LesWilson
Well-Known Member
My 96 dimmer L86 rack is circa 1990. It's been in my venue for 10 years. Except for SSR failures, it's worked reliably until last year. I performed a Cap repair on the opto-isolator module. I also had the following problem:
Independent of the opto-isolator failure (I think), the center bank of dimmers failed to work properly and its EM64 module Under Voltage light was solid, Over Voltage was flashing, Backup was solid and Data was solid. According to the manual, this means there was under voltage condition, problem with EPROM and "System is receiving DMX 512 data (normal). The manual does not list ON as a possible condition for the Backup light.
I swapped the module with another bank and the problem moved to the other bank. Putting in a spare (from its original installation) resolved the problem at the time although some of the modules showed all 4 lights lit solid. After 6 months, the failure occured again. Swapping in my last "working" spare resolved the issue.
After about 4 months, the failure reappeared just before the start of an event. In desperation, I swapped in one of the units that had failed previously. It worked. But after a month the failure returned. Swapping in previously failed modules did not resolve the problem. ETC Tech support said a repair was needed. It's $600.
Here's the thing, after getting approval to purchase a used EM64D off eBay and about 4 hours of disuse, all modules showed normal and all banks worked fine; For now.
Three Questions:
Has anyone experienced this?
Any ideas as to what's going on?
Is the EM64D compatible with the EM64 modules in the other banks?
Independent of the opto-isolator failure (I think), the center bank of dimmers failed to work properly and its EM64 module Under Voltage light was solid, Over Voltage was flashing, Backup was solid and Data was solid. According to the manual, this means there was under voltage condition, problem with EPROM and "System is receiving DMX 512 data (normal). The manual does not list ON as a possible condition for the Backup light.
I swapped the module with another bank and the problem moved to the other bank. Putting in a spare (from its original installation) resolved the problem at the time although some of the modules showed all 4 lights lit solid. After 6 months, the failure occured again. Swapping in my last "working" spare resolved the issue.
After about 4 months, the failure reappeared just before the start of an event. In desperation, I swapped in one of the units that had failed previously. It worked. But after a month the failure returned. Swapping in previously failed modules did not resolve the problem. ETC Tech support said a repair was needed. It's $600.
Here's the thing, after getting approval to purchase a used EM64D off eBay and about 4 hours of disuse, all modules showed normal and all banks worked fine; For now.
Three Questions:
Has anyone experienced this?
Is the EM64D compatible with the EM64 modules in the other banks?