MK-V Sled - “Project Special”

[Tom Wills]

This is a rig I started as a project several years ago, and I’ve finally reached the time to let it go. I decided to build as much of a sled as I could out of the spare parts in my workshop, and I was mostly successful.

 

However, I have some important notes on selling this rig. What I’m selling here is what I would describe as a “Steadicam-shaped assembly of parts”. This is not a cohesive, workable, modern sled. Many of these parts were salvaged from old, broken rigs. Some of these parts are obsolete and have no support. Some of these parts were hand-machined and hand-soldered. This rig is offered with no warranty, and should only be purchased by someone who has a willingness to tinker, disassemble, and re-work the rig. 

 

If you are game for that, however, this is a relatively inexpensive starter rig, and as it is, it’s a great rig to start practicing on and doing small jobs with until you can afford to upgrade it piece by piece. It’s basically how I started - buying an old rig in pieces and putting it together as I did jobs and had the money to upgrade. This would be a great place to start with a 3A or similar arm coming out of a workshop. 

 

The core of the rig is an MK-V 4 stage post and gimbal. It is a non-standard size, about 1.76” (I’ve heard this was originally designed for the AR, but was eventually changed to 2” on newer MK-V models, so this must be an early post). It will collapse relatively short, and expand into a super post. The gimbal has a standard 5/8” socket for the arm post.

 

The electronics for the sled are MK-V V2 electronics, and are SD only. These electronics can be reworked by Stephen Siegel to carry HD and high current power, but it is a significant gut-and-rebuild. Or you can try and find HD electronics from a newer MK-V - they all should be mostly interchangeable. It has 2 AB battery plates, and can run 12 or 24v. 

 

The topstage is a PRO Donkey Box (DB) 1. This stage technically works just fine, though it has seen a lot of use over the years. I must note however that this part is obsolete, and PRO will not and cannot service it. If you break any part of this stage, or need spare parts, they do not exist, and you will need to buy a new stage. I also am not sure if this stage is perfectly vibration free with a heavy camera. This stage was fine for me to fool around in my shop with, and it’s better than a 3A style stage, but I would upgrade this part soon after buying if you plan to use this professionally. 

 

I will include with the rig the following:

• Docking bracket
• 8 pin to 8 Pin monitor cable
• Monitor bracket (MK-V) with 1/4”x20 mount for an LCD
• A selection of 19mm and 15mm rods
• At least 1 dovetail plate
• Backup parts (to be determined, and depending on what you could use!)

 

I am asking $6000 plus shipping for this rig.