Platinum Spot 5R Pan/Tilt Different than Programmed Cues

[jdsilverm]

Hey everyone. Thank you in advance for all your help. You, and this forum, have always been so helpful to me in the past and I always feel bad that my lack of knowledge prohibits me from offering the same level of support! HAHA!

Anyways, quick info: Large church in SW FL running a Congo KID console running latest software. Three Elation Platinum Spot 15Rs PROs, 6 Elation Platinum Spot 5Rs (not PROs), 8 Chauvet QSpot 260s, lots of LED PARs, and tons of conventional fixtures. Most of the intelligent fixtures are only a year old and the 15Rs are practically new and we have been enjoying them.

I have searched CB Forums for a possible answer to this but have come up empty: after programming a large Christmas show the past few days, one of our Platinum Spot 5Rs is now completely off with pan/tilt. All the other parameters are correct, but the pan/tilt locations are WAY off. Mostly pan, but a tiny bit tilt. I consulted some of my co-workers and they confirmed that ever since we have owned the 5Rs, every once in a great while they will change pan/tilt dynamics and have to be re-cued. Luckily, we only have 10 or so cues on a Sunday morning that need to be checked. Then, after re-programming they are fine.

Well, I have 140 cues that I was trying to avoid checking. But, if I need to I will. BUT, my main point was to come on the forums and see if anyone else has ever experienced this before with either the Platinum Spot 5R (or any other fixture), and possible solutions to avoid this in the future.

Thanks again for all your help!

JDSILVERM

P.S. Since people always ask me, and I love to share reviews: yes, we love the Congo KID console! It took only a short time to learn the RPN, but it is now so intuitive and fun! Also, we love the ETC iPhone app so we can control it anywhere in the building. ETC has been such a great help with their world-famous support. Also, I know we took a chance on the Elation fixtures, but honestly our budget would not allow us to get into any moving fixtures without going to the prosumer market. Actually, they have been fantastic. For the money they can't be beat. We did have one problem with a 5R a few months ago, but Elation took care of it no problem. The QSpots have been great. Not a single problem (so far!). The 15Rs are brand new and are so powerful! But, just wanted to share! Let me know if I can answer any questions about our stock.

 

[doctrjohn]

Are you programming your presets (cues) using palettes or hard DMX values? If you are not using palettes I would strongly suggest doing so as it makes changes/updates like this much faster; you update one palette and all of your presets referencing that palette will use those updated values.

Is the problem always with the same particular fixture, or has it affected several/all of them? Is it wrong in every preset, or only certain presets? If you reset/home the fixture, then refresh the preset, does it still hit the same (wrong) location or is it now in the correct focus location?

Best,
John

 

[porkchop]

First off I'll second using focus palettes. They are by far the easiest way to make a few small adjustments and have them immediately be implemented in the entirety of the show. This goes doubly so given that you have a preset console (that's what ETC call's it at least).

As far as the light goes as soon as a given Pan/Tilt value doesn't bring the light up in the same location I'd want to send the light a reset command. Sometimes you can do this immediately, but if you're in the middle of a show you might have to wait. Regardless, a given Pan/Tilt value should put the light in the same place every time. If the light still seems to wander I'd look into it and see if there's a pattern (e.g. is the light moving a few steps in the same direction every reset/power cycle) and if I could find a pattern (or anything else consistent enough that a repair tech could reproduce it) I'd call the manufacturer. Little issues turn into big problems down the road and I'd imagine you'd rather Elation fix it now under warranty than later on your dime.

 

[bishopthomas]

Yep, reset it first and watch what happens. It may not be homing properly. If it thinks that something other than straight up is not home then there's a problem, probably with the sensor. Are you sure that both pan AND tilt are incorrect? It would be strange (but not impossible) for both sensors to go at the same time.

How do you like the 15R Pros? I have 5R's and love them when they work. I decided not to buy any more because I had so many issues, even though the 5R Pro is exactly what I'm looking for in a fixture. Good luck with them.

 

[jdsilverm]

Hey everyone. Thanks for all the replies so far. First, wow, have never done any work with "palettes" before. I will research these immediately and see what the deal is with those. I can't believe I haven't worked with these before!! I feel embarrassed!

Second, yes, sent the problem fixture a reset command from the console. It reset appropriately and seemed to home correctly. However, no that you mention it, I wasn't paying as much attention, so I will check it out tomorrow. Third, I don't know if it's the same fixture with the pan/tilt issue or if it changes between 5Rs. Again, it's only the 5Rs that have exhibited this behavior before, but I don't know if it's the same one. If it IS, then we will definitely send it back when the show is over because it's still under warranty.

Fourth, I am actually NOT sure if it's the pan AND tilt, or just the pan. It's definitely the pan but can't tell enough yet to see if it's the tilt for sure. I will check that out as well.

Lastly, bishopthomas: we LOVE the 15R PROs. They have a HUGE output and tons of features for the price point, including wireless DMX!! It's fantastic so far, but it has only been 2 months that we've had them, so only time will tell. But, needless to say, there are no other fixtures with the output and feature set at the same price. Literally in a class by itself. Incidentally, the first 15R that we received as a demo from our dealer arrived damaged. Could have been by UPS, but the box looked OK. So, we deduced it was probably broken early on. We lifted the fixture out of the box and immediately heard all the lens glass moving around in the light and knew right away it was broken. The lenses were shattered. Our dealer sent another one immediately and it took some paperwork logistics to sort-out, but it was worth it!