Problem with Mega Flash DMX

Hi aveldman and welcome to the forums.

Couple of questions. First, is the strobe plugged into a dimmer pack or is it wall power? Next, what is your DMX path? Lastly, have you tried just plugging the strobe straight into the console vs going through the dimmer packs?

Let us know and hopefully we can be of more help. Once again, welcome to the forums.

I have tried the strobe in a couple different spots in the room which it is being installed in with each location using wall power. I have tried it at the end of my dmx run with a terminator plugged into the out and also connected it right to the 5 to 3 pin adaptor that comes out of the lighting board. I did buy this strobe from ebay but the company that was selling it had it listed as "like new" condition so I guess there is a chance that it could be a faulty product.

Why not give our service dept. a call? Numbers is here (323) 582-2650 cal that number and ask for support.
Sincerely,

"Like new" as it "Well, it LOOKS new.... so that's like new...."

Sorry, I'm just not into trusting Ebay for lighting fixtures. Too many bad channels is just a side-effect of the Ebay environment.

Call service.

When the strobe is plugged into the light board, does the amber LED that indicates a DMX signal is present flash?

I think I solved it myself. It looks like the wire that was used for the dmx runs is the issue. It works fine with all my dimmer packs but it won't work for the strobe. I tried it with a regular XLR cable and it worked fine.

I did run into another weird issue though. If I put my DMX terminator into the out on the strobe I can't turn the strobe on. But if I run from the out on the strobe to a dimmer pack and then put the terminator on the out of the pack it works fine. I can live with this though as I will just make sure the strobe is not at the end of my run.

Highly unlikely, but the strobe might be self terminating. Putting a terminator into a self terminating fixture makes it so DMX can't pass through that fixture, 240 ohm of resistance instead of 120 ohm.

Again, terminators should only be needed in long runs of DMX, 500'+ is about when reflections start. The only other time is if there is a lot, and I mean a lot, of electrical interference. DMX is really robust and it takes a lot to interfere with it.

i always recommend a terminator on runs 100' or more. Especially if the customer is using compu live or my dmx.
sincerely,

It's become part of my standard practice to use a DMX Terminator on all my runs, regardless of length.

My "main run" is a single 200-foot run of DMX cable. This matches my 2 200-foot Cat5's that I use for my Aviom run and video, as well as matching the 200-foot 56 channel whip that is my audio umbilical cord. So, I've just gotten into the habit of using a DMX terminator no matter what.

I understand what SerraAva says, but even so, on unidirectional communications which tend to be very robust, I often as a data comm guy, don't trust them.

look at the specs and make sure the pins are the same for both the strobe and dimmer packs. Believe it or not some companys the pins are different..

The Mega Strobe should not need a phase reverser to work with the Behringer light board.

i got about 16 of the mega strobes never had a problem at all.. Let me dig out the same board you are using and ill see if i have the same problems.. I usually use leprecon or ETC boards for controls and have always had smooth operation with them..

i used this light with the same BOard you have.. NO problems at all.. Even ran the cable through some dimmer packs and other lights as well still worked sharp..