Adding a battery plate to front of pro 1 lite base.

[Kyle Fasanella]

looking to add a battery plate to the front of my pro 1 lite battery hanger base. what options are there when looking to purchase a part like this?

 

Here is a picture of my base

 

 

and a photo of a sled that includes what I am looking for.

 

Thank you

[RonBaldwin]

what's the diameter of the lower battery "post"...1.5" ? If so just get a post clamp from pro and screw an ab plate on it. Wiring it up will be harder.

[Alec Jarnagin SOC]

Kyle,

 

Attached is a picture of my Pro lite:

 

This was a very simple yet flexible modification. The black 1.5" tubing is part of an old model 3 post that I cut down and drilled a hole in. In said hole, I placed an old style PRO post clamp (brass insert and Allen key - or Kipp handle - to tighten). This allows the post to extend and contract over the original 1.25" grey PRO battery post. Then I garbed an old monitor arm clamp for a 1.5" post (since all my posts are 2" I had a left over one) and attached it to an Anton Bauer plate. That handled the mechanical sides of the equation. The power side depends on what you want to do with the sled.. This is my light weight sled/backup sled. Most of the time, I'd use it with one or two batteries so for me, it was about shifting the weight of one of the rear batteries forward. So, I use a P-Tap to P-Tap cable to run from the front plate to the now vacant AB rear plate. Simple. If you were to use three batteries on the sled, the front battery would be in parallel with the rear battery that you were connected to via the P-Tap. Another option that would probably be a bit more secure when it comes to power loss would be to use a P-Tap to XLR and then run the XLR into an AB plate that has an XLR receiver. That setup would obviously weigh a little more and frankly, the P-Tap to P-Tap should suffice.

 

[Kyle Fasanella]

Kyle,

 

Attached is a picture of my Pro lite:

 

This was a very simple yet flexible modification. The black 1.5" tubing is part of an old model 3 post that I cut down and drilled a hole in. In said hole, I placed an old style PRO post clamp (brass insert and Allen key - or Kipp handle - to tighten). This allows the post to extend and contract over the original 1.25" grey PRO battery post. Then I garbed an old monitor arm clamp for a 1.5" post (since all my posts are 2" I had a left over one) and attached it to an Anton Bauer plate. That handled the mechanical sides of the equation. The power side depends on what you want to do with the sled.. This is my light weight sled/backup sled. Most of the time, I'd use it with one or two batteries so for me, it was about shifting the weight of one of the rear batteries forward. So, I use a P-Tap to P-Tap cable to run from the front plate to the now vacant AB rear plate. Simple. If you were to use three batteries on the sled, the front battery would be in parallel with the rear battery that you were connected to via the P-Tap. Another option that would probably be a bit more secure when it comes to power loss would be to use a P-Tap to XLR and then run the XLR into an AB plate that has an XLR receiver. That setup would obviously weigh a little more and frankly, the P-Tap to P-Tap should suffice.

 

 

 

How do you go about attaching the Anton Bauer to the monitor arm clamp? Trying to find an Anton Bauer plate I could feasibly do this with but not sure what kinda attachment options to look for

 

I would need to purchase nearly every part. do you think it is a worthwhile process, or should I look at other options?

 

Thank you Alec.

[RonBaldwin]

just by looking at Alec's picture it looks like the monitor post clamp section is just screwed to an ab plate. Looks pretty simple.

 

maybe something like this:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/133192-REG/Anton_Bauer_QR_UNIV_QR_UNIV_Universal_Gold_Mount.html

 

screwed to this (XCS post clamp):

[Alec Jarnagin SOC]

Yup, Ron guessed it. Not rocket science; you could just use a hand drill if need be but I happened to be at a rental house doing a check out so I asked them to do it on a drill press (recommended). The AB plate was just an old one I had sitting here. Happened to have an aluminum back plate that I had the hole drilled in but there are multiple ways to go aut this.

[Kyle Fasanella]

I just called up GPI PRO guys and they said someone 3rd party used to make the attachment part that what I am looking for. Although they had no idea who it was and recommended I ask the forum. It does not need to be retractable.

 

Anyone have any idea who used to make this part or where I might just buy one? love to avoid buying all these parts. especially a center post.

[RonBaldwin]

I doubt you'll find anyone who "makes" this. It's a fantastic sled, but one that hasn't been made since the mid 90's. You'll just need some kind of spacer so the 1.5" clamp will fit the 1.25" grey post. That part (delrin spacer) pro might be able to sell you as it's still used on their sleds today so the monitor clamp/accessories fit on both the inner and outer posts. This is still a sub $600 mod and would take maybe 15 minutes with a drill to get going. It's not complicated.

[Victor Lazaro]

If you want, let's get together and figure this one out soon ;) I'm sure we can come up with something cheap and easy to make it work.

[Thomas Crescenzo]

I had the opportunity to work with Kyle and Michael and here is the solution we came up with.

The center hub replaces the end cap on a Pro Lite base to add a battery without destructive modification to the sled. The V-mount plate has been milled out to house a breaker and can be integrated into the sled's power. The Anton Bauer version is a low profile plate for maximum rigidity, but it is meant to power accessories at the base of the sled by the Anton Bauer P-Tap instead of being wired into the sled.