch is still closed then you've either got a ballast issue or the lamp is defective.

 

I'd look at the lamp first as cycling is a symptom of electrode wear. Does it look in good condition?

 

All the best

Timmeh