Automated Fixtures What spare parts should i have on hand for moving light service

Johnb73

Member
First: i used the search and could not find anything this specific, sorry if i missed something...

I service all sorts of different flavors of Mover. I have been very spoiled by working in a shop environment with all the tools i need at my disposal and the ability to order a part a phone call away. More recently i have begun doing field service, this is where the problems come in. It is not always cost effective to do a diagnosis, order the part and go back to the job site...

Other than replacing my broken meter i think i am all set with tool suggestions. I carry a parts bin with some spare driver chips(martin, HES and VL), some DMX chips, a few common caps, two different Martin steppers, 2 different HES steppers and 1 VL stepper(dont see too much VL action),a spare fan that will fit in a good chunk of movers out there, 5pin and 3 pin XLR, Edison connectors as well as L6-20 connectors and an assortment of high temp wire and hardware.

What other parts do you suggest i carry with me?

Edit: forgot i also bring at least 2 of just about any fuse i will ever need
 
Extra screws... I have dropped more than one while fixing a hanging mover... Looking for a small black screw on a black floor is not fun... So definitely an assortment of various screws.
 
A netbook with wireless online access, as well as every pdf of every manual you have on them loaded on the HD.

Information is often the most critical missing part.
 
First off, welcome to the booth! Stop by the New Members forum to introduce yourself.

I'm actually in the process of assembling my own kit for much the same purpose. I tend to mostly work on VLs and less so on Martin products, so apologies if anything here isn't quite relevant. Service manuals on a laptop are great, service manuals in a binder are even better, and phone numbers are critical. Screws/nuts/spacers and such are number one for me - it's so easy to drop one and lose sight of it, and nothing brings productivity to a halt like having everyone on the floor looking for a tiny screw. You mentioned driver chips - if you're dealing with VL1Ks at all, add a few more of those to the kit. Don't forget the dental pick if you don't have one. Keep small zip ties on hand - useful when you need to rip apart a bundle inside a fixture. Even though it's not your responsibility, having a few spare lamps might be useful to get someone out of a jam - really depends on what kinds of customers you're working with. If you're doing a high-level gig far away from replacement parts, having a few spare modules for the most prominent fixtures wouldn't be a bad idea - much quicker to just swap a gobo module than spend hours repairing and diagnosing a problem.

There's a number of specialty parts for VL fixtures that I can think of (tilt motor and drive pully assembly for 3500s), but probably not worth it since you said you don't deal with VL much. I also have a USB drive with a number of show files for different consoles that contain test sequences for a number of fixtures - there are some times when testing the fixture via DMX is preferable to running internal tests. On that note, some fixtures require a loopback connector to run internal self-tests as a group, in addition to a terminator, so having those on hand wouldn't be a bad idea.

No matter how many parts you have in your kit, you're always gonna find yourself wanting that one thing you don't have - unless of course, a fully functional spare fixture is one of the "parts" you have with you. You just need to define the line between work that can be done on-site and work that requires a service swap/repair in the shop, and plan your parts accordingly. Honestly, I'd just go to your shop and look through every spare part you have on the shelves, and determine what you need most often versus what you can afford to spend on parts. Everyone who's ever worked on a moving light will probably give you different answers based on what they worked with and what they saw. For the 3500s that came back a few weeks ago from an outdoor gig, my most preferable tool would probably have been a garden hose or a trash compacter. :grin:
 
Are you working more doing repair where you go to a venue and repair their fixtures, or are you working as a show/tour tech where the priority is getting the fixtures up for the show and proper repairs can be made later in the shop?

Either way sensors would be another good-to-have spare.


For the 3500s that came back a few weeks ago from an outdoor gig, my most preferable tool would probably have been a garden hose or a trash compacter. :grin:

Did you have fixtures on one of those stage-collapses-in-a-storm gigs? Ok, I will admit I HAVE attacked lights with a garden hose before-- however those were parcans covered in mud.
 
... I also have a USB drive with a number of show files for different consoles that contain test sequences for a number of fixtures - there are some times when testing the fixture via DMX is preferable to running internal tests. ...
Definitely. Besides a DMXter-type device, I'd also have ChamSys MagicQ on the laptop and a MagicDMX dongle. Program all your test sequences there as well.
 
First off, welcome to the booth! Stop by the New Members forum to introduce yourself.

