imesh.l Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Hey guys! I've been working out with a college amateur production and one of the Source 4's in the theatre seems to have a jammed shutter so I can't open the beam fully.It is just the bottom shutter that is jammed. Is there anyway to loosen it without having to take the entire fixture apart?I haven't ever done it before and don't want to risk it. Since our college doesn't have a theatre department, the lights have barely been used so even the technicians have no idea how to take them apart. Any help will be appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IRW Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Hey guys! I've been working out with a college amateur production and one of the Source 4's in the theatre seems to have a jammed shutter so I can't open the beam fully.It is just the bottom shutter that is jammed. Is there anyway to loosen it without having to take the entire fixture apart?I haven't ever done it before and don't want to risk it. Since our college doesn't have a theatre department, the lights have barely been used so even the technicians have no idea how to take them apart. Any help will be appreciated! What model Source 4 is it? ETC have exploded diagrams and manuals for all their fixtures on their website. A word of warning: if it's a junior and you do decide to take it apart, watch out for all the bits around the shutters that go 'ping!'! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imesh.l Posted September 27, 2011 Author Share Posted September 27, 2011 It's a ETC Source 4 Zoom. So there is no option but to take it apart? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GridGirl Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Have you tried moving the shutter when the unit has been on for a while and is getting pretty hot? I've sometimes found that a jammed shutter will free up a bit when the unit is hot as the gate expands - the shutter will too but sometimes you can move it. Alternatively, you should be able to get the lens tube off the lamp housing, which should give you better access to the shutters - you could try getting some graphite into where the shutter touches the gate which might loosen it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramdram Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Can you obtain releasing agents such as WD40 or similar? A very judicious drop onto the visible end of the shutter may do the trick? Allow to penetrate and gradually wiggle it about. If all else fails and you are, understandably, loath to dismantle the lantern then the very merest trace of diesel may do the rick. And I do mean just a tiny drop. Diesel is a very penetrating lubricant and it can get everywhere. It may be however there is physical damage to the shutter and it has become bent somehow, or was bent and then forced back into position. It may be you have no other option that to put the unit into a very large clear plastic bag and work with your hands inside so that if anything springs off you at least know where it is...it not exactly where it came from... Best of luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the kid Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 is it jammed jammed and wont move at all? we had one that some how the shutter blade had been bent the tiniest bit so wouldnt slide back in the runner. Taking off the tube and pokeing it fixed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IRW Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 It's a ETC Source 4 Zoom. So there is no option but to take it apart? You should be able to get to at least one side of the shutters fairly easily- stand the lantern upright, then undo the barrel adjusting knob, then undo the screw in the same place, but on the opposite side of the lantern. You should then be able to turn the lamp-base section aproximately 45' (I think, it might be 90!), lift slightly, and the lamp base should pop off. From here, and by wiggling the shutters in and out, you should be able to see if any physical damage has occurred. Ian Edited because my 'e' key is being tempermental! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imesh.l Posted September 27, 2011 Author Share Posted September 27, 2011 It isn't completely jammed, I can move it around a quite a bit left and right, I just can seem to pull it straight out. I'll be getting back into the venue tomorrow so I'll try out some for your suggestions and let you know how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramdram Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Forget the diesel idea then, ** laughs out loud **. As mentioned above there are manuals for the lanterns on the website. Oddly enough I was looking at said ETC lanterns this very pm, with a view to buying used zoom for a co. I do stuff for. There certainly is a warning about springs popping off and you are advised to wear eye protection. It appears too that the shutters are "handed", so they should go back whence they came. Perhaps the shutters in your lantern were not reassembled properly from an earlier time hence the prob you have today? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imesh.l Posted October 30, 2011 Author Share Posted October 30, 2011 Hey guysSorry I couldn't get back to you about what happened with the fixture been busy getting ready for finals! Anyway the techs refused to let me take it apart so just had to work around the jammed shutter and used the light as little as possible.Yeah anti-climatic http://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/dry.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willdoweuk Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Just a quick note. Last year I was asked by someone why they couldn't move the shutter. What they didn't know was that they were moving the bottom shutter and expecting the bottom of the beam to change. They couldn't understand why the image was flipped (simple optics). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imesh.l Posted November 2, 2011 Author Share Posted November 2, 2011 Maybe it's the top shutter that's stuckEither way the beam isn't circular http://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/sad.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephB Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Once it's been un-jammed, graphite powder for shutters and irises reduces friction. Local hardware shop should have some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Allen Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Something elso to try when the lamp is completely, absolutely, definitely cold, as you don't want to damage a warm filament by jarring it, is to get a can of Freezeit which causes the shutter metal to shrink. Hopefully at a faster rate than the body of the lantern so you can wiggle it. Be careful using the freezer spray. It is used for cooling components when troubleshooting circuits. Then use your graphite powder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willdart666 Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Have you tried getting the techs to fix it for you? I mean, if they're the tech guys then its their job, and they should learn. Otherwise what's the point in them? They're really straight forward to fix and this just sounds like it needs a good wiggle and some graphite. Best left to the tech guys to do the graphite bit but if you can you should watch them do it so you know for next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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