Working backstage on a big show usually involves turning up for work, testing the lighting system and placing out equipment like lights and effects equipment that can't normally be in public areas during the day. Then if all goes well we sit around and drink tea and repair equipment while the show runs, while being on standby to jump into action if anything major goes wrong during a show.
This particular day was annoyingly eventful due to two different faults on a single network which were shorting the same data line to ground intermittently in a manner that made finding the fault quite tricky. (Intermittent faults are always hard to find.) In this case we decided to add a data buffer mid-span and then divide the lighting on that stream into four sections, and quickly narrowed it down to two faulty sections that we could then narrow down further by monitoring the status lights on the data buffer while deliberately aggravating the problem.
A very strange fault scenario that was quite intriguing to pin down.
One fault was a haze machine with a fault in its CPU card's data section and the other fault was this light which had been badly terminated at some point.
When we had got the problem fixed we brought both pieces of faulty equipment up to our workshop and I diagnosed the hazer as having a faulty RS485 chip and reterminated the DMX connections on the light. The rest of the night was fairly uneventful with the only other task being to monitor the audience areas during a part of the show that uses lasers to ensure that they were operating in their defined areas.
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This particular day was annoyingly eventful due to two different faults on a single network which were shorting the same data line to ground intermittently in a manner that made finding the fault quite tricky. (Intermittent faults are always hard to find.) In this case we decided to add a data buffer mid-span and then divide the lighting on that stream into four sections, and quickly narrowed it down to two faulty sections that we could then narrow down further by monitoring the status lights on the data buffer while deliberately aggravating the problem.
A very strange fault scenario that was quite intriguing to pin down.
One fault was a haze machine with a fault in its CPU card's data section and the other fault was this light which had been badly terminated at some point.
When we had got the problem fixed we brought both pieces of faulty equipment up to our workshop and I diagnosed the hazer as having a faulty RS485 chip and reterminated the DMX connections on the light. The rest of the night was fairly uneventful with the only other task being to monitor the audience areas during a part of the show that uses lasers to ensure that they were operating in their defined areas.
If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:-
http://www.bigclive.com/coffee.htm
This also keeps the channel independent of YouTube's advertising algorithms allowing it to be a bit more dangerous and naughty.
I saw a decorative parcan in a shop that is just a lamp designed to look like a parcan it still looks cool
That is a great job.
Getting things ready in preparation for shows and also repairing stuff that need it.
I'm jelous. 🙂
Big fucken moving heads
It never fails to amaze how poorly some folks can do a job does it?
Thanks Clive. This EMT series of videos have been really interesting. We'll be looking out for more next year, perhaps detailing some of the evolution of the technology since this year's Show.
You should request that all terminations require the technician to tag the work. That way you can track down who is responsible for failures should they arise.
Find him sack him, or her.
Working in television production is much the same.. Set it up and then sit around and wait for something to go wrong. If you did it all correctly in the first place there is little to do. However, it used to be so much more easy to solder those types of connectors and others when I was in my 20s and 30s… now in my late 50s.. my eyes don't focus and my hands shake just a bit too much.. it makes soldering much harder.
I did every cable myself where I worked and if someone else terminated a cable they had to show it before closing the connector.
The result was that we never had a cable failing because of bad termination.
Also a badly coiled cable was unacceptable. Not too small, not too big, with a good tight velcro strap.
I wish my job was like this… it used to be… 2008-2012 (RIP)
Well, Clive – that's what System Administration (IT, telephony – you name it) job quintessence is.
I was wondering what kind of bench power supply you use? And if you have a budget oriented recommendation for a bench power supply??
Received my first soldering iron station just a couple hours ago and have been enjoying greatly the practice I'm able to do with what little materials i have on hand.
Can't wait for the diy electronic kits, and a few other necessary accessories to arrive in a week or two.
Thanks Clive for making the content that you do, in a way introducing others to the great hobby of soldering, i really appreciate it.
– Rick
Hello Big Clive. This is not related to this video, but I was just watching a couple of videos on the USB Killer. I'd love to see you dismantle one, or even fry an old computer and check out the motherboard after. You could even watch the vids and estimate the capacitance being used and cobble something together to fry an old computer. Save the money of the actual USB thing.
Seriously, I cant look at this connector. What are those black things?? oh Knipex cutters, like those 🙂