Ran a test and have some issues

[Al Saunders]

So we ran a test of our show and we have two issues. The first I have a quick fix for. On controller 1 I have one channel that is only working very faintly. Like instead of full on like the rest it is at maybe 30%. I did hear a pop when I switched the power on. I use the pro metal controllers. Any ideas as to why one channel is only lighting partially? I have extra controllers so I think the quickest, easiest thing to do is change out the controller and name it the same unit number. 

The other issue is on our RGB windows/frames I only have 4 out of 8 channels working. I have two power supplies powering the 8 channels and only the first 4 are working. The one power supply is inside an enclosure with the controller, the other is outside of the encloser. I felt the power supply inside and it is warm, like its working and the other outside the controller is cold. I'll have to check tomorrow to see if I have an extra power supply. Does it sound like the problem may be the cold power supply? 

I appreciate any ideas/help.

Thamks,

Al

[k6ccc]

38 minutes ago, Al Saunders said:

The other issue is on our RGB windows/frames I only have 4 out of 8 channels working.

First, if this is a pixel controller it's outputs or ports - not channels.  Each output port has many channels.  Calling those channels only causes confusion.  If this is a CMB24D (dumb RGB), channels is a bit more accurate, although can still be confusing because you might mean four actual channels, or four RGB channel groups which would be 12 channels.  Now do you see why I am so picky on the terminology?

39 minutes ago, Al Saunders said:

I have two power supplies powering the 8 channels and only the first 4 are working. The one power supply is inside an enclosure with the controller, the other is outside of the encloser. I felt the power supply inside and it is warm, like its working and the other outside the controller is cold. I'll have to check tomorrow to see if I have an extra power supply. Does it sound like the problem may be the cold power supply? 

Power supply should not be cold.  What controller or controllers is this?  Do you have a voltmeter that you can measure the DC power to the controller or controllers?

 

[TheDucks]

How many Watts (or Amps) are these supplies?

How many nodes per port?

A 300W supply should be able to run 8 ports of 50 nodes (~3A)  FULL WHITE

 

[dgrant]

Another thought(s), as already stated, if its cold, its not working. Secondly, is this outside of the box power supply, weather proof? If you heard a pop on the one controller when you plugged it in, most likely you blew a fuse but the real question is why? Plugging in another controller, may just result in it happening again, depending on where the fault is.

[Godney]

As for the loud pop, as you stated it happened on one channel more than likely you have blown a triac not the fuse , because if you blew the fuse you would have lost 8 channels not just one ,since each side of the controller has a fuse that supplies the 8 channels with power on that side of the controller. check the triac for that channel it probably has a burnt spot on it. but remember if it is blown you need to find out why or it will happen again maybe to many lights on that channel or a short on that channel.

Edited November 28, 2022 by Godney

[Al Saunders]

Hey Guys,

Thanks for the replies. Sorry for the wrong terminologies but it was a quick post while talking to my wife and mother in law and watching tv. LOL 

Ok, I was thinking a triac went bad on the 1602Wg3 A/C controller too since it's only on one channel and the channel is lighting but very VERY dim.  

The RGB window frames are dumb pixels and the controller is the CMB24. If memory serves me right, I think each frame has 100 pixels on it. They are the bullet style 12v pixels and there is a connection halfway around them. The frames are basically 3'X5' and two of the ports are only driving 50 pixels. The power supplies I use are the ones LOR sells here: https://store.lightorama.com/collections/rgb-accessories-and-extensions/products/12vdc200w . As for the RGB issues, I think it must be either in the controller or the power supply because basically only half of the controller is working. The 2nd power supply is mounted outside of the case but it is under a contractor bag as are all of my controllers. The power supplies are weather proof though. Could one of the CMB24's fuses be bad and the power supply wouldn't be in use? I have the fuses LOR uses on the A/C controllers, are they the same as the ones on the CMB24?

The pop I heard was from the A/C controller not the CMB24. It happened when I flipped the power switch on after everything was plugged in. 

Again, thanks for all the help.

Al

[dgrant]

Ok, if the pop was from the AC Controller then you probably blew the triac. What caused it though? That needs to be discovered. The triacs can be obtained from LOR or Mouser Electronics and you'll have to extract the board and do some soldering. Use a meter on the cmb24d card and measure the power supply voltage going into each of the two sides.

[TheDucks]

The CMB fuses should be Low Voltage (32V) type, not the 250V type used on the AC controllers.

(Low voltage fuses have less resistance, but they don't blow clear enough for higher voltages. Do Not ever use Low voltage fuses in places over 32V. They may not stop the power when blown)

??? Why LOR did not use the larger Automotive Blade fuses (ATO/ATC) 10-40 or the Maxi version 40-100A . Many of these are stocked by Auto Parts section in stores

[Al Saunders]

Ok, so i found a 300w power supply/LED driver that I have with an old setup of pixels and a E1.31 board. This has 3 outputs and is the same waterproof type as the 2 200w power supplies i have now. . Please pardon my lack of knowledge with Pixel power supply, but should this run the CMB24 with the 700 pixels it's running alone? Or should I add just one of the outputs to the CMB24 to replace the power supply that doesn't seem to be working? 

Thanks,

Al

[TheDucks]

700 nodes. I estimated 3A per 50 (what my dumb strings draw). That is 42A (504W), 

no wonder your old PSU bellied up, even if it only ran 1 bank. 

I use the 80% design rule for running loads (I worked in an industry where up time was important).   That says you should have 300W PER BANK (the last 20% to supply startup surges.)

 

 

[Al Saunders]

So it was the power supply. The warm one is putting out 12v and the cold one NUTTIN! LOL 

I hooked up the 300w power supply i found and will double check after 5 but it is putting out 12v, so both banks have 12v coming in so I should be good. I'll look into getting another 300w and keep the working 200w as a backup. 

Replaced the A/C controller too and will check that out later as well. 
 

Thanks again guys for all the help! 

Happy Lighting Everyone! 

Al

[k6ccc]

Having spares of almost everything critical to the show is a good plan.

Glad you found the problem.

 

[Al Saunders]

 Not to mention expert help here on this forum!! 👍

Merry Christmas Everyone