Okay, so I have an issue with circuits/dimmers 99, 100, and 109. (99 and 100 are in the same module).
These dimmers appear to be sending out 100% intensity all the time. I tested these circuits with my gamchek with the architectural panel off, but the board on. I only had one channel up though (fluorescent house-light circuits). So the racks should not have been receiving any levels for the suspect dimmers.
My first thought was bad SCR dimmer. When they go "bad" (can't remember the correct term, "blow"?) my understanding is they no longer dim, and SCR dimmers work by stopping power, not letting power through (like sine wave dimmers, right?), so when they go "bad" they don't stop any power, resulting in 100% intensity.
I explained the situation to the dept head, and suggested swapping the module with one of our unused positions (over 15 2x20A modules dedicated to FOH that are hardly used) to determine the issue is in the specific module. She said we shouldn't settle for broken gear in a relatively new install. She sent a work note along to the school's in-house electrician.
I wasn't informed of wether or not he was coming, or when. But he came, found no problem, and it appears maintenance is none too thrilled over wasting time on a false-alarm.
The dept head confessed to me the other day (in a slightly accusatory tone) that she didn't really understand what I was saying, and that she sent the note along to maintenance, which had come and determined everything was fine. She did tell me to contact maintenance myself, and handle any issue (if it exits).
I double checked my results, and it appears that there is in fact an issue with the dimmers in question. There are a couple more steps I could trouble shoot, but I really think the easiest thing to do at this point is to swap the modules. I've checked the SD80sv manual, and it's a simple enough task. (Greenia, Gaff, Derek, What Rigger?, Soundlight, Eboy17, oh and Phil, please don't jump on me for that comment.)
I think at this point the best thing for me to do is to type up a quick explanation of what the issue is, explain my tests, explain the module swap procedure, request to meet with the in-house electrician to explain the problem, and forward this document to the head of maintenance along with an apology for the misunderstanding last time.
So after that long winded explanation, here's my question to the booth:
Is a "bad" SCR dimmer the most likely issue? What are other probable issues (Perhaps the dimmers were set to panic for some reason, and panic mode activated? Perhaps when patching in fluros, these channels were set to constant-on?)? What information on SCR dimmers should I include in the document? Will I die a violent death from a module swap, Derek?
Thanks for your time and attention,
Charlie
These dimmers appear to be sending out 100% intensity all the time. I tested these circuits with my gamchek with the architectural panel off, but the board on. I only had one channel up though (fluorescent house-light circuits). So the racks should not have been receiving any levels for the suspect dimmers.
My first thought was bad SCR dimmer. When they go "bad" (can't remember the correct term, "blow"?) my understanding is they no longer dim, and SCR dimmers work by stopping power, not letting power through (like sine wave dimmers, right?), so when they go "bad" they don't stop any power, resulting in 100% intensity.
I explained the situation to the dept head, and suggested swapping the module with one of our unused positions (over 15 2x20A modules dedicated to FOH that are hardly used) to determine the issue is in the specific module. She said we shouldn't settle for broken gear in a relatively new install. She sent a work note along to the school's in-house electrician.
I wasn't informed of wether or not he was coming, or when. But he came, found no problem, and it appears maintenance is none too thrilled over wasting time on a false-alarm.
The dept head confessed to me the other day (in a slightly accusatory tone) that she didn't really understand what I was saying, and that she sent the note along to maintenance, which had come and determined everything was fine. She did tell me to contact maintenance myself, and handle any issue (if it exits).
I double checked my results, and it appears that there is in fact an issue with the dimmers in question. There are a couple more steps I could trouble shoot, but I really think the easiest thing to do at this point is to swap the modules. I've checked the SD80sv manual, and it's a simple enough task. (Greenia, Gaff, Derek, What Rigger?, Soundlight, Eboy17, oh and Phil, please don't jump on me for that comment.)
I think at this point the best thing for me to do is to type up a quick explanation of what the issue is, explain my tests, explain the module swap procedure, request to meet with the in-house electrician to explain the problem, and forward this document to the head of maintenance along with an apology for the misunderstanding last time.
So after that long winded explanation, here's my question to the booth:
Is a "bad" SCR dimmer the most likely issue? What are other probable issues (Perhaps the dimmers were set to panic for some reason, and panic mode activated? Perhaps when patching in fluros, these channels were set to constant-on?)? What information on SCR dimmers should I include in the document? Will I die a violent death from a module swap, Derek?
Thanks for your time and attention,
Charlie
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