bigclive

Backstage snippet (Patreon)

Published:

2023-08-12 13:28:37

Imported:

2023-08

Content

A brief look inside a special effects fan that I was taking a look at.

It was suddenly losing control and going at full speed - which is quite ferocious.

The problem appeared to be originating from a rogue DMX card with slight corrosion on some components.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1eMDcJux10

Files

Brief look at the circuitry in a JEM AF-1 special effects fan

A look at the PCBs inside a JEM AF-1 special effects fan used in the entertainment industry for controlled air movement on cue. It can be used for controlling where fog and haze go, for blowing performers hair or costumes for wind effects or just for plain old cooling of equipment. This one was randomly losing control and going full-tilt. The problem seemed to originate from the DMX board which was exhibiting slight corrosion on components. There's a slight whistle while the unit is running, so it's possible that it might not be using a triac. We were using it for equipment cooling, so I just unplugged the DMX card internally (we don't have spare PCBs here) and labelled the unit for future service. The fan in the unit is a chunky Papst fan.