I'm actually in the process of assembling my own kit for much the same purpose. I tend to mostly work on VLs and less so on Martin products, so apologies if anything here isn't quite relevant. Service manuals on a laptop are great, service manuals in a binder are even better, and phone numbers are critical. Screws/nuts/spacers and such are number one for me - it's so easy to drop one and lose sight of it, and nothing brings productivity to a halt like having everyone on the floor looking for a tiny screw. You mentioned driver chips - if you're dealing with VL1Ks at all, add a few more of those to the kit. Don't forget the dental pick if you don't have one. Keep small zip ties on hand - useful when you need to rip apart a bundle inside a fixture. Even though it's not your responsibility, having a few spare lamps might be useful to get someone out of a jam - really depends on what kinds of customers you're working with. If you're doing a high-level gig far away from replacement parts, having a few spare modules for the most prominent fixtures wouldn't be a bad idea - much quicker to just swap a gobo module than spend hours repairing and diagnosing a problem.

There's a number of specialty parts for VL fixtures that I can think of (tilt motor and drive pully assembly for 3500s), but probably not worth it since you said you don't deal with VL much. I also have a USB drive with a number of show files for different consoles that contain test sequences for a number of fixtures - there are some times when testing the fixture via DMX is preferable to running internal tests. On that note, some fixtures require a loopback connector to run internal self-tests as a group, in addition to a terminator, so having those on hand wouldn't be a bad idea.

No matter how many parts you have in your kit, you're always gonna find yourself wanting that one thing you don't have - unless of course, a fully functional spare fixture is one of the "parts" you have with you. You just need to define the line between work that can be done on-site and work that requires a service swap/repair in the shop, and plan your parts accordingly. Honestly, I'd just go to your shop and look through every spare part you have on the shelves, and determine what you need most often versus what you can afford to spend on parts. Everyone who's ever worked on a moving light will probably give you different answers based on what they worked with and what they saw. For the 3500s that came back a few weeks ago from an outdoor gig, my most preferable tool would probably have been a garden hose or a trash compacter. :grin:

No idea why i never thought to bring my laptop with service manuals! awesome idea.

I always have a mess of extra nuts, bolts, spacers, washers, crimps, cable ties(thanks to ETC install packages). i just call it my "hardware" bin

I see VL 2ks more than i see vl 1ks... for the VL2000 i usually bring a spare ballast with me ha ha. just like if im going to fix an old cyberlight i have to bring a logic board as well as some patience to re solder the inputs and switches

Typically(unless i take a different truck) i have a Swisson DMX tool with me. the show file would be nice to have but i deal with a lot of things that are tied in with some sort of building controller instead of a console (think pharos controls and the like.)

Im pretty good about determining what is worth figuring out on site vs bringing the light back to the shop with me vs going back with additional parts.
 
Are you working more doing repair where you go to a venue and repair their fixtures, or are you working as a show/tour tech where the priority is getting the fixtures up for the show and proper repairs can be made later in the shop?

Either way sensors would be another good-to-have spare.

I do on site repairs, installations, building automation, low voltage controls, in shop repairs as well as maintenance of our rental inventory. But MOSTLY deal with going to a venue and fixing there stuff or having them bring it to me(hate when they bring me a light that tests out fine and never think that it might be their cable runs)
 
Did you have fixtures on one of those stage-collapses-in-a-storm gigs? Ok, I will admit I HAVE attacked lights with a garden hose before-- however those were parcans covered in mud.

Not that I'm aware of. These particular fixtures had been out with a touring outdoor event type thing for multiple months, and came back absolutely COVERED in clay, dirt, muck, grime, and general unhappiness. When we opened the road cases up, moths flew out of quite a few of them, and I even had a moth fly out of one of the bodies when we opened it up.

(hate when they bring me a light that tests out fine and never think that it might be their cable runs)

My favorite is when working with VL1Ks (oh how I hate those things) when they come back for a Tilt error, and all it takes is a little push on the metal tabs to keep them from smashing into the yoke to fix it. Such an expensive and time-consuming process for a fix that doesn't even require opening up the light at all. And it happens ALL THE TIME when crews take the fixtures out of cases roughly and don't realize they're bending out the metal tabs.
 
My favorite is when working with VL1Ks (oh how I hate those things) when they come back for a Tilt error, and all it takes is a little push on the metal tabs to keep them from smashing into the yoke to fix it.

Hey, I loved those things a few months ago! Seems like something to add to the whole "Is it turned on, does it have power, does it have good batteries (not quite applicable here, but common), does it have DMX..." thing.
 
Not that I'm aware of. These particular fixtures had been out with a touring outdoor event type thing for multiple months, and came back absolutely COVERED in clay, dirt, muck, grime, and general unhappiness. When we opened the road cases up, moths flew out of quite a few of them, and I even had a moth fly out of one of the bodies when we opened it up.

Did you find anything in them (that didn't start out/belong there) that's bigger than any of the vent holes? I watched a tech pull gravel size rocks out of some lights that had been on a BMX/monster truck/something involving masses of dirt show. We couldn't figure out for the life of us how they got in there as the rocks were significantly larger than any vents on the fixtures. I think the conclusion was either prank or the set up the mover hospital IN a dirt pit.
 

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