Bruce Forrest Byker James

Thanks everyone for the helpful suggestions and quick responses!

This is at an educational institution and is our oldest Steadicam (Video SK). The setup we have is an IDX adapter box that houses two Frezzi NP-1 batteries. I think it's around 80Wh total. There's no problem with offending the camera owner, because that's us, but I'd rather avoid improper shutdowns. The problem is that it's hard to get the 20 or so students who may use this setup to always power the accessories first, then power the camera. On the upside, the work I've been doing on this setup is likely a stopgap measure until we get a Zephyr later this summer. Sorry to bring something up that sounds like maybe it's the third rail of this forum (I'm new here), but does anyone know what the wire gauge is in the post of a Video SK? It hasn't started heating up or smoking yet. :unsure:

Thanks for the responses. It occurred to me that I could also just leave a REDvolt battery in the side handle of the camera, though I'm not sure how the Epic integrates that battery if the other power supply is just power - no data. So batteries seem to be the simple (and best) solution, but just out of curiosity, has anyone tried some kind of power conditioning device (if such a thing exists)? With my really limited electronics knowledge I thought that perhaps a circuit with a capacitor in it could stabilize the power supply.

I'm running an Epic, Bartech Follow Focus Receiver, Heden focus motor, (both from the stage) and monitor off a rather old Video SK and when I turn on either the follow focus or the monitor, the Epic shuts down. I can just always turn accessories on before the camera, but I'm wondering if anyone else has run into this and if they've come up with any kind of solution. Could this be some kind of power surge or drop the Epic doesn't like? Is some kind of power conditioning to the Epic the answer? Thanks, - Bruce