Highschool Light Kid Needing help with some LEDs

[LoganF]

Heyo, My name is Logan and I am a senior at my highschool. I also happen to be my stage's Lighting Kid. I work with source 4's and fresnels mainly. We also have some colorbars, scoops, and intelligent lights i get to play with.

Any how, we recently got some LED lights donated from a teacher whose father was renovating a building and got some lights that were gonna be trash.

I found out that they are Colorblast 6's from the markings http://www.colorkinetics.com/ls/rgb/colorblast6/

I am trying to get some use out of them and i am sorta lost. All their wires are cut, so i have to re wire what ever connector. I dont think i can make them stage pin, i don't know the reason specifically i just know i cant. I got info that they need an amplifier, but i cant get the amplifier because it is in the building's roof and wont be able to come out for a few months. So anyone who can help clear up some info on these bad boys would be awesome.
I uploaded some pictures of what they look like, and i am researching the websites product info at tho moment.

 

[StradivariusBone]

When I cut the plug end off a device it usually is because either:

A. the ground pin was removed (intentionally or accidentally) and I need a quick way to take it out of service until that can be repaired
B. something is wrong with the device itself and it either needs to be serviced or trashed.
​

I would proceed with great caution here. Also, wiring this to stage pin would probably not be the best option simply because I'm guessing your dimmers are stage pin and if this is a DMX fixture, the main power of the unit will function best with standard, non-dimmed wall voltage.

I looked up the device and it seems like it's a Phillips product and I know they have their own proprietary version of DMX (that I also know nothing about). Someone else can explain that better, but please do not wire these back up and power them on until you find out why they were taken out of service in the first place.

Replacing a plug end is pretty basic electrical work, but if you're not sure which conductor is which you could end up energizing the housing and killing someone when you turn it on.

edit- just found this:

From Phillip's Color Kinetics website-

Each ColorBlast 12 fixture comes with a 60 ft (18.3 m) unified power and data cable to minimize wiring. ColorBlast 6 is intended for use with PDS-150e and PDS-60 24V power / data supplies.

So, potentially putting 120v down this thing will kill it and possibly start a fire. The insulator colors don't match up to a standard device. Do not wire this device to your building power.

 

[Robert]

Most, but not all color changers/scrollers require a separate power supply that also sends data signal. DMX and power to the power supply and you have a 4 pin cable coming out. On some installs, I have had power connections cut and cable runs in conduit to each location. This may be the case with yours. As said above you need to be careful and you need to get the power supply. Research the fixture.

 

[sk8rsdad]

According to the manual, the ColorBlast 6 requires a 24V DC power supply. Do NOT plug this into mains voltage. For DMX control it requires a PDS 60 or PDS 150 DMX/Ethernet power/data supply. It looks like the dimming/switching is done by the power supply but that's just a guess. The one that is still on the building may not support DMX control.

 

[StradivariusBone]

According to the manual, the ColorBlast 6 requires a 24V DC power supply. Do NOT plug this into mains voltage. For DMX control it requires a PDS 60 or PDS 150 DMX/Ethernet power/data supply. It looks like the dimming/switching is done by the power supply but that's just a guess. The one that is still on the building may not support DMX control.

Is it similar to a PoE device? The conductors look pretty thick for data and it doesn't appear to have any shielding. I wonder if it's like that setup you can get in your house to run Ethernet through your electrical wiring. I've never fully understood how that works without dropping packets left and right either.

 

[Brandofhawk]

Colorblasts are often used in theatre as wash lights, but their origins actually come from architecture.
I assume that is where these units are coming from, that they were permanently installed in a space as architectural lighting, and as such they were cut during the removal process.
When the units are permanently installed, they are wired directly to the power supply / control unit which plugs into main power.

So you have power (wall outlet) > power supply > color blast.

Between power supply and colorblast, in theatre, we add a break point / connector so that we can move the unit where it needs to go. Often this is done with a 4 pin connector capable of running the 24vDC.


If you want to use these units, I would take the power supply (the "amplifier", though that is NOT it's job at all) and units and get a licensed electrician to install connectors so that you can attach and detach as needed.
I do not know the correct way to wire them up, and as such I will not advise you in any way to do that.

Instead I will strongly suggest you NOT doing it yourself as there are codes to be maintained, on top of the general danger of working with power. If it is wired incorrectly, it could end up frying the cable, frying the units, frying the power supply, or worse then all of that, frying you or a fellow student.

 

[Wood4321]

Colorblasts are often used in theatre as wash lights, but their origins actually come from architecture.
I assume that is where these units are coming from, that they were permanently installed in a space as architectural lighting, and as such they were cut during the removal process.
When the units are permanently installed, they are wired directly to the power supply / control unit which plugs into main power.

So you have power (wall outlet) > power supply > color blast.

Between power supply and colorblast, in theatre, we add a break point / connector so that we can move the unit where it needs to go. Often this is done with a 4 pin connector capable of running the 24vDC.


If you want to use these units, I would take the power supply (the "amplifier", though that is NOT it's job at all) and units and get a licensed electrician to install connectors so that you can attach and detach as needed.
I do not know the correct way to wire them up, and as such I will not advise you in any way to do that.

Instead I will strongly suggest you NOT doing it yourself as there are codes to be maintained, on top of the general danger of working with power. If it is wired incorrectly, it could end up frying the cable, frying the units, frying the power supply, or worse then all of that, frying you or a fellow student.

Exactly,
These are almost always wired with a 4 Pin XLR connector when used in theatre, (or corporate)
Here is the Theatrical power supply that will work with those fixtures, when they are wired like This.

PIN #	Signal	CK Cable Wire Color
Pin 1	+24VDC	Red
Pin 2	(n/c)
Pin 3	Data	White
Pin 4	DC Common	Black

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

That all being said, it sounds like you should find someone familiar with these fixtures to give you a hand with this.