Replacing dichrofilter

[ekul1978]

During a bit of down time I’m going to replace the dichrofilter in one of my Robe’s I took out the old smashed one but noticed what I think was glue in the corners. Does the new one need gluing in too or will the heat silicone just be enough? If it needs glue, what kind?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Jivemaster]

Best I've ever heard of would be heat resistant silicone probably from a car parts store. However I've never actually re-fixed a dichroic filter. Edited September 20, 2020 by Jivemaster

[ekul1978]

Yeah I have the silicone. Robe gave me the exact one. Just wondered about the glue.

[DrV]

I've replaced the heat filters in Macs using high temp silicone (the red/orange stuff). Just be VERY careful not to apply too much. Use a cocktail stick or similar for accuracy. Can't see why a dichroic would be any more demanding than a heat filter.

[Jivemaster]

Dichroic filters get very hot, I'd look at all the other filters on that wheel and see whether they are glued or just siliconed. Have you spoken to one of the manufacturer's agents? If Robe supplied the silicone I'd take their suggestion and use it.

 

I'd wonder whether four dots of superglue(?) were the cause of the failure of the dichroic when heated.

 

 

Anything to do with heat in a discharge lantern usually justifies looking at the fan and filters while the case is open.

Edited September 21, 2020 by Jivemaster

[gyro_gearloose]

Don't just put the glass on the metal with a blob of silicone on top. You need some silicone between the metal and glass. This will help damp any vibrations, and allow the metal to expand and contract as it heats up and cools down. I used this stuff to re-attach some glass gobos and dichroic filters ages ago, though other people have reported success using basic silicone bathroom sealant.

[ekul1978]

Thanks for the replies - sorry I just realised I should have put that it is the dichrofilter - heat protection glass between the lamp and the rest of the housing. It shattered when a lamp exploded. I also have another unit thats causing me som eproblems too - I replaced som eof the base PSU's as they had died (common fault im told with Robe 700's). The unit works fine now and powers on etc but wont dim. It just stays open regardless of any input telling it not to. Ive looked at the boards in the head/arms and checked all connectors/cables and all seem ok but still nothing. Any ideas? Could it be a chip? or the motor thats died? It was all going so well today ** laughs out loud **.

[indyld]

I regularly worked on 700 Spots but has now been months since I've been anywhere near a bench (or even a lighting company that is trading all that much) and I can't remember the finer details of the dimmer system. Are there 1 or 2 motors running the dimmer shutter? If 2, seems unlikely that 2 motors themselves would fall over together. Also, assume that the fixture is not reporting any issues it thinks it has, such as temperature or other sensor errors.

 

I'd start at the shutter end, eliminate sensor or shutter drive errors, then follow the path back to the next board and seek out the stepper drivers and so on. Usual test is to swap to a driver chip connection from a working attribute.

 

As you've replaced some stuff (those Scheiderwerk PSUs must have cost an arm and a leg), I presume you are in touch with Robe parts and tech support. Perhaps they have some more insight. Unfortunately, I'm not near a warehouse to go and look in one, but if you posted some more pics and details then we can probably help further.

Edited September 21, 2020 by indyld

[ekul1978]

Thanks indyld. Its not throwing up any errors. Everything else is working fine so I'm a little confused. There are two motors that control the blades so yeah I guess it would be a unlucky coincidence if both of them have gone. As for the boards - UK Rs do the boards at a lot less than from Robe and they are exactly the same. I will try to get some pics tomorrow of the unit.

[ekul1978]

Thought I would check the chips in the menu this morning and noticed this - not sure if this will be the problem but the animation wheel and prisim work fine but cant seem to get the frost filter to move and obviously the shutter too - could it be both chips? or just IC1L that in turn is causing IC2L to not show up?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[indyld]

Thought I would check the chips in the menu this morning and noticed this - not sure if this will be the problem but the animation wheel and prisim work fine but cant seem to get the frost filter to move and obviously the shutter too - could it be both chips? or just IC1L that in turn is causing IC2L to not show up?

 

If PICs IC1L and IC2L are both in the same side of the arm, is there an issue with power/data to that board? Or has something incident actually fried two chips or shorted a power rail? Can't recall seeing any missing SW versions in the menus when I've looked. Have you tried doing a full firmware upload to see if it helps?

[ekul1978]

They are both on the same arm - the locking one. But like I said the prism and animation wheel both work which according to the manual are controlled by IC2L. Even though its not showing on the screen. I've sent an email to Robe support too and am waiting to see what they say too. I don't have a means of uploading firmware unfortunately, no RDM.