Martin SmartMacs. Yes, that's what I said, SmartMacs. Pan/tilt issues.

[partyanimallighting]

Hi all!! It's been a while since I posted anything in the forum but I've acquired a few Martin SmartMacs for resurrection and I'm having an issue with the pan/tilt function. The last time I saw a SmartMAC was at a gig I was doing back in 2010 (13 years ago!!) and they were used by another vendor but I honestly found that they were quite bright for 150 watt units and I was impressed by their output. Anyway, that was years ago, back to the problem at hand. I've powered up a couple and I've gotten lamp strike and some functionality but I'm getting a "HOT" error message so that's probably the lamp thermostat which should be an easy fix but that in itself is not the real issue. The real problem is that I am not getting pan/tilt function via DMX. The units start up and home properly and pan and tilt functions fine during reset but at the end of the cycle I get no control of pan and tilt via DMX but I am getting all other functions (shutter, color, gobo, focus etc). I have one unit completely open without the hatch door doohicky in place and another with the hatch door firmly shut and the problem occurs in both units. Before I poke around any further I'm thinking that the hatch door has a sensor or switch to send signal to the motherboard that the hatch is open and thus pan and tilt is disabled so I'm thinking that searching for this sensor/switch in the general area will be a good start but I thought it best to post to you wizards who have actually had dealings with these units in the past to get some valuable feedback to provide me with some definitive guidance. Hope somebody bites and gives me some feedback. Thanks all!!!

[partyanimallighting]

So I did a little more checking and the fixture's pan and tilt seems to function well after startup until that "HOT" error message appears, then the unit ceases all function.......strange.......

[DrV]

"HOT" is, paradoxically, often nothing to do with temperature. If the lamp fails to give any light output OR the light detector has failed then the assumption is that you tried to strike a lamp which was too hot to strike. So if there IS light output then you need to replace the light sensor or at least check the connections to it. It's a three legged, transparent semiconductor device on a small PCB somewhere off to one side of the light path.

[IRW]

16 hours ago, partyanimallighting said:

So I did a little more checking and the fixture's pan and tilt seems to function well after startup until that "HOT" error message appears, then the unit ceases all function.......strange.......

This is fairly normal behaviour for a unit that thinks there’s a chance it’s lamp may have blown. You don’t want to be panning and tilting a unit potentially full of broken glass..!

[indyld]

With Martin stuff of this era there are quite a few different lamp related errors in theory, but 'HOT' is perhaps at the top of the hierarchy because it seems to show more than anything else for a whole host of reasons. I'd expect other errors than 'HOT' , (or 'HEAT' in the case of older Robes), but sometimes it seems to be the main thing the fixture complains about, even if there is no lamp in it!

As mentioned, it sounds like the fixture has gone into an explosion mode for whatever reason as this locks the pan/tilt and disables DMX. Of course, why the fixture thinks this can be several things relating to lack of lamp strike detection or metered lamp hours. Might be worth checking the lamp hours meter before getting too involved with the feedback circuits.

[partyanimallighting]

Great idea indyld. I was considering resetting the lamp hours on one unit first to check if that cleared the error but I thought it wiser to put out a post first as I am completely unfamiliar with these units. I believe I may even have new (old) lamps lying around from my old MX-4's that I can use to test. Thanks and I'll post some feedback!

[tonytech]

I'm unfamiliar with these units, but I had a "HOT" error on some Mac250s that turned out to be heat damaged wire behind the lamp. IIRC itthere was a thermo switch, but the wireing had crumbled to nothing.

[indyld]

Yes, this is another manifestation of 'HOT', when the fixture is anything but due to no voltage getting to the lamp (or being missing).

We generally assume 'HOT' or 'HEAT' to mean 'some random lamp error where it won't strike or thinks it hasn't struck' which starts with trying a new lamp, through to chasing down things like that thermal cutout, any optical sensors, or problems with the ballast or driver. Many fixtures have quite a few what one might call a software interlock, along with physical ways in which stuff stops happening (like thermal cutouts). This can be based on things like the current draw (or lack of) from a particular fan, through to preventing lamps striking or gobo wheels rotating, if a special heat shield isn't moving into place. Sometimes these little diagnostic details are only discovered if you speak to the manufacturer who actually know how the firmware behaves.

