Dimmer Racks?

[Sony]

They say A.

What does that mean?

Yes, I know I should call ETC. I will get around to it, probably this afternoon, but...it sounds like I'm kind of screwed because Smith isn't going to let me have them come or anthing. :/

Most Sensor Racks have 2 DMX Inputs, Port A and Port B, If your rack says No Data On Port A it means your rack isn't getting any DMX Data into the first Port. From the sounds of it though these two new rack you said are for the Black Box which sounds like it's not finished yet so the DMX isn't hooked up. However it could also just mean the Board isn't turned on in your black box. It will show that error whenever your control board is turned off because it wont be getting any DMX Signal.

Your most serious problem is your Ambient Overtemp Alarm....this is REALLY bad. It means your Rack CEM is getting too hot and is basically cooking. It could fry soon if you're not careful. It sounds like 2 of your racks were just recently installed...I bet it's gotten warmer then it was before in there with 2 MORE racks outputing another 192 Dimmers worth of heat. (They are 96 Racks aren't they, or are they 48's or 24's?) I bet you this has caused your original 4 racks to overheat much more often then they used to. As one other person said, the original Sensor Rack CEM's had an overheating problem that they fixed in the newer CEM's.

I would call ETC....try to stress to this "Smith" person that this is a serious problem that needs to be addressed before the CEM fails in the middle of a show and leaves you stranded without a paddle. It's better to replace the DEM on YOUR schedule rather then WHEN it dies. Replacing a CEM is an easy procedure that takes about 15 minutes...if that. It's litterally about 5 Steps, Cutting the Power, Popping out the old CEM, Plugging in the new one, Restoring the Power and then checking to make sure all the Programming is right. ETC has a record of every install they have ever done and will be able to pull up and programm all of your CEM's exactly how they are right now so there will be no change in Functionality. ETC might even replace the defective units for free since it was a design flaw.

There is no harm in calling ETC and asking them, they are really nice people.

 

[willbb123]

Before I took over as lighting supervisor, we had a dimmer overheat and light on fire. So it is VERY important to make sure they have proper ventilation.

They designed our dimmer vault to be fireproof... but when the 2 doors are shut there is no ventilation....

 

[thenelsontwins]

Had the same problem with overtemp, especially at the top of the racks.
Cleaning the dimmers helped, cleaning the filters helped. The thing that helped the most before the room was cooled effectively by our hvac company, was putting a fan in the room to circulate the air that was just sitting. it wasn't perfect, but it helped in the very short term.


If you have dimmers on fire, I don't recommend doing anything except putting out the fire. et cetera.

 

[Malabaristo]

Your most serious problem is your Ambient Overtemp Alarm....this is REALLY bad. ......As one other person said, the original Sensor Rack CEM's had an overheating problem that they fixed in the newer CEM's.... ETC might even replace the defective units for free since it was a design flaw.

There is no harm in calling ETC and asking them, they are really nice people.

You're exaggerating slightly, and the statements about CEM's having an overheating problem are slightly innaccurate (and I'm picky about such things).

By all means, proper ventilation to a dimmer rack is a very important thing and should be fixed as soon as possible if that's your problem. In reality, though, the overtemp alarm is triggered well before there's any risk of damage to the rack. It's a feature that's specifically designed to prevent such damage from occurring. That's why the rack shuts off all the outputs when it happens: it gives things a chance to cool down.

Some CEM classics (the kind with the number pad on the front) had an issue where the airflow sensor would fail to detect proper airflow consistently. The symptoms were similar: lights flickering or turning off, but the message displayed would be, "airflow errors." There's a little piece of metal that can be added to CEM's that have this problem, or the airflow sensor can be replaced with a different version (though the latter is somewhat dependent on software versions).


Feel free to call ETC even if you don't expect to be able to get anyone to pay for a tech to visit. Their support staff will gladly talk you through some troubleshooting steps that will likely solve your problem. Sending a tech onsite is always the last resort anyway, since it can be quite expensive.