Ultra2

[Robert Starling SOC]

More Pictures Here

 

Very clean solution!

 

Hey Jerry! Was / is there a specific philosophical or technical design thought behind the lack-of or not having a battery position under the center post on our rigs? PRO / XCS do that straight from the factory right?

 

I know we have a handy dovetail plate and of course a solid base to set the rig down on but was this a conscious decision at some point along the way?

 

Thanks!

 

Robert

[Alfeo Dixon SOC]

If you notice that the rigs off switch will not work now, its acutally in the neutral off position. But to anticipate that, I used the IDX plate with a built in on/off switch for controlling an OB light (ENG style) and had it wired up to enable or disable power to the sled but always leaving the P-Tap hot.

 

Seemed to have burned out this little switch while in use last week. Not sure if the switch was not rated for the capacity of a fully charged RED brick or not. May have been no securely in the seated on or off position, but will investigate are report back. I don't think it was due to two PowerCubes + RED Brick, because diode is inline (but will look into that also.)

 

-Alfeo

[Evrim KAYA]

Hello Alfeo,

 

i`m considering about adding a 3rd battery on my sled as you did. could you tell me how did you mount idx plate below electronics box. did you used the hidden sliding plate belox electronics or screwed directly to the rig. is this mod removable as the MK-V nexus 3rd battery plate? thank you.

[Amando Crespo]

Hello Alfeo,

 

i`m considering about adding a 3rd battery on my sled as you did. could you tell me how did you mount idx plate below electronics box. did you used the hidden sliding plate belox electronics or screwed directly to the rig. is this mod removable as the MK-V nexus 3rd battery plate? thank you.

 

I have 3 rd batt in my Ultra2, dedicated for gyros or Alexa... is placed in a rail down the electronic housing... It works.

[Evrim KAYA]

hello again everyone!

 

i just found out that Tiffen came up with their own (suprisingly similar!) 3rd battery mount for u2 style down dovetail. I think this is a new unit and there is not much info on the site yet.

 

here is the product page: http://www.tiffen.com/displayproduct.html?tablename=steadicam&itemnum=807-7350-01

 

the price is not listed yet but i learned from Danny Hallett (Tiffen UK) that these are availeble in US and costs 423 USD. i asked some additional questions and currently waiting for the answers.

 

questions asked:

 

1- what is the weitgh of the unit(w/o batt)

2- what are the dimentions of the unit(w/o batt)

3- what kind of electronic circuitry is in the unit? (i.e. is there a recharching protection from other batteries,)

4- how does 3 batt ultra2 configuration works? does all 3 batt feed the 24v converter in paralel mode or the bottom battery is just paired up with one of the batteries on the back? using 3 batteries at the same time does all of them discharge at the same rate/time (in 12v and 24v configuration)

5- some more detailed pictures of the unit.

6- is there a female p-tap connector on the battery mount?

 

i'll share the info received.

 

take care.

[Mark Schlicher]

That link, I believe, is for the Zephyr auxiliary 12/24V battery hanger. It is not for a U2 lower dovetail, it's for the narrow dovetail found on the Zephyr. (Although the Archer, A2, and Clipper have the narrow dovetail also, I don't believe this is compatible.)

 

If Tiffen is offering a similar unit for the U2, it will undoubtedly have different specs and design details from the one you linked.

 

For what it's worth, the Zephyr battery hanger does have recharging protection circuitry. Also, the p-tap on the AB battery plate has been disabled. There is a simple switch to change between 12 and 24V operation. It has a 0B sized 3-pin lemo (male) cable that plugs into the sled to feed it power. There is also a 3 pin lemo (female) connector on the front face of the unit. When in 12V operation, every lemo power outlet on the sled has 12V. In 24V mode, both 12V and 24V is available to every connector, depending on the wiring of the connector going the accessory. In both cases, both batteries are tied together. You can separate the batteries in 12V mode by leaving the male lemo unplugged and connecting AKS into the female lemo plug.

 

But again, if there is a 3rd battery hanger for the U2, it could very well be designed completely differently.

[Evrim KAYA]

That link, I believe, is for the Zephyr auxiliary 12/24V battery hanger. It is not for a U2 lower dovetail, it's for the narrow dovetail found on the Zephyr. (Although the Archer, A2, and Clipper have the narrow dovetail also, I don't believe this is compatible.)

 

I also thought it was incompatible with the U2 when i saw "small dovetail" on the title. My first mail to Tiffen UK was about compatibility. perhaps some misunderstandıng did accur at some point. i asked " is it for u2?, and how much it costs?" the reply was "423USD" so i assumed it was compatible with U2.

 

i fınd it suprising though that Tiffen doesn't offer some off the shelf 3rd battery option for its big rigs yet. on all the big players, there is stock or optıonal 3rd battery mounting capabilities offered by the manufacturer.