Pactching

Nephilim said:
Australian supply is 50Hz. As for phasing etc it's been so long I can't remember... what I do remember is the Clipsal plug, 5 pins in a cross arrangement. Perhaps someone can fill in what the pin assignment there is.

If you were looking at a 5 pin 3 phase socket (or at the back of a 5 pin 3 phase plug) from top to bottom and left to right, the pins are:

Active 2
Active 1, Neutral, Active 3
Earth

3 phase motors do not require a Neutral as (very basically) the 3 active phases are 120 degrees out of phase with each other. Each of the three windings in the motor are energised in sequence, thus causing the armature to rotate. Some one may want to correct or better phrase this.

Hope this helps!

Oh - by the way Dean if you (or anyone else) wants the user manual for the Jands Roadpack Digital. The nice guys there scanned me one and sent it as a .pdf

Cheers,
 
I found a Aussie plug in stock. It was rated for 10A/250v. Are you sure about the 240v rating?

I did not have any of the US plugs in stock that would fit but do at home. I'll bring the receptacle to work in the morning and match up one to another. Looks like they just might work together in plugging one into another.
 
Our voltage is 240V single phase and 415V three phase but the plugs and sockets are normally rated at 250V (as you normally get about 249V at the source) and 500V for the three phase (as the phase to phase voltage is close to this level).

www.clipsal.com.au has an online catalogue if you are interested. I have not had a look for a while so I may be slightly off on my ratings.

Dean - did you get the manual?

Cheers,
 
Dean said:
Yeah - Cheers ;)

BTW: Its playing up - put it on a DBO this arvo.. turned the board off... dimmer maxed out channel 2... PLUS dimmer was left on all night... 3/5/7 were full up :|

Ok - this may sound a little patronising, but that is not my intent. It is something that can happen with this dimmer.

Have you checked that the "test" mode is not activated on Ch2 and that the test level is not on full? If this is the case, adjusting the test level will cause the intensity of the lamp to change. This is a very handy function of this dimmer (as is the inbuilt chases) but it can catch people out. Someone may have been ‘playing’!

If this is not the cause, check to see what happens when you fade up/down on Ch2 (via your desk) Does the lamp flicker? If so, it is probably the optocoupler. This is a little 6 leg IC that turns the triac on/off (in turn driving the lamp (very simple exp)).

These units have the optocouplers soldered directly onto the main board and it can make for a bit of fun to change them. They can be modified to accept IC sockets but the spacing of the legs means that you have to use the (cheap) std ones and it can be a bit tricky, as they have to be bent.

With the power to the dimmer disconnected race the output on Ch2 back to the triac, and then trace back to the optocoupler. Replace it. Also look for any mechanical faults and you may wish to replace the others that you are concerned about as well. If you are not confident in your ability to do this, have it done by a service tech.

If you have any troubles let me know and I will see if I can rip the lid of mine and take some pics to assist you.

Cheers,
 
Dean said:
Nope test mode was off.. i even tried turning it on and dimming it down via that - lost ya on the rest of the post

LOL - sorry! Probably best to source out someone who services electronic equipment. Or, if you have any teachers from an electronics course or perhaps the manual arts department you could ask them.

Did you test what happens to Ch 2 when you dim it from the lighting desk?

I was thinking about this a bit more and I am pretty sure that you can get to the underside of the main board by taking off the base plate. I can check if you like. It is a pretty simple job to replace an optocoupler BUT only if you are confident in your soldering ability.

Cheers,
 
The Australian plug did not match up with the NEMA plug closest to it. The Aussie plug had a slightly smaller distance between pins.

Normally in situations like this it’s just a question of making up adaptors. In fact, though I did not check it I probably have some adaptors pre-made already for our own uses or from shows that have gone down there. I know I have an entire 5-drawer file cabinet full of 16a Cee form adaptors to NEMA and stage pin plugs, plus the various misc. other foreign and odd adaptors taking up even more file cabinets.

Were I you given an intent to adapt to something in America or more around the world used, I would adapt to stage pin/slip 2P&G plugs. Same rating, but in general, nope it would seem they are not the same in fitting with other things. Plus that pin configuration/style is not used for much more than air conditioners here.
 

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