[QLab] Help With Lighting?

Wed Apr 25 10:45:17 PDT 2007

Holy off-topic Batman!

Seriously, great info Jim, Thanks.

-leon

On Apr 25, 2007, at 1:08 PM, Jim Carroll wrote:

> Looks like this went to the list. The reply-to address is the list  
> email, not yours, so I think do did it correctly.
>
> Line voltage is the power from the utility at the outlet. If you  
> don't have good power, you'll run into problems.
>
> I ran a children's theatre production in the local Grange Hall.  
> They had 78 volts coming out of one outlet and 104 from another.  
> This meant that full power couldn't be achieved - kinda like having  
> a dimmer set at 65% all the time. Light bulbs don't care - they  
> just get less bright. Motors care - they get hot and burn up (brown  
> out conditions) and Dimmer Packs need full voltage to process the  
> control signals through their circuit boards. When the voltage gets  
> low, some of the circuits will misbehave. Certain functions are  
> voltage controlled -Simplified version of the logic:  [if voltage =  
> 60, allow this operation to happen, if voltage = 120, do this  
> instead]. If you can't get to 120, you can never get the 2nd option  
> to function. The control board usually runs on lower DC voltage but  
> has the same issues - 65% still isn't enough to get the response  
> required from the board.
>
> A volt meter in the outlet will tell you if there is a problem. I  
> spent hours replacing control cable at the Grange Hall and then it  
> clicked - one poke with the meter and we found the problem. Turned  
> out after 3 sub-panels, we found one of the circuit breaker screws  
> was loose on a wire. We cranked it down and everything worked  
> perfectly.
>
> Tripping breakers means you're pulling the maximum amperage from  
> the system. If you hit a circuit hard in a short period of time,  
> you can cause a voltage drop or surge (i.e. the lights dim for a  
> second when the fridge or sump pump cycles). Again, simplified  
> electrical theory: Electrical inefficiencies produce heat. Higher  
> amperage means more heat is generated. Heat makes electrical  
> circuits less efficient, which draws more current and boom- you've  
> tripped a breaker. When you run close to the max, this cycle can be  
> what causes the trips, but it shouldn't be the cause of the  
> flickers. If you think back, I bet that you could run full lights  
> for a period of time and then the breaker would pop, which meant  
> things heated up.
>
> Overall, it sounds like the line voltage is OK, but it is worth  
> checking. I've seen discussions on the Theatre-Sound list about  
> voltage conditioners from people who live-and-breathe electronics.  
> Most were of the opinion that cheap voltage regulators are  
> worthless. Expensive ones are _expensive_.
>
> Thoughts on troubleshooting after checking the power: I would try  
> removing the dimmer packs and adding them one at a time to see if  
> the problem is always present with QLab or only if a certain load  
> is met.  Do you have another MIDI cable to try? If I recall  
> correctly, you already tried varying the command to different  
> levels and across different amounts of time. After that, I'm  
> stumped. Good luck!
>
> Jim
>
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>
> On Apr 25, 2007, at 4:51 AM, BareStage Theatre wrote:
>
>> Hi Jim--
>> Thanks for your input on our problem with lighting on the  
>> Behringer board. Can’t figure out how to reply to  bulletin board  
>> messages, so emailing you.
>> The lights do not flicker when we simply use the Behrigner with no  
>> Qlab or Mac. Only when trying to send a control change from the  
>> computer.
>> No solution yet, but we have ordered a terminator and are awaiting  
>> its arrival.
>> I’m not sure what “Solid line voltage” is, but we do run the  
>> lights at close to max load for our performance space, and we have  
>> blown fuses in the past. But it has been fine for the past year or  
>> so. However, it all runs just fine without trying to use the  
>> computer to control it.
>> Might it help to invest in some sort of voltage regulator to plug  
>> the board and packs into?
>> Any other thoughts/ideas?
>> Thanks--
>> Bryon
>>
>> <image.jpg>
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