Control/Dimming Older Sensor Rack questions

[BobHealey]

I've got a small stack of Sensor Portable and a Sensor touring rack of various ages, and some questions on how they age.

The first one is fairly simple - is it possible to use R20 or CC20 modules in racks with MPE or CEM brains?

The second one is a bit more complicated. I use an 8 year old 24 slot/48 dimmer touring rack. I've noticed a lot of the patch cords for the socapex connectors don't stay in their sockets all that well any more, similar to how stage pin over time needs to be run through a pin splitter. Is it possible to respread the pins on my own, or does the rack need to be serviced by ETC? Also, a several of the pins on the patch cords are missing the red plastic tips. Is this a big deal, or do we need to get the cords replaced?

 

[DavidNorth]

The first one is fairly simple - is it possible to use R20 or CC20 modules in racks with MPE or CEM brains?

The second one is a bit more complicated. I use an 8 year old 24 slot/48 dimmer touring rack. I've noticed a lot of the patch cords for the socapex connectors don't stay in their sockets all that well any more, similar to how stage pin over time needs to be run through a pin splitter. Is it possible to respread the pins on my own, or does the rack need to be serviced by ETC? Also, a several of the pins on the patch cords are missing the red plastic tips. Is this a big deal, or do we need to get the cords replaced?

Yes, you can use CC20 and R20 modules with MPEs and CEMs. You may also use the new ThruPower modules but you get a limited feature set - selection of dimmer or constant on.

The patch cable "Chinese Lantern" springs do wear out and the red tips can be knocked off with use. I am not aware of a way to spread the springs to keep tension. Two notes:

- It is important that these pins stay tight for proper current transfer so as not to burn the pins
- Pins should never be patched while energized to keep ends and springs from arcing and melting

ETC does carry replacement cable assemblies that you can install. The cable assemblies have the male pin crimped to the appropriate cable and a choice of boot colors. You clip the old cable inside the rack, pull it out through the patchbay, feed the new cable in through the patchbay, and butt splice it into the clipped cable inside the rack.

Hope that helps,

David

 

[BobHealey]

How important are the red tips? If they are missing or discolored, can that cord still be used?

 

[DavidNorth]

How important are the red tips? If they are missing or discolored, can that cord still be used?

That cord can still be used, but do note that over time, continuing to patch with that connector will eventually wear out the female patch points in the bay. Might take a long time. The red tip keeps the sharp edge of the pin from gouging the socket.

Make sense?

David

 

[FTKD]

Hey BobHealey--I had a similar issue with a touring rack--the shop tech before me used to hot patch a lot of things and turned most of the pins in to crispy critters. I called the kind folks over at ETC and turns out you can buy those replacement pins and the little rubber boots that go on the outside (Or at least you could about 3 or 4 years ago). A few things to note here:

You must be very confident in your ability to neatly strip cable and crimp on new ends
A small dab of electrical goo goes a long way to getting the rubber boot over the connector
All of the different colored rubber boots have different part numbers
When heat shrinking over the new labels on the leads, make sure you don't melt through the screen in front of the dimmer modules.

I hope this helps, if you do plan to install new ends, plan about a day to do a full set of 96 leads. Also, make sure you get yourself a solid dedicated crimp tool like the Klein Tools 1005.

Cheers!