Cold + monitor = fail?

[Blair Phillips]

I took my EFP out for its fist shake down yesterday. It was -15 Celsius (5 Fahrenheit) outside. I turned on the monitor (Transvideo IIIa Ultrabrite) and after a few seconds of wild voltage read outs it gave me a fleeting "low voltage" and died. I tried a different battery, no luck. Tried one that had been kept warm all day, no luck. My assistant suggested that perhaps the AB Hytron 120 NiMH I was using was old and a bad chemistry for the cold. I tried two different sets of Dionic 90s and they fared no better despite being newer.

 

None of the batteries read as being empty when it was first tried, and the Bartech I powered off the sled worked fine all day and night. Thankfully I was doing most of the day in Don Juan and the camera's on board monitor was visible.

 

I tried the monitor again today at room temperature and once it warmed up it worked flawlessly.

 

Is there anything I can do to ensure my gear will keep working in extreme cold?

[Jerry Holway]

These monitors must be kept warm - above 0º C / 32º F - that's the spec. So turn them on WHEN WARM, and keep them on, and cover them in cold weather.

 

Some monitors have protection circuits that prevent the monitor from turning on when too cold or hot. These circuits are over-rideable.

 

You might wrap the back of the monitor in some insulated material, and cover the whole thing with an insulated baggie until you are ready to shoot - only remove the bag.

 

Generally they produce enough heat to keep them running... but at some point they will need insulation all the time. Depends on the monitor.

 

Jerry

[Blair Phillips]

These monitors must be kept warm - above 0º C / 32º F - that's the spec. So turn them on WHEN WARM, and keep them on, and cover them in cold weather.

 

Some monitors have protection circuits that prevent the monitor from turning on when too cold or hot. These circuits are over-rideable.

 

You might wrap the back of the monitor in some insulated material, and cover the whole thing with an insulated baggie until you are ready to shoot - only remove the bag.

 

Generally they produce enough heat to keep them running... but at some point they will need insulation all the time. Depends on the monitor.

 

Jerry

 

My apologies, I should have just looked in the table of contents of your book because most of this is spelled out there. Should have checked before I asked. The "start warm and keep running" is a consideration I will have to make in the future. Thanks Jerry!

[Scott Jason Gill]

Soft ice chest type lunch bags with hand warmers or a heating pad inside work well.

[Mark Karavite]

When shooting in cold weather, I always have one of locations portable heaters at my docking station. My LCD is always being warmed by the heater (and I scam some heat myself). Even in the coldest weather, always having heat while docked combined with never turning the monitor off works.

[Robert Starling SOC]

I've seen cameras overheat here in the deserts of Nevada and Arizona but we don't get that kind of cold here.

 

With that in mind I think I'll start asking production for a portable chiller system starting about June this year! Yea.. the monitor and sled need AC... it's not for me! :D

 

Robert