Introduction
One of the most creative fixtures
from Clay Paky!
August 2021
Finally, another one, very desired model joined my collection, making me so happy and excited to work with and experience the restoration, and first time control of that popular fixture! I was haunting that model for the last 3 years.
The Stage Scan projector, is one of the most creative scanner Clay Paky released. It's production began on 1997, alongside with the Miniscan HPE.
The fact that you can do so many combinations with the effects, amazes me. Comparing it with the Golden Scan HPE, Stage Scan offers multiple zoom function, as well as CMY colour mixing. But those two models feature a characteristic I really love, the 4 plus 1 combinable prisms! Prism wheel include the comet or cylinder prism, so unique and impressive, and a Clay Paky's exclusive design.
CMY colour mixing, even with full colour dichroic filters, creates so nice pastel colours, which are uniform and harmonic in the beam field.
One of the surprising differences in comparison with the GS HPE, is the much lower noise of the Stage Scan. To be honest, the GS HPE's I recovered, are the older versions, so I am not aware if the low noise fans and the optical system below the lamp, were upgraded to the next GS generations .
Stage Scan features also remote lamp control and electronic, hot re-strike igniter.
Stage Scans in my homeland
In Athens, 24x Stage Scans were used in REX theatre, a period from 2001 to 2006, a relatively short period in comparison with the previous main intelligent fixture of that theatre, the Cyberlight, which operated there for about 10 years.
In the following pictures, you see some of their moments, lighting up the Rex Music Theatre stage, back on 2002 - 2003.
After the music stage of Rex, some of the fixtures operated also in theatres, which presented revues (in Greek: theatriki epitheorisi), a multi act theatrical entertainment, which includes sketches, music and dance, a very popular theatre kind in Greece. Some revues included also live orchestra and dancing acts.
Later on, I have never seen again Stage Scans active. The only model of a near generation of lights by Clay Paky, which is still active, is the compact Stage Light 300 moving head.
The last years, I was too close to get few Stage Scans, but with no success, as things with such business here can be always very complicated. It is totally different than to try to get a fixture from a PA company, which can have old fixtures retired in their warehouse.
STAGE SCAN
Stage Scans in the Historic Rex Theatre of Athens
A short dedication, to the place which introduced me Stage Scans, with moments of their operation during a period between 2002 - 2003. Twenty four Stage Scans were lighting up the stage of one of the oldest theatres in the city of Athens. Among them, Stage Light 300, Stage Zoom 1200, and Combicolour projectors were used.
From Finland with love
It's torturing, when you feel that you're about to fulfil a long desired wish, you feel that you are one step closer, but at the end, you are back on step one, the searching, and wishing/hoping. As a collector, I know that some models are starting becoming rare and hard to find, so I am more persistent on getting them as soon as I can.
In case of Stage Scans, knowing people here in my city, who are in an immediate 'contact' with such fixtures, which now are laying abandoned, but not being able to recover some of them, made me so eager to get that specific model, so that desire would finally cool down. Everything has to do with psychology at the end.
So in such cases, it is crucial the collectors across the world unite! A good friend of mine, from Finland, did more than help me to purchase and get my first two Stage Scans safely in my base in Greece! The fire of the desire to get those which worked at Rex theatre, has been settled down a bit, but still, I would like to save as many is possible! It's not a matter of greed, my philosophy last years has changed from wanting all for my self, to share them with other fellow collectors. If I had the opportunity to get so many as the 24 Stage Scans from Rex, it would be impossible to work with all of them, so there would be no better feeling than sharing them with people who will appreciate them.
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The 2 Stage Scans which ended up on my hands, were the only of an unknown number, which used in the Martinus Concert Hall, in Vantaa, Finland. Their condition was impeccable, compare to their age. Those Stage Scans were made on 1997, the first year of the model's production.
Apart for some external scratches, which I am still trying to find a way to handle, as I do not want to repaint externally the dark silver parts of the chassis, the internal and effect modules were very well maintained and cleaned. Especially the boards, are like new. Motors and motor drivers on the boards, are original.
The Restoration
Motors connector, fitted on the module
The restoration, as usual, required a complete disassembly of the fixtures. Only then I will be able to perform a full clean, making them fit for home use. Golden Scans / Stage Scans are very easy to disassemble, as almost everything is modular and the cables are fixed below the main chassis, while the modules either they have a fitted connector for the motor supply, or the motors them selves have connectors.
In the case of the Stage Scan, the modules closer to lamp have connectors on the modules, while the effect modules on the front, have plugs on the motors. My guess is that this kind of design, prevented the motor plugs near the lamp to be thermally fatigued, therefore, destroyed, while the front module connections would be much more easy, when using also the motor plugs. The module which accommodates CMY and Dimmer/Shutter, uses 8 motors in total. Each flag has two motors, which are connected in serial way, since they work together for each function. A small board below the main chassis piece, helps the connection of the motor groups, together.
Disassembly begun!
