Strong Super-Lumex control circuit leads explained

[Erik Bakshi]

I'm wiring up a Strong Super Lumex to an ORC RPS-X1000 Rectifier and need some clarification on what the #2-6 colored leads on the lamphouse side are connected to/used for. The strong manual only states "Leads 2, 4, 5 and 6 are the AC circuit leads between the lamphouse and power supply. Lead 6 is switched through 3 for remote/auto operation." On the Rectifier side I have the following coming out: -Igniter AC, -Fused Hot AC, -AC Com, -Contactor Coil. It looks like since the number 3 lead in the lamphouse is used for remote operation I'll skip that. Any guidance would be much appreciated.

For context - this is a hobby project coming from an AV tech/projectionist with minimal electric experience. Thanks!

[Ryan Gallagher]

I don't know if your Super-Lumex had the MS connector on it originally, or not... but Strong manuals are awful, it took me eons to find these appendices in a manual for a different rectifier unit when I needed it to facilitate wiring for manual (spot) versus console. Perhaps of assistance.

MS-Appendix-A.pngMS-Wire-Harness.png


Also note in the Super-Lumex manual the lamphouse schematic appears to also have those lead numbers indicated, and combined with the legend may provide additional insights.


Super-Lumex-Schematic.png

[Tj Hopland]

This should be a doable combo but there are plenty of things that could get you and or let the magic smoke out. On the lamp 2 & 4 are the 120v to run the fan and other stuff in the lamphouse and 5 & 6 are the return/command to tell the power supply to send the DC. 3 goes to the auto/manual switch so in auto mode you can remotely control it so that one is easy just cap it if you don't need remote control. What can get you on the lamp side of things is there isn't one side designated hot or neutral so you have to pick if its going to be the 2/5 side or 4/6/3 and remember that as you plan the rest of how its going to interface and also note that the only fuse is for the blower. Strong power supplies had a fuse or breaker for this 2/4 connections.

Now for the RPS power supplies, I don't recall an X1000 variant specifically but as far as I know they were all more or less the same. So much to go wrong here. They have the not uncommon different taps for 208v vs 240v line but where it gets odd is they can also be taped to run off 120v and the 120v to run the lamphouse and fans have their own input terminals as well as possibly being connected and fused to the 120v or 208 240 main terminals. You had to pay attention to this when they were new and unmodified. Plenty of ways to get phases crossed and you did need a neutral which wasn't typical with 208/240 so where that comes from is a possibly further complication as far as making things work safely.

To make it even more strange for some reason the auto strike circuit for the accompanying lamphoiuses was located in the power supply on that little plug in PCB so this means there is/was a wire that ran basically directly to the igniter in the lamphouse. Most lamps including later ORC's had that auto circuit in the lamphouse. There is also another oddity in that there are 2 different 'returns' from the lamphouse that take slightly different paths and do different things including running through other relays on that PCB. This is another area where you could get hot or neutral or phases crossed and get nothing or find the smallest wire in the path and vaporize it.

It all should be doable but you have to know what you are looking at and make sure its all stock and unmodified over the years. The ORC 2500c manual in the warehouse shows what I assume is that power supply. And I stress I assume that's it. ORC did often just change the names and models of things for marketing reasons so its probably the same but who knows maybe there were some changes in the wiring to maybe clear up some of the confusing options or ways to go wrong before they moved onto the XPS models which were much more conventional. One thought that popped into my head is I wonder if the X1000 was maybe a 120v only variant? If so that may slightly simplify things but still likely has that the dual return and auto strike thing going on.

Strong avoided all those variables with phases and neutrals by including a 220 to 120 stepdown transformer in almost all their power supplies. That is also why their lamphouses don't have a line and neutral designated and things like the door interlock switch breaks both sides.

[Erik Bakshi]

Thank you both for that insight.

TJ - The X1000 is infact a 120v variant. What specific things from your comment does that simplify?

[Tj Hopland]

Not having a diagram for the X1000 I'm just assuming but they would have had to eliminate the 208-240 connections and jumpers and the possible separate 120v input for the lamphouse and fans. 120 only I would assume there is just a single hot and neutral input that then gets split by 2 fuses, a larger one for the main supply and then a smaller one for the lamphouse. Should be no confusion when it comes to what comes off which phase and where the neutral comes from like there could be with the typical RPS model.

You still have a somewhat less conventional interface with the lamphouse that I would want to study and understand why the return control path seems to be split or if the 120v model even has that. Do you have a manual? I don't recall anyone seeing one but I also never was looking for one either so maybe I have one and just never had a reason to look at it. I'm wondering if maybe this variant came with the system they called the CineX35? Or perhaps was part of the systems used for 16mm or 35mm slides? Guessing it pre dated the M1000 integrated lamphouse.