Hi, I am an new ATD and at my new job I have inherited alot of old problems. One of them is an ETC Expression 2x console and it has been giving me a great deal of trouble recently and I was wondering if the problems are fixable or should I just replace the board with something a little more modern. The first issue we are having is that it will stop holding dimmers when scrolling through dimmers; we have to shut down the board and turn it back on to fix it. Second issue is the board occasionally drops all show data: cues, patching, effects, everything. And the third is, if in a cue, it will clear it by itself however the display information says the cue is still up. Are these issues that can be fixed or would it just be more cost effective to buy a replacement board? What are your thoughts on this?
Time for a new Lightboard?
- Thread starterSwiftech
- Start date
I would call ETC first. I was having major issues almost as bad with my Colortran Innovator last summer. It was dropping data, swaping what was recorded in a cue with a submaster....all kind of weird funky stuff. It turns out I had a corrupt data file in my base "basic patch" file I was using. A new software upgrade was all I needed. (even though the website said I was using the latest, the website was wrong).
Call support.
Kenneth Pogin
Production / Tour Manager
Minnesota Ballet
Call support.
Kenneth Pogin
Production / Tour Manager
Minnesota Ballet
Make sure that you save your show to disk before trying the deep clear as it will reset your console back to factory defaults.
Also, as everyone has already beaten me to it, call us at 800-688-4116 and we can do some troubleshooting with you to narrow down exactly where this problem is stemming from. Chances are we can repair your console for a LOT less than it would cost for a new console. (Unless you were looking for an excuse to get an Ion
)
jmabray
Active Member
Cause it can also cause more problems than it solves. It's not that it does any damage to the console or anything,but how many phone calls do you think the factory would get with people complaining they just lost all their data due to a deep clear? Lots and lots....
You can either call the factory, or if you prefer someone a little closer than that, you can call me. I am the local ETC rep for DFW and will be glad to help you out. PM me if your interested.
You can either call the factory, or if you prefer someone a little closer than that, you can call me. I am the local ETC rep for DFW and will be glad to help you out. PM me if your interested.
With the Expression line, isn't there some "junk" that gets left in the memory? I know they use a battery to power the flash memory, which never gets turned off. So when say I load a show file, does it completely removed everything from the flash (except for console software) as well as the RAM (it does use some sort of RAM, right?)?
I would think it would actually be good to do that every few months or so, kinda like on the wholehog II's (except that's a daily/weekly routine).
I do see your point about people clearing stuff without realizing what it does since the Expressions are mostly targeted towards the non-professional arena. I haven't ever heard of Flying fig having trouble with that, but theoretically those would be used more in the professional arena where A. the shows are backed up and B. the techs are more likely to know what they are doing.
I would think it would actually be good to do that every few months or so, kinda like on the wholehog II's (except that's a daily/weekly routine).
I do see your point about people clearing stuff without realizing what it does since the Expressions are mostly targeted towards the non-professional arena. I haven't ever heard of Flying fig having trouble with that, but theoretically those would be used more in the professional arena where A. the shows are backed up and B. the techs are more likely to know what they are doing.
Anybody giving away old lightboards give me a call... I can add that to my list of things I'm fixing (I really need to stop offering to help people fix their whatever).
I don't really know the expressions, but the express is a great board for schools... though on a few occasions I found it a little limiting. For theatre, band concerts, assemblies it's GREAT. For battle of the bands or dance type stuff I could have used 3-4 cue stacks and better effects, but hey most high schools don't do those type of shows... so overall it's great.
I don't really know the expressions, but the express is a great board for schools... though on a few occasions I found it a little limiting. For theatre, band concerts, assemblies it's GREAT. For battle of the bands or dance type stuff I could have used 3-4 cue stacks and better effects, but hey most high schools don't do those type of shows... so overall it's great.
We had one high school get a completely new building. Bulldozed the old one. They've got a completely new Strand system waiting for them at the new place so the old Express went into surplus and my friend at another school in the same district get's to replace his ancient Colortran board.
Which brings up a good lesson. If another school in your district is going to have major remodel or outright replacement of its theater. You would be wise to contact the people in charge at that school to find out what they are going to surplus. If you are not part of the school district you will probably have to try to pick it up at some sort of auction but that's certainly doable.
Which brings up a good lesson. If another school in your district is going to have major remodel or outright replacement of its theater. You would be wise to contact the people in charge at that school to find out what they are going to surplus. If you are not part of the school district you will probably have to try to pick it up at some sort of auction but that's certainly doable.
Ah, I was trying to figure out how a school got away with giving away stuff... now that makes a little more sense.
It is so sad with how gear gets trashed at some schools... I thought my HS was bad til I went to help out at this middle school over the summer. This school however was more victim of a problem staff member... who bought dimmers that required 3ph- 60A. There isn't 3-phase anywhere near the theatre :-(. They've also got half DMX and half microplex gear.
Another school (at whom I know the teacher) had a descent system, she went to another school for a year, and now it's trashed. Now I get to go try to salvage enough to pull off their next production... hoping these have internal fuses!
It is so sad with how gear gets trashed at some schools... I thought my HS was bad til I went to help out at this middle school over the summer. This school however was more victim of a problem staff member... who bought dimmers that required 3ph- 60A. There isn't 3-phase anywhere near the theatre :-(. They've also got half DMX and half microplex gear.
Another school (at whom I know the teacher) had a descent system, she went to another school for a year, and now it's trashed. Now I get to go try to salvage enough to pull off their next production... hoping these have internal fuses!
Tex
Active Member
It's too bad there's not some sort of public school clearing house for surplus equipment. I have an old Yamaha analog mixer and a Colortran Encore taking up space in storage. They both work, so someone could be using them until they die. (I also have an old Soundcraft mixer that's about to be replaced, but I get the pleasure of watching that die by my own hand!
) I hate knowing that there's someone out there who needs my old equipment...
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A quick search through some of the sites listed at Sources for Used Equipment shows comparable boards (Expresses, Expression3s) offered in the range of $4000-$12,000, so it would be fiscally irresponsible to NOT at least get an estimate of repair costs.
[Unless, as starksk suggested, you're looking to upgrade, and have the ~$6000-$8000 available).
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