HES Trackspot (v1) will not home

IAmLumenator

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I have a High End Systems Trackspot that will not home properly.

When applying power in any personality setting, the mirror pan/tilt motors seem to home properly and the gobo and shutter wheels do as well. The color wheel continues to spin about 1.3 full revolutions and then the fixture stops movement while 'playing' an error code with the stepper motor sounds.

I have 3 other trackspots that do not exhibit this issue.

I have not made any modifications to this trackspot, and it is used in a 120v environment (with the voltage switch set appropriately.)
 
Sounds like a sensor issue. The manual's trouble shooting steps are:
a. Clean the sensor and homing slot. For more information, see “Removing the Color Wheel or Gobo Wheel” on page 3-10.
b. Manually rotate the wheel and note any contact between the wheel and any other internal component. If the wheel is warped, contact High End Systems customer service (see “Getting Help” on page Intro-3). If the wheel is not warped, adjust the wheel clearance. For more information, see “Adjusting Wheel Clearance” on page 3-12.

Here's a link to the manual if you don't have it: Trackspot Manual

Beyond that sensor issues can be tricky, if you're not comfortable doing your own maintenance call your High End dealer to get it repaired.
 
Thanks for the info!

I would like to mention I have no rep and these models are not under any sort of contract or warranty, I take full responsibility for my actions following, so please provide any information, regardless of how much I might damage my fixture.

I absolutely need all 4 to work for New Years Eve. It's a big show for me. The I-have-no-money-for-repairs-and-this-will-pay-my-mortgage type of show.

If I open this up myself and pop the color wheel out, what am I looking for in the sensor? I have a multimeter, is it possible to measure the resistance of the sensor to determine if it's working properly?

If the color wheel is warped, can I bend it back?

Can I bypass the sensor and unplug the color wheel motor, leaving it stationary at open? This is my last resort, if possible.

I have cleaned this device many times and I have tried to visually inspect the sensor by manually moving the color wheel and looking for obstructions but I haven't found anything. I'm even willing to throw the idea of programming an arduino to fool the trackspot into homing into the mix. I just need all the beams.
 
You're looking for buildup on both the sensor and whatever is triggering it (often a magnet or reflective piece). If they both look pretty clean and the wheel isn't running into anything then you have a choice. You could look at the wheel as it spins and if warping is causing the magnet to go away from the sensor when it should trip the sensor then you could take the wheel out and GENTLY bend the wheel back into shape (I recommend taking all of the glass out of the wheel if possible to prevent breakage). Your other option is to just remove the wheel entirely. You might want to unplug the motor as well. I would expect the light to be usable with no color wheel, which is better than nothing if you're in a no money for repairs kind of situation.
 
From what I see in the manual link posted above, start on page 3-10. There is an optical sensor watching for a small slit in the color wheel to indicate home. I have had lights (different manafacturer/type) that have needed a blast from some canned air to that type of optical sensor to get it working again, even though they looked clean. Some of those tolerances are so small in there that it does not take much to mess it up. Page 3-11 covers how to clean the sensor.
 
Thanks for all the replies! I decided to unplug the motor and remove the chip (I have some nonconductive foam i'll be storing it in) and it now starts and homes properly. I've phyiscally moved the color wheel to open and placed a loose piece of high-temp tape to hold the wheel in the correct position.

To future readers:
You can simply remove the chip and motor leads from a Trackspot and it will ignore those channels, allowing the rest of the fixture to work. The above ebay link had a fiber optic output instead of a moving mirror, they had simply removed the motors and chips and fabricated an assembly to insert fiber optics after the final internal lens.
 
Thanks for all the replies! I decided to unplug the motor and remove the chip (I have some nonconductive foam i'll be storing it in) and it now starts and homes properly. I've phyiscally moved the color wheel to open and placed a loose piece of high-temp tape to hold the wheel in the correct position.

To future readers:
You can simply remove the chip and motor leads from a Trackspot and it will ignore those channels, allowing the rest of the fixture to work. The above ebay link had a fiber optic output instead of a moving mirror, they had simply removed the motors and chips and fabricated an assembly to insert fiber optics after the final internal lens.

The chip you removed is nothing but a motor driver chip. In all of the chips are of the same make, you can switch them around. I do it all the time on Cyberlights, Technobeams, and Studio Series fixtures. If you want color, but you can live without iris, for instance, grab the iris chip and swap it with the color chip.

Note: NEVER plug/unplug motors while the fixture is on, it can burn out the driver chips.

In my experiences, the issues you've got are either a bad sensor or bad motor. The sensors and motors are both less than $50 each. When the driver chip is installed and the light is powered on, what does the motor feel like as you rotate it? Does it skip around randomly or does it move "click by click" in the direction you're pushing it in? As stepper motors go bad, their movements become erratic (or they cease to move at all). If it's rotating only 1/3 of the way, you may very well have a bad motor. Most motors that HES used are $20 or less.
 
The servo motor itself feels fine, the wheel spins appropriately when trying to home but the sensor never seems to 'see' the notch in the wheel. About one in 20 tries it does home correctly, after power cycling.
 
Most motors that HES used are $20 or less.

Good Morning Matt


Where are you getting HES motors at $20??
list price from HES is just under $45.
i get the top discount from HES & i can't get them for that low. Not even when I ordered in the hundreds.
 
Where are you getting HES motors at $20??
list price from HES is just under $45.
i get the top discount from HES & i can't get them for that low. Not even when I ordered in the hundreds.

Would perhaps a place like Mouser have a better price? That or try to find out who HES uses as a supplier, but they probably import them straight from overseas.
 
Good Morning Less

I am really good at out sourcing parts but for several reasons it’s not worth my time to find the right motors at the low quantities I am limited to.
Don’t forget, HES buys by the thousand not hundreds or tens.
Call your local dealer & get the HES motors
 

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