AF1000 not responding to or passing DMX

So, the AF1000 we have at work recently, mid show, stopped responding to DMX. It also stopped passing DMX to the fixtures past it. I thought it was a cable issue, but bypassed the fixture by connecting the cables together, and all is well (other than not having the AF1000 in the loop now).

I notice in the schematics that the DMX passes through a relay for some reason before being sent back out. Is it possible that this relay is broken? I haven't had a chance to crack the puppy open and have a look yet, but I'm trying to get an idea where to look.

Thanks,

Jeff
  • 0
    I had the same problem with a pair I had.. basically the cable goes from the XLR to a Phoenix connector. I re-did the phoenix connector end and reseated it and now they work great. It might just be come corrosion or loose connection. Give that a try.

    Ryan
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    Well, that wasn't it. After playing around with things a bit, I discovered some interesting info, but was unable to get the fixture to work, yet.

    first of all, if the fixture is powered off, but connected in the DMX chain, it passes DMX perfectly. If you then plug fixture in, you hear the relay click once, and everything after it in the chain stops recieving DMX.
    The fixture works great in self test mode, and stand-alone mode.

    I need to get out my scope and see if I can see what's going on, but it looks like, when the fixture's off, the relay directly connects the ins and outs, as well as connecting the in to the optocoupler. When the fixture is powered on (or at least when the relay is triggered) The output is driven by a line driver, rather than directly by the input. The line driver is driven by the output of the opto.

    The serial recieve led, and the micro are also both driven by the opto. Since none of these 3 things (the opto, the led, and the micro) seem to be getting signal, and that makes me think the opto has gone out.

    Is this a common failure in the AF1000? Is there some other component that might be causing the opto to malfunction?
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