THE MOTOR CONTROLLER TO TRAVEL THE WORLD

Joined the party in Munich, travelled through half of Europe and finished the 2024 tour together in Mexico City! As Metallica rocks the world with its M72 World Tour, love and passion are truly in the air, with SRS Group AHD-UniV lifting and holding up the speakers on each of the eight towers.

Metllica M72 tour photo by Ralph Larmann

When Metallica was getting ready to set out on a tour to promote its latest album, 72 Seasons, backstage technology manufacturers, distributors and specialists were getting busy preparing all that is necessary for the endeavor to come to life. With over 20 top-notch companies coming together to make the show possible, SRS Group is proud to have played its part in how the venue was set up.

SO HOW DID THEY DO IT?

SRS Group was first approached by RiggingBox regarding the project through Priebe-ScanRIG AB. One of the most challenging and interesting things about the task was making the motor controllers compatible with both American and European power systems. Typically, when going on a world tour, the production team is forced to switch their equipment mid-way in order to go from a 120V to a 230V system or vice versa. However, this was about to change. SRS Group set out on a mission to make a motor controller to travel the world.

The active development process began in January, 2024. Two months later – in March of 2024 – the first dual voltage motor controller was exhibited at Prolight + Sound in Frankfurt. So what did it look like?

AHD-UniV at Prolight + Sound by SRS Group

The key feature of the new controller was, of course, its ability to work with both American and European power systems, which gave the product its name – AHD-UniV, short for universal voltage. Compliant with both UL and CE standards, the AHD-UniV focused on safety and practicality. The engineering team accounted for human error and added extra protection for working with different voltages: if by any chance, the motor controller is set to the wrong mode, the hardware simply won’t let it start operating.

The device is also extremely easy to service thanks to a new PCB which utilizes only MOLEX connectors: say ‘good-bye’ to soldering and welcome a new era of simply (dis)connecting & changing the circuit board. The upgraded PCB also offers a cleaner look on the inside and makes navigating the cables faster. Additionally, the AHD-UniV is equipped with phase voltage and sequence monitoring, which allows you to always stay in control.

THE METALLICA SETUP

Each of the eight towers surrounding the famed snake pit had a system of four motor controllers and a power distribution unit (PDU). The setup used AHD8-DV-CVB-AUXH6-UniV – 8-channel motor controllers for direct voltage chain hoists with circular bayonet connectors on outputs and 6-pin 80A Harting on power + 6-pin 16A Harting on auxiliary hot power. Although it might seem like an unconventional choice, Harting connectors were used to comply with both UL and CE standards. Two of the motor controllers were linked together, while the other two worked separately.

The hand remote for the AHD-UniV was modified as well. Instead of the default 6-pin Socapex connector, it used a 10-pin one to connect 4 pins from the safety line, thus adding a TRUE E-STOP to the hand remote. This further contributed to the safety and reliability of the SRS product. Overall, the AHD-UniV is a feature-rich motor controller that has become a world-first US-EU dual voltage solution and now proudly represents SRS Group, touring the world together with Metallica.