Automated Fixtures Moving Lights Problem: I-Cue

[platypusman]

My school has an ETC 24/48 lighting system with two moving lights. I've heard them called IQ's but in case that's not a good name they are essentially mirrors placed in front of the lights. For several years the system has been set so that one fader can control the light while a set of two others control the mirror in an XY-fashion. Suddenly both of the lights with mirrors aren't working. The light turns on but the mirrors don't move. I'm not sure what the problem is and hope someone here could help. I'd say the most conspicuous thing is that the problem came to both of the lights at the same time. I believe it has something to do with the way the mirrors are connected to the channels but nothing else is really out of the ordinary on the board so I kind of doubt hardware. Any help would be appreciated and, as you can probably tell, I'm not too experienced.

 

[Pie4Weebl]

Quick trouble shooting steps to take...

1. Do the mirrors have power?

2. Are there other "toys" in your system like scrollers, do they work?

3. Chase down the data cable that is run between the mirrors and the system, is there obvious damage/ is it plugged in?

4.Have you changed the patch recently? You may have accidentally mispatched them, save the current show, load off an old show and see if they work then.

Also, yes they are called iCues.

 

[sk8rsdad]

Diagnostics 101

1. Are the I-Cues receiving power?
2. Is there a continuous path for the DMX signal between I-Cues and the console?
3. Did somebody mess up the patch on the Express? Which address is patched to those channels? It probably should be either the same as the address the I-Cues are set to, or the address of the I-Cues + 512 (connected to the 513-1024 port on the console)

 

[icewolf08]

Chances are that you either have a patch issue, data issue or power issue. You are correct, you probably have the Rosco I-Cues. If you can safely get to where the fixtures are hung you should check to make sure that the I-Cues are powering up. They should be connected via 4-pin cable to a power supply (PSU). The power supply should be plugged into something, hopefully a constant-on circuit and not a dimmer. Most power supplies have some indicator lights, check to see if they are lit or flashing. There may even be a label that tells you what they should look like if everything is OK.

If the units are powering up OK, the next thing to check is the 5-pin DMX cable that should connect the power supply to the console (or a DMX output jack). If the PSU has indicator lights, it will probably have one for data, make sure it is lit. Check all the cable runs between the PSU and the I-Cues and the PSU and the console (or wall jack) for cuts or breaks. If all this checks out, then you probably have a patch issue. (BTW: check all this with your console ON!)

If you have a patching issue, it will take a little more explaining, and it depends a lot on how your console was setup.

 

[Grog12]

Did somebody change the address of the I-Cues?

 

[codered11343]

I have the same recommendations as the others that have posted before me.
But I would like to add that they are Rosco I-Cues. The Rosco website has the user manual and some more info. Check it out.

Rosco US : Lighting Equipment : I-Cue

 

[platypusman]

Thanks everyone. It looks like the power supply burned out since the indicator light won't turn on. Does it seem likely that the power supply would burn out after 5 years?

 

[icewolf08]

It is possible if it is plugged in and powered up 24/7/365, or if it is plugged into a dimmer set at full. It is a bummer though because power supplies are not cheap. However you have options, as any Rosco, Apollo, or Chroma-Q power supply will work with the I-Cues.

 

[sk8rsdad]

Have you confirmed that the socket or receptacle the power supply is normally plugged into is energized?

 

[Kelite]

Thanks everyone. It looks like the power supply burned out since the indicator light won't turn on. Does it seem likely that the power supply would burn out after 5 years?

I would certainly take a look at the receptacle to be sure the problem is not there. Perhaps plug some other device (radio, spare fixture, whatever) into this outlet to ensure it's working properly.

If the device (radio, spare fixture, whatever) appears to work just fine, you may want to shop around a PSU75W with added 4 and 5 pin connectors. Here is a picture and description: Apollo Design | Smart Power™ 75W Power Supply


Good luck to you platypusman!

 

[lazor]

Depending on which power supply you have for the I-cues, there is usually a fuse that could have gone out. Look to see if there is a round knob that if you turn comes out with a fuse inside.

A couple of months ago I accidentally plugged too many I-Cues into a power supply and it took me a couple of hours to realize what was wrong. Like you I thought I had blown the entire power supply and as stated above they are not cheep. Luckily we noticed the fuse and a quick trip down the road to Radio Shack later (and unplugging two of the I-Cues from the daisy chain) and I was back in business.

Hope this helps.

 

[xander]

While the 75w power supplies are a nice, cheap solution since you only have 2 IQs, but one thing you have to keep in mind with those is that you don't get a DMX thru capability with them. In other words, the IQs have to be the end of the daisy chain. That may be fine with you, but keep it in mind.

