Apollo EZ Iris - Failure

[nobl13]

Hey all, I've got an Apollo EZ Iris that's been in service for about ten years. I believe we purchased it new, but at this point... who knows. It was in service this spring, before the apocalypse. We went back into the space to set up a rep plot; when I put it in our i-Cue fixture, it wouldn't take any signal from DMX. It goes through it's startup test (fully iris out, fully iris in) immediately after it's plugged into the power supply, but after that nothing.

Does anybody know about any of the failure modes for this peice of equipment? I appear to be getting voltage from the scroller cable, into the control board, but beyond that I don't even know where to start diagnosing.

 

[RonHebbard]

Hey all, I've got an Apollo EZ Iris that's been in service for about ten years. I believe we purchased it new, but at this point... who knows. It was in service this spring, before the apocalypse. We went back into the space to set up a rep plot; when I put it in our i-Cue fixture, it wouldn't take any signal from DMX. It goes through it's startup test (fully iris out, fully iris in) immediately after it's plugged into the power supply, but after that nothing.

Does anybody know about any of the failure modes for this peice of equipment? I appear to be getting voltage from the scroller cable, into the control board, but beyond that I don't even know where to start diagnosing.

Calling @GreyWyvern
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard

 

[GreyWyvern]

Hey all, I've got an Apollo EZ Iris that's been in service for about ten years. I believe we purchased it new, but at this point... who knows. It was in service this spring, before the apocalypse. We went back into the space to set up a rep plot; when I put it in our i-Cue fixture, it wouldn't take any signal from DMX. It goes through it's startup test (fully iris out, fully iris in) immediately after it's plugged into the power supply, but after that nothing.

Does anybody know about any of the failure modes for this peice of equipment? I appear to be getting voltage from the scroller cable, into the control board, but beyond that I don't even know where to start diagnosing.

The start up/calibration procedure upon getting power is to open fully. If it is already fully open, it will close slightly, then open fully. Once it has opened fully, it will start taking commands. If there is no signal, it will stay fully open. If it doesn't stay fully open, it is receiving a signal less than 100%.
You say it is fully closing, so it is receiving a signal at 0%. 100% is open.
As far as not being able to control it, doodle check the unit address and the patch in the console. A common issue is addressing the unit wrong by flipping the 1 and 100 positions. That happens from having the unit oriented incorrectly when addressing it.
Hope this helps.

 

[nobl13]

Hey GreyWyvern,

So I originally had the Iris addressed at 510. When I powered it on, it would close after the start-up sequence. However, this isn't the case for all addresses. I tried 401, 501 and a handful of other addresses and they would stay fully open after start-up. In all cases, after the start up, I have no control via the console. I've also tried profiling the unit as normally on and normally off; neither seems to make a difference.

Any other ideas, or should it go back to Apollo for a checkup?

 

[GreyWyvern]

Hey GreyWyvern,

So I originally had the Iris addressed at 510. When I powered it on, it would close after the start-up sequence. However, this isn't the case for all addresses. I tried 401, 501 and a handful of other addresses and they would stay fully open after start-up. In all cases, after the start up, I have no control via the console. I've also tried profiling the unit as normally on and normally off; neither seems to make a difference.

Any other ideas, or should it go back to Apollo for a checkup?

I'd give Apollo a call first to see if someone there can maybe talk you through some troubleshooting. It may save you from having to ship it there and back.

 

[RonHebbard]

I'd give Apollo a call first to see if someone there can maybe talk you through some troubleshooting. It may save you from having to ship it there and back.

@GreyWyvern Are you no longer Apollo's repair and warranty service technician? Did I miss the memo??
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard

 

[TimMc]

It went to the Apollo, should have seen it go go go,
Said hey babe, take a walk on the iris side...

(sorry, Lou!)

 

[soundman]

Hey GreyWyvern,

So I originally had the Iris addressed at 510. When I powered it on, it would close after the start-up sequence. However, this isn't the case for all addresses. I tried 401, 501 and a handful of other addresses and they would stay fully open after start-up. In all cases, after the start up, I have no control via the console. I've also tried profiling the unit as normally on and normally off; neither seems to make a difference.

Any other ideas, or should it go back to Apollo for a checkup?

Are you sure you have (the correct) data at the PSU? If you have more than one universe in the air you could see the data light active but not be on the correct universe to give you control. I would try a home run from a know good data point and see if there is any improvement.

 

[nobl13]

Are you sure you have (the correct) data at the PSU? If you have more than one universe in the air you could see the data light active but not be on the correct universe to give you control. I would try a home run from a know good data point and see if there is any improvement.

I had it daisy chained to an i-Cue and I've had no problems with that. I pulled the iris and the power supply and plugged the whole rig directly into the console. It'll go through it's startup, but I can't take control with the console.

Guess I'll give Apollo a ring, thanks folks!