VL1000 TS Yay or Nay

Les

Well-Known Member
So, I know a guy who is selling 4 VL1000's. 2 look pretty good and 2 would probably need more work or become parts lights. I met with him and tried to test a couple but got nothing out of them - come to find out, I was plugging in the cable for lamp power, not fixture power.

He wants $200 each or $700 for all 4. Assuming I could get at least two working, does that sound fair? Sounds fair to me, but these are older lights with a bit of mystery (going back to re-test next week armed with a Powercon and a bit more knowledge).

Planning on picking up the two best fixtures and seeing how that goes. While it's only a pair, they'd be a good match to my 4 VL500's.




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Well, If they are working they are a great light for theaters. That being said, the color mixing on those fixtures can be very uneven, although adjusting the bench focus will help.
$200 for each if 2 are working is a very good price, and I personally would take all 4 if it were me. I would think you could get the other 2 working for less than you think.
But, Power them up first, and make sure they at least will calibrate. The only "big ticket" items are the Main control board and the Low voltage supply. If either of these have failed, you could be paying upward of $1000 for a replacement part.
Good Luck!
 
I just did a show with some and I enjoyed them. The version that I used did not have shutters. They didn't make any noise at all until they moved, then they made a lot of noise that probably wouldn't work so well in a straight play. I wouldn't reset them during a show if it had an issue either. They sounded like a helicopter whenever they reset. They had a pretty good zoom range, and of course since they were tungsten, they blended perfectly. I had about a 30' throw distance and they still worked well.

My only complaint was that for some reason the ION did not like them with automarking enabled. We had to program them the old fashioned way of setting their position with the lamp off in the previous cue. Everything else in the air had no issues with marking except for them.
 
Thanks for your input guys! I'm pretty confident that at least two will be good to go but I'll probably buy them in phases. When said and done I'll have a pretty decent little VL package - maybe I could turn around and rent them to local theatres and schools.

Wait... That sounds risky ;).
 
So, I know a guy who is selling 4 VL1000's. 2 look pretty good and 2 would probably need more work or become parts lights. I met with him and tried to test a couple but got nothing out of them - come to find out, I was plugging in the cable for lamp power, not fixture power.

He wants $200 each or $700 for all 4. Assuming I could get at least two working, does that sound fair? Sounds fair to me, but these are older lights with a bit of mystery (going back to re-test next week armed with a Powercon and a bit more knowledge).

Planning on picking up the two best fixtures and seeing how that goes. While it's only a pair, they'd be a good match to my 4 VL500's.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
So, I know a guy who is selling 4 VL1000's. 2 look pretty good and 2 would probably need more work or become parts lights. I met with him and tried to test a couple but got nothing out of them - come to find out, I was plugging in the cable for lamp power, not fixture power.

He wants $200 each or $700 for all 4. Assuming I could get at least two working, does that sound fair? Sounds fair to me, but these are older lights with a bit of mystery (going back to re-test next week armed with a Powercon and a bit more knowledge).

Planning on picking up the two best fixtures and seeing how that goes. While it's only a pair, they'd be a good match to my 4 VL500's.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
@Rossp
@Robert

Do you guys mind re-posting your replies? A bug in the forum prevented them from showing up.

Thanks!
 
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I purchased 2 Vl1000TS Feb 2014, and 2 more in December. I do enjoy them. I have them on my FOH truss. Before the VL's i use to have 4 mac2000s and match color temp to my source4s were near impossible.

I paid $2000 per fixture from PRG Torontos used inventory. Even if you were getting them for $1000 per fixture, id consider it.

I have the shutter control fixture, and i havent had any problems yet with the fixtures. BUT its only been a year.
 
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I purchased 2 Vl1000TS Feb 2014, and 2 more in December. I do enjoy them. I have them on my FOH truss. Before the VL's i use to have 4 mac2000s and match color temp to my source4s were near impossible.

I paid $2000 per fixture from PRG Torontos used inventory. Even if you were getting them for $1000 per fixture, id consider it.

I have the shutter control fixture, and i havent had any problems yet with the fixtures. BUT its only been a year.

I'm not sure if these have the shutter module... Probably. I noticed that one of the better units was missing its DMX input board, but I have a spare laying around that I pulled out of a VL500 parts unit.

I'll get the DL on two of them tomorrow and will let you all know how the initial testing goes!
 
@Wood4321

Looks like I will pass on the VL1000's. Went and got a closer look today - the nicer of the two units are both missing their main PCB assemblies and Low Voltage Supplies (basically, both yoke arms are empty). It's a shame because the fixture heads look to be in great shape.

One of the rougher units had the PCB but with a cracked LCD. The fourth unit, I'm not sure of, but the LCD window had nothing in it - not a good sign.

Ah well.

Looks like I lucked out when I bought his VL500's but the VL1000's are looking like a no-go unless Vari-Lite (who is local to me) is willing to cut a real deal on some parts.


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You are right, and I can't help but see the potential. Thinking out loud here, but I wonder if at least the Low Voltage Supply is cross-compatible with that of a VL500. If so, I have a donor unit and could easily get my hands on another. [EDIT: in looking at the service manuals, the VL1000 uses a 150w LVS while the VL500's is 120w, so they are not compatible]. I'm positive that the MCB isn't the same.

Maybe a call to LightParts is in store. Surely they have cannibalized units around.

I know one of the worse-off units has the MCB. Replacing its cracked LCD doesn't scare me, even if it involves soldering. The LVS is probably there too. I'd have to go look again - I got a bit discouraged when I looked at the nice units and found the yokes empty so I didn't look too hard at the others.

Finale edit: I believe the LVS is made by a company called Nemic Lambda. I'd have to know the exact model number, but doing a quick Google search led me to similar 150w supplies costing between $50 and $100. Doesn't get me all the way there, but it's a start. The MCB I'm sure would have to come from VL but I'm almost convinced that someone at LightParts or UsedLighting would have one kicking around in a donor unit somewhere.

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I would call lightparts, and at least get an idea of how much you are looking at for parts.
That makes a lot more sense why they were priced so low. Good luck!
 
Thanks. I have actually been in contact with someone who is close to Vari-Lite and might have a stash of parts. I will let you guys know how it works out.
 
By the way, if anyone needs any VL parts, PM me and tell me what to look for. I might find it.
 

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