Sled Elecrtonics

[Brad Smith]

I'm researching the various options of combinations of battery brands, chemistry and combinations of both. The potential problem when using Li ion batts in series to power 24v cameras is to much voltage. Obviously if you are going to mix Li ion's and nicads, you would need have diodes inline to prevent the Li ions charging the nicads. Easy enough to add diodes to an older sled (pro II) but are there any components availbale to limit the voltage output. Do more modern designs have voltage regulation? or is simply overkill? :unsure:

[Stephen Murphy]

My current sled (Nexus) and my old sled (Evolution) allow me to run li-ion's and nicads at the same time - they have diodes to help regulate everything. Im pretty sure the XCS does this as well. Ive never had any problems running li-ions, with the exception of starting the original 435 and 435 ES cameras, which is when i use a single nicad in conjunction with 2 li-ions.

[WillArnot]

The XCS sled is the only sled that has a fully regulated power supply. ie. each component - camera, transmitter, follow focus etc - gets a steady regulated supply of power no matter what chemistry batteries are used or what voltage they are giving out.

 

eg. if the batteries are coming off a fresh charge and are giving out 16+ volts, instead of 32v going to the camera (ie. wasted wattage dissipated as heat rather than used voltage), which can be a problem in some cases, a consistent 27 v is supplied no matter what. This is also true once the batteries start dropping down below 14.4v. Even as low as 12v, the camera will still get 27v.

 

And the best part is that all you need is one battery if you choose. This means that all you ever need to be concerned about is 'run time' of the battery. ie you will be switching batteries more often if you use one battery vs 2 or 3.

 

This makes the XCS sled the lightest 24v system out there. In it's lightest configuration you will just have to switch batteries more often. The point is that you have so many options with this sled.

 

I have recently opted to carry the extra 1.7 lbs of a Anton Bauer Dionic Li-ion, and now fly a 2x Dionic & 1 Proformer setup. This gives me unbelievable run times. Over 20 mags on one set of batts means sometimes I don't switch batts for days. This is the set up I use wether I am in regular mode, flying 1, 2 or 3 KS-4 Gyros, Hi-speed, Arri 435, super post, or using the AR.

 

The combination of the Nicad Proformer in there means the set up can handle any large amp spikes where the Li-ions would shut down if they were working alone.

 

And since all 3 batts are running through a regulated voltage supply, they all run down at exactly the same rate, no matter how many are being used. This is a beautiful thing since when it comes time to change, they all go at the same time. This also means that the batteries get 'worked' equally and therefore their working life is maximised.

 

This saves an incredible amount of battery management time, weight ( # ) of batteries in your kit, and ultimately money spent.

 

I can't say enough about the versatility of my XCS sled. It has helped me become more efficient, and thus more effective.