88 • March 2015 • Lighting&Sound America

TECHNICAL FOCUS: PRODUCT IN DEPTH

It’s getting harder and harder to find small and medium-sized automated luminaires, apart from those with extremelynarrow beams, that haven’t switched over to LEDs as theirlight source. The days of the 250W, 300W, 575W, and,arguably, 700W discharge lamps as the workhorses of auto-mated entertainment lighting seem numbered. The onechange that happened much more quickly than I anticipatedis that many units, such as the one we are looking at in thisstory, continue to use dichroics, for color mixing and colorwheels, while using white LEDs as the light source. I cansee the reasoning, and those highly efficient phosphor-con-verted white LEDs are undoubtedly very attractive, but it stillseems slightly unusual to me. It’s not very rational of meand I’m not really sure why!

This piece focuses on Martin Professional’s MACQuantum Profile, a product clearly aimed at the mid- tohigh-range market that the MAC 250, MAC 600, and theirmany successors have filled previously. This has alwaysbeen a very successful market for Martin; can the newQuantum range help the company keep that position andmove its customer base over to LEDs with a very familiarfixture?

I tested a unit supplied to me by Martin. I believe thiswas one of thefinal pre-produc-tion models thatwere shown at theLDI and PLASAtrade shows at theend of 2014. Itdidn’t have thefinal shipping soft-ware, so I wasunable to test acouple of fea-tures—in particu-lar, RDM; however,all those featuresare present in theshipping unit(Figure 1).

Light sourceMartin hasn’t used an off-the-shelf LED light module,instead building its own light engine using 90 white LEDs

mounted in five concentric rows in a circular array. Each ofthe LEDs consumes approximately 5W and has its ownmolded lens mounted above it. Those lenses are tilted atincreasing angles as you move further out in the array. Thus,

even though theLEDs themselvesare mounted on aflat circuit board,the light fromthem is angledtowards the opti-cal axis, giving aresult very similarto that from thereflector with aconventional lightsource. Figure 2shows the moldedarray of lensesover the LEDs;you can clearly see the dished shape of the lenses, raised atthe edges, and flat in the center.

Also visible in Figure 2 are two fans, used for cooling theLEDs, and a large heat sink placed behind them. In normaloperation, these are thermostatically controlled and fade inand out as needed; however, the user can choose to havethem run at a constant speed if preferred.

Figure 3 is a shot down the front of the unit, which pro-vides an excellent view of the LED array in operation (run-ning at about 1% for this photograph!).

Martin Professional MACQuantum ProfileBy: Mike Wood

Fig. 1: Fixture as tested.

Fig. 2: LED lenses and cooling.

Fig. 3: LED array.

Copyright Lighting&Sound America March 2015 http://www.lightingandsoundamerica.com/LSA.html

www.lightingandsoundamerica.com • March 2015 • 89

Strobe and dimmerNo mechanical dimmer or shutter are employed, of course;the LEDs and associated driver electronics do all that. TheMac Quantum Profile has excellent, smooth dimming. I couldsee no flicker or stepping, even down at the lowest levels ofdim. For my tests, I ran the unit in its default mode, whichprovides a square-law output (my preferred choice); the unitalso offers the options of linear, S-curve, and inverse squarelaw through the fixture configuration. Figure 4 shows thegood match of the output to the standard curve. I measuredthe PWM rate at 3kHz, which should be okay with mostcameras. The strobe is variable up to 20Hz and offers theusual range of random and varying strobe types.

Color systemsAs mentioned previously, the Mac Quantum Profile usesconventional glass dichroic filters for both color mixing andcolor wheel.

Subtractive color mixing is provided in a familiar mannerby three pairs, one each in cyan, magenta, and yellow, ofetched dichroic flags. Each flag is individually driven by its

own motor, pro-viding verysmooth and con-trollable color mix-ing. I saw little evi-dence of bandingor patterning.Figure 5 shows apair of flags withthe fine etched fin-ger pattern asthey close overthe aperture.

COLOR MIXINGColor Cyan Magenta Yellow Red Green BlueTransmission 16.2% 3.9% 85% 3.2% 9.4% 0.5%

Color change speed – worst case < 0.3 sec

The mix colors are fairly saturated, with, as expected, lowoutput in red from the LED source. (Phosphor-convertedwhite LEDs have fairly low output in the deep reds.)Movement was very quick and precise.

Next in line, right behind the color mix flags, is the fixedcolor wheel. This has six fixed trapezoidal colors plus theopen hole. These provide CTO correction as well as a rangeof standard colors, including a deep red and a Congo blue.

