ladyjayne Posted November 30, 2010 Share Posted November 30, 2010 Hello I hope someone can help me. I have an issue with a misaligned colour wheel, no photo cell on it just a rod on the wheel and a rod inside the case. Have swapped it for a different stepper motor out of an identical unit, still the same problem. however with the replacement motor the rainbow function works as it should, with the original motor it just shakes and judders. The fixture doesn't have split colours or anything. Anybody got any ideas what might be causing this? btw I have googled this exstensively to no avail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted November 30, 2010 Share Posted November 30, 2010 What fixture? In a unit with no wheel sensor alignment takes place by running the wheel into an end stop, and then running it a bit more to make sure it's 'Home'. The software then knows where the wheel is and can count motor steps to know what colour is selected. If you've eliminated the motor as the problem then it could be the driver chip is borked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timsabre Posted November 30, 2010 Share Posted November 30, 2010 It would be helpful to know what the type of unit is. If the stepper motor judders, but a replacement one doesn't, it is normally an open-circuit coil in the stepper motor. (or, the motor's knackered) I'm not sure what you mean by "a rod on the wheel and a rod inside the case" but if this is not a continuous rotation wheel, i.e. it knocks against a stop when it starts up, you probably just need to slacken off the locking screws on the wheel while the unit is powered up and adjust the position slightly. Then reset the unit. Repeat until you've got it right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted November 30, 2010 Share Posted November 30, 2010 I'm an idiot. While making the tea I've just realised you said it worked(ish) with a new motor so it's not the driver. A concurrent post has been automatically merged from this point on. One cup of tea later... I'm confused at to what the fault is. Is it... I have an issue with a misaligned colour wheel... ...or is it... ...it just shakes and judders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyjayne Posted November 30, 2010 Author Share Posted November 30, 2010 It's an Acme Genesis moving head, indeed no continuous rotation but a rod on the wheel if that is what's called an end stop. also no magnets etc.with the original motor the colours are misaligned and the rainbow fuction judders and shakes. with the replacement motor the wheel is still misaligned but the rainbow function works. what I probably should have mentioned too is that after a reset OW is fine and I can select colours it's when I scroll between colours the misalignment occurs. ie. the first time I select a colour its fine then when the wheel has rotated all of a sudden there is an overlapThanks for you replies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted November 30, 2010 Share Posted November 30, 2010 With the power off does the wheel rotate freely? (you might notice little steps as you rotate due to the stepper motor) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrV Posted November 30, 2010 Share Posted November 30, 2010 That sounds very much as though the wheel is about half a step out on the motor shaft. Like Timsabre says - you need to wait until the fixture has finished resetting and then, with the power on, slacken off the grub screw that holds the wheel on the shaft and move the wheel (without moving the motor shaft) so that the end stop is almost, but not quite, touching whatever it is that it bangs up against. The amount of clearance will depend on exactly what the mechanism looks like but it should be much less than one step of the stepper motor. Then reset the fixture again and make sure that the clearance is still there. Finally test and, if all is well, sit back and enjoy the show. If not slacken it off and try again. Hope this helpsDave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyjayne Posted November 30, 2010 Author Share Posted November 30, 2010 With the power off does the wheel rotate freely? (you might notice little steps as you rotate due to the stepper motor)Yes it does, btw its belt driven not direct. That sounds very much as though the wheel is about half a step out on the motor shaft. Like Timsabre says - you need to wait until the fixture has finished resetting and then, with the power on, slacken off the grub screw that holds the wheel on the shaft and move the wheel (without moving the motor shaft) so that the end stop is almost, but not quite, touching whatever it is that it bangs up against. The amount of clearance will depend on exactly what the mechanism looks like but it should be much less than one step of the stepper motor. Then reset the fixture again and make sure that the clearance is still there. Finally test and, if all is well, sit back and enjoy the show. If not slacken it off and try again. Hope this helpsDaveWill give that a try. Bizarly I've swapped the 1st motor (the one I thought was duff) into the other fixture and thought for a moment I now had 2 lights witht the same problem but it then corrected itself A concurrent post has been automatically merged from this point on. Something just occured to me, could it be that the belt between the motor and the wheel is slipping/needs replacing? Where could I get replacements if so? From past experience Prolight don't want to know. (Still waiting to be called back after 3 weeks if they're reading this) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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