Don't leave your lights on too long....

[zwolf59661]

In my high school auditorium, half the lights don't function properly. Just this past November, the whole system over heated a few days before a drama club production and we couldn't use the lights for a few days. And if we leave our only (minimally) working spotlight (out of three) on for more than five minutes, we get that horrible "burning dust" smell.

 

[soundlight]

In my high school auditorium, half the lights don't function properly. Just this past November, the whole system over heated a few days before a drama club production and we couldn't use the lights for a few days. And if we leave our only (minimally) working spotlight (out of three) on for more than five minutes, we get that horrible "burning dust" smell.

Get someone's dad (or the school's agricultural studies or construction industries class) to bring in their air compressor with a blow nozzle attachment and blow out the spotlights. Then also do this for your whole lighting inventory. Make sure to do it outside. Then while the lights are outside, plug each of them in and let it burn off the remaining dust and then cool outside before returning it to its hanging position or storage location.

 

[zwolf59661]

It wasn't the stage lights that gave us problems. The house lights, which run on the same system but different controller, stopped working. They went on, then the control box stopped working and we couldn't turn them off for two weeks.


PS: if it helps, I'll see if I can get pictures of the equipment for reference purposes.

 

[derekleffew]

When was the last time the dimmer racks were serviced or filters cleaned? This IS NOT a project for a high school student, but does not necessarily need to be a factory-authorized repair person either (depending on the level of problem).

...PS: if it helps, I'll see if I can get pictures of the equipment for reference purposes.

Yes! We LOVE pictures. But be careful, we may just tell you everything wrong in them.

 

[Chris15]

But be careful, we may just tell you everything wrong in them.

Shh Derek, didn't you get the memo that said we were going to start offering consulting services on safety matters... At consultant rates no less. Ah well. Kids, take advantage of all us cynical types who WILL point out everything that we can see wrong in your photos. We prefer high resolution images to allow us to be "thorough". And yes, I'm cynical beyond my years

 

[zwolf59661]

When was the last time the dimmer racks were serviced or filters cleaned? This IS NOT a project for a high school student, but does not necessarily need to be a factory-authorized repair person either (depending on the level of problem).
Yes! We LOVE pictures. But be careful, we may just tell you everything wrong in them.

I honestly don't know the last time ANY of our lighting equipment was serviced/cleaned, but knowing the way things work in my school district, I can make an educated guess that its last servicing was probably shortly before it was initially installed. I'll see what I can do.


Anyway, the main control board is a Lee Colortran SceneMaster 60, if that means anything. But I'll try to get pictures, too. Just a fair warning, though: most of the problems we have with our system are electrical, as in not visible in pictures of the controls. The only problems you might find would probably be with the pictures themselves.

 

[derekleffew]

I honestly don't know the last time ANY of our lighting equipment was serviced/cleaned, but knowing the way things work in my school district, I can make an educated guess that its last servicing was probably shortly before it was initially installed. I'll see what I can do...Administratally, right? Not going to do this yourself. Right? ...Anyway, the main control board is a Lee Colortran SceneMaster 60, if that means anything. But I'll try to get pictures, too. Just a fair warning, though: most of the problems we have with our system are electrical, as in not visible in pictures of the controls. The only problems you might find would probably be with the pictures themselves.

Oh, I don't know about that, see this thread. We'll send Charcoaldabs right over to help you with any electrical problems (got any cats in closets?).

"Lee Colortran SceneMaster 60" means alot to some of us, it's in the top 1/3-1/2 of desks I've used. Do you have Dimension192 or ENR dimmers? Did I ask you that already?

But Chris15 is right, we should start charging for our services. "Control Booth On-Line Decrepid Stage Lighting Diagnosis And Repair Service." CBOLDSDARS. Just rolls off the tongue. My Day Long Summer Camp Fixture Refurbishment DLSCFR idea is not dead yet either. Still working out the royalty-issues/profit-sharing with AllThingsTheatre. Maybe we'll just become a division of Stella Lights. I told you, Pie, I might be working for you someday!

 

[avkid]

the main control board is a Lee Colortran SceneMaster 60

Ah..the memories.

 

[Chris15]

But Chris15 is right, we should start charging for our services. "Control Booth On-Line Decrepid Stage Lighting Diagnosis And Repair Service." CBOLDSDARS. Just rolls off the tongue. My Day Long Summer Camp Fixture Refurbishment DLSCFR idea is not dead yet either. Still working out the royalty-issues/profit-sharing with AllThingsTheatre. Maybe we'll just become a division of Stella Lights. I told you, Pie, I might be working for you someday!

