Stage Zoom HMI 1200
Stage Zooms came out of nowhere to me! They were about to be thrown, as they have been left in the repair shop for more than 10 years, but happily, I have salvaged them, giving them a new home. Those are really beasts and the heaviest fixture model I have in my collection. They are really hard to move, so I wasn't surprised why their previous owner abandoned them to the service.
Both of them were not well serviced and maintained, as there were many cables detached from the PCBs and motors. Some motors have been replaced with those that have the terminals in cables and not in plugs, so they were poorly connected with tapes, not isolating them properly.
Thankfully, the PCBs survived any misconnection or wrong contact. Only one stepper motor drive section failed and that was because of one small capacitor. Those lights are also proved workhorses and of easy service and maintenance, as they follow the same principal design of that era.
Both of the fixtures have worked for more than 8000 hours and still, they are more than fit for action! Only two motors closer to the lamp compartment needed replacement and thankfully, all the mechanical effects were restored to a pristine state.
One of the two ballasts were removed and the lamp was replaced with an HMI 575, better for residential use. Since the fixture used officially the 1200 W/S lamp type, no other modifications needed for the adaption of HMI575. Still, with the half luminosity, the fixtures optics provide impressive light output and clear projections!
6 out of 8 gobos are glass patterns, which makes that model so artistic, with unique projections and gobo overlays.
No matter how heavy it is, is one of my favourite models from Clay Paky, as it shows with the best ways the top quality, sturdiness during the time and excessive luminosity and effects.