Les
Well-Known Member
So...
I visited my local community theatre today to drop off some donated Altman Par 64's and to check things out in general since I have a show there in a couple of months.
In addition to half of the 20-year-old Shakespeares no longer working (and laying around in various areas) due to lack of personnel for carrying out repairs, I see that one of the two Altman Comets has been replaced by a 1970's era "Little" spotlight. Then I find the missing Comet sitting in the corner.
When asked about it, theatre management said they took it out of service due to complaints of the unit smoking. The spots are used quite often so I doubt it's a sudden build-up of dust. I looked at the fixture more closely and noticed a fractured socket, which I'm suspecting was the cause. I guess I'm looking for a second opinion... Clearly the socket is bad, but I've never heard of one causing the unit to emit smoke. Worst case would be a burned up transformer or fan motor, but I guess I will replace the socket (both units since the other is probably not far behind) and go from there.
Ok, so I do note some dust, but I don't know how long it has been sitting like that. No scorching except to the contact that I can see.
Looks like I'll probably be going through their stock in the next few weeks to replace as many sockets as possible before my show - luckily they have agreed to buy the parts. I also will need to sort through units because at this point it is difficult to see what is set aside due to NFG or if it's simply not being used in the plot. It has been a few years since I have been in the building and things have really snowballed. They have a TD, but he only really has time to deal with the sets. Many LD's come through - some who are quite proud of their abilities, yet no one seems to know how to do something as simple as labeling faults or even putting unused instruments in a safe place. They just toss it aside and let it be someone else's problem. I also need to figure out where they've been keeping the back caps. Hopefully all in one place and all in one piece.
It's just sad to see a lighting system fall in to such disrepair.
That said, I am more than happy to help them get back up and running. I will just have to do some creative scheduling to work it in. Thankfully I can take the lamp caps home and replace sockets in my free time.
I visited my local community theatre today to drop off some donated Altman Par 64's and to check things out in general since I have a show there in a couple of months.
In addition to half of the 20-year-old Shakespeares no longer working (and laying around in various areas) due to lack of personnel for carrying out repairs, I see that one of the two Altman Comets has been replaced by a 1970's era "Little" spotlight. Then I find the missing Comet sitting in the corner.
When asked about it, theatre management said they took it out of service due to complaints of the unit smoking. The spots are used quite often so I doubt it's a sudden build-up of dust. I looked at the fixture more closely and noticed a fractured socket, which I'm suspecting was the cause. I guess I'm looking for a second opinion... Clearly the socket is bad, but I've never heard of one causing the unit to emit smoke. Worst case would be a burned up transformer or fan motor, but I guess I will replace the socket (both units since the other is probably not far behind) and go from there.
Ok, so I do note some dust, but I don't know how long it has been sitting like that. No scorching except to the contact that I can see.
Looks like I'll probably be going through their stock in the next few weeks to replace as many sockets as possible before my show - luckily they have agreed to buy the parts. I also will need to sort through units because at this point it is difficult to see what is set aside due to NFG or if it's simply not being used in the plot. It has been a few years since I have been in the building and things have really snowballed. They have a TD, but he only really has time to deal with the sets. Many LD's come through - some who are quite proud of their abilities, yet no one seems to know how to do something as simple as labeling faults or even putting unused instruments in a safe place. They just toss it aside and let it be someone else's problem. I also need to figure out where they've been keeping the back caps. Hopefully all in one place and all in one piece.
It's just sad to see a lighting system fall in to such disrepair.
That said, I am more than happy to help them get back up and running. I will just have to do some creative scheduling to work it in. Thankfully I can take the lamp caps home and replace sockets in my free time.
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