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Chauvet Intimidator range

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djgorey View Drop Down
Young Croc
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    Posted: 03 April 2019 at 7:54pm
I’m in the process of sorting out some lighting for my mobile disco rig and am looking for help! I do everything from 60 people in a rugby club to 600 people corporate banquets. For the bigger gigs, there tends to be a proper AV company in with lighting (and some very nice PA’s) so I don’t worry too much about them, but my Christmas party nights can be 300 people in a hotel and need lights to cover that. 

I’m looking at the Chauvet Intimidator range, specifically the Spot 255/260 and the smaller ones. I was just wondering if anybody has any experience with these? I can’t find a dealer close by to go and have a look, so if any opinions would be gratefully received. 

An alternative, that I’m considering, would be 4 Martin Minimacs (on eBay for £1k), but I don’t know how they compare to the modern LED ones. 

There’s a final question I have on DMX, but I might save that for a different thread

Thanks all

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote imageoven Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 April 2019 at 10:04am
We have eight 255's which have been in hire stock for a couple of years. They mainly go out for hotel christmas party hires (so in for a month or so) rather than in and out every week, a few other jobs through the year so not realy heavy use (no dry hire) but we have had no problems other than the gobo covers geting lost. The manual only focus limits them a bit as if they had remote focus I think they'd get used more for custom logo gobo projection.

No complaints about brightness, a decent range of stand alone options and usable menu system.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mk2_ginger_biscuit69 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 April 2019 at 10:24am
we have some spot 150's and spot 250's for smaller stuff, which are fairly decent output for what they are. Hard to compare to a discharge fixture, however, if you aren't using anything brighter, it will show decent output. Again, the gobowheel covers are useless!!

Saying this, ill have four 250's out with four isolution imove 200sr (essentially a minimac clone but marginally brighter) so can show a pic then.

Don't bother with the minimac, ive had a LOT over the years, they weren't very well made to begin with, and are all knackered at this point in time. You will only ever have 2/4 serviceable at any point LOL.
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djgorey View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote djgorey Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 April 2019 at 10:39am
Thanks for the point on the minimacs. They were attractive for sentimental reasons and the price, but not a lot else!

I'm probably going to go for the 155's. They seem to be the right combination of sufficient brightness, portability, price and user-friendliness. One of the things I like about them is that DMX channel 11 has settings for sound-to-light movement so I can use DMX to do the little bits that I want to programme my lights for (like putting a spot on the dancefloor for the first dance) and then just set them to Sound to light from the desk (virtual one on my laptop) for the rest of the disco.

There's a set of 4 Clay Paky MiniScan HPE's that my heart says to get, but my head says "you don't know anything about maintenance so don't bother"!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mk2_ginger_biscuit69 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 April 2019 at 10:51am
yeah, all the old scans etc are superb, but, they are heavy, awkward, need regular maintenance (and you often have to create your own solutions as parts are rare/expensive), and for your purposes, rarely have sound to light shows worth using.

I would go for something modern & new. Its cheap enough these days, and means you have access to parts etc. One thing i would look at if you're aiming for sound to light and a bit of DMX... whether the standalone programming has options for positioning.

My favourite feature of the minimacs was pan & tilt range limiting, could stick them anywhere, then define the area they worked in. My imove 200sr's go a step further, with 4 standalone modes, one for full pan & tilt, floor forward only (ie: for disco it only shines out to crowd), flown forward only, and corner mode (limits to forward 45degree pan, 90degree tilt). Even better, they have a 2head show built in so you assign the slave heads 1 or 2, and they do some fairly decent stuff. I don't like to stand behind a desk unless its for a proper show (and indeed, clients don't tend to pay for disco lampies)....

Summary of above, try and find fixtures with location settings, it makes all the difference!!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote djgorey Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 April 2019 at 11:07am
Funnily enough, that is something that I have been looking at too. There is a pan and tilt limit setting in the menu for the 155's, but it seems to be overridden by the sound to light setting - I don't want the light pointing backwards lots, mainly because they'll blind me. It could be though, that when the sound to light is sent through DMX, that the limits work. I need to find a dealer and have a play. The 255/260's have Chauvet's "totem mode" which keeps them pointing forwards and you can tell it whether it is on the ground or flown. I haven't kept up to date with lighting - when I last bought stuff MiniMacs were current and my Martin stuff was made in Denmark. I don't know whether Chauvet is better or worse than any other brand, but they're the ones I had a demo on a year or two ago.

Edited by djgorey - 04 April 2019 at 11:09am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mk2_ginger_biscuit69 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 April 2019 at 11:23am
chauvet pro stuff has come a long way, and indeed is quite acceptable on the touring scene now, so id expect the smaller stuff to have come up a few rungs too. Everything i have of chauvet is yet to break, much of it has seen some less than ideal treatment!

Often overlooked, but ADJ stuff has come a long way too. I can't really recommend the cheap stuff, QC is interesting, but their higher end bits like the vizi wash heads etc is actually really well featured and seems very well built - lovely light output, quick movement etc. Not sure what they are like on standalone, only used on dmx.
''Remember that the object of a subwoofer is to enhance the output of your main speakers, not overpower it''

''Dubstep - an elongated electronic fart''
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote djgorey Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 April 2019 at 1:43pm
Brill thanks. I think the 155’s are the ones for me. DMX and stand-alone with an ENTTEC usb-DMX dongle and a bit of software and away we go. My mate has the ADJ Inno Pockets and they’re nice but just not bright enough. The price on the 155’s would also allow me to get two lots of Chauvet’s freedom sticks (I still snigger at the name). 

Thanks for the tips (especially for talking me out of the minimacs). 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mk2_ginger_biscuit69 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 April 2019 at 4:50pm
this is imove 200sr on the top truss (150w HTI), and Chauvet spot 250 heads on the floor truss uprights - not actually as much in it as i expected! the 200sr's did have the edge though in terms of distance throw & vividness of colours.
''Remember that the object of a subwoofer is to enhance the output of your main speakers, not overpower it''

''Dubstep - an elongated electronic fart''
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djgorey View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote djgorey Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 April 2019 at 6:04pm
The 255’s have a 60w led, don’t they? After lots of pondering and adding up figures, I’m thinking more of the 305irc scanners, which have the same LED. I’m thinking 4 of them, properly controlled, will suit me for everything I do
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