Electronic/Analog Dimmers
Do you own dimmers which are 5-30 years old, and which are showing signs of trouble? It could be that you have Analog Dimmer modules. We say this as a way of saying "not digital". These older dimmer modules can usually be readily repaired, you just have to know how to find the one in trouble.
All dimmers (well, most, anyway) contain: circuit breaker, power devices (SCR, Triac) power choke, and a "driver" or "trigger" card. Typical problems in these dimmers are failures of the power devices, or more often, a failure of the trigger card. These dimmers do have common failures and can be repaired easily by our shop staff.
If you have some dimmers not acting quite right, here is a procedure for identifying the culprit. Say you have a system of 48 analog dimmers, driven by a console of 48 slide pots. And you’re fairly confident that dimmer 42 doesn’t work. Where’s the problem? Well, as these dimmers are for the most part modular, you can usually exchange one dimmer for another. So, (with the power off, of course) you can switch dimmers 41 & 42. Restore the power. Has the problem moved to slot 41? Good! That means the problem is in the dimmer chassis or trigger card. Now, again with the power off, swap the trigger cards between dimmer 41 & 42. Has the problem now moved to slot 42? No? Well then, the problem is in the chassis in slot 41. Or has the problem moved to slot 42? Then, good. That means the problem resides in the trigger card in slot 42. Either way, the dimmer chassis or the card can be sent to us for speedy repairs.
Now, what if you follow these procedures and you send us a card or chassis which doesn’t appear to us to have a problem? Have no fear, we only charge for repairs we can actually make. We don’t charge just for a check out.
Our shop staff has been repairing all varieties of dimmer modules since 1959. It’s likely that we’ve already seen and repaired dimmers just like yours. We look forward to assisting you. Feel free to call the to highly qualified office staff for a service date and paperwork requirements.