In this case, if the lamp is striking and staying struck, it's more likely the thermo and anything relating to the lamp itself is fine. So then we are into the territory of what the fixtures 'thinks'.

 

 

 

[partyanimallighting]

Thanks you for all the responses so far, I'm very grateful for the variety of answers. I've been dabbling in one unit only so far and the unit starts up fine, the lamp strikes and the unit responds to DMX. Then the "HOT" error message appears, the lamp douses and the unit seizes up, so it basically puts itself into protection mode. I've zeroed the LAMP HOURS but the problem persists so I'm thinking along the lines of a faulty lamp sensor. Seeing that this is the first time I've popped open one of these, I'm grateful for the comments above pointing me in the general direction to find the solution which initially is pointing towards a faulty lamp sensor or possible wire lead damage. Back to poking around.......with guidance.

[indyld]

I'm sure you've already tried this, but if not ... put a known working lamp in. The fact that fixture lamps off again can be a range of lamp system issues, or sometimes cooling or feedback thereof. Not sure if this model has stuff like error reports for things like fans etc. but just check everything spins that should spin, including fans in the base.

Lamp sensors are generally where you'd expect them to be, in and around the lamp housing. The thermo cutout is usually attached to a frame or the reflector around same, but I'd be surprised if this was the problem given the symptoms - although I guess as previously mentioned the wiring to and from it might be.

At some point you may need to rule out a problem with the ballast, best achieved safely by swapping with a working known good.

Edited November 21, 2023 by indyld

[partyanimallighting]

Thanks indyld. And no, I haven't tried a new lamp as yet as me remembering and finding the lamps I think I have in storage will be a task but that was my next plan of action. If I do find a few lamps, do aswapout and the issue persists, then I'll move on to whatever thermal or optical lamp sensor the units use. Based on the design of these units, using only convection cooling for the lamps, I'm not surprised that heating/overheating would be an issue and I believe Martin discontinued these units pretty quickly. Back to the task at hand......

[indyld]

Indeed, I don't believe that the thing is overheating and there may be no lamp cooling but there might be other fans in either the head or the base. More recent fixtures, the Pointe for example, will lamp on then off again in a range of cases including if one of the fans is thought to not be working by the control system. Some Martin fixtures will do similar, even if the issue is with fans in the base. Of course, these days most fixtures are a lot more explicit in the error logs about what they think the matter is.

A lamp on, then off, is often an indicator of other protection which in the case of these fixtures then leads to the lockup condition too, once the HOT error comes up.

[partyanimallighting]

I'm back. It's becoming difficult to find the time for poking around in these SmartMAC's with Christmas around the corner but I disassembled the head unit and, being Martin, it's extremely easy to tear apart. Two screws hold the entire gobo/color/focus assembly in place along with two multi-pin connectors held in place with four flat head screws. On the other side there's a plate holding the lamp ignitor and that's held in place with four screws. The thermal cutoff is attached to this plate so I eliminated this thermal cutoff as the cause of the problem by simply bypassing it. The issue remains......the unit starts up and resets fine and pan/tilt will run an effects loop without issues but a couple minutes after I strike the lamp, the "HOT" error message pops up and the unit freezes. I then pulled the lamp and it looks fine, a little cloudy in the arc tube area but otherwise in good condition but.........on closer inspection I'm seeing a tiny piece of either glass or metal, about the size of half a pin head, rolling around inside the lamp. Not good. So I will have to find those few new lamps I have, do a swap out and report back here if even with the new lamp, the issue persists.

[indyld]

Pretty sure I've seen tiny deposits in normal metal halide lamps. Might be a tiny bit of mercury or something. 

If the lamp strikes to full brightness and holds stable for any time, it's probably fine. If you have a spare, it's an easy thing to rule out though. 

[Tomo]

A lot of discharge lamps have a little blob of metallic mercury sloshing about inside them when cold, so I don't think that's necessarily an indicator of a bad lamp.

Doesn't mean the lamp is good either, so swapping the lamp is a good troubleshooting step.