Ridgeyard 36x10 LED MH Problem

Robert F Jarvis

Well-Known Member
We use several of these low priced uniss and reckon for a small theatre they are a good bang for buck. But one of our units recently developed a problem. When going through start up or when manaually operating Pan the head only goes around 2/3 of a full curcle and then the thing graunches like mad. With power off we can turn it through its full 540 deg. But once the power applies we get this grinding sound as the unit tries to force the head beyond a certian point. It sounds very much to be a mechanical problem. We have tried factory reset a couple of times and opened the unit to see if there was any obvious breakage or obstruction.
 
Sounds to me like there might be a stripped gear in the pan motor/gearbox. I think it is time to pull it apart and have a look inside. I doubt you will be able to get replacement parts but it is worth a look. Remember these were a low budget item so sometimes it is best to cut and run instead of spending time and effort on repairs.
Let us know how you get on.
Regards
Geoff
 
Really hard to show so no picture. Taking covers off and looking in base there is a loose screw that is interfering with the rotation. It's in a really difficult to access place. I'm seeing if I can either get it out or secure it. I wont spend too much time on it comments about cutting and running very valid. Thanks for the help.
 
What I've noticed while watching my LX tech work on movers - things that spin/move freely while powered off, and grind when powered, have lost whatever sensor is used to index the pan, tilt, or gobo/color wheels, as may be appropriate.

Martin used Hall effect sensors with tiny magnets glued to the things that moved. The magnets would eventually fall of due to heat and age. The belt or stepper would reach the end of physical travel but the fixture hadn't gotten the message.

Good luck.
 
With the covers off the head turns on a wide cassion cylinder. The bottom of the cylinder has a small metal "Stop" extending down from a point on the bottom circumference. This swings around until it hits the "Offical" stop bar lower down. In this case a screw (difficult to see in center of 2nd picture) had come loose and hence stopped full rotation. Can I get it out or tighten it in such a hard to get location? Not sure yet but either way educational and maybe spare parts. The fans in these can get very noisy so that will be the first forage.
 

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Well they got the screw in there so I guess there is a way to get to it. It might take some time to get there but if you are like me and like to tinker in your down time it might be a good project. If you do make it all the way in there a drop of thread lock to stop it happening again might be in order.
Keep us informed with what you decide to do.
Regards
Geoff
 

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