Jump to content

mac 250 screen flicker


dertydevil

Recommended Posts

Posted
hi- ive got a ma c 250 on the bench and the control screen is flickering(changing the characters)-any idea what it could be?,im gona change the screen over with another one and see what happens
Posted
Could you provide a bit more information. Is the whole display flickering or is it individual segments of the display? Are there any error messages appearing and how old is the unit?
Posted

its an old mac 250,theres no error messages,there was a gobo error message but I fixed it,its the whole screen,I changed the front control panel with another mac but its still doing it, it flickers on and off some times and the characters some times change making the display all messed up

 

ive also got an old mac 250 thats juttering on the pan at start up,ive pulled the switch out at the base of the unit to have a look at it,it seems to be switching okay(how do you test- if it actually is switching on),please forgive me im a bit of a novice at this,any help would be great

Posted
it flickers on and off some times and the characters some times change making the display all messed up

 

Could be loose/damaged cabling leading from the CPU board to the screen - follow the cable from the screen back to the board and look for any damage (likely to be near the entrance/exit of the rotary section).

 

how do you test- if it actually is switching on

Screen shows 4 stars when it powers on, if it doesn't do that when you turn it on chances are it's one of the fuses. Juddering pan is nothing new with old lights (it's just trying to home) might need a new belt/stepper motor though.

That's just a few suggestions, see if you can find someone nearby who knows how to service them give you a few pointers with the actual unit in-front of you.

Posted
thanks for your help,im in northern ireland and there isnt too many people who know anything about lighting, and the ones that do charge a complete fortune-cheers
Posted
Sounds a bit Stupid. but try sticking a different lamp in. I've had several call outs saying the screen is flickering and not working correctly. It would semi strike up but then not do anything. Changed the lamp and it was perfect and happy and working again. It could be as simple as the lamp is coming to an end. It might not be. but it may well be something worth trying. The unit that was doing it to me was a 250+ by the way.
Posted

I second the suggestion with the lamp.. very likely cause of flickering display and jittering movement... Can also be the wiring to the lamp that is worn out or the temp cutout switch mounted on the lamp reflector.

Basically what happens is that the psu (starter) is trying to start the lamp all the time, and this is done with some high voltage pulses, that causes inteference with other circuits in the fixture..

On good working lamps/fixtures you will also see display flickering/movement just when you turn the lamp on, but this stops when the lamp is on, and the psu stops sending the high voltage pulses to it within a couple of seconds...

I have repaired Mac250's in the hundreds (maybe thousands) and I have seen this fault plenty of times, and I dont think it has ever been caused by the display or controller pcb.

 

Br. Simon

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.