Hello! I have 6 CP2210s and 2 CP2220’s all with doremi IMBs that attach to showvaults. We’re loosing our building for a bit, and I’m trying to figure what I need to do to preserve these. Are the showvaults OK to leave off for 6 months to a year? What about the projectors? As far as the IMB batteries, if I have the projector plugged in, but off, without a TPC would that take the load off of the batteries? Any info or recommendations would be appreciated!
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Do you power down the showvaults now or do you leave them running 24/7? As for the IMB's, I'd try to get the projectors and IMBs powered. I'd also boot them every few weeks at least.
As for the hardware: It's hard to predict how it will react after being powered down for 6 months, when it has been running 24/7 for years. If those machines have been running 24/7, then I personally would try to keep them powered on all the time.
This is simply based on my own, flawed, experience. I don't keep statistics to prove it, but I've had quite a few machines that would't boot after a few months in storage. Will be interesting what others have to say. -
I'll Chime in on our experience with Doremi IMB's. We are a Drive-In, anywhere from 2-5 shows weekly depending on the season, open April-October. We power down nightly and run the machines for 24-28hrs every 4-6 weeks in the off season. Last year we acquired a used Barco32b to replace our original that has a tamper failure that we could not clear. The used machine came with a doremi server and IMB, and based on the run time of the Barco, it ran 24/7 for the 10 years that it was in service for the original owner. The IMB on that unit had the battery warning present, indicating that it had not been changed in more than 4 years. When we changed that battery I measured the voltage at 3.2v if I recall correctly. We changed the battery on our original IMB at the same time (still working, no battery warning yet) and it measured 2.9v if I recall.
I'd probably look at when the last time the secure clock battery was changed, and if it was not recent, consider changing it before storing the unit. Of course there's always a risk in bricking the unit, so that would have to be weighed. Six months might be worth chancing with the existing battery, 2 years and I'd probably change it before storing. Also worth considering is that Doremi recommends running the machine for 30mins to charge the supercap before changing the battery, so if the unit is somewhere you can't power it, you'd be unable to change the battery if its in storage longer than expected.
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There are batteries in the IMB, PIB, & TPC. If replaced before storing they would all be OK after a year. Also the CMOS battery in the SV chassis should be replaced. Follow the manufacturers instructions on replacing batteries! They may want the system powered for a while before removing a battery then allow a short time with no battery while it's swapped.Comment
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The crucial one is the IMB battery (BR3032). This maintains the DCI certificate, meaning that if it allowed to discharge completely, the IMB is bricked. Dolby no longer provide a recertification service for Doremi IMBs, meaning that if you lose any, you're looking at having to replace them with an IMS costing in the high four figures.
Anyone - please correct me if I'm wrong, but if the two Christie batteries go flat, you may lose configuration settings, but I don't think that the PIB or TPC will be bricked.
Of course, it would be a good idea to download and keep carefully configuration settings backups from the servers and projectors before starting a prolonged period of power down.Comment
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Currently we do power down the showvaults and turn off projectors nightly. I'll Swap out the BR3032 batteries, I have done so before but I've been having trouble sourcing the correct ones recently. I only see CR3032s and I know they don't normally last so long.
Honestly for the settings on the TCP and PIB, I dont think it matters, when we get up and running they will be on new bulbs, with new screens, on a new network just the same showvaults and projectors essentially so loosing that config wont be troublesome for me.
Do you have any idea what all I need to keep that IMB board powered? Do the projectors actually need to have a TPC attached, and be powered on, or will it work with just power connected to the projector itself?Comment
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Digikey claims to have 12,653 BR3032s in stock when I looked just now.
I've noticed over the last 6-12 months or so that Amazon is less likely than they once were to have batteries that aren't used in mass production consumer devices, and if they do, they are now a lot more expensive. For BR anything, you are better off going to a specialist business to business supplier such as Digikey, Mouser, or Grainger. For the Tadiran batteries used in GDC IMBs from the SX-2000 on, you might as well buy them from GDC themselves: I haven't seen them significantly cheaper anywhere else.Comment
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I would personally avoid replacing the internal battery on any Doremi IMB that is over 8 years old. There is a good chance of losing the IMB certificate during the replacement procedure, unless you already own a Dolby IMS docking station and try replacing the battery while the IMB is powered on by the docking station. This procedure is not officially approved by Dolby.Comment
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The battery can be replaced using the Barco battery replacement method, and an external battery can be soldered onto the bottom to prevent short circuits and certificate loss.Comment
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You are correct. The button is labelled "Emergency Start" on the PIB board next to a "Reset" and the marriage button. I would not count on that for normal operations, but I could see it's use for temporarily powering equipment in storage. My only concern would be that pressing that button tries to light the lamp. If the projector does not have a lamp installed, or a lamp is installed but the exhaust duct is not connected, (specifically to a CP2210-15) there could be damage to the projector. A CP2220 would hopefully not allow the lamp to be lit because the vane sensor on the exhaust would inhibit the strike.
One way around all of that might be to just use the 110V input, which would effectively disable the lamp power supply.
Another benign note, is that without a TPC, and using the Emergency Start button to start the projector, there is no way to get the projector back into standby. I don't necessarily think that's a problem, but you need to make sure you're treating the IMB with necessary care rather than just pulling the plug when you're done powering it, same as you would during normal operations.
I'm not sure the "Emergency Start" button was meant for regular use, hence "emergency". While it worked the last time I tested it, I'm not sure if it has any long term implications effecting the life of the projector.
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