COLOR WHEELColor Blue Green CTO Magenta Congo RedTransmission 2.9% 32% 63% 14% 0.3% 0.7%

I measured thecolor temperatureof the MacQuantum Profile at6,718K with aCQS of 63 (CRI of68) with no filtersin place, and3,309K with aCQS 72 (CRI 72)when using theCTO correction fil-ter. Figures 6 and7 show the spec-tra of the light inthose two cases.The positioning ofthe color wheel inthe optical trainmeans that youcan get good half-colors with astraight line cutbetween the twocolors, as can beseen in the exam-ple shown inFigure 8.

The color wheelmovement is quick; it snaps between colors almost invisibly.It also provides slow, smooth rotations with very little steppi-ness or jerking.

Fig. 4: Dimmer law.

Fig. 5: Color mix flags.

Fig. 6: Spectrum open.

Fig. 7: Spectrum with CTO.

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TECHNICAL FOCUS: PRODUCT IN DEPTH

COLOR WHEEL MOVEMENTColor change speed – adjacent < 0.2 secColor change speed – worst case 0.3 secMaximum wheel spin speed 0.41 sec/rev = 146 rpmMinimum wheel spin speed 194 sec/rev = 0.31 rpm

GobosTwo gobo wheels, a rotating wheel with six changeable pat-terns plus open hole, and a fixed wheel with 10 non-changeable patterns plus open cut into a single wheel, arenext in the optical train.

Gobos on the rotating wheel use a familiar cartridgesnap-in system, as shown in Figure 9, and are easy toswitch out. As can also be seen in Figure 9, each cartridgehas a magnet for position alignment during initialization.Both wheels use quick-path algorithms minimizing the timeneeded to make a change.

ROTATING GOBOGobo change time, adjacent apertures 0.3 secGobo change time, max (Gobo 0 to 4) 0.7 secMaximum gobo rotate speed 0.61 sec/rev = 98 rpmMinimum gobo rotate speed 318 sec/rev = 0.19 rpmMaximum wheel spin speed 1 sec/rev = 60 rpmMinimum wheel spin speed 6 sec/rev = 10 rpm

STATIC GOBO WHEELGobo change time – adjacent apertures 0.2 secGobo change time – max (Gobo 0 – 5) 0.5 secMaximum wheel spin speed 0.46 sec/rev = 130 rpmMinimum wheel spin speed 215 sec/rev = 0.3 rpm

As with every motor in the unit, smoothness and posi-tional accuracy of the rotating gobos was excellent. I meas-ured hysteresis on the rotating gobo at 0.18° of error, whichequates to about 0.7" at a 20' throw (31mm at 10m).

Focus quality on the rotating wheel was very good, with

just a little spherical and pincushion distortion. The fixedwheel isn’t quite as good and shows increased pincushiondistortion. Figure 10 shows four examples of the focusedimage. Top left is the open beam, top right and bottom leftare two examples from the rotating gobo wheel, while bot-tom right is the fixed gobo wheel. It is also possible to pullfocus between the two gobo wheels to perform a morph.Figure 11 shows an example.

Fig. 8: Half color.

Fig. 9: Gobo replacement.

Fig. 10: Image quality.

Fig. 11: Gobo morph.

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IrisLast in the systems mounted on the main optical module isthe iris, as can be seen in both closed and open positions inFigure 12. The Mac Quantum Profile iris reduced the beamsize to 13.5% of the full beam and I measured opening andclosing times at around 0.3 seconds It isn’t possible to hardfocus on the iris and gobo at the same time. (Almost nounits can do this.)

PrismThe single three-facet prism is mounted in between two ofthe output lenses and is inserted and removed using an armmechanism. Figure 13 shows the prism and its mechanism

while Figure 14shows an exampleof the image sep-aration it provides.I measured inser-tion / removal timeat approximately0.4 seconds, and,once inserted, theprism can berotated at speedsvarying from114rpm down to aspeed so glaciallyslow I didn’t attempt to measure it!

The DMX512 control offers extended macro channelsthat coordinate the various systems, including the prism, toprovide pre-programmed effects.

Lenses and outputThe proof of the claims of the Martin Mac Quantum Profileto replace 700W HID units is, of course, in the output. Ituses the usual three-group lens system: two moving groupsproviding zoom and focus, and a fixed final output lensgroup. I measured the output with all emitters at full and nocolors in place at 13,523 lumens at a wide angle of 31°remaining almost constant as the unit was zoomed to13,256 lumens at 11.2° at the narrow end. That clearly vindi-cates Martin’s claims, as the output is very comparable withother 700W HID spot units. (Looking back through myreviews, I measured the MAC 700 at around 14,000 lumensin 2006.) Figures 15 and 16 show the beam profiles at maxi-mum and minimum zoom, respectively. The beam, as is sooften the case with LED-based units, is very smooth and

Fig. 12: Iris.

