I want to tech automated fixtures

[ProgrammerInTraining]

where does one get started? I know most all automated models and whatnot, Ive gotten to the point where I want to know more about it rather than just what it looks like. everytime a light goes bad on site we always have some spares but I want to be able to fix them just in case. I've seen the internals before and I might as well be looking at the human brain, no idea where to begin. help?

 

[techieman33]

You can read things like manuals to get a start, but if you really want to learn you need to go to some moving light repair schools.

 

[derekleffew]

...and I might as well be looking at the human brain ...

Actually the human brian is less complicated--no moving parts. Call up one of your local lighting shops: PRG, ELS, Epic, Felix, Delicate, 4Wall, (I think we've given you a list before), and volunteer to work in their moving light dept. for a week.

...but I want to be able to fix them just in case. ...

Most shops want the end-user to do no more than replace a bad fixture with a spare. Without spare parts, there's little chance of you fixing the malfunctioning unit anyway.

See also the thread http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/lighting-electrics/24407-what-has-training-come.html , particularly this post:

...Heres how I fix a moving light... put it back in its case and hang the spare the shop sent over. I then call the shop and tell them I have a dead unit. Thats it. When I worked at one venue that owned movers, I sent it into the shop down the road to get repaired. As large as an investment moving lights are IF you own them, its not worth it to sit there and bang on them if you don't know them in and out. Thats why we have shops. Now, if your out our tour and have a case full of parts and know what you are doing... go nuts. Added to that, you really should not be having to repair lights for a one off that you rented from a shop. If they sent you crap gear and no spare, then you have a larger issue. If they sent you a spare, use it. Otherwise, you have the possibility of destroying the fixture more then it currently was and getting a 3,000 dollar charge when you settle.

Added to that, there is no reason to tie up one of my guys onstage to fix something like that. If I have one of my guys spend an hour fixing a light, I have not only lost a guy for an hour but I also paid someone twice as much as shop time to fix it. The promoter is paying for gear to be fixed that they are renting that should be in working order anyway. I am losing a guy because the gear that should be in working order is not working. All in all, its a lose lose. Swap it, case it, write NFG on it, continue on with the call. ...

 

[porkchop]

Most shops want the end-user to do no more than replace a bad fixture with a spare. Without spare parts, there's little chance of you fixing the malfunctioning unit anyway.

Derek's got a great point there, I work for one of the few companies that fixes lights on site, and even well trained vets often times will be amazed that we do it.

As far as how to learn, hands on experience is about the only way. You can read about it and things like that, but the only real way to know what you're doing is to get in there.

 

[rochem]

Agreed, shops are definitely the way to go. I don't know how old you are, but an internship in a shop is gonna be the best way to learn. I'll relate my own story. For the last year or two, I've wanted to learn more about ML maintenance and repair, but the opportunities were very limited. I would read manuals and start glancing through service manuals, but that really doesn't compare to actually putting your hands into the fixtures. At school, whenever one of our fixtures broke, I'd be sure to stand nearby and watch as they diagnosed the problems, but that was very infrequent, and only a small variety of fixtures. Then, this past summer, I got an internship at PRG in Secaucus. After two or three weeks, I had firmly cemented myself into the moving light department. You start at the bottom of the ladder like everyone else (getting lights into and out of cases, filling orders, putting in gobos), but after some time at this, they began teaching me to tech fixtures. It's really something that can't be replicated anywhere else. The first fixtures I worked on were VL1000s. We had a fairly large order (~65 VL1Ks) come in, so they showed me exactly how to break down, clean, and test every function of the fixture according to their procedures, then they just let me loose on the whole order. I started to learn what was normal and what wasn't, and after I had done a few fixtures while being observed by my supervisor, I was able to recognize problems and I could pretty accurately tell what the solution might be. And the repetition was the best part - as I worked on dozens of the same fixture, I saw all sorts of problems, such as bad driver chips, loose cable assemblies, motors that needed replacing, worn belts, missing parts within shutter modules, and much more, and I learned to recognize and fix these problems. While I certainly don't pretend to be anywhere near an expert on ML maintenance, I learned how to deal with many common and not-so-common problems, and I'm fairly confident in my ability to at least diagnose a good portion of problems with fixtures. I repeated this learning process with VL3K/3500s, VL2500s (and some VL2Ks), a bunch of VL5s (but those are pretty simple fixtures), some Mac 2K fixtures, a small number of Studio Colors, and I even got to dig a little bit into PRG's Best Boy and Bad Boy fixtures.

I worked at PRG's Secaucus facility, but if you really wanted to learn moving light repair, I might suggest applying for an internship at PRG Dallas, which is where all of the more complex ML repairs are done, as well as repairs from locations that don't have experienced techs or parts in stock. Actually, if Vari Lite themselves offered an internship, that might be a great place to look as well, although you'd obviously only be working with VL fixtures. A friend of mine worked at Upstaging in Chicago as an intern in the moving light department this summer, and she learned many of the same things that I did. Probably any large shop could give you an equal learning experience on maintaining fixtures.

Hope that helps.

 

[LXPlot]

A
Actually, if Vari Lite themselves offered an internship, that might be a great place to look as well, although you'd obviously only be working with VL fixtures.

I believe Varilite does NOT, because from what I understood talking to their reps, they don't do large amounts of servicing themselves, and when they do the job belongs to one of their factory workers.

A friend of mine worked at Upstaging in Chicago as an intern in the moving light department this summer, and she learned many of the same things that I did.

How many interns does Upstaging Chicago have? Because I know a guy who did that as well.

 

[soundman]

For a one off anything more than a bad lamp or loose plug is might be better to swap the light. There should be enough spares to get by and after that it is the shops problem.

For a longer running show when the shops sends out a box of parts in addition to spares the most they really want/expect to be done is swapping boards motors and sensors. Not hard but time consuming, ballasts on 3Ks are NOT tech friendly. More important than knowing how to swap something out is knowing how to trouble shoot it. In my experience each type of light has a few common points of failure, knowing what those are and how to eliminate possibilities will be much more useful than knowing the wire traces of the logic card. VL, High End, and Martin offer classes on repairing their fixtures for the specific stuff but last I checked VL wanted people to be 'sponsored' by a shop.