Converting Norman to Speedotron

<p>Hello, I have scoured the forums trying to find out how specifically to convert Norman 900v lampheads (LH2000, LH2400) to work on 900v Speedotron power packs (2403cx, 2401, etc). I have found suggestions for repair shops and a lot of cautionary notes but no specifics on the procedure. I have also heard of adapter pigtails that can adapt the pins to the correct voltages without permanently altering the light itself. Calling all the recommended repair shops I have found out that no one makes the pigtail adapters anymore because the demand is so low and the parts are unreasonably expensive. Some still convert the lampheads but the shipping alone is more than the cost of the procedure. Apparently it's relatively simple. Changing one wire to a new location and lifting one jumper. Does anyone on this forum know the procedure? Or have the schematics available for Norman and Speedo? I have more time than money so I would like to do this myself. And before you warn me that I may kill myself, I have hand built custom tube guitar amplifiers for years so I know my way around the inside of high voltage electronics. I have also rewired many arc damaged amphenol 9pin connectors on the ends of Norman lampheads. Converting a Norman lamphead to work on Speedo should be much easier than both activities. There seem to be a lot of well informed technically minded individuals hanging out here so I'm hoping someone will chime in. Alternatively, if anyone happens to have any old pigtails converting Norman 900v lampheads to 900v Speedo, that you no longer use, I would potentially like to purchase them. Thank you for taking the time to read this.</p>

I have had adapters made to use Spedotron Blackline heads on Norman 900 series packs and vice-versa. Flash Clinic in

NYC (http://www.flashclinic.com) made the conversion cable.

 

The big difference is the power to the modeling light. Speedotron heads don't like the variable voltage that Norman packs

supply.

 

Unless you have a really compelling reason to use Norman 900 series heads on a Speedotron Blackline pack,my advice

is to not bother. I tested all four combinations combinations only to discover that whether I used a Norman head on a Norman pack or on a Speedotron pack it was a full stop less efficient at converting electric charge (watt-seconds) into light than the Blackline

head on either a Blackline or Norman pack. My tests were done with Norman P2000D and P2000X packs and a

Speedotron Blackline 2400 pack.

 

But good luck and best wishes on your project.

<p>Holly Enterprises is another place that probably knows how to do this but I don't know if they are actually doing it since, as you say, the demand is low.<br /><br />If the repair shops aren't interested in doing the work any more, maybe one would be willing to tell you how to do it yourself.</p>

<p>Ellis, thanks for responding. I called Peter at the Flash Clinic based on a previous post of yours years ago. Unfortunately however, he no longer makes the converter cables. The variable voltage issue you cite is indeed an issue if you are trying to use Speedo heads on Norman packs because the model light dimmer channel also supplies the fan voltage. But this not an issue when trying to use Norman heads on a Speedo pack. I appreciate you advice not to bother and understand your logic. However, I personally benefit from full stop less efficient output form the norman heads this means I have a wider latitude in my power range from a 2403cx by switching to a Norman head. I regularly use 7ft parabolic silver umbrellas with no diffusion which is incredibly efficient. One stop less light is a welcome addition. And last, I'm also doing this out of sheer necessity. My last P2000d exploded last week (I have 6 dead units now with multi diode explosions in the top board). I'm left with twelve orphan LH2000-24000 and 8 Speedo packs ready to adopt them... <br /><br />Fortunately, since you having these adapter cables on hand, we can easily reverse engineer them to figure out the cable modification. You are holding the "Rosetta stone" to translate Norman into fluent Speedotron If you are up for it I'd really appreciate it if you can take a look at the wiring changes made to accommodate the different pins in each system. There are two ways to do this: <br /><br />The first is to simply unscrew the housing to reveal the back of the connector which has 9 solder joints correlating to each pin. Each pin is numbered with a numeral printed on the back of the connecter. Start with the Norman female end and write 1-9. Next to 1-9 write the color of the wire. 1 red, 2 black, 3 yellow, etc. On the Speedotron male end do the same. There will be one or two wires that wind up at different locations and possibly one jumper cable either added or removed. This would just be a matter of matching colors to numbers. <br /><br />Alternatively you can also acquire the same information using a meter set to continuity if you don't want to unscrew anything. When the probes in continuity mode touch they make a beep sound. You can then touch one probe on the male speedotron exposed pins and then match up the location on the female Norman end. You will get a sound confirmation when the wire has continuity so we will know where the wire goes. If you get continuity on multiple pins then we know those pins are jumped. You can label them as 1 to 1, 2 to 2, 3 to 8, 4 to 4+5, etc. indicating continuity. <br /><br />My description may make it sound like more work than it really is. But if you are willing to take a few minutes to do this, I'd be happy to make the modifications to a Norman lamphead, test it, and put together a DIY tutorial with photographs and schematics for others on the forum. I have looked high and low for this info with no luck so I think others could benefit from it if it became available. That or if you are willing to sell one or more of your cables I'd be interested to get one to model my mods off of them. <br /><br />Thanks for for your time and I look forward to your response. </p>

I wish I could help but I sold all of my Speedotron and Norman gear years ago.

<p>Hello.<br>

Have you managed to get the info you need regarding Norman and Speedo head connections?<br>

If not please get back to me.</p>

<p>Yes, still searching. Thanks for the message. Feel free to PM me directly or respond here. Looking forward to finally figuring this out.</p>

Hello,

I too am looking for an answer to this question. I recently purchased a set of Bowens, Traveller, Linear heads, which were reportedly converted to Speedotron from Bowens. However, upon receiving the units and testing them with Speedo packs, they blew my circuit breakers. I tracked down the original owner and turns out, per my suspicions, they were actually intended to be used with Norman packs. So, I'm also looking to rewire the plugs from Norman to Speedotron. Should be very simple to re solder the pins in the connecter. Any direction would be very much appreciated.

 

Does anyone have knowledge of using a Norman Beauty Dish on a Speedotron M11? I guess this would need a mount adapter that fits onto the Speedotron M11 head and converts it to the Norman LH2000 dual pin connector mount. This doesn't seem to be off-topic as the title says, "Converting Norman to Speedotron," not specifically packs. Thanks in advance!

Does anyone have knowledge of using a Norman Beauty Dish on a Speedotron M11?

Believe you will get better results if you start a new thread with your post on this old one.

Cool, Thanks much!

<p>Yes, still searching. Thanks for the message. Feel free to PM me directly or respond here. Looking forward to finally figuring this out.</p>

Did you ever get the information? I sometimes think about getting a Norman Tri-Lite to use with Speedotron packs, but don't want to spend the money unless I know what wires to switch out. Thanks!