Ynot Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Been scouring the building today looking for the remote for our Magnum 550 - it's due for use at dress tomorrow (was also due for tonight's tech, but failed there!). We go up on Tuesday. It's the only small machine we have that will fit into the set piece we're using and it looks like it's either been pinched or left somewhere it shouldn't have been and has disappeared! So - anyone in the midlands got one I can beg, steal, hire or borrow (just the remote) for a couple of weeks or until ours finds it's way home?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyjayne Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 If my memory serves me right, isn't the remote permanently attached to the Magnum550? Or did Martin make different models?Anyhow I don't wish to get your hopes up bit I think I've still got a dead Magnum550 around somewhere that I wouldn't mind cutting the remote off. I shall look first thing in the morningcan you PM me a contact number? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashley R Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 If my memory serves me right, isn't the remote permanently attached to the Magnum550? Or did Martin make different models?Anyhow I don't wish to get your hopes up bit I think I've still got a dead Magnum550 around somewhere that I wouldn't mind cutting the remote off. I shall look first thing in the morningcan you PM me a contact number? The 550 has a IEC (I think!) connector on the end of the remote, which Is removable. Had to check a Youtube vid to find that out :D You might be thinking of its newer replacement the Magnum 650 (of which I own 2 :) ) But if someone wants to be handy, and wire one up using the 650 remote, just nip down to your local electrical wholesalers (or whoever) purchase an appropriate plug and wire it up. Its just a simple switch. I hope your not relying on only 1 machine? As they do go into a heating cycle, and they usually do this at the worst of times (Thus I have 2 650's) and then it ruins your effect! (anyone know a way how to bypass this feature if possible?) No clue what goes where, but they most likely just used 1mm sq 3 core flex for the remote lead. Hope this helps :) Ash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blaize110 Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 (anyone know a way how to bypass this feature if possible?) I believe it is simply a thermal switch attached to or inside the heating element. Presumably it wouldnt be too hard to just bypass this. However the thermal switch seems to turn the element off once it is up to temperature. By taking it out of the equation, might the whole machine overheat? And if not, I would guess it would certainly reduce the life of the element. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 OK - to start with, most lower-end smoke machines do indeed have thermal cutouts and they have these for a reason - ie to protedct the machine from overheating amongst other aspects. Bypassing ANY part of any machine is, in my opinion, not something to be considered unless you KNOW what you're doing will not adversely affect the running or longevity of the kit. And yes the machine is indeed a Magnum 550 and yes it does have an IEC connected remote cable. I think that if it had been a hard-wired option there wouldn't be an issue! As for relying on one machine, well, yes that IS the case as it's built into a set piece with no room for redundancy, but as it's being used for perhaps a minute or two at very low levels I have no concerns about it performing as expected. Would a remote from a 650 be usable on a 550? I have no idea, but may be worth a look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyjayne Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 If my memory serves me right, isn't the remote permanently attached to the Magnum550? Or did Martin make different models?Anyhow I don't wish to get your hopes up bit I think I've still got a dead Magnum550 around somewhere that I wouldn't mind cutting the remote off. I shall look first thing in the morningcan you PM me a contact number? The 550 has a IEC (I think!) connector on the end of the remote, which Is removable. Had to check a Youtube vid to find that out :D We're both right, there are two models the MKI with seperate IEC's for mains and remote and the MKII with wired remote. Both of which have now been discontinued. I have just located my deceased M550 which is a MKII but is just an empty shell no wires, pump, element or remote, must have kept it for when the scrap metal prices went up. However I DO have an IEC terminated remote from a Chauvet fogger which I'm not using at the moment so if that is any use to you Tony just drop me line. On a different note when it comes to small foggers I've had the Amita Atmos Fog800 for donkeys years and has never ever let me down and is about half the size of the Magnum550. (anyone know a way how to bypass this feature if possible?) I believe it is simply a thermal switch attached to or inside the heating element. Presumably it wouldnt be too hard to just bypass this. However the thermal switch seems to turn the element off once it is up to temperature. By taking it out of the equation, might the whole machine overheat? And if not, I would guess it would certainly reduce the life of the element.The thermal switch enables the pump when the heater is up to temp. bypass this and you'll be spraying crap fog at best and hot fog fluid at worst. I think that if it had been a hard-wired option there wouldn't be an issue!I assumed, as I was under the impression they only made a hard wired version, at some point