Fig. 13: Prism.

Fig. 14: Prism separation.

Fig. 15: Beam profile – maximum.

PRODUCT IN DEPTH

flat. Both zoom and focusoperated well; I measuredzoom at 0.8 seconds fromend to end, while focustook one second. (Note:Light output was measuredafter 30 minutes running atfull output, when the unithad reached full operatingtemperature—output wasapproximately 13% higherimmediately after the unitwas powered up.)

Pan and tiltI measured the movementrange of the Mac QuantumProfile as 540° in pan and260° in tilt. In the default“smooth” mode, pan timeover that angle was meas-ured at 3.8 seconds with2.1 seconds for 180°. In tilt,the figures were 2.6 sec-

Fig. 16: Beam profile – minimum.

Fig. 17: Pan and tilt motors.

Fig. 18: Yoke arm.

onds for 250° and two seconds for 180°. In the optional“fast” mode, the full movement times were reduced to 2.6seconds for pan and 1.4 seconds for tilt. That’s pretty fastfor quite a large unit. In smooth mode, I measured therepeatability accuracy for both pan and tilt at a very cred-itable 0.03° which is about 0.1" at a 20' throw (5mm at10m). Both pan and tilt motors are large, two-phase step-pers mounted in the base of the yoke arm as can be seenin Figure 17; Figure 18 shows the layout for the tilt belt inthe yoke arm.

NoiseIn smooth mode, the noise levels are controlled by LEDcooling fans, which are the most apparent noise producerswhen running at full speed. In that mode, only zoom wasnoticeable above the fan noise. In fast mode, pan and tiltare much louder, particularly tilt, which gives out a veryobjectionable whine. The levels reported here are all takenwith the unit running at full power on all emitters afterreaching thermal equilibrium.

SOUND LEVELSNormal Mode

Ambient <35 dBA at 1mStationary 39.3 dBA at 1mHoming/Initialization 57.3 dBA at 1mPan (Smooth mode) 47.6 dBA at 1mPan (Fast mode) 55.1 dBA at 1mTilt (Smooth mode) 42.7 dBA at 1mTilt (Fast mode) 60.26 dBA at 1mPrism 40.2 dBA at 1mGobo 39.5 dBA at 1mGobo rotate 40.1 dBA at 1mZoom 53.5 dBA at 1mFocus 40.5 dBA at 1m

Electrical parameters and homing/initialization timeThe Mac Quantum Profile is rated for auto-switching opera-tion on 120V – 240 V, 50Hz/60Hz. For these tests, it wasrun on a nominal 120V, 60Hz supply and measured as fol-lows.

POWER CONSUMPTION AT NOMINAL 120V, 60HZCurrent, RMS Power, W VAR, VA Power Factor

Quiescent 0.78 A 90 W 94 VA 0.95(LEDs off)LEDs at full 4.88 A 584 W 585 VA 0.99

Initialization took 40 seconds from either a cold start or aDMX512 reset command. Homing is well behaved in thatthe fixture fades up after pan and tilt have finished movingto their final position.

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94 • March 2015 • Lighting&Sound America

PRODUCT IN DEPTH

Figure 19 - Optical module.

Fig. 20: Optical train.

Fig. 21: Top box.

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Construction, electronics, and controlMartin has moved over to using the CAN bus standard forcommunication within the unit. Originally designed for theautomotive industry, it is now used in many automation andindustrial products and is well-supported. It’s a good choicefor sending relatively low-speed motor and sensor dataaround an automated light. The LEDs and LED drivers areboth in the head along with the motor and sensor drivers.These all connect, through the CAN bus, back to the maincontrol board in the top box of the unit. The color and gobosystems are mounted on an easily removable optical mod-ule shown in Figure 19. Unplug the two connectors, powerand CAN bus, release two catches, and this just liftsstraight out of the unit—very simple for cleaning and main-tenance. Figure 20 shows the head assembly with the mod-ule in place. Everything is visible in this photograph, fromthe LEDs at the back to the lenses at the front. (Servicenote: Martin uses Torx fasteners throughout their products.)

The top box contains two power supplies as well as themenu and main control electronics (Figure 21). The menuand connectors are shown in Figures 22 and 23. The con-nection panel is very straightforward, just a NeutrikpowerCON for power and five-pin DMX512.

That’s about it for the Martin Mac Quantum Profile. Itseems to meet its claim to have an output comparable withprior 700W HID units. How do its other parameters workout? As always, I’ve provided the data, but only you know ifit’s suitable for your venue.

Mike Wood provides technical, design, and intellectualproperty consulting services to the entertainment technolo-gy industry. He can be contacted atmike@mikewoodconsulting.com.

Fig. 22: Menu system.

Fig. 23: Connections.