Need to rent Gyros

[Mark Karavite]

Hello,

 

I may need to rent gyros for a vehicle mount coming up in 1 1/2 weeks. I have a hybrid rig (PRO DB3 & topstage, XCS 2" carbon fiber post & MK-V Nexus battery base) which may cause some compatibility issues.

 

Any leads or contact information would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Mark

[RonBaldwin]

Hello,

 

I may need to rent gyros for a vehicle mount coming up in 1 1/2 weeks. I have a hybrid rig (PRO DB3 & topstage, XCS 2" carbon fiber post & MK-V Nexus battery base) which may cause some compatibility issues.

 

Any leads or contact information would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Mark

 

The kit that Pro rents has a few 1.5" post clamps as well as 1 (2 maybe?) Plate mounts, so you could put one gyro on the low mode plate and maybe 1 on your lower extendible portion of the post (I may be high but I seem to remember that Greg's lower post was 1.5!?). I'm sure Greg can hook you up with one post clamp if I'm wrong (highly probable).

[Alec Jarnagin SOC]

"I may be high but I seem to remember that Greg's lower post was 1.5!?"

 

His earlier posts were this way so one could still use 1.5" clamps, etc but he later (still a number of years ago) upped the inner post to 1.75".

[Mark Karavite]

My inner XCS post is 1 3/4". I checked on PRO's website, and they provide gyro mounts for camera plate, Anton Bauer plate, or PRO post. I do have an additional Anton Bauer plate I can mount directly under the post on the MK-V base, or I could get a post clamp from Greg @ XCS. I'll follow up with PRO in the morning.

 

Any advice about the best gyro mounting positions for a vehicle rig? I haven't done a lot of gyro work (never had the need much). I was thinking of one gyro sideways on the low mode bracket on top for horizon control. My options on the bottom are a vertical gyro post mounted, or a gyro mounted on the bottom (via Anton Bauer plate). If I mounted one on the Anton Bauer mount on the base, it would not be vertical, but pointing for & aft. Is that less effective than a vertical gyro post mounted?

 

Thanks,

Mark

[RonBaldwin]

I knew someone would speak up and check my breath! As far as the mounting...I'd try to get as solid a mount as possible (post/camera plate). I don't have any experience mounting to the Anton Bauer plates so I can't say how solid they are/aren't. The mount is plastic and gyros exert a lot of force pulling in different directions but I know many do it this way with no issues.

[Erwin Landau]

This is my old set up... (Simon Jays taking it for a spin at Keslow a couple of years ago... 2002 I think)

But that's how I used to mount them. One on top with PRO plate and one on the center post, via a clamp that Greg made for the PRO spud, below the gimbal. Worked like a charm. The Kenyon inverter is mounted on the back AB plate and is powered of the sled.

 

[Erwin Landau]

Here another way... but makes for a very bottom heavy rig... the one above is better and less rebalancing as you are adding the same amount of weight above and below the gimbal... it's quick to go back to Gyro-less as you just have to crank down the arm...

 

[Mark Karavite]

Hey Erwin,

 

Thanks for the input. Your first photo was how I was envisioning the gyros working. I like having the gyro on top for many reasons. One, like you explained having equal weight top & bottom. Two, we're working with RED cameras, which are very light, so I need some weight on top. Three, being on a bike / sidecar rig, I can get a lower lens height and stay in normal mode without extra junk hanging under the base with fear of bottoming out.

 

I'll call Greg and pickup one of his post clamps today. Having a MK-V Nexus base, I'll also have to make a cable to power the inverter from my base, as I'm sure PRO rental gyros have a PRO connector.

 

I'm curious how much power the gyros take. Do you leave them on all the time, or spin them up before shooting, then let them spin on their own? I imagine using shore power while not shooting to keep gyros up to speed is a good idea. Is that common?

 

Thanks,

Mark

[Alec Jarnagin SOC]

Mark,

 

"I'll call Greg and pickup one of his post clamps today."

 

Meant to say this the other day. Greg uses a larger spud than PRO so a gyro from PRO won't fit onto Greg's post clamp. Erwin, please confirm this is true. I always thought they were the same size until my last trip to LA and Erwin and I got onto this topic.

[brooksrobinson]

Mark,

 

Several things. Gyros do take about 10 minutes to come up to full speed. They take longer to wind down.

 

Regarding powering them for a vehicle shot, I would power them off a block battery. I don’t know what GPI has for rental units, but the old-school GPI gyro inverter had both a 3 pin 24V XLR and 4 pin 12V XLR. The Ken-Labs inverters come in either 12 or 24 volt varieties. Run a block or belt battery to the inverter, then a thin cable (should come with the rental gyro kit) from the inverter to the gyro itself. You then power the second gyro off of the first using a cable. Because of the gyros, you’ll never notice being hardwired while hard-mounted on a vehicle.

 

You might want to have a cable made in the future for your sled in case you need gyros while wearing the rig, but I have always either hardwired, or pulled the gyro power right before the shot (if it is a running shot or something that couldn’t be hardwired). The gyros stay running for the shot, and I plug them back in when I dock the rig.

 

If your shoot is in LA, I might be able to loan you my gyro system assuming I’m not working. I also use Greg’s post (with his sled), so there shouldn’t be any compatibility issues if you will be using it as I described above.

 

Good luck either way, and let us know how it goes.

 

Sincerely,

 

Brooks Robinson

brooksontheroad@pacbell.net

[Erwin Landau]

Yes, Greg's gyro spuds are a different size. They are larger in diameter then the GPI one, think Master series arm post versus 3A post.

 

I had the GPI set up and you can use all of the mounting brackets on your XCS exempt for the center post clamp (obviously) ... I bought a monitor clamp for the 2 inch post and Greg made me a spud that would connect to it and mate with the GPI style gyro clamp.

 

Power vice... the most power is used to spin up the Gyros, once they are up to speed... they take only a fraction of the power to maintain the 20'000 rpm.

If you use the GPI inverter or the Kenyons they have a 4 or 3 pin XLR power input so that you could if you wanted to use a 12 or 24 volt brick to spin them up or to maintain speed if the rig is powered down... usually the momentum of the tungsten rings is that large that you can easily disconnect them for up to 15 min and they will be very quickly to maximum speed by the time you get comfortable on the insert car or bike and before they yell action.

 

Just look out, the gyros will heat up quite a bit, that is normal and they were designed to be spinning for a very extensive amount of time... heat will not kill them, unless it's not excessive... but shock will. Any larger hits or drops will end your day very quickly.... and servicing them is not cheap....

 

oh were was I... oh yes... the spuds are a different size.

[Mark Karavite]

Hey all you generous dudes,

 

thanks for all the input. Buzz Moyer was kind enough to ship me his idle gyro package to cover my gig. 3 others (Alec, Brooks & Will) reached out as well. Now I am very familiar with what I need to buy for my particular rig. Thanks again & I can't wait to pay it forward.