Phil Thomas

This is now Sold. Thanks

Hi All, I'm looking to sell my Teradek Cube 155 - 355 Pair (Cubelet) with all manufacturer supplied accessories plus 2 x D-Tap - LEMO Power cables for running from batteries. Cube 155 is HD-SDI Encoder/Transmitter with built in WiFi and Ethernet. Cube 355 is Decoder/Receiver to convert network signal back to HD-SDI. They can be directly connected with their own Ad-Hoc wireless or wired network or hosted on an existing LAN. The cube 155 can also be used to transmit a web stream to a content delivery network or facebook/YouTube live etc. I believe the 155 can also transmit direct to an iPad on the same local network for low res on set monitoring, although I've never done this as I don't own an iPad. You can connect more powerful and directional antennas to them to cover larger distances or build your own WiFi coverage network to extend the range. They have a built in battery which lasts for a reasonable amount of time, but is most useful as it allows you to change a bigger battery supplying via D-tap without restarting them. It also has a MicroSD card slot which can be used to make H264 recordings for web or proxies. Well looked after, only used a handful of times, tested and working as a pair. Looking for £2300 + VAT, which is a saving of over £1000 on the new price, VAT invoice supplied. Viewing welcome, located near Bath, UK Cheers Phil

Hi All, I am selling my Steadicam Archer 1 Full Rig, this rig is in good condition and works great with a wide range of cameras and rig set ups. I have spent over £3600 on the rig improving it over the standard Archer and it is ready to work for the new owner. It has had the arm upgraded to the G50x bearing set by Tiffen, so no footstep problems as sometimes found with G50 arms. It also comes with an upgraded Ultra High Brightness Monitor which is daylight viewable and works with HD-SDI, SDI and Composite signals, this is significantly better than the stock Archer Monitor. It also has a Hocus Products second battery plate which can be used to power the rig in parallel to allow longer running times and provides extra weight to balance bigger cameras. Also supplied with this rig is a custom built weight plate to allow use of this rig with small cameras such as handheld video cameras and DSLRs whilst weighting the arm up enough to work efficiently. The removable Tally Lights on the monitor can be used with the supplied Tally Sensor Cable to relay tally from a broadcast camera down through the rig to the monitor for use in the live environment. This rig can fly full broadcast cameras with Radio transmitters and receivers for use on Studio or Outside Broadcast shows as well as flying cinema cameras such as the Alexa etc. Asking Price: £9500 + VAT ONO Send me a message through my profile for more info, pictures are below. Included in this Sale: Main Components - Archer 1 Sled V-Lock - G50 Arm (G50x bearing upgrade) - Teletest Cyclops HD Ultra High Brightness HD-SDI Monitor (attached to sled) - Archer 1 Stock Monitor - LX Vest Accessories - Custom V-Lock Battery Plate - Custom Weight Plate - Doughty Tripod Stand + Tiffen Docking Bracket - Steadicam Hard Case for Sled - Flight Case for Vest and Arm - Steadicam Padded Arm Bag - Bolts for attaching cameras to dovetail plate and weight plate. - Steadicam Allen Keys for Arm and Gimbal - Screwdrivers and Imperial Allen key set for camera bolts and vest maintenance - 2 x PAGL95e V-lock batteries - 1 x PAG Freelancer Charger - 1 x Plastic Flight Case for Batteries and Charger Cables - 2 x Tally Light Units - 2 x Tally Light Sensors - 2 x Archer - XLR4 Power Cable (standard camera power connector) - 1 x RED One power cable - 3 x XLR4 - XLR4 power cable - 1 x Decimator 12V power cable - 2 x Battery plate connector cables - 1 x DSLR Composite Video Cable - Various BNC Video Cables Spare Hirose and Lemo connectors to make new cables Looking for a buyer for everything, don't want to split up the rig. Thanks Phil

A change of circumstance means I'm keeping the rig for now. So currently not for sale. Will post again if things change again. Phil

