I just acquired four Technobeams and...

Just recently I purchased four used Technobeams, four Trackspots, a Technobeam LCD controller, and an Intellibeam LCD controller. I've got some questions that hopefully you good people will be able to help me out with.

First, a few general questions:

1. What's the best approach to controlling these fixtures? Should I use the LCD controllers or should I get a USB to DMX interface so I can go PC-based?

2. If I want to use the LCD controllers, is it possible to upload preprogrammed scenes to the controller from an external source, i.e. memory card? And if so, can I get preprogrammed scenes from either someone here on the forum or somewhere else?

Now some specifics:

1. I'm running one version of the firmware on two of my TBeams and another version on the other two. I tried the process in the manual to update from another machine to no avail.

2. On one of my TBeams, the colorwheel seems to be stuck in between two colors. It still rotates, but settles on the border rather than on the color itself.

3. The Intellibeam controller has a problem with the intensity setting. When I try to crank it up, it always drops the value back down to zero.

4. The positioning laser on two of my TBeams work great, on one of them works ok, and on one of them doesn't work at all. Not sure where to even start on this one.


I understand this is a lot to ask and appreciate any information I can obtain regarding these issues. Thanks again.
Parents
  • You have so many different issues going on.
    Let's start with the trackspots and get them out of the way.
    You can run them on the Intellebeam controller or a universal controller from HES, but not with the Technobeam controller.
    The trackspots are 7 ch fixtures as are the Intellebeams.
    Now onto the Technobeams.
    If you noticed, you had to hold down the menu button to unlock the fixture menu to access addressing the fixture or modifying any section in the menu. When your one particular light had the work lock in the window, it was because you had not held down the menu button long enough to unlock it's menu. When cross loading firmware it is best to just work with 2 lights at a time. The one with the firmware that you wish to upload from and the one you are uploading to.
    Also, make sure all the Technobeams are set for the correct power they are plugged into.
    Look on the back side of the front cover and the settings are explained there.
    Do not switch these setting while fixture is plugged into power!
    Your Fixture 4 displaying @@@@ usually means that it's not set for the correct
    voltage.
    With the light sitting upright and facing you with the front cover off, you should see a gobo wheel to your left and color wheel to your right.
    On the light that is not rotating the wheel or sits at a half color, you may want to take the main guts out and lay it on a table so you can get better access to all the gears and motors for inspection.
    Lay the light on it's back side with front cover facing up. Pull the handles off the bottom where the power cord is. They are allen heads
    After this, pull the black plastic base out of the way. You will notice a small wire going to the XLR data card. Unplug it from the main board. If you look at the bottom on the left and right side of the untit; just inside the case, you will see some rails that the guts are riding in. There are 2 small philips headed screws that need to be removed. Now you can slide the entire guts of the light out of the case. As you do this, be looking into the top of the case whereyou have revealed 2 wires going to the top of the fixture. These are your pan and tilt wires. Disconnect them before trying to take the guts completely out of the fixture. And don't worry, they are labeled so you can easily reconnect them later.
    With the guts out on a table, you can now ispect all the plastic gears driving the color wheel.
    If the gears are good, then take your finger and rotate the wheels, and notice the resistance that each one has. Normally when a motor is bad, you will notice that it doesn't turn well by hand and in some cases not at all. In rare other occasions, it turns very freely, but not as often. You can actually plug the guts into power and watch the wheels calibrate. The color and gobo wheel will turn during calibration. If you don't see them turn, then it is possible that you have a bad motor or broken gear.
    These lights are really simple to repair and maintain.
    If you need replacement Gobos, I have a source for them, but not sure of their current inventory. they have many used Gobos from technobeams.
    If you get stuck, let me know and I will give you my contact info and I will talk you through this stuff.
Reply
  • You have so many different issues going on.
    Let's start with the trackspots and get them out of the way.
    You can run them on the Intellebeam controller or a universal controller from HES, but not with the Technobeam controller.
    The trackspots are 7 ch fixtures as are the Intellebeams.
    Now onto the Technobeams.
    If you noticed, you had to hold down the menu button to unlock the fixture menu to access addressing the fixture or modifying any section in the menu. When your one particular light had the work lock in the window, it was because you had not held down the menu button long enough to unlock it's menu. When cross loading firmware it is best to just work with 2 lights at a time. The one with the firmware that you wish to upload from and the one you are uploading to.
    Also, make sure all the Technobeams are set for the correct power they are plugged into.
    Look on the back side of the front cover and the settings are explained there.
    Do not switch these setting while fixture is plugged into power!
    Your Fixture 4 displaying @@@@ usually means that it's not set for the correct
    voltage.
    With the light sitting upright and facing you with the front cover off, you should see a gobo wheel to your left and color wheel to your right.
    On the light that is not rotating the wheel or sits at a half color, you may want to take the main guts out and lay it on a table so you can get better access to all the gears and motors for inspection.
    Lay the light on it's back side with front cover facing up. Pull the handles off the bottom where the power cord is. They are allen heads
    After this, pull the black plastic base out of the way. You will notice a small wire going to the XLR data card. Unplug it from the main board. If you look at the bottom on the left and right side of the untit; just inside the case, you will see some rails that the guts are riding in. There are 2 small philips headed screws that need to be removed. Now you can slide the entire guts of the light out of the case. As you do this, be looking into the top of the case whereyou have revealed 2 wires going to the top of the fixture. These are your pan and tilt wires. Disconnect them before trying to take the guts completely out of the fixture. And don't worry, they are labeled so you can easily reconnect them later.
    With the guts out on a table, you can now ispect all the plastic gears driving the color wheel.
    If the gears are good, then take your finger and rotate the wheels, and notice the resistance that each one has. Normally when a motor is bad, you will notice that it doesn't turn well by hand and in some cases not at all. In rare other occasions, it turns very freely, but not as often. You can actually plug the guts into power and watch the wheels calibrate. The color and gobo wheel will turn during calibration. If you don't see them turn, then it is possible that you have a bad motor or broken gear.
    These lights are really simple to repair and maintain.
    If you need replacement Gobos, I have a source for them, but not sure of their current inventory. they have many used Gobos from technobeams.
    If you get stuck, let me know and I will give you my contact info and I will talk you through this stuff.
Children
No Data
Related