Times Square, NYC

[AdamKeith]

I shot on 43rd - 44th Street in NYC last Tuesday. My Bartech would not find continuity. I tried every channel. One channel held for a while but at times the focus motor would just take off and rack back and forth. (I later learned Audio was having problems also). It was a Video shoot and I ended up getting thru by using the one man pot and staying a little wider. A second location at Penn Station Everything was fine.

 

After speaking with Jim Bartell he said Singapore and Times SQ NYC are the worst for interference and he suggested I purchase a direct connect cable. I asked Jim to make mine 30' long so I can also use it on my Jibs.

 

For all you BFD owners who shoot in NYC, you might want to have the cable as part of your kits.

 

Regards,

Adam Keith

[Alec Jarnagin SOC]

Adam,

 

Shot in Times Sq. many times & (knock on wood) never a problem with my bartech. In fact, Jamie Silverstein and I once did dueling Steadicams there and we each were carrying two motors for focus and iris so a total of four channels going. Somehow it worked just fine.

 

Still though, RF is a funny thing. A hardwired option is a good thing. I have DATA to BNC adapters so I can use simple BNCs for this purpose if needed, but to date they have gone unused.

 

One more thing - Adam, when you called Jim did you make sure you had the latest software?

 

Cheers,

[AdamKeith]

Alec,

 

No I didn't ask about the software. Jim, I own Bartech #036 is there a software upgrade and would it of help?

 

I have also shot in times square outside 1500 Broadway (44th & Broadway) many times with out a problem. I was there on New Years Eve 2004 with out a problem. But last Tuesday was a little nerve racking. Audio was also having major problems. I also want to point out there is nothing wrong with the Bartech. It performed perfectly at a second location at Penn Station the same night. I was sweating it out before I saw that green light. The Penn Station set ups where all stairs and I wouldn't of like trying it with out a focus puller. Yesterday I set it up and took a walk and left the rig in my garage with my daughter on the cell phone and 4 blocks later I still had control of the focus motor.

 

It was also great, after having a problem, to get Jim on the phone with a solution just a Overnight Fed Ex away. The Hardline worked great. Once the cable is attached to the Data Connectors the RF is automatically powered down and calibration is not affected

 

I want to thank Jim "HardLine" Bartell for his help and quick response.

 

Adam Keith

[Hervé Colosio]

here is the proof Alec was in time square :D

[Alec Jarnagin SOC]

And right back at you....

[Erwin Landau]

Oh that looks uncomfortable...

 

The Waste pad on your PRO Vest is way to short, that's why the side straps are not doing there job.

Did you buy that Vest used or did you gain weight... anyways you should send that to George and get a new Waste section, trust me it will make the world of a difference...

 

Sorry, My back started to hurt when i saw the picture... And sorry if I'm out of line... but... ough!

 

Just a thought,

 

Fly safe,

 

Erwin

[Hervé Colosio]

oh it's not mine , it was a old rental vest that have been used several time !

mine is a ultra vest and thats right after 4 days shooting in new york with this my back hurts a little :blink: .

thanks erwin

[Alec Jarnagin SOC]

Herve,

 

That caught my eye too when I pulled the picture from your web site...

 

But, where did you get the picture of me???? I'll assume you wandered by while you were in town and took it, but shame on you for not introducing yourself! Thanks for sharing though.....

[Hervé Colosio]

:D

you where working , i where working too , i've just take 2 minutes to make some pictures of you and think that can be funny to give them to you on internet !

i travel all the time with my rig , maybe another day to take a cup of tea .

here you can download all the pictures of you in full quality :

http://www.premiumwanadoo.com/kind-of-magic/alec.zip

[Alec Jarnagin SOC]

Wow. Many thanks. Shows you how many people are out taking photos in Times Sq. I never noticed you!

 

Hope you had a good time while you were here. Look me up next time for a drink.

 

Cheers,

[Michael Stumpf]

Alec,

 

No I didn't ask about the software. Jim, I own Bartech #036 is there a software upgrade and would it of help?

 

 

Adam Keith

 

 

Yes, if you haven't gotten your BFD upgraded in the past few years, Jim

did upgrade the software a couple years ago.

