Premium Members Daniel Stilling DFF Posted December 30, 2012 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 30, 2012 I bought one, but really haven't had time to use it enough to have a clear picture of the Bolt's capabilities/shortcomings. IMHO, I don't see an issue having a battery in the unit. We were used to transmitters without batteries, so if we treat it the same way, running the internal battery down wouldn't be an issue. The BIG issue here is not working right with a hot of the charger AB. That's a big deal that introduces all the problems mentioned above. Since it only powers the unit for about an hour, you cannot rely on it, and having it "masking" the issue with the hot battery is a problem. If they can fix the hot battery issue, I think it will be a very good tool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackson Yeung Posted December 30, 2012 Report Share Posted December 30, 2012 I can vouch for the high battery voltage situation. I have used the BOLT on several jobs since purchasing the unit. My first outing proved disappointing as the Tx opted to power itself off of the internal battery. I was in a studio setting so I powered the camera through AC power, leaving the BOLT as the only accessory powered by the on board battery. I metered the fresh (RED branded) battery at 16.6V. Mike at Teradek informed me the BOLT accepts up to 16.8V, but real life tests do not reflect this number. I also whole heartedly agree with the added burden of having to turn the unit off at lunch and end of the night. In one occasion, the Video Assit guy told me that as I rolled the camera, the video cut out for a split second (on an EPIC) repeatedly. Don't know if this is an isolated incident (bad cable, weak signal from EPIC, or just too long of a run from camera to video assit then back to village). Will investigate in the future. Range on the unit is pretty much as advertised. It handles walls decently. I have noticed a slight 'break up' of the signal just before it cuts out due to range (similar to the BOXX). However it does fall off rather quickly. Reconnection time is decent. I have not been able to observe any perceivable delay (when held up against hard wired monitors etc). I like that it transmits audio. Wish list: - SDI flags for the video assit guys running QTake etc. - Timecode for scripty - User accessible configuration for adding addional Rx's etc. Overall, I think it is a great unit for individuals to own (AC's, OP's) and use, but it is not necessarily a 'rentable' unit... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Aaron King Posted December 30, 2012 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 30, 2012 Is this issue of "too hot" batteries only occuring when using the D-Tap? What about powering the Bolt directly from the cameras, or sleds, 12v ports? Those should be regulated and not give this issue of high voltage causing the TX to switch to internal power, right? I have only used the Bolt now a couple of times using the D-Tap and haven't experienced this issue yet, but that's not to say it won't happen on the next job. Over the years, even as an AC, I got myself into a habit of always turning every device off that had a switch, regardless of being powered from one source. I've gotten myself even more strict with that since doing Steadicam, and it being my personal equipment, but that's just me. Charles made a good point about the internal battery that I haven't thought about yet either: How many cycles does the battery have, and how do we go about replacing it when needed? I have been pleased with the Bolts performance so far, but this is definitely something to keep an eye on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Mike Gailing Posted December 31, 2012 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 So Mike or others from Teradek, if any of this is incorrect or can be further clarified, please do so. FYI the first unit that I received did not accept incoming voltage. Chris said something about suspected reverse polarity being fed into it. I talked through the workflow with Will and we determined that it was all but impossible for that to occur with the way we were powering it, unless the supplied cable itself was miswired. Charles, Ive double checked with our hardware engineers and the flip over to the battery should be at voltages up to 17V, though he recommends the most that should hit the input is 16.7V. They've tested this in house to ensure this data is accurate. We've taken all of the comments on this forum and elsewhere into account and we are already working on fixes to these issues. If you'd like to have your battery removed, we can take it out as a special mod. Simply send us an email (info@teradek.com) and we can get the process started. As for voltage, we've already got something in the pipeline to address a higher tolerance. Ill keep you all up to date with any new info I get from our engineers as they come back from the holiday. Please keep the feedback coming, we really appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Alec Jarnagin SOC Posted December 31, 2012 Moderators Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 Thanks for chiming in Mike. Let us know updates as they happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Lawrence Karman Posted December 31, 2012 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 Thanks for listening Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Charles Papert Posted December 31, 2012 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 "Thirded". Customer service is an extremely important benchmark around these here parts and knowing that concerns are being heard and addressed goes a long way. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Smith Posted January 1, 2013 Report Share Posted January 1, 2013 Good to hear from you here Mike I'll look at buying one as soon as these issues get resolved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Wolfgang Troescher Posted January 1, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted January 1, 2013 Good to know to have a contact person here. I´m expecting my Bolt this or next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Twojay Dhillon Posted January 3, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted January 3, 2013 Ideas for a test this weekend: I just picked up my 4 pin VID/PWR cables from Mr. Terry West that will power my BOLT, this weekend, directly from the Upper J-Box of my GPI PRO sled. On Day 1 I will show up to set and run it with a fully-charged internal battery. I will leave the unit on and deplete the internal battery overnight. On Day 2 I will reconnect it to my seld with said completely-depleted internal battery and see how things go. The shoots will be very fast-paced so I will have no time to pull out a voltmeter and take readings at different moments, so I figured the two extremes would provide some level of results that folks can cull some info from. There will be two BOXX systems backing up the BOLT, so the shoot is in no danger of being without wireless HD. Thoughts on this being a wise test, and ways to improve/expand upon it (while keeping in mind the lack of time of the production)? Thx, all, and Happy New Year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Wolfgang Troescher Posted January 12, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted January 12, 2013 My bolt arrived yesterday :) First tests are promising, though I don´t can compare it to other systems. There's a question left: How do you provide the receiver with power, if you want to be mobile? A V-Mount (or AB) battery is a little heavy and bulky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Daniel Stilling DFF Posted January 12, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted January 12, 2013 You can get a battery plate from Teradek to power the receiver. Or you can use a swit battery that has a 2.1mm barrel female power out, and get the cable to power it as well. Many options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Iain Baird Posted January 12, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted January 12, 2013 For the applications I have considered buying this unit for - Portable Directors Monitor and a Focus Assist Monitor - there would be far more value for my money in having the built in Battery in the receiver. IB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Alan Rencher Posted January 13, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted January 13, 2013 For the applications I have considered buying this unit for - Portable Directors Monitor and a Focus Assist Monitor - there would be far more value for my money in having the built in Battery in the receiver. IB I built a USB port into my A/B plate on my 9" monitor for the director to carry. I power a Paralinx and the monitor with Trimpac's. It's light, and the batteries last a good long while. Pictures Here! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members William Demeritt Posted January 13, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted January 13, 2013 Alan, that's a great mod! Nice work! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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