End of Life / Suggested Replacement

My facility has a Gio that was purchased in c. 2012.  I was asked to determine when it would be at "end of life" / worthy of replacement so that we can avoid potential unexpected chronic operational issues or sudden death.

I know the Gio has become a legacy product thereby being discontinued.  For me that does not trigger a need for replacement.

What does ETC and members of this group consider as "end of life" for consoles?

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  • 0 in reply to sstaub

    I agree. The Gio was build like a tank, so if it is not loaded in and off a truck every day, it should last quite some time. If you are afraid of sudden show critical failures, you can always think about putting a cheap back-up in place. This could be as simple as  a Puck with some form of dmx node if that is even necessary.

  • 0 in reply to Theatermachine
    Theatermachine said:
    The Gio was build like a tank, so if it is not loaded in and off a truck every day, it should last quite some time.

    For me, that sounds like two different things.

    Can you explain this a little more?

  • 0 in reply to mathilda

    if it's a house console, and never moved from the booth (never dropped or handled roughly), vs. a touring console, bounced in truck for a million miles, loaded and unloaded from it's case by local roadies who just don't care, or rented out to button smashers angry they can't program it they way they used to on an AVAB console . . . . .

    The first will have a long life expectancy, give or take some button replacements or fader wheel or fader handles jamming up from Cheeto dust (yes, that is what the service tech finds INSIDE the console).  these parts are replaceable.

    Built like a tank or not, the second is an abused dog, with cracked cct boards inside, loose solder connections, coke or beer spilled onto the face panel and inside; fans and heat sinks layered in dust and haze oil. . . .   A much shorter life expectancy. 

    Consider a Broadway Lx Board programmer and operator, never leaving the comfort of their own venue, working 6 nights a week for 40 years.  Now look at a touring board op, 40 years on the road, hotel beds, poor food, bad chairs, 5 hours of sleep a night, and walking on arena floors all their life. 

    They both still work at 60, but 1 will be working better than the other.

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