Automated Fixtures Older Moving Light (I-Beam 700) Help!

jcslighting

Member
Happy New Year to all!

I am currently working on an event for this Saturday, the 2nd and am having some issues with a couple older movers. For background, I just finished using all of these fixtures for a 4 weekend run of a Christmas musical without issue. Now I moved a couple and am trying to get things going before Saturday.

1st - Silver body HES Intellabeam 700hx - powers up and works fine on initial start-up. DMX works fine and fixture responds normally. This is where it gets weird. After about 5min, the fan shuts off, then after a bit longer, the lamp shuts off as well. I switched out the fan for one I knew was good thinking that was the issue but I got the same response. The weird thing also is that the motor, fan, and lamp leds stay lit normally even after the shutdown. Any ideas what would cause this shutdown? If it was DMX it would normally shut off the lamp and then later cycle off the fan - not the reverse.

2nd - Black body HES Intellabeam 700hx - buzzing like an alarm clock - a really loud alarm clock! My thoughts - Transformer or Ballast?, Power Factor Cap? Light works fine it just makes way too much noise to use in an event setting. Quick fix? I have a few spare parts lying around to pull from.

3rd - HES Technobeam - Was working fine when pulled from an overhead electric, now I set it on the floor and it gives the following symptoms. . .
If it powers up correctly (lamp, home, int ), it only works for a short while then the lamp shuts off and the fixture won't respond to DMX at all. But most of the tries I had, it only started its power up and then when the lamp started to strike the whole process just stopped - mirror stopped moving and was dead etc. The whole time though the display was working along with the motor and receive leds.

Thanks for any suggestions or ideas. If I can't get any up and running I will just drop them from the plot and move things around to try and compensate but I would rather not.
 
I had similar problems with some MAC 250s. It seems like your technobeam could have a problem (or short) in the temp sensor. That would cause your lamp to shut off and not respond to DMX. For the others, it may be a PCB issue. So all three of them started acting weird at the same time? Did you have some sort of electrical issue or storm at your facility that could have caused this?
 
Suspected ring cracks on the PCB. Basically, where connectors are mounted on the board, the thicker pins expand and contract at a different rate then the solder or the board so very fine cracks form, often the cannot be seen without good magnification. These problems often manifest themselves like a thermostat so that they make/break dependent on temperature. One of the hallmarks of ring cracks is that a unit will work ok until it is moved or bounced around a bit, then the problems start. This can be because the last little flake of solder that was making the connection breaks from the vibration of the move. Phantom intermittents = Ring Cracks. Unfortunately, the same type of thing can happen inside a potted module or even an IC, but often it is where a thicker component lead or connector pin is soldered to the board.

As for the buzzing: Often a loose plate in a ballast or even a fan shaft bearing. If it is a ballast or transformer core, often can be fixed with epoxy or even silicon.
 
I had similar problems with some MAC 250s. It seems like your technobeam could have a problem (or short) in the temp sensor. That would cause your lamp to shut off and not respond to DMX. For the others, it may be a PCB issue. So all three of them started acting weird at the same time? Did you have some sort of electrical issue or storm at your facility that could have caused this?
I'm not aware of any electrical issues recently however, I will check the sensors when I get to the theatre later this evening.
 
Suspected ring cracks on the PCB. Basically, where connectors are mounted on the board, the thicker pins expand and contract at a different rate then the solder or the board so very fine cracks form, often the cannot be seen without good magnification. These problems often manifest themselves like a thermostat so that they make/break dependent on temperature. One of the hallmarks of ring cracks is that a unit will work ok until it is moved or bounced around a bit, then the problems start. This can be because the last little flake of solder that was making the connection breaks from the vibration of the move. Phantom intermittents = Ring Cracks. Unfortunately, the same type of thing can happen inside a potted module or even an IC, but often it is where a thicker component lead or connector pin is soldered to the board.

As for the buzzing: Often a loose plate in a ballast or even a fan shaft bearing. If it is a ballast or transformer core, often can be fixed with epoxy or even silicon.

I don't know that I have the time to check every PC board solder joint before Saturday however I may try the ballast/transformer repair. I never thought of using epoxy to stop the buzzing. I am guessing a more fluid epoxy that is heat resistant should work? Silicone might be too thick to penetrate the core far enough. Any suggestions on which epoxy?
 
Back in the Intellabeam days, HES used these awful quick-connect terminal strips. It was common for them to work their way loose and begin arcing. They should be visible on the power supply board if you pull the back plate of the unit off. Check those first and foremost, and pull/re-insert them. If there's any scorching, the units should be taken out of service and repaired. It's pretty easy to desolder the old quick-connect strips and replace with standard strips, as long as you have the time. Even if they're fine, I would plan on retrofitting them soon if you plan on using the fixtures a while longer. They are certainly the Achilles heel of the Intellabeam.

The buzzing issue sounds like a ballast or transformer as noted. I had a buzzing Technobeam and it turned out to be the ballast ($60 at LightParts). Apparently this is rare with Techno ballasts, but I'm not sure about the Intellabeam. The I-beam does have both a transformer and ballast, so it could be either one. Check for any evidence of heat build-up. My Techno's ballast was pretty scorched, and I wouldn't be comfortable using it even with an epoxy repair.

The Technobeam issue you're having does sound sensor-related, but check all Molex/ribbon connectors as well.
 
