Broncolor HMI 1200

[BobShaw]

I have a Broncolor HMI 1200 unit that I purchased with some other Broncolor gear.
It does not work, so presumably the ballast is gone somewhere. The head looks very good.
Does anyone have a circuit or even a User Guide for this unit please?
The ballast has power and the seems to work as far as the rectifier output but then it disappears into sealed units.
I can't seem to find anything on the net or on the Bron site about it.

If anyone close to Sydney AU is interested in it they can contact me.

[UlfKrentz]

Does the fan in the head spin? Does the fan in the ballast spin?

[BobShaw]

Does the fan in the head spin? Does the fan in the ballast spin?

Hi again Ulf,
Initially the fan in the head did not spin.
Then I noticed the plug is the same as the Elinchrom Quadras and I looked at the pins.
It had the usually Elinchrom Quadra problem of the pins being pushed in.
I pulled them all out and now both fans spin.

There is an unmarked button in front of the switch on the head. Does this need to be pressed or something?

[UlfKrentz]

Hi Bob, sounds good, if the fan in the ballast works it will most likely be Ok :-) The switch on top of the head should start the ignitor and light the bulb. The fan speed in the head will also be reduced to have less noise. That black rubber spot does not have a function, it is just the cover of a hole in the housing, usually used for the fuse in other heads that share the same housing shells.
To protect yourself from UV radiation the lamp will only start if a reflector is attached. Did you fit either the PAR reflector or the dedicated softbox speedring to the lamp? Standard broncolor modifiers won´t fit on the 1200 head. If everything is set up correct you will either have a bad bulb or a defective ignitor in the head, both can be fixed, just the high voltage capacitor inside might be hard to find. In case you don´t know the 1200 ballast will also run a 575 head which is much more versatile as most broncolor modifiers can be used. Cheers!

[BobShaw]

Thanks Ulf,
I will do some investigating. Are there any voltages I can check in the head, please?
Bob

[UlfKrentz]

Bob, did you attach a modifier? If the fan in the head is spinning you have the supply voltage of the head and ignitor. Be careful, the ignition voltage is dangerous, don´t use a multimeter on the bulb´s supply! You might check the high voltage capacitor C9 if the ignitor does not work, but first make sure the safety switch is activated when the reflector is mounted. Cheers!

[BobShaw]

Thanks Ulf,

Yes it has a modifier on it. I removed it and could see the microswitch. It clicks when you press it so I think that is OK.
When you turn off the head the fan increases in speed which agrees with the User Guide.

I removed the side screws but could not get the sides off. I have taken the sides off Pulso heads many times so I don't know what was stopping these ones. I could not see any damage inside with a torch.
The globe itself has some drifting glass in it. See picture. The glass comes from the glass tube at the top. So it may just be the globe, but they are pretty expensive to get one to try.

I might just put it on Ebay for parts. Thanks for your help.

[UlfKrentz]

Hi Bob, my bet it is the ignitor, probably that cap I mentioned. Also sent a PM.

Cheers, Ulf