Rich Cottrell

Where are the moderators? This has taken a wrong turn... Rich

Do you mean the older thin style?

I was just wondering if anyone has the new GPI-Pro Cinelive sled and if they have used the new cinetronic monitor on it. Specifically i am curious about the tally light system integration between the two manufactures... thanks, rich

What batteries are you flying? I used to fly the large pro-pacs and one was a re-celled battery. The cells inside that battery were always shifting. On my model two with the battery hanging off the AB plate I never had a problem. When I went to the XCS with the AB batteries hanging in a more tabled manner that battery always drove my crazy as the slight shifting in the battery threw off the sleds ballance.

Chris, Is there any way to use this new monitor arm with the Cinetronic yoke and NOT have to use a monitor spud? rich

Fellow operators, I am still using one of Peter's original tally systems. The Zalex does what it should do and you can not beat the price. It is a very simple system, and i know you can build your own, but at this price... I ask, Why bother? If you have a sled and monitor that is already wired for tally [i currently do not, but i soon will], this system is great as backup if something goes wrong. I am glad to hear they will be back in production with a Coax option! That will become my primary, and my current Zalex will be the backup. rich

So i contacted Pro... it turns out the new PRO arm does offer a little more boom range. from GPI-PRO "The boom range on the Atlas is an additional 2“ over the Titan"

so Alec had said: I did not hear anyone say Alec was wrong, so i was wondering what the advantage of having both Pro arms would be, when you could always just put two of the new gray cans in the original Pro arm and have a lighter arm.

i asked Chris about the tally. Here is what he said: "We could wire the tally to run through the 8 pin lemo, if you have tally lines run in your sled. Or we could also run through a 3pin lemo, which seems to be the standard for MK-V and XCS."

price adjustment: $21,000 for sled [LEH #038 with PDL and Uno installed, Center Post, XCS Topstage and these XCS made coiled camera power cables: Old Arri; Moviecam; New Arri; Pana/Arri; Panavision; Red One, as well as one XCS dovetail, and one XCS transmitter bracket and the pelican 1650 case. or $14,250 for just the LEH with the PDL and Uno.

Does anyone have one of these XCS rain covers out in the wild? If so what do you think? Is it hard to get to the x/y knobs or does it all work out? Currently I have the Gore-tex style that were once made in Canada. Mine are two pieces-- one for the LEH and one for the batteries. rich

sled pictures with post short and long

my LEH was last out to XCS for a check up on 8/31/2011. It is in A+ condition. Currently it is set for wiring option #3 which is now standard for the Ultimate 1 sled. This provides direct battery connections on the 0B 302 12 volt connector. Greg Bubb recommends you run all your video cameras off this connector. This will allow you to hot swap batteries without shutting the camera down. This, however, means that when you turn your sled off you will have to power the camera down as well. from the Ultimate Manual, Wiring Option #3 is this: "All battery plates are direct wired to the upper camera platform’s auxiliary camera power connector, Lemo 2B 302. This will deliver direct power from the battery; it will be connected to the battery management system and monitored normally. This will not allow you to run the ARRI 3 cameras at high- speed only (past 60 fps) because of the common ground. Pan/ Arri’s are not affected because they are 24VDC power inputs and can be run up to 120 fps without issue. All batteries will be monitored normally by the battery management system. All other cameras can be run at all times on the sled like option 1." It is very easy for XCS to change this sled to Wiring Option #1 or #2, and there is no problem changing this wiring as often as you need to.

I am willing to sell just the Lower Electronics if that is what someone would like. New, the LEH with the internal PDL would cost $18,500. I would like to get $14,800 for the LEH if i sell it alone... or if you are looking to upgrade from your Ultimate 2 to an Ultimate 1, maybe we could work out a barter.

Selling my Ultimate 1 sled for $22,500 Note: I am NOT selling my XCS gimbal and monitor arm at this time. XCS Ultimate1 Lower Electronics [s/n 038] with: XCS PDL installed into LEH UNO Frameliner installed in LEH XCS Upper Camera Platform XCS 2.0” Carbon fiber telescoping center post [19-31”] This sled is in excellent shape. Very, very clean! I have kept great care of it and never had a crash with it. When I first bought the sled, I had Greg put an extra coax on both the top stage and bottom LEH so I could use a second monitor for return video. It could also be used for an HD monitor. I had mailed the LEH out to XCS about a year ago for a once over and rewiring. It is currently set for wiring option #3. I am including a handful of XCS manufactured camera power cables. These are coiled cables. Aux 12 volt; Old Arri; Moviecam; New Arri; Pana/Arri; Panavision; Red One. I am also including one original XCS dovetail, an XCS transmitter bracket that mounts onto the LEH, as well as custom gore-tex rain covers for the LEH and batteries. I do not want to deal with an international sale so USA buyers only at this point. We can discuss shipping depending where you are at, but I will include a pelican 1650 case that has foam cut for this sled to keep it safe and dry. let the questions begin... rich