Hi All, I am selling my Steadicam Archer 1 Full Rig, this rig is in very good condition and works great with a wide range of cameras and rig set ups. I have spent over £3600 on the rig improving it over the standard Archer and it is ready to work for the new owner. It has had the arm upgraded to the G50x bearing set by Tiffen, so no footstep problems as sometimes found with G50 arms. It also comes with an upgraded Ultra High Brightness Monitor which is daylight viewable and works with HD-SDI, SDI and Composite signals, this is significantly better than the stock Archer Monitor, which is also included. It also has a Hocus Products second battery plate which can be used to power the rig in parallel to allow longer running times and provides extra weight to balance bigger cameras. Also supplied with this rig is a custom built weight plate to allow use of this rig with small cameras such as handheld video cameras and DSLRs whilst weighting the arm up enough to work efficiently. The removable Tally Lights on the monitor can be used with the supplied Tally Sensor Cable to relay tally from a broadcast camera down through the rig to the monitor for use in the live environment. This rig can fly full broadcast cameras with Radio transmitters and receivers for use on Studio or Outside Broadcast shows as well as flying cinema cameras such as the Alexa etc. Asking Price: £9650 + VAT ONO Send me a message through my profile for more info, pictures are below. Included in this Sale: Main Components - Archer 1 Sled V-Lock - G50 Arm (G50x bearing upgrade) - Teletest Cyclops HD Ultra High Brightness HD-SDI Monitor (attached to sled) - Archer 1 Stock Monitor - LX Vest Accessories - Custom V-Lock Battery Plate - Custom Weight Plate - Doughty Tripod Stand + Tiffen Docking Bracket - Sandbag - Steadicam Hard Case for Sled - Flight Case for Vest and Arm - Steadicam Padded Arm Bag - Waterproof Covers for Monitor, Arm and Batteries - Bolts for attaching cameras to dovetail plate and weight plate. - Steadicam Allen Keys for Arm and Gimbal - Screwdrivers and Imperial Allen key set for camera bolts and vest maintenance Cables - 2 x Tally Light Units - 2 x Tally Light Sensors - 2 x Archer - XLR4 Power Cable (standard camera power connector) - 1 x RED One power cable - 3 x XLR4 - XLR4 power cable - 1 x Decimator 12V power cable - 2 x Battery plate connector cables - 1 x DSLR Composite Video Cable - Various BNC Video Cables Spare Hirose and Lemo connectors to make new cables Batteries shown in photos are not included.

Ah, they've got them, of course. I had rulled them out in my head for some reason, not really sure why. Cheers

Hi, I'm wondering if any of the UK guys on here had any contacts on the best/closest place I could hire a wireless follow focus system and possibly up to a 3 channel system from in South Wales, UK, any body know any body/any where with them in South Wales. So far Bristol is the closest one I've found. Cheers Phil

Wire it as the pin outs above. Make sure you connect the LEDs the right way round, as they are diodes they only work with current flowing in right direction through them, one leg of the LED is longer to signify the positive end. See that tally minus is also connected to the same pin as video ground (that's the way I did it anyway) because of this you need all the cables connected up to your monitor for the tally lights to work. Like I said I had a break out box made with a Lemo 8 pin input and a XLR4 Power Out, BNC Video out and XLR3 Tally out and the pins of these connectors were internally wired to the correct pins of the Lemo. I think I did pin 1 of the XLR3 to pin 6 of the lemo (tally +) and pin 3 of the XLR3 connected to pin 4 of the lemo (tally minus and video ground) Then I just bought a few high brightness LEDs from CPC (UK) they were 5 pence each or something and wired them in series to the associated pins of an XLR3 plug (again make sure the LEDs are the right way round). Then you use the little white dial on the side of nose of your sled to control sensitivity of the your tally sensor. Does that make sense? Pic of mine attached

There's a good discussion about the "barefoot" running shoes for Steadicam from a month or so ago. http://www.steadicamforum.com/index.php?showtopic=16356 I'm going to hit up the local running shop today and try a few on. Phil

