Question about Source 4s

[tommac]

ok i work at a small community theater outside st louis. Im having some troubles with my source 4s. they are source 4 750s. Right now we are running 575 watt lamps in them and they are blowing pretty bad, and sometimes the lamps nearly fuse with the light itself. im not running running them to their max power (the board prevents is programmed not to (bosses idea)) does anybody know whats going on? thank you

 

[SteveB]

ok i work at a small community theater outside st louis. Im having some troubles with my source 4s. they are source 4 750s. Right now we are running 575 watt lamps in them and they are blowing pretty bad, and sometimes the lamps nearly fuse with the light itself. im not running running them to their max power (the board prevents is programmed not to (bosses idea)) does anybody know whats going on? thank you

Sounds like sockets have gone bad. Putting a new lamp in a bad socket just causes the new lamp to go early. Take off the back cap and examine the porcelain socket. If there's charring/pitting, the socket is fried and needs to be replaced. This is an easy process, BTW and you can get sockets easily enough from your local dealer, Bulbtronics, Barbizon, Production Advantage, etc...

 

[derekleffew]

Expounding on Steve's answer, see KnowledgeBase: The Lamp in the Source Four Seems to Fail Prematurely - Electronic Theatre Controls :

1. Be sure to observe proper lamp handling procedures and never touch the lamp envelope.
2. Check lamp socket for pitting and signs of arcing and replace as necessary.
3. Check voltage at the fixture with a true RMS voltmeter & trim dimmer output as necessary. The voltage output of the dimmer at full should not exceed the rating of the lamp. Various lamp voltages and hour ratings are available.
4. Try using lamps from a different production run / different manufacturer.

Re: #2, Arcing in the lamp socket is often caused by lamps not being fully seated in the socket. New sockets can often be quite stiff, requiring more force than one might think necessary to drive the lamp home.
Re: #3, See the paper: Lamp Life: Factors that Influence Proper Selection.pdf.

 

[SteveB]

New sockets can often be quite stiff, requiring more force than one might think necessary to drive the lamp home.

And expanding on Dereks comment, this is very useful tool used to seat S4 lamps. Prevents contact with oily fingers and damaging the lamp. It's a proprietary tool sold only by Production Advantage, well worth the $10. Just buy a couple as they tend to walk.

Best Seat Lamp Insertion Tool, for HPL Lamps

SB

See also the thread Best Seat, lamp insertion tool - ControlBooth .