MAC Viper Used as a Followspot

Quite often LD's find it handy to utilize a moving light in place of a truss spot.  This allows full DMX control of all the fixture's attributes while allowing an operator to manually position the unit.  Martin Professional patented a system for doing this with the Martin MAC III and some customers have asked about doing the same with the Martin MAC Viper Profile, MAC Viper Performance, and MAC Viper AirFX.




While a dedicated spotlight mode does not exist in the Viper range, there is an approved method for using the fixtures as followspots.  You simply have to place the fixture into Service Mode.  This will disable the pan/tilt motors and allow all the other functions to behave normally via DMX.

In order to do this, you simply need to press and hold both the Escape Button (C) and the Jog Wheel (B) when powering on the unit. 

Then the display will show a  "Service" warning.  At this point the power will be removed from the pan/tilt motors thus allowing you to move the head freely.

It is important to note that a power cycle will disable the Service Mode.  If you send the unit a Reset command from DMX, it will reset all the functions other than pan/tilt and remain in the Service Mode.


 
So now you know how to configure your Martin MAC Viper fixture for use as a followspot.  Have fun with this and be sure to wear gloves when manually moving the fixture head as some parts of it can be rather hot!

A Visit to Martin Headquarters

I recently had a chance to visit the Martin Professional headquarters in Aarhus Denmark.  It is quite a remarkable place with many interesting points and a wonderful staff.  If you are ever in Denmark, you should plan to make the short trip to the office to see the headquarters. 

Martin HQ on a Sunny Day

The Center Courtyard

Inside the building there is tons of things to see and do.  Many departments have offices here including R&D, Product Management, Sales, Support, Design & Application, Marketing, Management, Product Testing and much more.  The entire environment is built to emphasis innovation and cooperation.

The Front Lobby

Turn Left Here to Enter the R&D Department

An Inspirational Marketing Meeting Room

The Martin Evolution Gallery is an amazing showcase that provides the history of Martin through a grand display of products and an informational timeline.  It is fun and amazing to see all the products and particularly to remember the ones that you worked with and the past types of products Martin has created.

The Martin Evolution Gallery

The Starlight is Martin's First Moving Head

A Small Sampling of Some Great Products

 Also located within the headquarters are two areas to demonstrate all the current (and coming soon) products.  There is a Demo Room, which is a hands-on area where products can be shown as well as training and experimentation are possible.  Then there is a large Showroom that contains a very impressive rig and a large theatrical style seating area.  Here very creative demos are played that demonstrate the abilities of all the products working together.

The staff at the Martin headquarters is very accommodating and happy to provide tours of the massive 3+ story building.  There are many more surprises within the walls as well, some of which are only for employees, but anyone visiting the office will be thrilled by the experience.

Martin MAC 2000 #100.000