Agreed. If you see scorching on the ballast, replace it. Often buzzing on such a ballast is actual windings that came (or toasted) loose and are smacking back and forth. That usually doesn't end well.
 
Well, with tonight being the show, here's the update....

Tried all of the sensor connections on the technobeam board and basically unplugged and replugged each sensor. Re-assembled and it fired right up and is now working fine.
Probably need to check the solder connections after this show. The Intellabeam buzzing is most likely a ballast. I injected some epoxy into the core without taking the fixture apart
and at least now the buzzing is acceptable. After tonight I will need to replace or at least dis-assemble and make sure the epoxy gets all the way into the core - hard to do inside the fixture.

Thanks to everyone's suggestions I at least can get through tonight's show with the original plot!

Controlbooth is AWESOME!
 
. Even if they're fine, I would plan on retrofitting them soon if you plan on using the fixtures a while longer. They are certainly the Achilles heel of the Intellabeam.

The funny thing is, I was planning on selling off most of my old intellabeams after this show as they always present problems. I guess like anything, age plays a huge factor and parts are getting more
expensive to keep replacing vs. buying new used fixtures. I love the speed of the mirrors on the intellabeams vs. even modern heads but doing mostly theatre design work the fan noise is often too
much as well as having to leave the room for them on a pipe. They take up more room than a moving head if you orient them along the pipe!

Also, the Intellabeams aren't as optically efficient in my opinion. I just picked up 4 coemar digiscan 575s that have more output than the 700w Intellabeams! The 250w Technobeams are almost comparable
to them as well.
 
Hello everyone, I bought 02 ibeam 700 and one of them has a malfunction in the optical sensor, is there a spare part still available on the market?
 
Does anyone have the datasheet of this optical sensor of intellabeam 700hx?
 

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Hello everything is fine? I would like to know if this softwear refers to which function, which is available on the ETC website.
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Sorry for my English, I'm from Brazil and I have a lot of difficulty finding spare parts here in my country
 
The below is what would be expected from latest (newist) units. from https://community.etcconnect.com/lu...mated-lighting/42467/intellabeam-dmx-channels

12/13 channel DMX Extended mode for Intellabeam 700HX
12/13 Channel Extended DMX
==========================

1. Pan high, MSB

2. Pan low, LSB

The first two channels are combined to form a 16 bit value for pan position. The
full range 0-65535 (0-FFFFh) is used, with 32768 (8000h) as the center position.
Scaling to fixture resolution occurs in the fixture.

3. Tilt high, MSB

4. Tilt low, LSB

The first two channels are combined to form a 16 bit value for tilt position. The
full range 0-65535 (0-FFFFh) is used, with 32768 (8000h) as the center position.
Scaling to fixture resolution occurs in the fixture.

5. Color select

This channel selects one of twelve color selections or combinations -OR- one of
eight spin speeds. The exact function depends on the setting of the Color mode
channel (6)

6. Color mode

This channels selects one of eight possible modes of operation for the Color select
channel. These modes are, in order from zero to full:

1. Color, with color change at full speed
2. Color, with color change at mspeed (tracks speed of beam motion)
3. Color Scan at full speed
4. Color Scan with mspeed
5. Forward Color Spin
6. Reverse Color Spin
7. Half Colors, with color change at full speed
8. Half Colors, with color change at mspeed (tracks speed of beam motion)

7. Gobo select

This channel selects one of twelve gobos -OR- one of eight spin speeds. The exact
function depends on the setting of the Gobo mode channel (8)

8. Gobo mode

This channels selects one of eight possible modes of operation for the Gobo select
channel. These modes are, in order from zero to full:

1. Gobo, with color change at full speed
2. Gobo, with color change at mspeed (tracks speed of beam motion)
3. Slow Gobo Scan
4. Fast Gobo Scan
5. Forward Gobo Spin
6. Reverse Gobo Spin
7. Slow Gobo Scan (reserved for future changes)
8. Fast Gobo Scan (reserved for future changes)

9. Shutter


This function is identical to the seven and eight channel modes. The values are, in
order from zero to full:

1. Closed
2. Open
3. Strobe speed 1
4. Strobe speed 2
5. Strobe speed 3
6. Strobe speed 4
7. Strobe speed 5
8. Strobe speed 6
9. Strobe speed 7
10. Strobe speed 8
11. Closed
12. Open

10. Dim

The dim channel is a full range 8 bit value. Blackout is at 0, Full output is at 255
(FFh)

11. Iris

The iris channel is a full range 8 bit value. Minimum iris is at 0, Full open iris
is at 255 (FFh)

12. Speed

The speed channel is a full range 8 bit value. The function is, from zero to full:

automatic speed control (as in 7 chan mode)
slowest speed (longest time)
.
.
fastest speed (shortest time)

Values between 95% and 99% are best for editing or continuous control such as cross
fades or trackballs.

13. Home (if selected)

To home fixture, hold this channel at 50% (+/- 5%) for at least 3 seconds.
 
Hello everyone, how are you? I'm looking for the memory card and floppy disk for the 700hx LCD controller. I bought 6 fixtures + the controller but it requires memory and I can't program any scenes. Does anyone have one for sale, or which model of floppy disk do I need to buy to be able to use the controller?
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It has been quite a while since I have used Intellabeams and even longer since using the LCD controller. But as I recall, you don't need the memory card to operate or record presets. It was there to record and load shows. You have much better control of the fixtures with DMX mode which is why the LCD controller didn't get much use. No floppy disks involved as far as I am aware of.
 

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