Let down by Light-o-rama. Can ctb16pc gen 3 240v run at 110v

[Lee Long]

My frustration is at a critical level!

I ordered ctc16pc controllers at the begining of august in the tryforfree if you can wait up to 8 weeks promo. I specified 110v controllers even though i am in the uk.. They turned up today, almost 16 weeks later and the day before set up. Talk about cutting it fine but to my horrer they have sent 240v controllers which state on the boxes 240v only! To make matters worse in my eyes , 2 of the controllers were the controllers that i had already paid displays in motion for (when he was a certified light-orama partner i hasten to add) but he ripped me off for $400.

Can anyone tell me if the jumper on the board can be moved to 110v safely and cause me no issues or invalidate my warranty?

I have a ticket opened with the help desk, but i was hoping to set up today so could do with knowing if i am going to have a light show this year as soon as possible.

I know that light-o-rama are really busy this time of the year, and that it was my choice to opt for the tryforfree but wait for ages, i know that i shouldn't have used displays in motion and i know that light-o-rama didn't send me the wrong controllers on purpose but i really want my lights to be lit up this year.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. if anyone reading this can tell light-o-rama dan that as a customer, being on the end of a very lengthy delay from the tryforfree promo with very little comunication from his team isn't much fun !

[David Rise]

According to the manual, If the jumper is in the middle, it's 240v. but you can move that jumper over to one side and install a second jumper to make it 120v.

Voltage Selection Jumper(s)

For 120 VAC operation, both jumpers should be

installed on the header that is to the lower right of

the transformer. See following picture:

120 VAC

SELECTION JUMPERS

*** 240 VAC operation ***

For 240 VAC operation, only one jumper on the

center two pins of this header must be installed –

AND – the ghost loads must either not be present or

of the correct value. Boards configured for 240VAC

operation will be marked with a sticker specifying

240VAC operation allowed.

[Guest wbottomley]

My frustration is at a critical level!

I ordered ctc16pc controllers at the begining of august in the tryforfree if you can wait up to 8 weeks promo. I specified 110v controllers even though i am in the uk.. They turned up today, almost 16 weeks later and the day before set up. Talk about cutting it fine but to my horrer they have sent 240v controllers which state on the boxes 240v only! To make matters worse in my eyes , 2 of the controllers were the controllers that i had already paid displays in motion for (when he was a certified light-orama partner i hasten to add) but he ripped me off for $400.

Can anyone tell me if the jumper on the board can be moved to 110v safely and cause me no issues or invalidate my warranty?

I have a ticket opened with the help desk, but i was hoping to set up today so could do with knowing if i am going to have a light show this year as soon as possible.

I know that light-o-rama are really busy this time of the year, and that it was my choice to opt for the tryforfree but wait for ages, i know that i shouldn't have used displays in motion and i know that light-o-rama didn't send me the wrong controllers on purpose but i really want my lights to be lit up this year.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. if anyone reading this can tell light-o-rama dan that as a customer, being on the end of a very lengthy delay from the tryforfree promo with very little comunication from his team isn't much fun !

The good thing is... you opened a ticket. I hope everything will be resolved soon. As far as DIM, they need to be accountable for their actions.

[LORisAwesome]

I built all my controllers from kits. The kits come with two sets of resistors -- one set is for 110V the other set is for 240V. I don't know about the the pre-built ones, but my concern is that you may also need to change those resistors. There are 16 of these one for each channel.

I would wait to hear from LOR before trying it.

Jerry

[Lee Long]

According to the manual, If the jumper is in the middle, it's 240v. but you can move that jumper over to one side and install a second jumper to make it 120v.

Voltage Selection Jumper(s)

For 120 VAC operation, both jumpers should be

installed on the header that is to the lower right of

the transformer. See following picture:

120 VAC

SELECTION JUMPERS

*** 240 VAC operation ***

For 240 VAC operation, only one jumper on the

center two pins of this header must be installed –

AND – the ghost loads must either not be present or

of the correct value. Boards configured for 240VAC

operation will be marked with a sticker specifying

240VAC operation allowed.

I hope this is the answer David but the sticker says 240 only and i'm not sure what ghost loads are !! I will wait to hear from lor to be on the safe side. Full set up will just have to be delayed until i hear from them.

