Help a director out? Insight 2 board

DavidNorth said:
You either have a Unison system or a DAS [Digital Address] system. If you could tell us your facility name I can look up your information. Otherwise, you can take a picture of your control station and post it here. Then we can easily tell you what your options are.

Definitely there are no changes that can be made in the console that would affect the settings on the architectural control panel.

David
Click to expand...

Thanks for setting me straight on whether or not I can mess up the Presets on the architectural control panel (new vocabulary, thanks) from the console. The facility is Myrtle Beach High School, the install was probably late 90s to early 2000s. Thanks alot David.
 
The RFU connects to the back of the Insight. In your case during the install there was a convenience connector was placed in the stage wing. It may be that it was never wired, or if it was, it may have been disconnected from the back of the Insight. The first thing to do is check the back of the Insight and see if there is a connector plugged in to the Remote Focus unit connection. If not look around and see if there is a cable with that connector sitting behind the Insight or some where near by. If not, it is possible that the cabling was not finished.

To determine if the RFU itself is working, take it to the Insight and connect it to the appropriate connector on the back of the Insight.
 
Okay, so I'm sitting here at the console and just tried plugging the RFU directly in to the back of it and still I get no power on when I turn the switch to ON. Does that mean its done for? Do they have any type of fuses or anything I should check?
 
mrdramatic said:
Okay, so I'm sitting here at the console and just tried plugging the RFU directly in to the back of it and still I get no power on when I turn the switch to ON. Does that mean its done for? Do they have any type of fuses or anything I should check?
Click to expand...

You might want to check the RFU power fuse....

If external devices, the RFU, or remote macros fail to operate correctly,
and you suspect the console fuse might be the problem, follow these
steps to replace the fuse:
1. Turn off the console.
2. Remove the power cord.
3. Using a small flat head screwdriver, genly press and rotate counterclockwise
the fuse holder labeled RFU/Remote I/O.
4. Replace the fuse with a fuse of rating T2.5A. Do not use a fuse with
any other rating. This is a 2.5 amp 250 V time lag type fuse.

If the fuse is ok, then I would suspect that the RFU cable has gone bad do to becoming disconnected inside the male plug or the RFU PCB. RFUs tend to get dropped and have their cables yanked on and rolled over. Here's a link to more information that might help. RFU - Electronic Theatre Controls

David
 
I have a new super beginner question for you. I almost feel dumb asking it....

I plotted out all of my dimmers on a diagram so I know where they all are. Then a I did a dimmer check [AT] [FULL]. Some of my dimmers aren't producing any light. Now I know from having lowered the electrics for example, that there are some dimmers which have no fixtures plugged in to them, so those are pretty explanatory. However, I have others which are plugged in to dimmers, but are producing no light. What are some ideas on the deal with that? Its possible some of them may have blown bulbs, (how do I check that by the way? is it obvious, like with Edison bulbs?) but surely this many aren't due to that. About 30-35 fixtures probably. Thank goodness for forums like this one, otherwise I don't know what I would do. As always, thanks for your continued assistance.
 
You can usually tell by giving the lamp (bulb) a visual examination, but to be really sure, plug a known working fixture in to the "dead" circuit. If the fixture still doesn't light, it's time to look deeper in to your system. If it does light, the problem is with the fixture that was connected - either a problem with the lamp, socket or connector (plug) usually.

Step 1 of dimmer trouble shooting would be making sure the individual breakers on the rack are on. Beyond that, you may need more in-depth assistance.
 
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mrdramatic said:
... However, I have others which are plugged in to dimmers, but are producing no light. What are some ideas on the deal with that? Its possible some of them may have blown bulbs, (how do I check that by the way? ...
Click to expand...
With proper knowledge and experience use a VOM set for continuity to test a fixture's lamp in situ, or get yourself a GAMchek.
.
 
mrdramatic said:
Is this a fuse that is readily available? Or would it be an item that would probably need to be ordered from somewhere? While I am at it, where would I go about getting extra fuses for the console? I feel this is something that should be kept around as a just in case....
Click to expand...

You should be able to get this at RadioShack. There should be no need for lots of spares since blowing fuses usually indicates something really wrong that needs to get fixed. If you take the existing fuse out and look at it, if it has a burn mark in it, it is blown, otherwise it is likely good. You can also use a VOM on continuity setting and check it from end to end to see if it is still good.

At some point you might wish to give either Turk or Tracy in service a call and we can lead you through some of the features of your Unison system.

David
 
Thanks ALL,

Our school year will be over at the end of next month and I plan to come here over the summer to learn the complete ends and outs of our particular lighting and sound system. David, thanks for the tip on who to call for info about the Unison. I didn't know if I would be able to get any info about it if I called being that it is no longer in use anymore having been replaced as an architecture.
 
Alot of organizations, roadshows, etc. rent out our facility year round. Once I get my channels, submasters, etc. set how I want them, how can I save them (or is it possible to save them) so that once the shows have loaded out, I can reload my defaults back in? This would be a huge help, as it seems every week I come back to newly reassigned dimmers, etc.

I saw in the manual something about a diskette, is that what this is for? If so, where do I find it? Is it on the console or elsewhere?
 
Yup. Once the "tenant" vacates your venue, put your "stock" "rep. plot" disk in the board and reload the show, which in this is your softpatch and submaster assignments, and it will delete/erase any programming the renter did. This way each new user gets a "fresh" start, but not an empty one in that they won't have to hunt down dimmers, which fixture is working/not, and so forth. OTOH, they should be allowed to change and/or screw up the lighting console as much as they want. Reload from the disk that you keep in your office and everything is magically back to square one again. Slide the little tabby "write protect" thingy so YOUR disk in not inadvertently accidentally over-written.
 
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