ETC Express problems

[Moleary]

Hi guys,

I'm having a problem with an ETC express 48/96 console and was wondering if any of you may be able to help me out?

We had a problem last night mid-show where channels would stay on even if they weren't recorded in proceeding cues, also lost control of channel faders. It wasn't due to channels being captured or a tracking issue. Restarting the console in the interval resolved the problem for a short while, but mid way through the seond act we had the same problem occur again.

Anybody had any similar experiences? Any help appreciated.

 

[ajb]

Do you have channels set to LTP? It's in the channel setup. LTP lets you do some really cool stuff, but requires a few extra steps in programming to use properly.

 

[Moleary]

Hi ajb,

Yes the console is set to LTP.

 

[scapino]

I know it may sound stupid, but are you sure the previous cue wasn't on a different set of cross faders? I know that once in a while, If I'm running the show with the AB go button, I may accidentally shift over to the CD go button, leaving the AB look still burinig on the stage, on top of the other cues being run on CD.

Very embarassing.....


Kurt

 

[Footer]

Do you have channels set to LTP? It's in the channel setup. LTP lets you do some really cool stuff, but requires a few extra steps in programming to use properly.

Where is the setting in the console to change LTP? I am sitting behind my express right now and don't see such a setting...

 

[xander]

Where is the setting in the console to change LTP? I am sitting behind my express right now and don't see such a setting...

Footer: It is not a setting for the console so much as a setting for each individual channel. You can edit each channel's LTP/HTP status in the Channel Attributes, which if I remember correctly, is #10 [darn, it's actually #11] in Setup.

OP: If you do indeed have some channels set to LTP, then that might be what you are seeing. I kinda of doubt that is your problem because you simply have to record a cue that changes the channels' levels--or make an Allfade cue to force them to zero--and they will go out. Have you checked to see if anything is Parked? Have you check all of your data cable? Terminators? If it is actually a malfunction in the board, it may be that the block on the back (where all of the I/O interfaces are) is loose. I have seen this cause erratic behavior. Turn the board off and disconnect the mains (for your own safety, but also the desk's) and there are two(?) screws on the bottom corners on the back. If they are at all loose, tighten them up (they should be thumb screws or you can use a flat head, I believe). This will secure the connection of the block to the other internal components inside the desk.

Hope that helps,
-Tim

 

[ajb]

Setup > Channel Attributes, there's a y/n column for it. Also can be defined in fixture personalities.

LTP will cause a channel to continue to do whatever the last cue to include it told it to do until a subsequent cue explicitly tells it to do something else, or it's followed by an All Fade or Blocking cue, so this could be the problem. When it happens again, try clearing background overrides (on S3). If that fixes it, then you need to adjust your programming to make sure those channels go down at the right time. Or, if you don't actually need the functionality provided by LTP, you can disable it.

 

[GageStryker]

Take a look and see - what color (on the channel readout) are the affected channels? LTP might be a factor if they're green, purple, or light blue. However, if they're yellow, you might have a problem with sticky faders. I've found in high temperature situations, the ETC faders sometimes tend to "drift" back up from zero or down from full - the problem is solved in the short term by grabbing the fader and overriding it, and in the long term by a fan and a replacement power supply.

 

[Moleary]

Hi Gagestryker,

The channels that were live weren't showing up in stage mode at all..Not tracked, not captured, nothing. I reset the console and gave it its own wall circuit (it was sharing an extension lead with an amp rack and mixer) and the problem hasn't occurred since, very strange.

Thanks for all your help guys,

Matt

 

[xander]

The channels that were live weren't showing up in stage mode at all..Not tracked, not captured, nothing.

If something were parked, it wouldn't show up in the Live or Blind displays. There would Parked Enabled displayed at the top of the screen, though. That makes me think it might be a problem in the dimmer rack, not the board. Have you tried troubleshooting anything there?

 

[Moleary]

The channels weren't parked either. I think the dimmer rack is a possibility, I don't have much experience troubleshooting them, but I'll look into it.

Cheers,

Matt