Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Jerome Casinger]

So I am trying out two Blizzard rockbox's.  First gig Fri night they worked great, was pretty stoked to potentially buy some to add to the inventory after seeing their capability.  Night two....not so much.  I believe I had a bad cable in my chain because I had it all hooked up:

Fixture A (First in chain) fired up, but no light, no led display, but fans were running.
Fixture B (second in chain), acted normally to DMX commands.

So I figure maybe its a nuance and do the old cable switcheroo to see if I can isolate the problem, as soon as I plug A's cable into B.....poof.  No more led screen and the light is on at about 10% brightness and no response from DMX commands.  Remove everything....they need CPR and are unresponsive.  I pop the back off to see if I can see a fuse, and I am not seeing one, and of course the manual was useless and just says it can be done, but call them or send it back...thanks for that blizzard.

First, I must say this makes me a little uneasy if somehow a bad cable causes this kind of reaction to the lights....anyone else had this experience?  If something that easy causes a problem the fuse needs to be way more accessible IMHO.   I have had plenty of bad cables before and the light just acted up.  I had 8 Blizzard pro-par 7's down the chain, and no issues with those.

I put in a support ticket but probably wont hear back until tomorrow, and I have a gig next weekend that I really need these for, so am hoping someone might be able to point me in the right direction or have some advice.

[Josh Daws]

a lot of fuses are in the IEC plug itself, and generally houses a spare...

but good job on possibly voiding your warranty as well by opening up the fixture...i could be wrong, but this voids most manufacturers warranty...

[Jerome Casinger]

a lot of fuses are in the IEC plug itself, and generally houses a spare...

but good job on possibly voiding your warranty as well by opening up the fixture...i could be wrong, but this voids most manufacturers warranty...

It wont void it...specifically says in the manual that can be replaced in the field, but if unsure to just send it back.  And its not an IEC plug for these....

[Cailen Waddell]

It wont void it...specifically says in the manual that can be replaced in the field, but if unsure to just send it back.  And its not an IEC plug for these....

Jerome - before replacing the fuse or whatever, I might look at the setup from the day of the incident.   It sounds to me, from your description, like there might be mains voltage on your data line.  Those fixtures have auto ranging power supplies I believe, so it would take a heck of a lot or little wrong voltage to outwit them. Another possibility that comes to mind is that there was a reverse polarity bootleg ground somewhere, and that chassis ground, which became hot, ran some mains voltage down the data shield which grounded itself at one of your fixtures.  Anyway - this is just a guess, but it sounds to me like your problem is way beyond fuses and trip to the factory is in store. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Jerome Casinger]

Jerome - before replacing the fuse or whatever, I might look at the setup from the day of the incident.   It sounds to me, from your description, like there might be mains voltage on your data line.  Those fixtures have auto ranging power supplies I believe, so it would take a heck of a lot or little wrong voltage to outwit them. Another possibility that comes to mind is that there was a reverse polarity bootleg ground somewhere, and that chassis ground, which became hot, ran some mains voltage down the data shield which grounded itself at one of your fixtures.  Anyway - this is just a guess, but it sounds to me like your problem is way beyond fuses and trip to the factory is in store. 

Could this have been caused by a bad cable?  I dont quite understand all your terminology, but am generally grasping what you are saying.  I cable tested when I got home and had a bad one that was the initial feeder.  When I had the problem and it blew both lights, I wrapped all the cables and strung all new so I could test them and didnt have any other problems the rest of the night (with the PRO Pars)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[George Dougherty]

Randy Hyde had a batch of blizzards and had some issues with them.  Something about wicycle power or the like opened the unit up to toasting itself.  Search the forums.

[Rob Spence]

Jerome, you say you tested the cables when you got home and there was a bad one.
What specifically was wrong? That us the first step in determining the cause of failure.

Second, can you go back to the venue and test each of the places you got power?

Others here are better than I at explaining exactly how to test the outlets.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Scott Hofmann]

In the instruction manual for some of the Blizzard fixtures I have used, it specifically states there should be NO connection between chassis ground and Pin 1 of the XLR due to compatibility with their Wicicle device. They say this may result in damage to the fixture. I have seen many of the cheaper manufactured DMX and audio cables wired with a jumper from Pin 1 to the XLR shell. Checking all your cables for this type of wiring might be a good idea.

[ProSoundWeb Community]