Color Command Problems

carsonld

Active Member
This might be a silly post/question. I bought some color commands with the power supply. When I plug in the power supply nothing happens and when I plug in any of the color commands nothing happens. I made sure the circuit was working. I find it odd that nothing is working. Am I missing the power switch or a fuse? Or is this equipment just bad? (also doesnt help that I cant find a manual anywhere)

ALSO to tag along this post... I am working in a new space on a ion. None of the nodes seem to give out DMX. And I cant find the net 3 editor ANYWHERE in the settings.... Am I missing something with this new update?
 
These suckers can be a bit confusing to address. I believe you set the ColorPower to your DMX start address, and then set the DIP switches on the units themselves. If you have four, I think it would be 2,3,4,5. Not 100% sure though; as I have to refresh my memory every time I use my CC's.

That being said, the ColorPower should be booting up when you plug it in. No signs of life? Definitely check any fuses and let us know if you find anything. With any luck, even if it is a PSU problem, they've used an off-the-shelf power supply and it would be easy to repair.
 
Just an FYI-I have not been able to find any "off the shelf" PS for the ColorPower. Not paying $400+ for the one Light Parts has. Open to suggestions/links.
 
Just an FYI-I have not been able to find any "off the shelf" PS for the ColorPower. Not paying $400+ for the one Light Parts has. Open to suggestions/links.

I'll need to open mine up sometime and explore. What's different about the PSU in the ColorPower that renders other 24v* PSU's unusable?

*Not sure of the voltage, actually. And of course the current rating I have no idea of.
 
Power supply must have PFC, provide 40 volts DC at 100 watts for each port. My PS supply is labelled 200 watts/5 amps. A suitable replacement would need to fit the foot print--and preferably have the OEM type connections.
 
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I've got a set of ColorCommands myself. I had an issue with one (there are two in the Color Power unit) of the power supplies going bad...

Does you color power show the LED readout? If not, I'd suggest swapping the PSU's with one another to see if you can get a readout, as one of the psu's also power the controller. It's possible that you can have the first half of the unit working and not the other half, i.e. fixtures 1-6 work fine, while 7-12 are dead.

I've paid the $400+ for a new power supply, but in my experience, it has lasted quite some time.

At any rate, you can find all of the documentation here, but if your unit is not powering up, then it's not going to do any good.

On a side note, I was told by a High End support (pre-ETC) that all of their legacy repair/parts are handled by LightParts. Might not be a bad idea to contact them.
 
The exact reason I have posted here...looking for anyone that has found a suitable alternative PS.
 
I have 12 color commands that I have acquired that are not working. I also have two power supplies that do not work. I posted about this problem a couple months ago but I think I was unclear on what I was trying to accomplish and what knowledge I have. And now I am still in the same dilemma of these fixtures not working.

I have replaced the lamp and the connector on a fixture and still have not had any luck with getting any noise, light, or response from it. (Yes the outlet is working). I have had the same problem with the power supply. I know that I need to have the fixture plugged into a dimmer and then chained from the power supply to receive data... but rely plugging the fixture into a standard outlet should bring it to life? As well as the power supply? I am not too familiar with the fixtures, or troubleshooting in general. I’m hoping some of y’all can point me in the right direction to get these guys working. My only thought is maybe some sort of fuse? But I can’t find one anywhere... any thoughts? Thanks guys! :)
 
I have 12 color commands that I have acquired that are not working. I also have two power supplies that do not work. I posted about this problem a couple months ago but I think I was unclear on what I was trying to accomplish and what knowledge I have. And now I am still in the same dilemma of these fixtures not working.

I have replaced the lamp and the connector on a fixture and still have not had any luck with getting any noise, light, or response from it. (Yes the outlet is working). I have had the same problem with the power supply. I know that I need to have the fixture plugged into a dimmer and then chained from the power supply to receive data... but rely plugging the fixture into a standard outlet should bring it to life? As well as the power supply? I am not too familiar with the fixtures, or troubleshooting in general. I’m hoping some of y’all can point me in the right direction to get these guys working. My only thought is maybe some sort of fuse? But I can’t find one anywhere... any thoughts? Thanks guys! :)

The lamp circuit is completely separate from the color change system. So the lamp circuit is AC power -> connector -> power cable -> lamp socket -> lamp. If the power is good, the cable has continuity from all the the connector pins to the pins on the lamp socket, then only thing left is the lamp. You should be able to plug the unit in and measure 120VAC at the two pins in the lamp socket. Those sockets (as do all lamp sockets, especially on tungsten fixtures) tend to bake, crack, anneal, etc over time. If Aunt Edna gave you a 50 year old table lamp, the part most likely to need replacement would be the lamp socket.

The main problem with this system is the Color Power PSU. The earlier units, when hot patched, would blow up the PSU brick inside the Color Power. High End quickly fixed that, later units have current limiting daughter boards that prevents that. It sounds like your power supplies don't work at all. There is a fuse to check on the power supply brick in the power supply - that's the only fuse.

Here are some Color Command and Color Power resources:

http://www.lightparts.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Store_Code=LP&Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=HE-CPDI

http://www.lightparts.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Store_Code=LP&Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=HE-CCDI

Robert Mokry
LightParts Inc.
www.lightparts.com
[email protected]
 
but rely plugging the fixture into a standard outlet should bring it to life?

If you're referring to the fixture/head, no, not necessarily. I believe there is a small relay in the base that doesn't give the lamp power until the ColorPower is online and connected via 4-pin. This is because the power supply runs the fans, so its kind of a feature to save the fixture from baking without any airflow if the ColorPower goes offline.
 
If you're referring to the fixture/head, no, not necessarily. I believe there is a small relay in the base that doesn't give the lamp power until the ColorPower is online and connected via 4-pin. This is because the power supply runs the fans, so its kind of a feature to save the fixture from baking without any airflow if the ColorPower goes offline.

Uh oh, Les is right, my bad. Forgot about the relay. Our tech guys should be responding to this. Let us know how we can be of assistance.
 
Uh oh, Les is right, my bad. Forgot about the relay. Our tech guys should be responding to this. Let us know how we can be of assistance.

These guys and girls CAN help. Don Pugh and the rest of his team are top-notch.
 

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