Wholehog2PC help, two technos, second at DMX19 won't work here And there

Well basically I usually fix this by lowering our batton that it is on, and turn it off and on.
I am wondering how I can fix this like if it is during a show. Or how I can fix it.
It only happens when the technos have been plugged in with no actual work happening.
  • [quote=NeXEA]Well basically I usually fix this by lowering our batton that it is on, and turn it off and on.
    I am wondering how I can fix this like if it is during a show. Or how I can fix it.
    It only happens when the technos have been plugged in with no actual work happening.

    Have you attempted to send it a rehome command? Depending on setup, a lot of HES fixtures can powerdown when no signal is seen, and some will come back upon DMX presence, and some will want to see a rehome . . .

    Are there any messages on the display when it is down? Since heat buildup will be higher with the shutter/dim flags closed when not working, dirty/marginal fans might cause it to shutdown from overheating as well . . .

    - Tim
  • Well from what I know both instruments are the same. Both have the two lights on that they are receiving so I never though there would be a problem.
    And about the rehome, I have not a clue on how to do that, either from the Hog2PC or the instrument. I have always been able to turn it off, and back on, and then it works.
    Any idea on how I can do a rehome from the Hog2PC or is it strictly instrument done.
    I remember one of my friends had a guy from Olden lighting come out and did something for Lamp ON or something as we have had this problem before.

    Our two instruments are High End TechnoBeam Hi. The second one in the DMX wiring is the one messed up.

    Thanks for responding.
  • [quote=NeXEA]Well from what I know both instruments are the same. Both have the two lights on that they are receiving so I never though there would be a problem.
    And about the rehome, I have not a clue on how to do that, either from the Hog2PC or the instrument. I have always been able to turn it off, and back on, and then it works.
    Any idea on how I can do a rehome from the Hog2PC or is it strictly instrument done.
    I remember one of my friends had a guy from Olden lighting come out and did something for Lamp ON or something as we have had this problem before.

    Our two instruments are High End TechnoBeam Hi. The second one in the DMX wiring is the one messed up.

    Thanks for responding.
    On your Hog, go into Beam Parameters, and find the wheel that controls the control channel. Set it to "Home". Then, if the Technobeam is like all other HES fixtures, find the wheel controlling the shutter/strobe, and close it. This should force a rehome from the console. You can also shut the fixture down from the console, by setting the control channel to "Shutdown" and closing the shutter. You might want to make sure that somehow this hasn't errantly found it's way into a cue or something, since that could also cause the problem that you are seeing.

    - Tim
  • Alright. I understand, but I can't seem to find the Beam Parameters. Is it under the setup, or is there a shortcut.
  • [quote=NeXEA]Alright. I understand, but I can't seem to find the Beam Parameters. Is it under the setup, or is there a shortcut.

    On the programmer, you have four major keys - Group, Position, Color and Beam. Hit Beam, and it will assign the first three beam parameters to the wheels - most likely gobo, gobo mode, and gobo rotate. Note that there are soft keys above the screen showing what else can be on those wheels - two of the functions are shutter and control (most likely the last two). Either hit the appropriate soft key, or keep hitting beam until those are on the wheels, and then adjust the wheels accordingly. Sorry I can't tell you exactly how many presses, and/or which wheels, these will appear on, but my Hog is inaccessable at the moment . . .

    I am assuming you know how to use the gobos on the Trackspot, yes? If so, you are 95% of the way there . . . . . there is nothing in setup or anything deeper on the console for this - they are core functions of the fixtures, and are defined in the fixture library.

    - Tim
  • Alright. I was able to find it and set it to home, and turned the strobe to closed.
    I am away from the technos but will be there tomorrow and shall test it.

    Hopefully it works
  • [quote=NeXEA]Alright. I was able to find it and set it to home, and turned the strobe to closed.
    I am away from the technos but will be there tomorrow and shall test it.

    Hopefully it works

    Please let me know . . . and while that will sure beat the heck out of climbing every time this happens, it would still be nice to know what is going on. Can you also check (before you repower/rehome) if you have any control of anything - like the mirror, or is everything gone? And if you can also look at the display again (unless you have them turned off) and see if there is any error or status displayed. (If they are off, you might want to turn the display back on on this fixture to try to get a handle on what is going on . . . ).

    Hopefully one of the HES guys will chime in here with some additional suggestions as well - I know a bunch of HES fixtures, but don't have any Technos myself, so am a tad limited on how much I can help you with there . . .

    - Tim
  • All's well that ends well. The control from hog worked, and haven't had a problem since.
    Plan to ask the Olden guy when he comes out for our dance show in about a month

    Thanks for your help :]
  • [quote=NeXEA]All's well that ends well. The control from hog worked, and haven't had a problem since.
    Plan to ask the Olden guy when he comes out for our dance show in about a month

    Thanks for your help :]

    Fantastic! While it would still be nice to know what is happening with the Techno, at least this makes the issue managable!

    - Tim
  • Well When I looked at the control it's in idle.
    Do they just go into idle randomly or is it preset.
  • "Idle" should be where it sits by default....it should also go back there once you are done using a control function.

    Hope this helps:)
  • [quote=NeXEA]Well When I looked at the control it's in idle.
    Do they just go into idle randomly or is it preset.

    Exactly. Idle will be the default position, basically a "no-op" to the fixture, and since DMX has to have a value, it is where the control channel sits unless you give it a different value.

    So, nothing to worry about . . . .

    Now if you go through your cue stack and see that it ever gets changed to other values, now *THAT* might be a problem. While not terribly common, it is possible to bump that encoder when changing through the beam stuff, and errantly record a value. (That in itself is the reason for the control channel plus shutter closed combination for control commands to work - to reduce the chances of errant parameters, but it can happen . . . ).

    The status I am still interested in is the status displayed on the Techno itself when it goes away . . . it should be alternating between "19" (The DMX address) and Vxxx (xxx being the s/w version number). Otherwise, it would be an error - such as "OVER TEMP" scrolling on the display. The Techno manual gives some troubleshooting info as well. The other pending question is, when the fixture goes away, is it just lamped off, or do you lose all other control functions? (IE, can you still get the mirror, etc. to move or not?). If a true shutdown, all will go away, if you still have mirror etc., then the fixture just lamped off for some reason . . . socket, heat, old lamp, voltage dip to the fixture on the truss - a number of things can cause that to happen.

    - Tim
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