MAC 600 (E) NT color wheel stepper motor

[burtbick]

At the theatre where I volunteer there are a number of MAC 600 movers.

These are getting a bit long in the tooth, and one of them has a defective stepper motor for one of the color wheels. That has been verified.

We ordered a stepper on line but it is not correct for our older MAC 600. The original stepper has a directly wired cable with a connector on the other end. The replacement stepper has a connector on the stepper motor and where this connect juts out makes the motor not fit through the cutout in the plate that covers the lamp. So even if the motor might be an electrical replacement it is not a physical replacement.

So, options are:

Find a used MAC 600 for parts and grab a stepper from there.

Find the specifications for the original stepper and purchase a suitable replacement. For this to work I will either have to reverse engineer the requirements or find a suitable schematic and specifications for the original stepper motor.

So has anyone else been down this route before? Did you find a suitable stepper motor for the older MAC 600, and if so do you have a schematic and parts information that you would be willing to share?

Thanks,
Burt

 

[derekleffew]

I bet https://www.lightparts.com/index.php can help.

Martin currently does not supply exploded diagrams. If you are in need of assistance please call us at 512.873.7106 and we will be happy to assist you in locating your part number. PLEASE NOTE: Martin parts pricing has changed, please call us for updated prices. We will try to update pricing for all Martin parts as soon as possible.

• No Exploded Diagrams Available
• Several of the part numbers are linked directly to an image at MartinPro.com - we do not guaruntee the validty of these images but have posted them to help you find your correct part.

 

[burtbick]

I bet https://www.lightparts.com/index.php can help.

Thanks, But lightspart.com was where we had ordered the stepper from, and it is not the correct stepper for our MAC 600(s). And lightparts.com indicated that the steppers for the older light are not available. But I'll try calling to see if that works. Note that the picture that lightsparts.com links to from Martin matches the stepper they sent, but does NOT match the steppers that are installed in the MAC 600s we have.

Burt

 

[porkchop]

My first suggestion would be to call Lightparts and tell them you're dealing with an older light and try to talk to someone that knows them pretty well. There are a ton of old Macs running around still in service and I'm sure they have someone there that knows them.

If they really can't help you look and see if you can make a small modification to the light to make the new motor work. You don't want to be cutting away from lamp shielding, but if you can cut a little out of a bulkhead and make it fit that'd be about par for the course for old Macs. You'd be amazed the things I've seen done to lights when people are in the situation you're in. If you are able to fit the motor in there, you just need to call Lightparts back and get the wire that runs from the motor to the PCB.

Lastly substituting motors may not be as hard as it sounds. As long as the stepper motor has 4 ohms across contacts and is the same physical dimensions they pretty much work the same. Knock off cheap ones might not have the same "size" step, but ones that go into other professional grade lights should work. Clay Paky motor connectors go almost all the way into the motor and may have the clearance you need.

 

[burtbick]

Thanks Brett,

I spoke with lightparts again but they weren't able to offer much assistance with the older MAC 600. I spoke with Martin service and found that they have one or two new "plates" available that fit the new stepper motors. But if we went that route we would have to replace all of the steppers at the same time per Martin service. And while that might not be a bad idea it is a good sized bite. And since the plates are in limited supply we will be facing the same issue with the other MAC 600s sooner or later, and may not be able to get the mechanical parts from Martin.

It appears from test fitting the stepper that we only need to nibble less than about an 1/8" from the cut out where the connector is on the stepper to make if fit perfectly. So we have the cable on order and will make the trim on the opening size to accommodate the new stepper.

My only concern with a replacement stepper was making sure that the phasing of the stepper winding connections matches what the board expects, and that the degrees per step and torque match the original. Obviously physical dimensions and shaft size are also critical.

Thanks again,
Burt