Premium Members Sebastien Audinelle Posted February 11, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 Hi all, I thought I would contribute to this thread having dealt with Don in the past couple of weeks. About three weeks ago I sent my motor to Don at Loonworks because of a Potentiometer issue. Prior to sending the motor I had a phone conversation with him, because I knew of his reputation I wanted to make sure everything would be ok. He promised my motor would be fixed and sent back to me very quickly. I felt good about the phone call so I shipped my motor. Well, after a week without any news I tried to call, no answer. That went on for a week, I called him everyday, sent him emails, I was going crazy and thought that was it, I had lost my motor. Last week, without any hope I just thought, let's try to call one more time, just in case. He answered! I couldn't believe it, I went postal on him, threatening him with lawsuits and lawyers, telling him about all the complaints on the forum, and it worked. Two days later, I had my motor fixed and in my possession. I can't explain why he does that, because when you're on the phone with him, he doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would do that. He felt really bad and was very apologetic. I just want to say that Grant's technique of calling everyday with different phone numbers and legal threats (although I didn't like having to do that) worked for me. So good luck everyone! I'm now the proud owner of a Heden motor, Preston at this point is too expensive for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Alan Rencher Posted February 12, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 12, 2013 I sent my motor in to him to be fixed. He responded very promptly when I emailed about setting up the repair, and everything was going well. I sent the motor in... and heard nothing. I needed the motor for a job, so I called and left him a message. He never responded, but I got the motor the next day. The weird thing was that it wasn't repaired... I never heard from him again. I might go with a heden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Matthias Biber Posted February 12, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 12, 2013 I had a broken m-one (potentiometer) years ago. The promised 3 day turnaround took 3 week in the end. Now my potentiometer broke again. After reading all these stories, I decided to reair it myself. The part is available from electronic supply but it needs to be modified on a lathe. It is a quite expensive and high quality part, so you don´t expect it to break that often. In my motor the main bearing was manufactured with waaaay too much bearing play. So all the load, was held by the potentiometer shank, instead of the bearing. This lead to the repeated failure of the potentiometer. The bearing parts were re-engeneered to the right size (tolerances here are 1/100 mm, my beraring was 2/10mm !! too big) Now I have a working motor and eliminated the reason for the potentiometer failure. Yes, it is possible to repair a m-one, but it is really not straight forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Erwin Landau Posted February 12, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 12, 2013 Matthias, You could make a business out of repairing M-1 units. If the original manufacturer fails to do so.... About 90% of all business in our industry started that way... Just a thought... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evrim KAYA Posted February 12, 2013 Report Share Posted February 12, 2013 Matthias, You could make a business out of repairing M-1 units. If the original manufacturer fails to do so.... About 90% of all business in our industry started that way... Just a thought... I second that! As a m-one owner, I dread the day I'll need some repair done by the loon works and there are many m-one owners in the same situation. A viable alternative would be great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Erwin Landau Posted February 12, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 12, 2013 I am aware that we are talking about analog motors used with the BFD. BUT... I read about the digital upgrades from PLC (?) which turn the unit into a digital setup and it got me thinking... Bearing in mind that I am not familiar with the Digital Bartech... What digital motors do work with the unit? Does the Preston motor work. Seeing how the current crop of digital motors are not that much more expensive then the similar analog units... just steer clear of all of them and get a Preston Motor and buy into the, by decades, proven customer service. No headaches any longer... The additional cost would save your wallet, nerves and many grey hair over the years... in the long run... Just a thought... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Martin Stacey Posted February 12, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 12, 2013 Maybe Peter Hoare might want to chip in here as his Axis 1 motor is fully compatable with the digital Bartec as well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members JimBartell Posted February 12, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 12, 2013 I read about the digital upgrades from PLC (?) which turn the unit into a digital setup and it got me thinking... Bearing in mind that I am not familiar with the Digital Bartech... What digital motors do work with the unit? Does the Preston motor work. The BDR is known to be compatible with: M-One Digital Heden M21VE and M26VE Preston DM-1 and DM-2 Betz BTM In general it should be compatible with any motor that is Preston compatible. Jim Bartell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Erwin Landau Posted February 12, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 12, 2013 Preston! There we go!!! Anybody ever had experiences with them like the one's described above??? I never did and I have been a costumer for over 10 years. Not trying to bash anybody (that's why I am staying mum on the Heden)... Just looking for valuable solutions... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Philip J. Martinez SOC Posted February 12, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 12, 2013 I like my BarTech analog. (I have a Preston that I use mostly) with the analog version I can control my own focus for live shows. Also when you get a cannon L series lens you can set the end points where a digital motor will just keep spinning. I would like a reliable repair shop to send my analog motor if needed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Peter Hoare Posted February 13, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 13, 2013 Yes, Our motor is compatible with the BDR, and any of the other systems. Pete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Daniel Stilling DFF Posted February 13, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 13, 2013 I read about the digital upgrades from PLC (?) which turn the unit into a digital setup and it got me thinking... Bearing in mind that I am not familiar with the Digital Bartech... What digital motors do work with the unit? Does the Preston motor work. The BDR is known to be compatible with: M-One Digital Heden M21VE and M26VE Preston DM-1 and DM-2 Betz BTM In general it should be compatible with any motor that is Preston compatible. Jim Bartell Add to the list the RedRock Torque motor. Works quite well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Robert Skates Posted March 7, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted March 7, 2013 The M-one motor owned by the rental house I work at is now 2 weeks past the promised return date from Loonworks. Sadly it was sent out for repair a few days before I found this thread. We are looking at other motors or possibly taking the Bartech out of our inventory in favor of another Preston. We have both, but the Bartech is more popular with our clients on a budget and also those who use modified still lenses. We just can't risk more lost rentals while waiting for repairs. I'll post an update when the motor returns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Robert Skates Posted March 20, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 The M-one motor owned by the rental house I work at is now 2 weeks past the promised return date from Loonworks. Sadly it was sent out for repair a few days before I found this thread. We are looking at other motors or possibly taking the Bartech out of our inventory in favor of another Preston. We have both, but the Bartech is more popular with our clients on a budget and also those who use modified still lenses. We just can't risk more lost rentals while waiting for repairs. I'll post an update when the motor returns. UPDATE: Still have not received our M-one motor back from Loonworks. Our calls and emails continue to go unreturned. We were told it would be repaired and returned on or around February 20th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Jay Kim Posted March 21, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 I am glad I switched my motor to Heden but felt bad since Don made a great product I loved my original M-One. I am not sure what holds him so badly but hope he comes back to normal business mode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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