Members mate_stubb Posted January 3, 2013 Members Share Posted January 3, 2013 So I ordered a couple of CX-4 color changers cheap to try and get my upstage beam lights going, but I think they are going back. One has a gobo wheel that gets indexed wrong, and which sometimes chatters when the wheel are in the "between colors" positions. They could cut better too - having to compete with Q12+ fixtures. And oy, are they heavy. I can barely lift the T bar up with 2 of them loaded on. OTOH, they can get a great dark purple color, and the 4 way color split with the dots gobo is psychedelicious. Why oh why can't I buy a lightweight LED color changer without a super narrow beam, and with a gobo wheel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Axisplayer Posted January 3, 2013 Members Share Posted January 3, 2013 I own a few of these. I also own some Minimacs, one of which had a similar problem with the indexing. I opened the case and saw that the color wheel is held to the motor shaft with small allen head bolts. I indexed it to home and then retightened the bolt. The entire procedure took about 5 minutes and it works flawlessly. Might see if that fixes yours. Not certain what to suggest for the chattering but let me think on it. How old are your bulbs? The ones that came in mine had no information on hours, but they didn't do as well as I wanted (my MX-4s were much brighter.) I replaced them and they do fine against my Q12a's at this point. The biggest problem with these bulbs is that they have a long life and people tend to keep them until they fail since they are not cheap. Although the life might be rated at 6000 hours, they start to lose intensity when they get past 1000 and I find that I prefer to change mine no later than 2000 hours if I want them to perform. When I change one, I do all of them so the lights appear uniform. They are good lights, should compete with the Q12's fine, but are indeed very heavy when used in multiples. My back truss holds 4 of the MX-4 scanners, some LED cans, two lasers, and a pair of megabits. It is impossible to lift even with two men so the MXs have to be added after the truss is in place, and then I crank them up. The front truss sometimes has 6 of these changers mixed with Q12s and it is not even possible for me to move it when rigged. The CXs have to go on in place before cranking. As much as I would like to find a replacement, I have not seen anything remotely affordable that can replace them. Yes, there are options that certainly replace it, but they are not close to affordable in my world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mate_stubb Posted January 3, 2013 Author Members Share Posted January 3, 2013 I would not be surprised that new bulbs would be noticeably brighter. These came used with whatever bulbs were in them, so no idea on the hours. I'm mostly unhappy about the weight, and wondering if something this old will be reliable. I certainly don't need to add more stuff needing maintenance to my gear. And I'm not really putting an all out pro lighting rig together - just a lightweight rig on T bars for doing my band. I can run a T bar up easily by myself with 4 Q12s on it. I also have to tote my keyboard rig as well as the lights! I'm not sure what to do at this point - I see no light weight alternatives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mate_stubb Posted January 3, 2013 Author Members Share Posted January 3, 2013 I think I have decided to invest in a couple of fresh bulbs before deciding. I have found that I can lift a T bar with 1 CX-4 and 2 Q12s by myself without straining too much. I'm not really going to know if they cut through without haze, since they are pretty much invisible otherwise. Perhaps 4 poles with 8 Q12s and 4 CX-4s would make a decent small lighting rig. Axis, your MX-4s look very bright in the hazer thread - how does the brightness of the CX-4s compare? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Axisplayer Posted January 4, 2013 Members Share Posted January 4, 2013 CX-4 that has been cleaned internally, nas a new bulb, and a clean lense looks just as bright as the MX-4 does. They are esentially the same light and the diference is having the mirror. (hence the name change from CX-4 to MX-4...I think the M just denoted either "m"oving or "m"irror since they are so identical otherwise.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mate_stubb Posted January 4, 2013 Author Members Share Posted January 4, 2013 Good to know. I gotta get me some haze then! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mate_stubb Posted January 4, 2013 Author Members Share Posted January 4, 2013 One more question - do you run your CX-4s with the narrow or wide lens? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Axisplayer Posted January 4, 2013 Members Share Posted January 4, 2013 Mine only had one lens when I got them, so wide it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mate_stubb Posted January 5, 2013 Author Members Share Posted January 5, 2013 Well crap, I ordered some replacement bulbs today from Bulb Connection and now they say that they are backordered. Anybody got a good source? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mate_stubb Posted January 5, 2013 Author Members Share Posted January 5, 2013 Well crap, I ordered some replacement bulbs today from Bulb Connection and now they say that they are backordered. Anybody got a good source? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chaff67 Posted January 5, 2013 Members Share Posted January 5, 2013 Try Bill Cronheim. http://www.shopesc.com/ I get alot of my stuff from him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mate_stubb Posted January 8, 2013 Author Members Share Posted January 8, 2013 Well the adventure is ending - I have boxed them up to go back. Wife convinced me that what I should really do is take my year end bonus and get something better. I'm thinking about a pair of LED Spot 350s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mate_stubb Posted January 9, 2013 Author Members Share Posted January 9, 2013 This was my favorite colorwheel / gobo combination on the CX-4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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