KarloTomic Posted April 19, 2004 Report Share Posted April 19, 2004 Thanks Will, Although my wireless works fine, trimming on the fly isn't even an option since I can't tell the direction my stage has moved when I'm mid-shot. For now it just remains a curiosity since it hasn't adversly affected my work. Other ops I've met have mentioned things going wrong on their Master sleds like wireless trim controls that don't work anymore and malfunctioning (read no) artificial horizon on their monitors, luckily none of these things is the case with my rig, just that one little thing... Karlo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members WillArnot Posted April 19, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted April 19, 2004 Simple fix may be to mark the knobs with a witness mark so you can see which way it is turning. When it mysteriously does so of it's own accord hopefully the corner of your eye has half a second to register that it just turned fwd, so to compensate you know to go back. Of course bottom weight will also help clue you in. Less down low = the quicker you will know which way you (or the stage itself) has trimmed. More bottom weight means you won't feel the effect of the trim so quickly. To be honest, the potential of on the fly trim is awesome, but when it starts working against you and sand-bagging your shot... i pretty much threw the f-ing mouse pad out the f-ing window. Thanks CP for another fine piece of electronics!! Just a little bitter after 8 yrs of misfunction & poor support. But when you let go of all the little bells & whistles, and just focus on the benefits, quick set up / change over time, etc you can make it all work in your favour.... it's not the gear, it's the operator. Will Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members flemming laybourn Posted April 19, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted April 19, 2004 Had a master for 7 years, ended up installing an on/off switch on the stage. Worked fine for me. Flemming Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbalsdon Posted April 19, 2004 Report Share Posted April 19, 2004 I had this problem on one particular TV series I worked on. The problem however only happened during takes! Turned out to be radio mikes on the boom poles, whenever they flew them close to the camera the stage went beserk. Solution, fit an on off switch. Try removing the battery from the transmitter and see if still happens, if it does it's probably some other radio signal causing it, hopefully it's not your remote focus or video transmitter. Yeah my original remote system wasn't reliable either, to the point I wasn't confident it work on the fly so I avoided that situation. CP denied they'd heard of any other customers experiencing problems. Thank God for Tiffen. Phil Balsdon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarloTomic Posted April 19, 2004 Report Share Posted April 19, 2004 An on/off switch for the stage (slap to the forehead)! So obvious I didn't even notice it! Will look into it, thanks Flemming. Karlo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikael Kern Posted April 20, 2004 Report Share Posted April 20, 2004 There is an upgrade to the first versions, I think yours is ver. 1.0 - don´t know if it is software only. Mikael Kern Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Jerry Holway Posted April 24, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted April 24, 2004 After years and years of imploring CP to add an on-off switch, it's going to be done soon to the Ultras (I had one on my master series from day one.. okay day 40 or so). Although the transmitter on the Ultra is 100 times better than the one on the Master Series, the tiny transmitter just can't compete with all the other, more powerful and varied transmitters out there. It's possible, if you have a Master Series rig, to get an Ultra transmitter/receiver (it's how the first Ultra's were built). Don't have a clue as to cost, availability, etc. A real good use for the on-off switch is that often grips or assistants carrying the rig back to the stand would inadvertantly hit the transmit buttons.... The only real problem I ever had with the Ultra transmitter was at RF crazy NAB (duh). On set, if it worked, it worked, and if there was a problem it was clearly there, not intermittant. Jerry Holway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin M. Andersen Posted August 14, 2005 Report Share Posted August 14, 2005 Hey all, I have resurfaced after retirement. I left LA for the rural life in Connecticut. Long story. I have taken over the Creative Arts Video Production at Foxwoods Resort and Casino. It is a long strange trip I've been on. Under some junk I found a few cases and inside was an incomplete Master Series Broadcast rig. No one here has a clue what to do with it but in the hands of an operator with decades of experience this could be useable. They are missing all the cables and connectors. After building my own rigs I find this rig lovely for some things, but a piece of shit for others. I am already ripping it apart, but I noticed in my absence that many things have happened to the stabilizer gear industry. I want to get some schematics or any technical details on this sled so I can rip it apart and improve it while eliminating some of the stupidity in it's design. True to my past experience, the manufacturer no longer supports the rig and the manuals are not online. I need to get the pinouts for the monitor and I need a source for those connectors. I've already ripped out that power hog-heavy pig greenscreen, but I want to customise the upper and lower stages and make this rig more adaptable and useful. Don't get me wrong, that rig is lovely and well engineered, but I find it maddening to depend on these connectors and I want to recable for our needs. I have always avoided all CP/Tiffen products, but now I have this rig at my 'disposal.' Any help much appreciated, I've been in retirement since 2002 and can't wait to fly these little cameras. No more BL4s in Low mode for this vereran! Best