Anthony Graham

Hi It would have been Xandy Sahla if it is the bts Ifor Downton Abbey am thinking of. Ant

Oh forgot re the heden gears try Derrick Whitehouse I beleieve he had some heden bits floating around. dw@whitehouseav.com Just be carefull with the FMG.6 as you could kill it. DON'T grease anything unless you know what it is and does. As I know somebody who accidentally greased the clutch and made a motor with only minor problems driving stiff lenses into a useless item! As no amount of cleaning could fix it! Like I said be carefull as fixing an FMG isn't easy. Ant

Hi After checking the cables and connectors and cleaning the connectors! The main reason for this happening is the motor pot has deteriorated or got dirty with age. Meaning that the motor controller is trying to chase a moving target, or one that doesn't follow the rules of a pot going in a smooth arc for it's values. For example 1-2-3-4-5 and so on instead it goes 1-2-3-2-5 so the controller tries to bounce around between 3 and 5 looking for where 4 should be (at least the pot equivalent anyway). Try replacing the pot in the motor assuming 1 you can open your motor and 2 you can still get the pot in question (the original one for the sld-100 is discontinued). If you can't get one and you are confident AND you understand you may actually kill the pot, try cleaning it with DeoxIT or Servisol super 10 fader and switch cleaner. I say may kill it as sometimes as the pot is that bad the tracks actually flake off when cleaned. Another option is try contacting Spintec in Israel. As the designer and maker of the original FMG.6 started Spintec however I am not 100% sure if he still owns the company or even works there anymore. Even so they may be able to help with part numbers are may even carry some stock from when they made some motors for somebody who shall remain nameless! They may even still repair them if they are feeling nice! Anyway the contacts are (sorry no email) Phone +972 2 579 7999 Mobile +972 54 4907 107 Fax +972 2 579 1463 Address Motion Dynamix Ltd. POB 150 Beit Nekofa Israel 90830 Good Luck Anthony

Tom The pic from Ben is a bracket Baer Bel makes/made they may have more or be able to run one of for you. Baer bel bracket Ant

I would guess at the add weights that are on the Pilot, Scout and Merlin. They kind of stack and screw together. They normally have a little rubber o ring that stops them locking up. I little light grease/oil (or lisigav should work too if so inclined!) should stop them jamming and locking together in future. Ant

Try and use a spray on waterproofer nikwax etc. I used it on a tent once and the difference was night and day. It improved the water run off massively. A cheap and simple option! Re coat every year as with flexing and being crumpled up and packed away the weave tends to reopen over time. However like mentioned earlier I cut the legs off a pair of waterproof pants to make covers and they are totally waterproof. I can actually use them to carry water if needs be (I actually used them as when bought found them too waterproof and non breathable in normal use as they would not let sweat out). I just added a pull cord channel at one end with a an elastic pull cord through it. I have also recently modded a waterproof jacket with a third arm at the right height for this lovely UK weather we have. Ant

It would have been usefull if pics had been included with the manual. Maybe the main full manual has part numbers and pics? wouldn't know as I have never owned a master! Anyway hope this helps Anthony

I thought the Phantom V level sensor was on the sled anyway? It just talked to the Transvideo to provide the graphic overlay. Am I miss understanding this? Another question is has the Transvideo on the Phantom V been specially made for this or do all the new Transvideo Cinemonitor HD series have the ability to do this? Regards the sensor being in the monitor. I think another issue several ops myself included assume in/on the sled may be the best option, is that the tilt/angle on the monitor may influence the sensor operation and reaction. For example if it is table flat or at 45 degrees. Plus the monitor itself may have a slight twist or skew on it's bracket (say 1 degree or 2) that operation wise may not bother us but will screw up the sensor orientation with the sled. If it is in/on the sled base atleast it should always in theory be in the same place and axis when used from one time to the next. Most ops who use external sensors mount it on the sled base somewhere, it may be on the left or right underneath etc. Usually it will stay there in the same place for the rest of it's life. I agree exact placement isn't that much of any issue as long as it is fairly close to the sled centre (it's not like it's 6ft away from the sled!) but always being in the same place so you will learn when to compensate or ignore it's reaction. Where as if it is in the monitor it may be slightly off axis each time when set up out of it's case/bag etc. Regards Anthony

To take the strain off mini hdmi sockets look at these too http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1080P-HDMI-to-3-RCA-AV-Composite-CVBS-S-video-Converter-fr-PS3-DVD-Camera-Sky-HD-/300657750683?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item460099329b http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hdmi-to-mini-angle-90-cable-for-Canon-Digital-IXUS-IS-/320884186724?pt=UK_Computing_CablesConnectors_RL&hash=item4ab6301e64 Maybe even look at one of these as it has a clamp to grip the hdmi plug to stop the camera socket being pulled. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Trusmt-DSLR-camera-CAGE-Ultimate-with-HDMI-clamp-and-extend-plate-/290685113171?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43ae2ed353 Ant

This is the same unit I have (same as the one from amazon but cheaper) I just made up a little power convertor that takes 12v to 5v. The power convertor actually lives in the box and has a 0B4 connector to the sled for power and video. An external power adaptor should be simple enough for you to put outside the sled. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1080P-HDMI-to-3-RCA-AV-Composite-CVBS-S-video-Converter-fr-PS3-DVD-Camera-Sky-HD-/300657750683?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item460099329b

Not had mine die yet....... When it does I will have sniff around to see what is dying in them. Intermittent seems to be a connector issue. It could also be down to the power regulator dying due to heat etc. Unless anybody in the UK has a dead one lying around for me to play with? For alternatives I will probably go over to the blackmagic design series of convetors when mine dies. They offer a rugged version which though a little heavier will probably stand up better to knocks and bumps. They are close in price to the decimator units too unlike the aja. Ant

I personally have a pair of horse riding gloves. They are neoprene on the back side and a soft ish leather on the front. These are fairly good in rain/snow etc too as they seem to repel the water quite well. I tried neoprene and thinsulate plus some other funky fleece type gloves but they all got wrecked pretty quickly by the knurled grip on the gimble was using at the time. Leather seemed the most durable on the palm/finger area. In extreme cold I could also put a thicker pair of insulated gloves over the top between shots! The coldest I used these in was a wind chill of -30/40 centigrade on the top of Aiguille du Midi (3,842 m) in the French Alps. Ant

Watch out for the hole spacing. I had and MK-V iris rod and it only seemed to fit the MK-V plate The CP and Pro plates didn't seem to line up correctly. Metric and imperial issues maybe? Try and get the rod from the same people that made your plate Ant

Hi If you don't manage to find the old CP one, you might want to try through your Tiffen Europe branch. I believe they sell through the ones made up by Mike Scott in the UK. I believe he keeps the fisher and lemo triax in stock. If the client wants to buy a rig then they could also buy the cable if needed through Mike/Tiffen Europe. http://www.steadi.co.uk/sale.htm Though not the same cable they are still very very good. Anthony

Oh and just so your aware the for and aft is on the rear of the stage now! Ant