if your into the minimal thing but do not like the 5 Toes [i have a pair and find then slow to take on and off], take a look at the offerings from Altra Shoes. http://www.altrazerodrop.com I started with one pair around christmas, and I now have two pairs of their shoes. One for when [and if] i go running -- The Instinct and one pair is for playing around with the kids and what not -- The Lone Peak. These shoes are nice because they give the "zero drop" of bearfoot running, and have a nice and wide toe box so your toes are still free to wiggle as they want, but they offer more foot protection then the 5 Fingers, and in cold weather i can put on wool socks with them and go for a winter run. That said i have never done steadicam in them. For me, the past years I almost always have warn Keen Voyager Mids [a light hiking shoe] when i strap on the rig. rich

Looking at the film-stuff site I do NOT see any mention of the Tally light. Was this nixed from the final design or is it still an option?

I was thinking more along the lines of say a union made car vs a non union made car... if an IATSE600 member also makes steadicam equipment that would not make that equipment "Union Made" unless they are working under a contract that covers that construction/manufacturing. I was thinking more about machinists and electricians. For a small shop my guess is NO, but when that small shop has things made for them, do any use Union Contractors?

i was thinking about this the other day... Do any of our steadicam manufacturers use Union labor? rich

About four weeks ago i had called GPIPro to talk about their new arm and they told me about their new lightweight modular sled concept. As it has been pointed out elsewhere Pro now has some pictures up on their web site so maybe there are some off these babies out in the wild by now? I know there was already a resale on the GenIV battery base, so who has played with this thing? The one thing that really caught my ear was in the lightest configuration, this sled only weighs in at 6.5lbs without the monitor or batteries. The junction boxes are still the same, so you can scale up or scale down depending your needs and budget.

I am now hitting myself over the head with a cheesesteak! seriously... My whole question of this post was a very specific question of the "real world" weight limits of the Archer. That is the title of the post. While it is always nice to get "extra" feedback, it is also nice to stay on topic. Maybe some of these other topics that have come up would be more meaningful to the archives if a new post/topic was created? That said, my lawyer-- Mr. Brian Freesh-- tells me i should not be threatening anyone with a cheesesteak... even if its is in jest. When hot, they can be considered dangerous weapons. Sorry guys. My apologies. I was concerned that simply asking about this rig there not just could be, but there would be, Tiffen bashing. I kindly ask the moderators to police this post and keep it on topic. Its asks one question "What weight can the Archer's gimbal actually handle and at what point does that smaller center post not handle the heavier setups" Thanks to James Chris and Aron for sharing their experiences with this sled. Anyone have a story of overloading this gimble or sled to the point you know you were in trouble?

so how many cheese steaks do i have to buy for this beat down? And NO, i eat them after i hit you guys! Seriously, the Archer 2 does have a few things that make it stand out. Things that are not just bells, but real features that make it stand out for its price point. The Tilting stage is one thing that i am thinking about. Tiffen will have the upper hand till that patent expires, at which point every sled will probably have one as an option of some sort. A tilting stage is something that i would use if i could, and when i used to rent Ultras i did use often. As to the Archer's smaller post, for little cameras i feel this is a good thing. Here is my reasoning: For heavy rigs, a 2 inch post is great. it is rock solid and it gives you more torc on pans, but... for a small camera, the extra rigidity of 2inches is not needed as much. In turn, the smaller post gives less torc in pan so you have a more inert "feeling" sled with the lighter camera. NOW for the fellas I need to beat with cheesesteaks, Wiz or no wiz?

I was wondering if any of you Archer owners or former Archer owners could chime in. I am looking for a second rig for flying lighter camera setups. I have a Pro Arm so I just want a second sled. My current sled is an XCS U1 sled so with the lighter setups, i have a way overkill system... [and this lower end sled might work to have a more competitively priced system for these "smaller" jobs]. so I am looking at the Archer for my #2 sled, and i was wondering if anyone could give me an idea as to heaviest camera setups they have used on this sled. I do live TV stuff so this lighter sled might work for some of these jobs too. I will contact Tiffen on monday but their web site says this sled can handle 30lbs. net camera weight, but that does not tell the whole story... The question of what monitor and how many batteries starts, so i am just looking for some real world feedback. My arm can handle anything, so the real question is what can the gimbal handle and at what point does that smaller center post not handle the heavier setups. thanks for any info... and the first person who turns this into a Tiffen hater session will get a slap over the head with a philly cheesesteak! rich

In the USA we get to pay three sets of taxes, federal state and local! I have not paid a single cent in use tax but that is not so say I should have... Eric, Who were you audited by? That makes a difference.

I was thinking about this discussion of what something costs vs what it looks like it should cost to make... Who cares? If the vest works better or can make life more comfortable, then that is where i see value. I am willing to pay extra for added value as long as it does not sacrifice dependability. rich