Premium Members William Demeritt Posted December 22, 2012 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 22, 2012 Quick question that was on my mind and I didn't think to call Jack earlier belt the holiday breaks took hold. The PRO sleds with quick release bayonets at top and bottom, are they designed for repeated mount and dismount? The screw collars make for quick access to dismount for service and maintenance, but is it encouraged or discouraged as a means to store and travel with the sled? For Service, I'm sure the screw collars will work well for the occasional disconnect and reconnect (once every month on average?). However, is there any concern with daily or multiple times per month connecting for work and disconnecting for storage/transport? Have other operators had experiences one way or another? Has PRO already commented on the matter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Tom Wills Posted December 22, 2012 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 22, 2012 Funny thing, having gone through the archives, I knew I had read about this recently. Lo and behold, on the second to last page of the Sled section, there it was! Alec Jarnagin has some thoughts on it. http://www.steadicamforum.com/index.php?showtopic=1809entry10337 Having taken my sled apart and put it back together plenty of times, I wouldn't want to do that on set. As Alec noted, it's too easy to cross-thread such fine threads, and end up with a rig that you can't safely fly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members William Demeritt Posted December 23, 2012 Author Premium Members Report Share Posted December 23, 2012 Yea, the fear of cross-threading is my largest concern, and I'm hoping to get PRO to weigh in once in the new year. I would imagine it's not designed to be a daily/regular type thing, but I wanted to check on people's experiences first. My intention wouldn't be to do it directly on set, but rather during my usual "set up" and "break down" time that I work into my arrival and departure schedule. I generally pull everything from my car anyway, so while putting things together, I foresee the opportunity to take that additional 3 minutes to assemble the sled. I have the big anvil case I could use for travel, but it's so enormously bulky for the short drives I generally take. Air travel, I'll use it without hesitation... but getting to set that's 10 minutes from my place seems like overkill. I've also considered getting a sled sock through Modular 51 or others, but I haven't pulled the trigger on it just yet. Exploring my options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Eric Fletcher S.O.C. Posted December 23, 2012 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 23, 2012 Sled Sock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Afton Grant Posted December 23, 2012 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 23, 2012 For day to day driving gigs... No case. Passenger seat. Seatbelt. About 80% of shoots are using the Alexa now and it's great to just leave the rig mostly outfitted with cables and my accessories. Saves even more time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Alec Jarnagin SOC Posted December 23, 2012 Moderators Report Share Posted December 23, 2012 Tom, thanks for posting that Link. Yup. Sled Sock. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Chris Flurry Posted December 25, 2012 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 25, 2012 I honestly think your over thinking this a bit, but that being said: I did a show as an assistant with Chris Haarhoff on steadi and he stored his sled in a pelican case with the battery base removed, seemed like we stowed it in there when ever it wasn't in use. Must have connected and disconnected, that battery base every-other day for three months. We never had any problems other than occasionally forgetting to plug the lemo connector in. I mean he helped design the damn thing so if he did it, I would think it would be ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Afton Grant Posted December 25, 2012 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 25, 2012 Was Chris using the newer HD components, or older SD components? The old SD components and connectors were able to stand up to repeated disassembly. The connectors (coaxial pins specifically) in the new HD components are much more fragile and subject to malfunction under repeated mating/unmating. I would recommend disassembly it only if absolutely necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Chris Flurry Posted December 25, 2012 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 25, 2012 Yeah this was a number of years ago, before the HD sled existed. It was a stock PRO-2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members William Demeritt Posted December 25, 2012 Author Premium Members Report Share Posted December 25, 2012 Looking for more definitive proof, but I'm pretty sure the LEMO connectors in the PRO and XCS center posts have a coupling/decoupling rating of 2000 cycles. My concern is for the possibility of mechanical danger such as cross threading in the collars, not so much with the LEMO connectors. Obviously contact GPI for their input. The sled sock does seem more appealing from a simplicity standpoint, as well as quick storage during company moves. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Osvaldo Silvera SOC Posted December 27, 2012 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 27, 2012 We'll see what GPI suggests, But the Coaxial pins for the HD signal in that 19? pin lemo connector might not make it if repeatedly connected and disconnected.. Now If my Pelican 1650 case was 2" longer on the inside length...... Just 2"....! I'd be able to fit the Pro Gen 3/XCS sled in there just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Bryan Trieb Posted January 1, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted January 1, 2013 I've often thought about the sled sock for local jobs, it's quite appealing. I'm however the type of person...if I don't cover my ass, the one time I don't something bad will happen. We've all spent a lot of money on our gear, I'm protecting that stuff with all my might. I'll allow myself some extra time to break it out and set it up. I will subject myself to the ridicule of driving my Grand Caravan to accommodate all the hard cases. I've heard all the minivan jokes btw....go ahead, try...I've heard it. :( :) Bry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members RonBaldwin Posted January 1, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted January 1, 2013 Grand Caravan!? At least it's not an FJ Cruiser!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members JamieSilverstein Posted January 1, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted January 1, 2013 Two Thoughts. 1) The more you plug and unplug that massive lemo connector on the base of your sled and the more you thread and un-thread the mount, the greater the risk of damage . Damage means down time. Down time means no rental. No rental means no money......... 2) Sled sock, sled sock , sled sock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Eric Fletcher S.O.C. Posted January 1, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted January 1, 2013 Sled Sock, anyone that's seen my gear will attest to it's like new condition and I use a sled a sock and have for the last 8 years 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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