Unique Solutions 2.1 Hazer
This is a mini-review based on initial experience as I've only had the opportunity to use the product once so far due a recent diode failure in my laser.
I hope to maybe add a longer term report later, although there are plenty of users on here who report positive long term experiences with the Unique.
This product was bought from the Thomann Superstore in Germany where the current price is £646 including VAT at 20%. Considerably less than any UK supplier and comes with free postage, albeit delivery takes around a week.
Being European the product comes with a 2 pin Euro plug however the use of a 13 amp Euro to UK Adapter bought from www.euronetworks.com (see my seller review - http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...rsion-Plugs%29) alleviated any warranty problems associated with having to cut the cable to fit a UK plug. The Euro adapter fits like this:
http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/6898/europlug5.jpg
http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/8528/europlug8.jpg
Ok so on to the Unique.
It comes packaged in a brown cardboard box with no internal foam packing just cardboard cut outs inside in a base and top piece of card (photos with top card removed):
http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/9008/boxed1.jpg
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/2857/boxed2.jpg
That said, it arrived in cosmetically perfect condition.
I have to say with the box it has left me a little nervous about putting it away after use from a fire point of view. Why this should be given that my previous Jem smoke machine had a cardboard box, I don't know. Maybe its because the Jem's box was stronger and more resilient printed cardboard with a glossy finish whereas this is an ordinary brown lightweight box. I suppose it saves money and is kinder to environment packaging it this way, but leaves less of a good package for storage.
What's in the box:
Broadly speaking you get:
1. The Hazer
2. A set of printed instructions including a multilingual manual
3. A haze fluid syphon (supplied detached with the hoze on the machine capped off - nice touch to stop debris entering the machine during transit). It's also top quality with a brass air hose style snap fitting to connect it to the main machine hose.
4. A 2 litre bottle of Haze fluid worth around £20
The latter is worth noting as I was advised it came without fluid and bought a bottle only to find one included! Never mind. At least I have some spare now.
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/3...tsinthebox.jpg
IMPORTANT NOTE: Its worth reading the manual now!
Us blokes tend not to do this but the Unique has specific shut down procedures which if not followed can clog the machine and cause it to fail or reduce its lifespan before failure.
When 1st switched on the machine displays P99 in the digital display. This indicates that the machine is working at 99% of pump capacity. This will produce a thick fog / quickly fill a room at this level so is something most people will want to adjust when the machine is switched on. Adjustment is easy using the up / down buttons and holding a button down, causes it to scroll quickly up or down the percentage menu (1-100%).
http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/1811/turnedon.jpg
Both pump output and fan speed are adjustable between 1-100% and pressing the menu button once takes you to the fan speed menu which displays F and then the number indicating the percentage of speed applied. This again is adjustable using the up / down buttons.
The greater the fan speed and lower the pump speed the finer the hazer and vice versa.
Obviously when picking a combination you need to find the right speed combination for the size of room and effect you're looking for.
Another useful feature of the Unique is the fact that its equipped with a very intelligent timer than not only allows you to set a time interval for re-hazing, but also allows you to set two different haze settings so that when the machine is first turned on, it will haze heavily for the initial period you set and then after that period expires, go into a lower cycle of hazing at a much lower rate.
Eg you could set initial hazing at P99 / F100 for 5 minutes then P10 / F30 from then on at the interval you specify.
Any combination is possible although what is chosen will depend on your room size and requirements obviously and will require some experimentation until you find the required levels for your venue. Luckily the machine has full manual control as mentioned earlier so for unfamiliar venues you can simply adjust the machine on the fly.
You'll also notice on the rear of the machine ports for a remote controller and DMX in / out.
http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/1732/controlsc.jpg
In operation, the machine is quiet although on my hard floor the pump did cut in with a bit of a thump. The fan becomes audible around 20% or above although its hardly very loud and in any music environment will easily be drowned out.
The machine delivers a nice even haze although in my small test room I still managed to get some shimmering patterns in the tunnel walls as you'd see typically from smoke which was quite nice.
As mentioned before there is a specific shut down procedure with this hazer where it goes through a self cleaning cycle. This can be seen here where the display shows two moving horizontal lines that indicate cleaning is under way:
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/7105/shutdown.jpg
Cleaning is complete when the horizontal lines disappear and give way to a full stop (period) symbol in the bottom right hand corner.
Overall, I have to say the machine appears very well made and exactly what you'd expect for that kind of money with even the air intake filtered.
Here are some views from the other angles:
Side View 1
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/4509/sideview1y.jpg
Front View:
http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/2162/frontviewk.jpg
Side View 2 showing filtered intake:
http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/9409/sideview2r.jpg
Based on my initial impressions, I'd say this machine is highly recommended.