Hi, I had a custom breakout box made up for my Archer 1 so I could power and send signal to other monitors and have tally light on top of the monitor. I had it wired from the 8 pin lemo socket like this (most of this was taken from the pinouts in the Archer 2 manual, so double check with that to make sure I haven't made a mistake): 1. Power Ground 2. +12V 3.Video Signal 4. Video Ground (also tally -ve) 5. N/C 6. Tally +ve 7. N/C 8. N/C I had this internally wired in the breakout box to have video out on BNC, power out on 4pin XLR and a 3 pin XLR for tally. I then just made up my own cable with some LEDs connected in series to the 3 pin XLR and it all works nicely. Hope that helps Phil

Very impressive segwaying, especially coming out of the tunnel, that looked tight! How did you deal with the safety aspects of that, looked like you almost ran over some kids and those white chairs. I felt the shots didn't really convey much for the match coverage though, did you get cut to very often? I'm assuming you had an RF link to the live feed. It was almost like because you were on a segway there was too much fast movement and you were excluded from getting as intimate with the play as a standing Steadicam op would. The only shot I could see the real advantage to having the segway, apart from the tunnel shot looking wicked, was on a fast break and then on the one you had there were all the other cameramen, soundies, random people stood between you and the play. Interesting to see and Kudos to you for doing it and not crashing in the tunnel! Cheers for sharing. Just my thoughts on it, maybe something to work with the director/producers for next time to get some more shots that convey the play a bit better. Would like to see how those shots cut in with the rest of the cameras. Phil

Hi, I bought a set of waterproof trousers and cut the legs off, you get two covers for minimal price. Add a drawstring or something to the ankle and use that at sled end and just slide it over the arm. They're a bit baggy as they get towards your body as it's the thigh section of the leg but just whack a zip tie or some tape round it to pull it in. Phil

Hi, The upgrade cost the $1000 converted to ££s that Tiffen charge plus the shipping which I guess would be individual depending on where you live etc. I didn't need a replacement as I was booked on all non-steadicam jobs for the period that it was gone, hence why I chose to send it away then. Guess you need to speak to the guys at Tiffen International to see what they can do for you in your circumstances. Phil

Hi, Well I've recently got my G-50 back from LA having the performance upgrade, so thought I'd report my initial findings, firstly thanks has to go to Danny and Robin at Tiffen International for sorting it all out for me including all the import/export legal stuff. If any UK/European operators want it done, just give them a call/email. First thing you notice when you get it back is that the bearings have changed, shocker!! But I mean noticeably, the black (and in my case surface rusting) bolts are gone and replaced with bigger silver one. See photo attached (sorry about the poor camera phone quality). So I guess this is why they need to do it at the factory and it takes a while as it looks like they have to re-model parts of the arm to get these in. Now the important bit, it's performance. It's definitely improved!! I've only had chance for limited testing with a relatively light camera load, under 6kg, so it's not been used to it full potential and obviously it's been several weeks since I used my old arm so I can't directly A-B them. But originally when I was reading this thread I tested my old arm with some slow moves and faster moves walking towards and away from a brick wall and circling a cone which was raised so the top was at head height. Now these showed up some footsteps and random bobbing every so often as it was clear to see how the horizontal lines of the brick wall moved relative to the frame, same with the top of the cone which I tried to keep just under top of frame. Now with the upgraded arm it is definitely a lot easier to keep the relative distance between the cone and top of frame the same. Same for walking in and out on the wall, no random bobbing. Now it's just down to operating technique to make sure there aren't any footsteps (see other thread on walking I guess). Hope this helps, Phil

Here in the UK the Boxx is used quite a lot on TV shows especially studio shows where I think the indoor environment with lots of reflections works well with being able to align the antennas on the Tx and Rx units to different angles for good coverage. There are some good videos knocking around of the Boxx being set up, just whack Boxx Merdian into YouTube. Other than that the GigaWave units are used for Outside Broadcasts a lot of the time, they are similar to the Links Systems. With these systems you can also leave the camera control to the engineers to as there are return Data systems so your engineers can control iris and paint from their RCP/CCU.