CMY & Dimmer/Shutter Module
For once again, the motors seemed the original in the front sections of the fixture. The damaged ones were on the gobo and iris module, the one of the rotating gobo wheel and that of the iris. Static gobo wheel and gobo rotation seem to have been replaced in the past. The iris motor in one of the scanners were missing.
I have installed an affordable stepper motor, which seems good quality. It works smoothly and silently. Well, the time will tell on such things!
The CMY challenge
CMY module, looks simple and indeed, can be disassembled fast, but in the assembly it will never be the same. The reset points of the flags would have changed, and for 100% you would need to re-adjust the reset points of the flags. Seemingly, since you would not have to tamper with the screws on the blades, which are responsible for the reset points and range limit of each flag, you would expect that no adjustment would needed.
But depending on which angle the blades would be tighten on the motor axis, everything can change. During the reset. flags move slowly towards their mechanical limit. If they manage to 'kick' one last time before reset ends, this would totally change their path range within the light aperture, causing them not covering completely. This was the common issue i faced with the flags, in both of the fixtures restoration. Re-adjusting them, can cause a different type of problem, which has to do with "how much" the flags will overlapping each other. This does not affect the full colour shade, but the colour mix and pastel colours between the lights. So for example, when I want to create an orange colour, the two lights would project it differently, due to the difference on how early or late the flags are going in to the light path.
And this is a pain! Since the module is fully assembled, it is impossible to adjust the position of the flag holders, on the motor axis, as the screws are not easily accessible, the only way is to change the reset screw points on each flag. This took sometime, and lots of resets and tests, so the filters would reset and mix fine. In my case, i still need to adjust the range in one of the Stage Scans, so they can both mix the colours the same. I am planning to do this with a test board, and check the reset and range of each group of motors, with the module outside of the fixture. It is impossible to check all the details when the module is installed.
It was necessary to disassemble completely the module, as it was the only way to clean and paint the metal part, and maintain properly the motors.
If you want to save time on your restoration and there is no need for such kind of disassembly, you can remove only the flags from their bases for cleaning them. With that way you will not tamper with their reset points. Only one small screw holds the flags in place and with a short angle against each other. The angle of the filters is necessary, to prevent from reflections and 'prism like' projections to appear, during the colour mixing positions.
Prism Wheel Magic
The front section of the scanner, accommodates the prism and frost/effect wheels, which are responsible for amazing projections! The gobo overlays, together with CMY colour shades, the blue or yellow filter with hole and a prism can create mesmerising projections, which cannot be found on today's fixtures. I wish that such kind of prisms and projections, will return back with newer the spot lights!
Stage scan has 4 rotating prisms, which can be combined with one static. The projections look great in all of the beam angles available, via the Multiple Zoom function - a disc equipped with lenses for different beam angle outputs - !
2 Facet
Cylinder
3-d
4 & 5 Facet
combined
Indefatigable Electronics
ClayPaky is known for building workhorses, fixtures with no compromise, and a big pie of such success, belongs to Pulsar Electronics, who designed and made the firmware and hardware for the fixtures of that era.
Of course the fixtures were properly maintained, but you know that for many cases this is not enough for the components to run seamlessly for many many years. Few years ago, when I restored the salvaged from a field Stage Lights, the electronics proved themselves... indestructible. ClayPaky's chassis design played a role in the protection as well.
In the Stage Scan, the electronic boards are well protected against the heat and lamp's UV radiation, in comparison with the first generations of the Golden Scans, which used 3 boards, one in the back panel and two on the sides, surrounding the ballast, capacitor and starter. Both of the PCBs are mounted in the fixtures back side, offering easy access for servicing, just by opening only the back cover. Their cooling also is much more efficient.
From the two mainboards, all the main electrolytic capacitors have ben changed!
Lamp Downgrade
Like i did with the rest HMI 1200 fixtures I have and I like to work with, I needed to downgrade the lamp to a HMI 575, for lower consumption and luminosity. This, latest lamp and optical system base, is much more convenient (comparing it always with the first generation of Golden Scans HPE I have), since there was no need for any manual adjustment and drilling, so I could fit the lamp base insulators closer and higher for the HMI 575.
This newer module itself, has a double bases, which you can secure the insulators, both for HMI 1200 and HMI 575 lamps! Easy peasy. Plus, there is an extra 90 x 90 x 25 fan mounted below the base, for better cooling of the lamp and lenses.
 CMY & Dimmer/Shutter Module |  Prism Wheel |
|---|---|
 CMY & Dimmer/Shutter Module |  Colour Wheel |
 Prism & Frost/Effect Wheel |  Multistep Zoom & Colour Wheels |
 Gobo Wheels |  Electronics made by Pulsar |
 During the assembly |  Static Gobo detail |
 575 Watt ballast fitted |  The Cone Gobo Projection |
 Second Stage Scan in action! |  First restored Stage Scan in action! |
 Assembly Moment |  Assembly Moment! |
 Rotating GobosThe original dichroic gobos were not installed, so as a temporary solution I am using the glass gobos of the Stage Zoom moving head model. |  During the first tests with the lamp. |
 Assembly began! |