Hmm... If you and allthings are running a joint class, the most apt question becomes on which continent?

Derek, maybe our fee ought to be *encouraged* donations to CB... As soon as I get around to setting up paypal, I'll donate...

 

[derekleffew]

...Derek, maybe our fee ought to be *encouraged* donations to CB...

Hey, great idea! How much FREE advice have we given to charcoaldabs and gafftapegreenia and others? Maybe we should threaten to go on <Load-Out> until more people donate?

 

[zwolf59661]

Administratally, right? Not going to do this yourself. Right?

Of course. I only know how to use the stuff, not fix it.

either way, though, we got the blown fuse issue taken care of today (i hope), so once its replaced we only have to worry about overheating the lights* when we use them.


*We're actually half-hoping** they become a fire hazard, if they're not already. That way, our school's options are A.) fix/upgrade the current system; B.) install a completely new system; or C.) remove the system completely and not have lights in the auditorium.

**The other half is hoping they don't become a fire hazard, because if they do there's the option that the school will remove the system and not replace it. This is the most logical conclusion I can come to because it is the one that costs the least; my school would rather spend money on football than anything that is not football.

 

[Charc]

Derek, if/when I set up PayPal I'll donate.

 

[Studio]

Radiant use Gaff tape

 

[icewolf08]

Just a quick necropost warning. The last post in this thread was in Jan. 2008.

 

[masterelectrician2112]

**The other half is hoping they don't become a fire hazard, because if they do there's the option that the school will remove the system and not replace it. This is the most logical conclusion I can come to because it is the one that costs the least; my school would rather spend money on football than anything that is not football.

Yup! You gotta love that! During one of our fall play performances, there was a home football game going on very very near the theater. It seems like they always have their PA system on full blast! Anyway...We got lucky because our principal is actually an advocate of the arts. Overall, drama is not very widely valued at our school. What really makes me mad though is that the sports venue's work orders are always filled before the theater's!

 

[shiben]

Yup! You gotta love that! During one of our fall play performances, there was a home football game going on very very near the theater. It seems like they always have their PA system on full blast! Anyway...We got lucky because our principal is actually an advocate of the arts. Overall, drama is not very widely valued at our school. What really makes me mad though is that the sports venue's work orders are always filled before the theater's!

And this is news? It took a full year to have a staff electrician at my college come and look at a bad box that had 10 circuits in it. They went down in the middle of a play, and the electrical department of the college claimed that they couldnt do anything about it until all the lights were down. 1 year later, someone finally came to fill the work order. The same people were called in, out of their beds, at 3AM to fix the power in the Arena for a basketball event. Turns our the emergency re-lamping of an HID or something at 80' is eaiser than reaching around a Source 4 at 16'.

 

[hans44]

Went to church this morning and found our house lights and front stage lights, 32 x PAR56 500W, 10 x PAR64 1kW, and 6 x 1kW ERSs, basically faders 1-12, had been left on since Thursday. All at 100%.
Besides electricity, which must be a pretty penny, 2 PAR56 lamps and 1 ERS burned out. I have no spare ERS lamps. Thanks.
We have fluorescent house lights that people can use to work, clean, etc. All accessible with handy on/off switches on the wall. But instead people get into the sound booth and start shoving faders.
I need to clear it with staff, but I plan to turn off the breakers on the dimmer panels. But I know a lot of people will be upset that they can't get enormous amounts of light on any time they want, and I'll likely not be allowed to cut the breakers.

Just a note to anyone who has this problem (I've seen it before): make sure you explain that running the stage lights requires A LOT of power which costs A LOT of money. Also, when the lamps burn out, it's $15 a pop for ERS lamps, $30 a pop for PAR lamps, and $1.50 for fluorescent tubes.

 

[lieperjp]

Derek, if/when I set up PayPal I'll donate.

Charc... it's been almost two years and you still haven't set up a PayPal?

 

[MillburyAuditorium]

Kind of late on this,

Well, I was running some errands one day, and the Jr. High school was having their drama rehearsal and they were getting pretty close to the show so the teacher wanted the spotlights on, and at the time we had a very very poor preset system, it was either House Full House Off, Stage Full Stage Off, so you can see why we never used the system, so anyways the director turns the sage lights on, so every stage light was at 100% for only maybe 45 minutes, and when I walked in I swore something was on fire or something, this was also when our HVAC system wasnt functioning like it should, it was so very very hot in there, and the smell was odd, not of plastic or rubber, but for some reson I blurted out "Ooh, I can smell the burning O-Zone now", so anyways, blew a few lightbulbs, and disconnected the preset box