[Tim Fischer]

Sounds like those resistors are the "ghost loads". If it's ok that they're not present, you could probably clip the leads on all of them. BUT DON'T DO THAT until someone confirms this is the right thing to do - I'm just speculating.

[Lee Long]

Sounds like those resistors are the "ghost loads". If it's ok that they're not present, you could probably clip the leads on all of them. BUT DON'T DO THAT until someone confirms this is the right thing to do - I'm just speculating.

Thanks Tim, I am going to wait until it's confirmed

The good thing is... you opened a ticket. I hope everything will be resolved soon. As far as DIM, they need to be accountable for their actions.

Thanks William I hope it's all resolved soon as well. And Karma had better catch up with DIM before anyone he has ripped off does !!

[LOR Staff]

What is your ticket number so I can look at it?

When you originally placed the order, did you specify that you wanted 120v controllers even though you are in the UK?

[LOR Staff]

I found your ticket, and see where it has been assigned to one of the engineers to step you through the conversion to 120v, so you should be able to use the controller.

I'm not sure what prompted you to complain here 20 minutes after you opened your ticket, but it appears that you are on your way to a solution.

[Tim Fischer]

I'm not sure what prompted you to complain here 20 minutes after you opened your ticket, but it appears that you are on your way to a solution.

Venting, and fear of being lost in the tech-support rush I'm sure.

While I don't endorse it, people get panicy when their show isn't working. I can relate!

[CLD Kevin]

I'm pretty sure but LOR should be able to confirm...I asked this very same question earier this year. But I will let the LOR experts tell you this.

The current GEN 3 cards are not 120/240 converted by moving some jumpers. A 120 version card cannot be used at 240 and vise-versa.

The manual was lttle confusing to me a first becasue it states on page 8 about the jumpers. I highlighted in red the important part. If you have a sticker that shows 240V, then its only for 240V and can not be changed to 120V by moving the jumpers. I hope I'm wrong. Now changing the ghost loads may make a difference....I dont know?

For 120 VAC operation, both jumpers should be

installed on the header that is to the lower right of

the transformer.

For 240 VAC operation, only one jumper on the

center two pins of this header must be installed –

AND – the ghost loads must either not be present or

of the correct value. Boards configured for 240VAC

operation will be marked with a sticker specifying

240VAC operation allowed.

Edited November 30, 2012 by CLD Kevin

[Lee Long]

Light-o-rama has now confirmed it is ok to install an extra jumper and use the boards now to find jumpers !!

When you originally placed the order, did you specify that you wanted 120v controllers even though you are in the UK?

Yes i did specifythat i wanted 110v

I'm not sure what prompted you to complain here 20 minutes after you opened your ticket, but it appears that you are on your way to a solution.

Venting, and fear of being lost in the tech-support rush I'm sure.

While I don't endorse it, people get panicy when their show isn't working. I can relate!

Tim has hit the nail on the head, i posted on here out of sheer frustration with the whole situation. I have had to wait a couple of days to hear from the support desk in the past. My original post wasn't just about the wrong voltage controllers, It was also about waiting almost 4 months for them to arrive as well.

Being in the UK, i have to wait up to 2 weeks for deliveries, so if these controllers couldn't have been used that could have turned out the lights for my first show. As light-o-rama users, we invest a lot of time and money in this hobby, so when, after waiting a long time for the controllers to arrive only to think they were wrong, please understand that i went into orbit at the thought of not having a show.

Having said that, Light-o-rama support have answered my question straight away and i can use the controllers so no harm done. An apology for sending the wrong controllers in the first place would have been nice but i will settle for the fact that the show can go on.

Thanks for everyones help and support in this matter

[David Rise]

Copy and paste part of the manual (Gen 3) concerning your issue and folks still want to argue and tell you that you're wrong. It doesn't say that if it has a 240v sticker, that it can ONLY be used as a 240. Thus the reason I posted it.

Glad the jumper settings worked out for you Lee.

[LOR Staff]

I will have someone look at your order and see what went wrong. Can you please PM or post in the ticket your original order number?

[Lee Long]

PM sent