regards, Kevin Andersen Video Production Coordinator Foxwoods Resort and Casino Creative Arts Steadicam GURU for the Manshantucket Pequot Tribe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members joe mcnally Posted August 14, 2005 Premium Members Report Share Posted August 14, 2005 The Master rig was one of the simplest and elegant rigs I have come across. Pull it out of the box clip on the camera plug in the bnc and away you go, fantastic. Never had any problems with my green screen apart from when another operator dropped it on a marble floor, clang. It seems odd to me that that you wish to rip this thing apart when you dont seem to know the basic industry standard for hirose pinouts. What do you intend to do having torn it apart ? Intrigued Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard James Lewis Posted August 14, 2005 Report Share Posted August 14, 2005 :o throw that "piece of shit " my way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin M. Andersen Posted August 14, 2005 Report Share Posted August 14, 2005 It seems odd to me that that you wish to rip this thing apart when you dont seem to know the basic industry standard for hirose pinouts. Maybe you misread my post. Of course I know the basics! Way beyond the basics m'man! Problem is that I have no time and no hirose connectors or cables. I will be cutting them off. While what you said might be true about having to pull it out and use it (for most BASIC applications) I am trying to do some things far beyond basic and mofiying that rig to be disassembled into small pieces and reassembled in a different way each time. The hirose connectors are useless without the cables. I never claimed to be "industry standard" (LOL!) I will need to power and drive several proprietary devices from that rig, not thought of by the designer. The people who bought the gear failed to buy any cables. yes the "basic industry cables." What good are thos hirose connectors without the damn cables? DOH! By the way, after 18 years of steadicam taking weight off cameras, I am piling weight on now so there is no need for these hirose connectors in my world. I'd rather have someone help me find the pinout schematics of that sled to save some lab time rather than question why I would want to modify the MSB. Way beyond the basics here! I can teach some people about adaptability and mods! That comes from 18 years of ripping apart and modifying sleds starting with my model 2 in the eighties. Why rip it apart? To make it better! Kevin "Ain't the hirose that makes a pro" Andersen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin M. Andersen Posted August 14, 2005 Report Share Posted August 14, 2005 :o throw that "piece of shit " my way! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> (sigh) The greenscreen is BO and I have to run a power cable from the A/B brick to power the replacement screen, which is without a hirose connector. Therefore I want to adapt the power/video run to other devices. I'd reply that this inflexibility is a drawback until I have the cables or better yet, the freedom from reliance on these cables. The only way I can get those framelines is to adapt the hirose. I really wish people here would focus on the mission and drop the smartass responses. Does anyone have the schematics or technical info on this sled? Kevin Andersen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard James Lewis Posted August 15, 2005 Report Share Posted August 15, 2005 "I really wish people here would focus on the mission and drop the smartass responses." Wasn?t meant to be a smart-ass reply, and I?m sorry that you don?t have a sense of humour. It just gives me a strange feeling deep down that someone can just discard a Master series under a load of cases like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin M. Andersen Posted August 15, 2005 Report Share Posted August 15, 2005 "I really wish people here would focus on the mission and drop the smartass responses." Wasn?t meant to be a smart-ass reply, and I?m sorry that you don?t have a sense of humour. It just gives me a strange feeling deep down that someone can just discard a Master series under a load of cases like that. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Richard, Sorry for my pissy remarks. I can't believe that these people have discarded this lovely rig...but the fact is that tomorrow I am using that rig and I have had to do some major workarounds to make the rig work, which would be a lot easier if I had the proper cables. One day prep with a tiny little camera...adding dumbweight to make the arm work. I actually DO have a sense of humor but not when I am under the pressure of a big-ass project with gear that is not prepped and owned by yours truly. It is a very high profile gig with big stars and I have been retired! Here is also what I found in the rubble: A high end video microwave transmitter/receiver. In the signal rich casino this is what works. I found a TC generator in a cardboard box. Now we can sync cameras that are otherwise not. (I just made a smart slate) I just built some custom a/b brick rigs that can mount anywhere. Now we are working with lincoln logs for adults. All before dinner. I would still love for someone to educate me what the pinout config is for the greenscreen monitor hirose. It is 4 pins carrying DC plus video and I would like to adapt that to my radical mod so I can get the frame lines. Sorry if I was pissy... Why does Tiffen not support their products? Need more info, website useless. Best regards, Kevin Andersen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members paul magee Posted August 15, 2005 Premium Members Report Share Posted August 15, 2005 Before you rip out any plugs check out Fred Davis at Production Cable. He's made me a few cables to interface between my Master Elite and add ons I've bought over the years including a back up LCD monitor. http://www.productioncableservices.com/ Good luck Paul Magee Philadelphia, PA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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