Arri LCS, is this working correctly?

[Nate Weaver]

So I have an older Arri LCS system on offer to me, and it is attractive because it is:

 

-3 channels

-I can afford it without stretching.

 

It consists of WMU-2, WFU-1, WRM-1, UMC-1, and 3 CLM-2 motors.

 

I understand well that it is far from state of the art.

 

I tested it on my Amira last week and was very surprised at it's latency and the slow speed of the motors. It was a far cry from the digital Bartech I had on a job last week, and at present I have a Redrock on borrow for a tiny job I have this next week, and even that turns faster and with no noticeable delay (of course it has other issues).

 

I'm not too hip on the speed and latency of systems, because on the jobs that I have Prestons I'm busy worrying about other things and the last thing on my mind is checking out how well the Preston works. I only get into it when I have to beg/borrow 2nd/3rd tier gear on small jobs.

 

Can somebody advise me whether this is business as usual with a unit of this vintage, or is there something up? The owner says that the handset talking to a Alexa Studio Plus with yellow radio spun these motors great. I can tell you the delay and feel of the system in my test was...not good.

 

The Arri "MDR" was powered via the RS port on my Amira, which I tested at 24V with a meter.

 

Edited September 12, 2015 by Nate Weaver

[Nate Weaver]

Update: Upon further examination, I realized the latency was gear slop, and the speed of the motor, while not up to the new Heden that was on the Bartech, is fast enough for 95% of what I'll be doing.

 

I bought the unit. I assume there were no replies because most people were watching and saying to themselves "it's not THAT slow"!

[Kar Wai Ng]

Personally, I would find this amount of lag unbearably slow. But if it works for most of your scenarios and you got a good deal on it, then it seems like you didn't do too bad.