a connection had been fabricated. IEC or otherwise. Seen it done before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashley R Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 OK - to start with, most lower-end smoke machines do indeed have thermal cutouts and they have these for a reason - ie to protect the machine from overheating amongst other aspects. Bypassing ANY part of any machine is, in my opinion, not something to be considered unless you KNOW what you're doing will not adversely affect the running or longevity of the kit. And yes the machine is indeed a Magnum 550 and yes it does have an IEC connected remote cable. I think that if it had been a hard-wired option there wouldn't be an issue! As for relying on one machine, well, yes that IS the case as it's built into a set piece with no room for redundancy, but as it's being used for perhaps a minute or two at very low levels I have no concerns about it performing as expected. Would a remote from a 650 be usable on a 550? I have no idea, but may be worth a look. As I suspected. Oh well, was worth a try. I Prefer the removable plug, I have modified both of my 650's with 240v plugs and sockets, so I can extend the remote cables, a very very handy feature! max length I've gone to so far is 50m. If the 550 is anything like my 650's, what it will do is either smoke for an extended period of time, then shut off completely and you wait for a min or two (plenty of time to ruin your effect), or if its just sitting there it will still occasionally go into the heating phase, which means again no fog whatsoever. and this always happens at the worst times. You might want to just try a few times over 1 hour to get the thing to smoke when you want it to. Say go off do something and every 20 Min's just come back, I will almost guarantee you at least one time the remote light will be on and its heating. All that's in a 650 remote is a switch and the light. all connected to a bit of 3 core flex. (with to standard colours(Brown, Blue, Green/Yellow)) so nothing fancy. If my memory serves me right, isn't the remote permanently attached to the Magnum550? Or did Martin make different models?Anyhow I don't wish to get your hopes up bit I think I've still got a dead Magnum550 around somewhere that I wouldn't mind cutting the remote off. I shall look first thing in the morningcan you PM me a contact number? The 550 has a IEC (I think!) connector on the end of the remote, which Is removable. Had to check a Youtube vid to find that out :D We're both right, there are two models the MKI with seperate IEC's for mains and remote and the MKII with wired remote. Both of which have now been discontinued.The thermal switch enables the pump when the heater is up to temp. bypass this and you'll be spraying crap fog at best and hot fog fluid at worst. You learn something new every day! :) - Very thin user manual (but then again its plug in and push a button) the 650 one I think is 22 pages long.... somehow... So very true, didn't really put to much thought into my mini question, just would be nice if I could depend on it to fire 100% of the time (on Q) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted January 11, 2011 Author Share Posted January 11, 2011 Well, still no sign of the darned remote so have today ordered a new 650 on an overnight delivery. Carriage is likely to be around half the price of the ruddy machine, but the smoke is rather key in this situation. Oh, and by the way, this isn't my first (or indeed only) smoke machine, so really don't need the educational type posts. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashley R Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Oh, and by the way, this isn't my first (or indeed only) smoke machine, so really don't need the educational type posts. Thanks. Maybe you should cable tie the remote to the handle, if It doesn't get extended, if you ever find it again? Yes I kind of realised oh wise one (with 4100+ posts!) . But might be useful for someone else reading this thread in the future :) . Just curious as to how you will get the ruddy thing to fire on Q every time (as It might be heating up)? Or will it just be hit and miss :unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomHoward Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 We've got the cheapo Antari ZX80 machines, and to address two points - the only cutout on ours seems to be if it isn't up to temperature, rather than overheating, so bypassing it won't improve the operation. It also only delivers about 2 minutes of smoke before the element temp drops, and it needs 2-3 minutes to re-heat before it will strike again. For redundancy we just have 4 of the machines, as this fills the stage before cutout as well - a single machine would need to operate longer than it could. For working on cue, with ours there's no reason for it to drop below operating temperature if it isn't outputting smoke - if you've got a load of smoke cues in a row you might have trouble with them, but given adequate time they don't seem to drop below temperature if they're just waiting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted January 11, 2011 Author Share Posted January 11, 2011 Quite. Whilst a budget machine, the Magnums aren't your typical DJ wannabes, and can still deliver certainly what I need in this instance. I do NOT need constant streams of smoke, nor do I need several bursts in a short time. So I therefore have absolutely no concerns over how the 500 (or indeed the new shiny 650 which arrived this morning) will perform to my expectations. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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