Zephyr 2nd V Lock Battery Mount

[David Schaffer]

Hey everyone. I just put the 2nd V-Lock Battery mount on my Zephyr and now I just can't get it off. I must be missing something small. Anyone else have this problem or even better a solution?

[Mark Schlicher]

Hey everyone. I just put the 2nd V-Lock Battery mount on my Zephyr and now I just can't get it off. I must be missing something small. Anyone else have this problem or even better a solution?

 

That's odd. It's a simple dovetail receiver with a thumbscrew to hold the spring-loaded clamping bar. Shouldn't jam.

 

What's the symptoms? Can you turn the thumbscrew? Is the silver clamping bar jammed?

 

Quickest solution may be to call the factory and ask them...

[Alan Rencher]

Mine is a bitch to get on and off. The tolerances aren't right. Get yourself a can of silicone spray and go nuts.

[David Schaffer]

Thanks for the quick replies. Nothing appears to be jamming, thumb screw turns. Called the factory and they said they fit really snug at first and to get forceful with it. I will try the silicone spray.

[David Schaffer]

I cannot get it off of the rig. Tried the silicone spray no joy. Tried muscling it nothing.

[Mark Schlicher]

Very strange.

 

I just looked at my battery hanger...there is plenty of tolerance where the parts mate. It's not even close to jamming. I can't see how the bracket could jam if it was milled properly. If it's jamming, either it's got to be a manufacturing error or some foreign material has gotten caught up in it, rather than too-tight design tolerances.

 

A couple of questions:

 

1. when looking at it with the thumbscrew toward you, is the bracket lined up so that the silver clamping piece is aligned with the dovetail on the bottom of the sled? Or, is the plate lined up so that the black milled groove of the bracket is in partial contact with the dovetail on the sled? If it's aligned to the silver clamp, the clamp is the full length of the dovetail on the sled, and that should allow plenty of looseness.

 

2. When you loosen the thumbscrew, does the silver clamping piece loosen up as it should, or does it continue to clamp tightly?

[David Schaffer]

Very strange.

 

I just looked at my battery hanger...there is plenty of tolerance where the parts mate. It's not even close to jamming. I can't see how the bracket could jam if it was milled properly. If it's jamming, either it's got to be a manufacturing error or some foreign material has gotten caught up in it, rather than too-tight design tolerances.

 

A couple of questions:

 

1. when looking at it with the thumbscrew toward you, is the bracket lined up so that the silver clamping piece is aligned with the dovetail on the bottom of the sled? Or, is the plate lined up so that the black milled groove of the bracket is in partial contact with the dovetail on the sled? If it's aligned to the silver clamp, the clamp is the full length of the dovetail on the sled, and that should allow plenty of looseness.

 

2. When you loosen the thumbscrew, does the silver clamping piece loosen up as it should, or does it continue to clamp tightly?

 

 

It all lines up properly with the silver clamp and allows play for and aft. When the thumb screw is loosened it does as it normally should. I went at it again with the silicone spray and finally got it to slide off. The factory said that they can fit tight like that at first, but should go on and off better over time. Thanks for the troubleshooting help!

[Mark Schlicher]

so it was "loose" when aligned with the silver clamp but would jam up when trying to push past it to remove? Confused.

[David Schaffer]

so it was "loose" when aligned with the silver clamp but would jam up when trying to push past it to remove? Confused.

 

 

Exactly. I then went to town with the silicone spray and eventually it came off.

[Mark Schlicher]

I see.

 

In my case, a similar effect was actually caused by the end of the dovetail (on the sled) catching on the bracket edge (right next to the silver clamp). It seemed jammed but was really due to the way the edge is milled...a little jiggling to get it started and it slid right off. The dovetail receiver itself wasn't too tight, it was just hanging up on that leading edge. (I hope I'm being clear...hard to describe without pictures.)

 

Don't know if that might be the source of your issue, but thought I'd share my experience.

[Alan Rencher]

Exactly. I then went to town with the silicone spray and eventually it came off.

 

That's my situation exactly. It sucks when I do lightweight cameras. I would just rather weigh the top stage down than deal with taking the secondary battery hanger off.