Chauvet Q spot 575 tilt issues

[thedudedrummer]

Hello,
I have two q spot 575's that are having some issues. I'm stumped so hopefully the experts here can help (chauvet's customer service leaves much to be desired). So here is the challenge... Why would the tilt stepper motor shudder and slam into the extreme positions? (Note this is only on one of the fixtures) It does this in auto/audio/dmx modes and vibrates greatly (so it is not a dmx termination issue). I have exposed all of the stepper driver boards on the yoke and re-seated all of the connectors, as well as swapping the position sensors between the two in hopes that it would make a difference, but nothing. Any Ideas?

Also, does anyone have experience in replacing the tilt belt for these fixtures? There is no literature regarding this online and after removing all of the enclosure on the yoke and head it seems that the head has to be removed completely to do so. Am I missing something?

Thank you,
Mike

 

[millamber]

Mike,

Does the unit very quickly slam into the stops when powered up, or does it move like its homing, but continue past its stops when it hits? Also, does it eventually time out and flash up an error code? Does it only shudder during fast head movements or does a slow tilt work up to a point?

I'm not sure on the Q-spot, but looking at the pics I'd wager it is a knock off of a Coemar Prospot, and thusly is built more or less the same. The tilt belt is replacable without removing the entire head (Pan belt, not so much). Look at the tilt motor and you should see 4 screws that hold it into its mount. By loosening these screws the entire tilt mount assembly will slide up (away from the base) allowing the tilt belt to become slack. Use the slack to work it off of the motor shaft and pull it free. The new belt goes on in the reverse order.

 

[thedudedrummer]

Millamber,
The issue exists at every speed, but slow movements vibrate so violently and loudly that I no longer attempt them for diagnostic issues for fear of damaging the unit further. The light attempts to properly home when started, reaching the stop and then proceeding to return to 30 degrees off vertical when complete. This would account for why it attempts to move past its stop on that side, but it does so even on the other side as well. If the light is at 90 degrees or so off vertical (perpendicular to what should be home), and I give it the command to return to the vertical/home position it has to hit the stops before reversing direction. All of this makes no sense to me why it would be doing so.

As for the belt, I noticed those screws you mentioned after removing the positioning wheel on the pulley. The top pulley attached to the heads pivot is where I am stuck, as the outermost mounting bracket is permanently affixed, and there seems to be little to no room for manuvering the belt out.

Thank you again for your help, and I hope this information helps. I will try to record and post video as soon as I can.

 

[jjkool]

It is very possible that either your stepper motor, or motor driver is blown... unless you have a stepper motor tester board, or can program one with an H-bridge or two its gonna be sort of hard to test...

You can put a scope on the output of the motor driver to see if you are atleast getting nice pulses out of it