Mixing Ballasts and Heads?

T

tommygdawg

Well-known member
Hey all,

Just a quick question for more experienced HMI users. Are there any rules for mixing ballasts and head fixtures if all the numbers and connectors match up? IE an Arri head with a DeSisti ballast or an Arri ballast with an LTM head? etc. Any info would be appreciated!

Thank you!
 
Really depends.

There are places like Advanced Lighting and Galaxy lighting repair who can make converter cable/connector combos for just about any HMI.
 
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Not really. For one, different brands wire their connectors differently so pin 1 is one thing with one brand and another with another. However when they are rewired for whatever you need it rewired then for the most part they will work. Sometimes though you WILL run into some issues. For instance i tried to convert LTM 200 Fresnel (wired to work with mag ballast) to work with electronic ballast and i didn't have much luck. My step father who's an electrician (not set electrician but still) was dumbfounded why it wouldn't work.

I'm assuming that you are asking in relation to your recent purchase of that Chinese HMI (because those are the very questions i was asking when i began my journey into HMI ownership). In essence you NEED to create a system where elements are interchangeable. You head, your header and your ballasts HAVE to all work with one another. Why? Because no matter how nicely you label stuff the crew (and at some point you WILL work with more then yourselves as your crew) will pack the gear wrong and on your next setup will try to connect wrong head to wrong ballast. Ok, nothing will happen but you will be wasting SERIOUS time. I didn't want to harp more at your purchase of that light when you did your review but one of the problems with those off-brand lights is that you never know how interchangeable all the elements are.
 
I've been warned by one ballast manufacturer not to use their ignitor with other ballasts. I'm not sure how big a deal it'd be, but their line was "The separated [ignitor] works as part of the [ballast]. We do not suggest part replacement, voltage or pulse signals could be incompatible."
 
Probably best to contact one of the places which services HMIs and makes these cable conversions, as they would likely have a better idea which ones are compatible since that's their business.
 
Thanks for the responses everyone, much appreciated!

Patryk_Rebisz said:
Not really. For one, different brands wire their connectors differently so pin 1 is one thing with one brand and another with another. However when they are rewired for whatever you need it rewired then for the most part they will work. Sometimes though you WILL run into some issues. For instance i tried to convert LTM 200 Fresnel (wired to work with mag ballast) to work with electronic ballast and i didn't have much luck. My step father who's an electrician (not set electrician but still) was dumbfounded why it wouldn't work.

I'm assuming that you are asking in relation to your recent purchase of that Chinese HMI (because those are the very questions i was asking when i began my journey into HMI ownership). In essence you NEED to create a system where elements are interchangeable. You head, your header and your ballasts HAVE to all work with one another. Why? Because no matter how nicely you label stuff the crew (and at some point you WILL work with more then yourselves as your crew) will pack the gear wrong and on your next setup will try to connect wrong head to wrong ballast. Ok, nothing will happen but you will be wasting SERIOUS time. I didn't want to harp more at your purchase of that light when you did your review but one of the problems with those off-brand lights is that you never know how interchangeable all the elements are.
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This actually isn't related directly to the Chinese HMI. Rather, I want to get a second HMI (because why not?) and so in looking on Ebay, I was just curious if (to save money potentially) I could score a deal on differently branded ballasts and heads. I guess that's something I'll avoid ;) I wouldn't mind picking up a name brand light/ballast just to see how it compares, but they're still so freakin' expensive comparatively speaking.
 
tommygdawg said:
Thanks for the responses everyone, much appreciated!



This actually isn't related directly to the Chinese HMI. Rather, I want to get a second HMI (because why not?) and so in looking on Ebay, I was just curious if (to save money potentially) I could score a deal on differently branded ballasts and heads. I guess that's something I'll avoid ;) I wouldn't mind picking up a name brand light/ballast just to see how it compares, but they're still so freakin' expensive comparatively speaking.
Click to expand...

are you talking about that one on eBay? Arri head with the gem ballast? I saw that and had the same question. I held off because I always think About resale value and I'm not how easy it would be to do that with a mix and match type set. Especially when it's a rather complex device.
 
StrobelPhotography said:
are you talking about that one on eBay? Arri head with the gem ballast? I saw that and had the same question. I held off because I always think About resale value and I'm not how easy it would be to do that with a mix and match type set. Especially when it's a rather complex device.
Click to expand...

Haha, you read my mind! Or more likely the same ebay search. I also came across a Desisti 1200 electronic ballast for around $500 or $600. Figured it'd be good to pick up if I could wait to also find a cheap head to go with it, but that may not be feasible it seems.
 
Power Gems are good ballasts so you should have no problems running your other ARRI heads with it. The one on ebay right now looks like a beater though so hard to say what it went through. Newish more modern PG ballast went recently for $1800. The beater like this one (assuming it works well) is probably worth around $1k. At $2300 that PG ballast and ARRI head is a hard sell as it requires tons of love.
As for Desisti gear - unfortunately it has very little resale value.
 
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