Pocket Scan Problems

When you say cut off, do the fixtures turn off completely?

Does this occur right after power-up, or after they've been on for a while?

I'm not sure if the pocket scans have a 'protect' mechanism that shuts the unit off in the event of surge or overheat.

When the units cut off, is there a way to get them back right away or does it take some time to reset?

If you can provide some of the specific details of the problem we might be able to come up with some ideas.

Best,
-Tech

i have alway used them on auto mode. They have never shut off before after being turned on until about a year ago. I can cut them on during a gig and sometimes they may not even come on at all. I'll leave the power switch on and they will finally awake from a bad dream and start working. It is random as far as cutting off. It could be 1 minute or 10 minutes. I just know it never used to do it before and it has gotten worse.

When you say do not come on at all, do you mean that they don't even power on? No fans no nothing?

Or do they power on, meaning fans run, but the lamps don't come on?

Have you tried making the other the master and the current master the slave?

Are you using a power switch controller to remotely power them on and off? Like a DJ switch panel that has a bunch of plugs in the back?

Check for a bad cable while you're at it and just for piece of mind, terminate the signal at the second fixture.

no fans nothing. Even changed power cords, switch boxes etc. No change. And yes I do use a on off switch box that has 8 on it.

i dont link them. They run on their own.

Have you tried plugging them into the wall directly, one at a time? (no switch boxes).

Do they both cut out and come on at the same time?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm just trying to narrow things down.

they both randomly cut on and off at any given time. Not together. Either plugged into the switch box or the outlet at the wall. For example I could have one in the living room plugged into an outlet and it will cut off and on randomly in 1 5 8 10 12 or whatever minutes. Same as the other one plugged up in the dining room.

I'm thinking that they may have taken a power hit somewhere and as a result, a component of the power supply was compromised.

It sounds like a transformer issue or something. It seems like the unit needs to build up power, and then it uses some, turns off, 're-charges' so-to-say, and then comes back on.

A fried capacitor, resistor, or damaged transformer could be at fault. Without looking inside the units, it will be hard to tell, unless someone else has another idea as to the cause.

I think it is safe to say that the problem has to be in the power supply.

Does the unit have it's own power switch or is it supposed to automatically turn on when plugged in?

has it's own switch....

I have read other pocket scan posts and one was saying that a capacitor needed to be replaced but that poster wanted to get the info on it and couldn't find it. I was looking for the same info. I think it may be my problem too. Also it keeps me from being able to change from sf mode to ss mode. I usually run ss because it looks cooler. but 2 weeks ago one cut off and cut back on and went into sf mode by itself so I set the other one in that mode also.

I'm sure there is more than one capacitor in there, so unless you can visually identify one that has been cooked, you'll need to try something else to identify the bad capacitor. I'm not sure if you can ohm-out/check the continuity of a capacitor out safely with a multimeter or if you need a scope.

If you know an electronics person, ask them about checking for the capacitor.

Replacing it is not difficult for a professional, assuming that it is relatively easy to get to in the unit. If you've never done electrical component work on circuit boards, this probably isn't the time to start. Otherwise, leave it to a pro. Particularly when it comes to governing the power to your fixtures.

It seems weird that they both exhibit the same symptoms from the same faulty component, but if they were on the same circuit when they took a hit, it can make sense. It seems a little coincidental, but again it could be totally possible.

well at the time they were working perfectly, the only time I use them is on a gig. It goes through the same power source ans any of my other gear and it all works perfectly so I would say a "hit" is very unlikely. The power source goes through a highly priced surge protection unit by Furman.

I have 4 pocket scans (and several other things) in my band practice room that will sometimes behave like yours.

Any one of the 4 will just 'reboot' randomly when the bass is thumping and the subwoofer draws a butt-load of amps. It seems to be the pocket scan's reaction to not getting enough juice. They'll usually start rebooting just prior to the whole circuit blowing

I've moved all my lighting to a separate 20amp circuit from the guitar amps and sub woofers and i've not had the problem since.

After all that rambling... Are you sure you're getting enough juice to those pocket scans?

May be worth checking before you bust out the solder sucker.

DanR