Smartpacks not seeing DMX
- Thread starterjayvee
- Start date
jayvee
Well-Known Member
That is 100% going to be part of the process!
DMX chip is very delicate with unexpected power surge or lightning shock. With those shocks, DMX chip is the first part to get a damage easily.
Replacing the chips is not that complicated, but sometimes the mainboard could get a damage, too. (especially around the DMX chip position)
If you find out some damage on the board while replacing the chips, you better contact to ETC for replacing whole board.
Wish you could fix it without any complicate issues.
jayvee
Well-Known Member
For those of you playing along, here's an update!
I was able to go over yesterday after an electrician had come in and de-energized the rack. I double checked with my non-contact tester (with fresh batteries) to confirm. There is a box on the side labeled "emergency relay" that has wires into the rack that go up and out, bypassing the packs. Two of those appear to be live but they are out of my way so I am proceeding with caution.
I went ahead and vacuumed the fronts as best I could. I vacuumed the back as well, to collect as much junk as I could before really disturbing anything. I also labeled the first rack inputs so everything will go back easily.
My current problem: I can't get the wires to come out of the terminals! I tried pushing in the top with a 3/16" screwdriver to open the gate, per the manual, but no dice and I was afraid to really get athletic for fear of snapping the terminal. Any advice?
Here are more photos for those asking about the grounding situation, a before and after of vacuumed fronts, and the terminals in question. Thanks for all your help so far!
I was able to go over yesterday after an electrician had come in and de-energized the rack. I double checked with my non-contact tester (with fresh batteries) to confirm. There is a box on the side labeled "emergency relay" that has wires into the rack that go up and out, bypassing the packs. Two of those appear to be live but they are out of my way so I am proceeding with caution.
I went ahead and vacuumed the fronts as best I could. I vacuumed the back as well, to collect as much junk as I could before really disturbing anything. I also labeled the first rack inputs so everything will go back easily.
My current problem: I can't get the wires to come out of the terminals! I tried pushing in the top with a 3/16" screwdriver to open the gate, per the manual, but no dice and I was afraid to really get athletic for fear of snapping the terminal. Any advice?
Here are more photos for those asking about the grounding situation, a before and after of vacuumed fronts, and the terminals in question. Thanks for all your help so far!
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I haven't work with those particular terminals, but I have encountered similar ones that require considerable force. You might have to slightly push the wire in before it releases. Grab a hunk of wire and play with an unused neutral terminal. That way, if it does break, you won't lose a terminal that is needed for operation.
Malabaristo
Well-Known Member
I don't recall the size, but a flat screwdriver that fits into the terminal will need to be fully inserted and possibly levered slightly to release the wire. You don't need to be too afraid of breaking anything, as that takes a lot. It's just a stiff spring.
Am I seeing correctly that the power feed to each SmartPack comes from one set of large terminal blocks that is then (presumably) fed by one large, 3-pole breaker? If so, this is wrong and potentially quite dangerous. That mess needs to be replaced with individual breakers (40A max if 3-phase) for each SmartPack.
Am I seeing correctly that the power feed to each SmartPack comes from one set of large terminal blocks that is then (presumably) fed by one large, 3-pole breaker? If so, this is wrong and potentially quite dangerous. That mess needs to be replaced with individual breakers (40A max if 3-phase) for each SmartPack.
jayvee
Well-Known Member
It's possible. I have not seen the breaker situation attached to this setup, nor is it likely I will have access. I do know it was all installed years ago by an actual lighting company. I will try to see if someone can get me a pic of the breaker situation and if it's indeed as you describe I will bring it to their attention. It's not my building so I'm limited in what I can address.
Jay Ashworth
Well-Known Member
Is the cable run terminated? Either by the pack or with a plugin terminator?
Cause it's *always* the termination.
Cause it's *always* the termination.
jayvee
Well-Known Member
Yes, I checked that in the first visit since it IS always the terminationIs the cable run terminated? Either by the pack or with a plugin terminator?
Cause it's *always* the termination.
jayvee
Well-Known Member
I'll be sure to leave them with a terminator.
jayvee
Well-Known Member
Dear Readers,
It's been a minute since we last met. Since then here's what has transpired:
- I removed and thoroughly cleaned each pack. They were all v dirty.
- I replaced each DMX chip.
- I reinstalled each pack.
- Yesterday they were powered up and everyone came back to life, which is a small but important victory.
- I reset and readdressed each pack.
- Another deep clear of the console and reset to 1:1 patch.
Guess what. NOTHING HAS CHANGED. Still only pack 4 of 6 is showing DMX signal. I can control pack 4 from the console and from my Nomad but cannot control any other pack in any way except test mode, where I can run individual lights up and down. Here's what I tried yesterday:
- I addressed two other packs to the same as pack 4, 37-48. Still only pack 4 sees signal. ??
- I fired up the ones I could (37 - 48) and took a walk around the stage. What is most interesting to me is that some of the lights that were on were not plugged into circuits marked within that range. For instance, some of the strips plugged into 31 and
32 came up despite the pack with those circuits not seeing signal. The patch was 1:1 so shouldn't only pack 4 lights come up?
- Today I will do a fresh install of 2.9 (currently running 2.7). I will finally remember a terminator and stick that in the last pack.
Friends, I am at a loss here. I will also be calling ETC support today but am hoping there's something else y'all smart people can think of to try.
Mac Hosehead
Well-Known Member
Wow, I am curious to what ETC says. It still appears that something is wrong in each pack. A bad circuit trace on a PCB? Or an interconnect cable that is bad? I would also check for any signs that internal corrosion might be occurring. If this were me I would power a pack up on the test bench and start to probe with a scope. Maybe there is some local theater service shop who can look at these?
Malabaristo
Well-Known Member
It's still very possibly related to something unpleasant on the DMX input. The transceiver chip is the first thing in line, then there's an opto-isolator that separates the DMX circuit from the rest of the control card. That part could be damaged as well and result in the described behavior. At this point, further troubleshooting does require someone with more in-depth electronics knowledge and the right tools. That may mean shipping to ETC for repairs, or working with a local dealer if they happen to have a factory-trained repair tech on staff (which is different from a regular service/install tech).
jayvee
Well-Known Member
Yes.
jayvee
Well-Known Member
So I spent some time on Monday with ETC support on the phone. Ezra was very helpful and suspects the control boards might also have fried. He suggested I yank a bad pack and the one good pack and swap control boards to see what happens. If it's a win, I'll be sending in all the control boards for repair.
Naturally, the school has a show next weekend so I have to wait until after that to try any of this. Ezra said it would be a 2-3 week turnaround and that's too long to risk the school not having anything for their show. I'll be spending April 3 pulling racks to try the ol' switcheroo. The good news is we now have access to the breaker panel so I can have power on/off as needed without waiting for the electrician to come by.
In the meantime we've done some fancy patching to get a front wash on stage and a two color wash on the back wall so they can have a show. Thanks for all your suggestions thus far. I'll report back after the show, April 3ish.
Mac Hosehead
Well-Known Member
It is good ETC is working with you to get these fixed. I thought they were going to want the entire pack shipped back to them.
This situation shows that installing multiple smaller dimmer packs instead of one central rack doesn't always work out well in the long run. What a pain to have to remove wiring to service any one in the system. Someday soon though, there may not be any incandescent lighting.
This situation shows that installing multiple smaller dimmer packs instead of one central rack doesn't always work out well in the long run. What a pain to have to remove wiring to service any one in the system. Someday soon though, there may not be any incandescent lighting.
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