-Tim

 

[platypusman]

I still have a problem with these I-Cues and you guys were very helpful last time. The power supply was definitely one of the problems and it has been replaced. Now I need to program the pan and tilt attributes to two different dimmers and get those to the right light. I could really use some detailed instructions. The poster above mentioned something about the end of the daisy chain but I know these I-Cues worked just a year ago. Nothing has changed since we got the exact same model for a power supply. Basically, I just need basic help with fixture patching and attributes... I think. Also, I'm not sure if I need to do anything with the side of the I-Cue since I know there's some kind of channel that can be set there. Help would be appreciated and if it's simple enough a step-by-step kind of thing would be great.

 

[platypusman]

It seems I need to create a new personality because the only attributes I need are pan and tilt. All the personalities I find right now have many channels. Is there any way to make it so that only 2 channels are needed? Unless other attributes are required I think this simple personality would work.

 

[platypusman]

OK I've been assuming that whoever ran the I-Cues before used the Moving Lights feature of the express board. But now I look and the grey box that surrounds the attribute dimmers was never there before. I guess my question now is, is there any way to make an I-Cue pan and tilt without using a fixture patch?

 

[icewolf08]

Short answer, yes. However it depends on how your ICues are set up. They can operate in 8-bit or 16-bit mode. In 8-bit you have one channel for pan and one for tilt. In 16-bit you have pan, pan-fine, tilt, and tilt fine. The channel order is P then T (in 8-bit) or P, Pf, T, Tf (in 16-bit). All you need to do is look at the LCD or dip-switches, determine the starting address and then patch those addresses to channels.

So, if the starting address on the first iCue is 97 and it is connected to universe 1, then you would patch dimmer 97 to whatever channel you want, and dimmer 98 to the next channel (assuming 8-bit mode). You would have to patch dimmers 97-100 to channels if you are in 16-bit mode. If your icues are connected to universe 2 of your console then just add 512 to whatever the address is set to on the Icue to get the dimmer numbers for patching.

 

[platypusman]

Sorry I'm tired from working at this for so long with no progress. I am trying to run 8-bit. So to simplify. I am using universe one. On my board I want to use dimmers 43 and 44. The channels on my monitor are 51 and 52. The light, not I-Cue is both channel and dimmer 19. Also, I'm confused as to what a starting address is. Thanks for your help in advance.

 

[platypusman]

I forgot to ask. Do I need to do anything with personalities or the console on the side of the I-Cue?

 

[icewolf08]

Sorry I'm tired from working at this for so long with no progress. I am trying to run 8-bit. So to simplify. I am using universe one. On my board I want to use dimmers 43 and 44. The channels on my monitor are 51 and 52. The light, not I-Cue is both channel and dimmer 19. Also, I'm confused as to what a starting address is. Thanks for your help in advance.

First lets talk through some terminology specifically applying to the ETC express. The console thinks of every device that you connect to it via DMX as a dimmer. It may not be a physical dimmer as attributes of devices such as Icues would be considered dimmers. In the patch screen you can assign any "dimmer" to any channel.

If you have your console setup in single scene mode, each fader should correspond to the same number channel. If you are configured in sub mode, then you can program what each fader does. If you are in single scene with subs then the first row of faders corresponds to the like numbered channels and the bottom row can be assigned. However, a submaster is not the same as a strict channel fader as you can put more than one channel on a sub. So, when you say: "On my board I want to use dimmers 43 and 44. The channels on my monitor are 51 and 52." I assume that you mean you want to use faders 43 and 44 and have them control channels 51 and 52, correct? To do this you have to either be in full submaster mode or one scene with subs mode.

The starting address of the Icue is the number that is displayed on the LCD panel on the device or the composite number of the rotary dials depending on which version of the Icue you have. If it was manufactured after 2005 it should have the LCD, if it is older than 2005 it will have rotary switches. The starting address is the first dimmer number that the Icue uses for control. So, if the starting address reads "097" then the pan for that Icue would be dimmer 97 and the tilt would be dimmer 98.

So, armed with the starting address for each Icue, you should go into the patch screen on your console and patch the dimmers of the Icues to the channels that you want. So, if you want the pan for one of the ICues on channel 51, using the starting address I made up, you would patch dimmer 97 to channel 51, and dimmer 98 to channel 52 for tilt.

Notes to keep in mind: The starting address of your first Icue has to be higher than the number of dimmers that you have (assuming that you are running dimmers and Icues on the same universe of DMX). The starting address of the second Icue has to be 2 higher than the starting address of the first in 8-bit mode. So if the first Icue is 97 then the second has to be 99.

 

[platypusman]

Thanks for clarifying. So now I need to look at my I-Cues to find the starting address and assign that dimmer to the channels I want? I'm not exactly sure how to do that either... patches can assign channels to faders right? So how do I get dimmers to channels?