He was probably around #200 when he upgraded the software.

Anyone with #200 or less just needed to bring their units in

for a quick and easy upgrade.

It would/should solve any problem.

 

I once had a problem with interference with my BFD about 5 or so years ago.

Got the upgrade, and no interference problems since.

[Brad Smith]

There is plenty of RF in Times Sq NYC. I was a soundo (EFP audio) sent to NYC to cover 9/11. We where doing Vox pops in times square when we coincidently met an Aussie. We then did an inpromptu iv with him on the spot. I was cabled to the camera using a cabled shotgun mike. I did not notice any problems, monitoring throuhg the mixer , though admittedly I was not contiuously monitoring the return audio from the camera. When we got back to the hotel the journo went nuts. All of the vox pops where fine but the audio for the iv with the aussie was unusable. I was devastated, couldn't explain, we had not changed a thing between doing voxies and then the iv, not even powered down the camera. A few days later I was having a beer with an expat Aussie soundo, told him my tale of woe and he told me "there is some funky rf in times square". Apparently I'm not only one who has fallen victim to the Funky RF!!!! :o

[David George Ellis]

Hey krashtest,

 

I'll second (or third for that matter) on checking with Mr. Bartell about the last time, if ever, there was an uprgade, or is it an update?. I had the same weird dropouts in the strangest places. Like, in the woods, with no RF, not even a TV signal, and still had problems. I blamed it on a tree. Must've worked b/c they called me back.

 

After sending for the software, the two chips were installed pretty simply (thanks again, Alec), and I never had a problem since. Jim actually told me there had been 4 versions of the software since mine rolled off the assembly line (ser. #64). Great backstory behind it all, in my opinion.

 

Actually, I had one problem with interference... I was in Boston for a gig where I was soft-mounted to a doorway dolly and there were 4 Grips, 2 ACs, 1 DP and 1 AD all around the rig at that moment. All of them had walkies on. All of that RF bleeding, in such a tight proximity, issue. Once they were shut off, all was good. Until the Pana Platinum died, aaaaand that's a wrap on Steadicam.

 

Just wanted to add that as a possibility in case the software was addressed. Especially if sound was having problems as well. Good luck.

 

 

David

[Hervé Colosio]

i have had one probleme with the bartech focus and the titan transmitter , it arrived one time only on one channel . when the focus was moved the titan starts to flash . i have change the titan channel and everything where good . the funny thing is that it's impossible to reproduce this !

i have retry all the bartech chanels in combination with the 4 titan chanels and everything works fine .

[Peter Abraham]

Yanno, every time I've stopped by to see Alec at work or seen production stills of him, he's got that same guy with the green-edged net behind him. I just realized- that's his sledcatcher. Tilt that rig just a little more back over the shoulder and your sledcatcher gets to be a hero.

 

Man. I do respect your prep. I never used a sledcatcher and many are the times I wish I had. :D

 

I owned BFD # 000000002. And, I think my second one was....... # 025-ish? Loved them things. It's always a good idea to ask around regarding software updates. There was at least one early on, just after I got # 02 and Jim made it happen fast. I've always admired his conscientious approach, his creativity and his personal hygiene. I hear his wife's a doll, too !!!!!

 

Peter " Why kiss one ass when you can kiss two? " Abraham

New York

 

p.s. I wish I'd had a magic answer for Adam when he called me that night, but RF had hit me so infrequently with my BFD, that I was stumped.

 

p.p.s. In the late 1980's, I was shooting a job on the roof of a tenement on the lower East Side. We were in close aerial proximity and clear line of sight to the World Trade Centers. I turned on the camera, set the shot for the interview ( non-Steadicam ), and plugged in the field monitor. It showed a lovely image, if I do say so. My camera eyepiece, on the other hand, showed a very clear sharp image playing back " I Love Lucy". Swear to god. It's just a plastic shell after all, and the eyepiece had no shielding. Man, somehow I caught a remarkably clear image in that thing. I had to shoot off the monitor, which was fine. Invited the crew and client to take a peek, because it was such an oddity. Talk about yer hard RF hits......