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norty303 View Drop Down
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    Posted: 26 January 2015 at 5:50pm
Anyone care to offer some advice?

Its a Showtec Titan 3000/Spektronic Thunderdrome 3000 (same unit, different brands)

When powered I get fan ok (subsequently found to be because the fan is paralleled to the main AC incomer where it joins the main PSU baord)

But I get no power indicator on the LED on the rear panel.

I've had it apart and found there's a small transformer that supplies ~10.5VAC back to the main transformer board, and this then goes via a ribbon cable to the main control board.
The control board gets power ok to the ribbon header.

I've verified voltages on another good unit and its all consistent.

Anyone got any ideas where to start with the control board, I've not got much idea but I've got a meter and am not bad with the soldering iron

TBH I was going to leave it as I'm quite scared by the voltages undoubtedly present inside this thing, but now I've established its probably the control side, I'm a bit happier. Yes, I'm aware of residual power after power off, etc and am treating it with significant suspicion!

Its not worth a lot but I've got a load of others, so wouldn't mind it running again as they aren't that common (in the 3k variant, and they out flash Atomics )

I've tried to upload with higher resolution and more compression on the image but it looks like the forum defaults the display size. If you save the image and open in Paint or something there should be enough resolution to read the writing on the board and all the ICs.

I give up, forum is adding extra compression. Here's the full res pic:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3qKCukS6KwROHRGbUNGQ0hvTUE/view?usp=sharing


Edited by norty303 - 26 January 2015 at 5:58pm
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70,s hero View Drop Down
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Points: 637 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 70,s hero Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 January 2015 at 8:01pm
Is it a strobe as in , with a HT discharge lamp?

Edited by 70,s hero - 26 January 2015 at 8:04pm
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service dept Steve View Drop Down
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Fist place to start is with the local power supply. Obviously check the fuse, there should be 10v AC (roughly) around those 4 diodes which are fed by the fuse. Then have a look at that regulator, the voltages should be pin 2 (and tag) Ov, pin 3 should be 5v.  the first pin (left hand side) should be seeing 14.8v, if it is much lower than that replace C8 (which I am assuming is tin between the 4 diodes and the regulator.
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If it is be very careful of the HT, if it triggers and you have your hands inside then it could be very dangerous.
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Originally posted by norty303 norty303 wrote:

Anyone care to offer some advice?



have you tried turning it off and on again?

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service dept Steve View Drop Down
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I assume the Led that is dark is on the other side of the board near Q3 and Q4? And that there is a dil switch on the other side of the board too?
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service dept Steve View Drop Down
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There should also be 5v between pins 1 and 8 on U1
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norty303 View Drop Down
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Points: 8806 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote norty303 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 January 2015 at 8:25pm
Bang on Steve, I'll work my way through that and get back to you.

Yup, fuse was first thing I checked :rolleyes:

And correct with the LEDs and DIP switch unit. LED furthest left is power present, on rightr is DMX signal present.

Those voltages for the regulator, VDC right?
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njw View Drop Down
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Points: 2574 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote njw Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 January 2015 at 8:32pm
   I've got the smaller firecracker 1500w and the little transformer went first, then one of the wires leading to the tube snagged on the edge of the reflector and shorted out, then the bridge rectifier went completely short circuit and blew the fuse in the strobe, the plug, welded the contacts together in the switch in the socket it was plugged into and tripped the main breaker in the building, luckily I had just set up so there was no one there apart from staff. Would I buy another one? Course I would, I know how to mend them now!LOL
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norty303 View Drop Down
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I think this is quite simple TBH and I've got 3 others here all fine. They were about £300 new I think but go for ~£90 used, so great bang for buck (pun intended!)
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I've got a firecracker with a similar fault, micro died
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norty303 View Drop Down
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Fist place to start is with the local power supply. Obviously check the fuse, there should be 10v AC (roughly) around those 4 diodes which are fed by the fuse. Then have a look at that regulator, the voltages should be pin 2 (and tag) Ov, pin 3 should be 5v. the first pin (left hand side) should be seeing 14.8v, if it is much lower than that replace C8 (which I am assuming is tin between the 4 diodes and the regulator.


Ok, got 10.5VAC across the fuse.

Measuring across the diodes individually I get nothing (actually my autoranging meter shows 0.2 odd mV but really nothing)
I checked each of the diodes and get ~5.5MR with the black lead on the cathode and OL/high resistance with the leads reversed.
Its hard to read them but I think they're 1N4007

Measuring across the regulator pins 2-1 and 2-3 I get nothing on either.

I've added some better shots of the front and rear of the board below if thats useful

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3qKCukS6KwRelB0MTRNTEoxdkk/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3qKCukS6KwRdUQ1SE9SelhJT1U/view?usp=sharing

edit: Ok, just poking around on the rear of the board by the diodes, and touched one of the diode legs with a single probe and suddenly the board burst into life! I suspect a dry joint although they all look nice and shiny.
Went round all the diodes and reflowed the solder but upon powering it was dead again... Doh!

edit2: Ok, found the culprit! The fuse holder. When i measured the fuse i did it with at least 1 probe on the fuse body, not the holder only. So the small pressure i was applying was enough to make the contact for continuity. Measuring across just the holder showed it open.
Powering the board and jiggling the fuse gently makes the power switch.
A bit of scraping and some switch cleaner later and its all right as rain again!

Thinking back now, this unit was DOA when i got it, so i took the cover off to see if I could spot anything obvious. I couldn't, but when i put it back together it worked, so i suspect the seller knew it had a problem and sold it off cheap (it was the cheapest of all of mine) as he couldn't track the intermittent fault.

Thus ends a 3 year long saga!

Thank you for the help Steve, if you hadn't prompted me to start poking around, I'd never have found it.

Edited by norty303 - 28 January 2015 at 1:09am
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