Design Spot 250 Mystery

hello. please give us a call when you are infront of the unit. call us @ 323-213-4593
(elation support) also check to make sure the head fan is functioning. Please have the serail number when you call in. thank you
Gines Gines
Elation Service manager

I think I may have the same problem. The lamp functions fine, until I turn it off. It will not strike on. I have to unplug machine and wait few mins and lamps is on only to come to same problem when I turn it off.

I will be calling tech support but wanted to know if it was ever resolved.

Hey Jay and welcome to the forums.

The MSD 250/2 is not a hot strike lamp. Therefor, after the lamp turns off, it needs to cool for about 15 minutes before it strikes again. This may be the issue you are experiencing.

On a side note/personal inquiry, did you per chance happen to go to Washington Township High School in south Jersey? An old school mate of mine by the same name went to that school, just wondering if ironically you are that person. Feel free not to answer if offended, again personal nature and don't want to cause a scene.

No thats not me...I was born and raised in Woodside, NY. Thanks for the information, I dont have that problem with the Chauvet qspot 200 with the same bulbs.

It might be that the Q Spot simply keeps the lamp cool enough during operation that it can be struck again fairly quickly after dousing. I know the Design Spots are designed with more effort to keep noise down during operation. You can set the fans to run full blast all the time however if you would like. This should cut down on re-strike time in theory.

I ended up finding out that one of the fans on the light was not working. I got a new fan and the unit works fine. The design spot 250 was just over heating. As for the dimness it is a bad lenses. I have had numerous lights with this problem. I was told that, upon new shipment, some lights went out with the bad lenses. I have since replaced the lenses and have not had a repeat on the same light. But other lights are having the same brown out on the lenses.

Thanks for information, I have to start them up and leave them on to see if the fans ever turn on. The unit is ver 1.2 and the tech said they will turn on after they are running for some time. Do you have the specs as to what kind of fans you replaced it with? Did elation send out the lens to you?

Chauvet qspot has MSD 250 bulb and DS250 has MSD 250/2, are they interchangeable?

Yes. The lamps in question have the following specs:

MSD 250
Watts: 250
Lamp Voltage: 90
Lamp Current: 3
Initial Lumens: 17,000
Average Life: 3,000 Hrs
Arc Length: 5 mm
CRI: 77
Color Temperature: 6700 K
Base: GY 9.5

MSD 250/2
Watts: 250
Lamp Voltage: 90
Lamp Current: 3
Initial Lumens: 17,000
Average Life: 3,000 Hrs
Arc Length: 5 mm
CRI: 65
Color Temperature: 8500 K
Base: GY 9.5


Unless you need a higher color temperature, I would recommend the MSD 250 due to higher CRI and a color temperature closer to white. Any 250w fixtures I buy using a MSD 250/2, I replace with a MSD 250 as soon as I get the fixture. The higher CRI (Color Rating Index) means the lamp represents colors better when projected on a surface and the lower color temperature helps balance out reds vs blues.

The main reason why companies/people use the MSD 250/2 is because it 'looks' brighter despite not actually being brighter. That goes out the window when a color is added to the light however, so its a weak selling point.

The part number is KDE2409PTV1. The specs on it are

100Y No. 57799
Manufacturer No. KDE2409PTV1.13.MS.A.GN
Manufacturer SUNON
Category 16. SUNON_DC Axial Fan

Parameter Explanation
Volt. 24V
Current(A) 0.08A
Air Flow(CFM) 49
Ball/Sleeve/VAPO VAPO
Size(mm) 92*92*25
r.p.m 2800
Watts 1.9
Noise (dBA) 34
Description SUNON_DC MagLev Motor Fan

Yes I did contact elation for the lenses but mine were under warranty and I had them send me what they could, so when I have more, which I will, I can replace them.

Do you recommend any brand other than phillips?

The only other brand I would use besides Philips is Osram. If Ushio made an MSD 250 equivalent, then I would also recommend them (I only use Ushio HPL lamps for instance). Keep in mind, however, that when designing these fixtures, Elation uses Philips lamps and also stocks the fixtures with Philips lamps when they ship. They do this for a reason.

Personally, I don't care for Osram that much. I prefer Ushio for tungsten lamps and Philips for discharge. Philips generally has better CRI then Osram lamp for lamp. They trade blows in lamp life. Philips also makes some lamps that Osram simply doesn't have an equivalent for as well. The MSR 300/2 and the versions of the MSR 400 come to mind.

I would strongly recommend against using knock off lamps, especially discharge lamps. They work under a lot of pressure and extreme heat. If not made correctly/made poorly, they can explode causing serve damage to your fixture as well as the possibility for injury and/or death to people.

Thank you all for your help and input. The lamps were shutting off because the light was set to allow the controller to turn it off, and also the fans were on auto. Since I set the fans to high, I have not come across the lamps shutting off in the middle of a light show. Now lets hope thats exactly what it was. I will now be looking to pick up the MSD 250, and have a set of 4 Philips MSD 250/2 for sale ($450 with shipping) if anyone is interested.

No problem. Glad to be of help.

Before a mod comes along, however, I would advise you ask someone to contact you privately regrading the lamps. Sale of items, used or otherwise, is forbidden on the forums, as expressed in the TOS.

How are the fans placed in the high function instead of auto?

Its in the menu on the fixtures themselves. Go into the menu and then scroll to 'SPEC' and hit enter. Then scroll to 'FANS' and hit enter again. Scrolling again will change between 'HIGH' and 'AUTO', Auto meaning the fixture manges the fans for minimal noise and high meaning they are on full blast. To select one or the other, simply hit enter again.