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buying a replacement steadicam gimbal?


Wing Gee

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would it be possible to purchase a replacement gimbal assembly for a steadicam?

 

reason i'm asking, is that i have built my own rig based off of cody's plan (homebuiltstabilizers.com). I seem to be having hell of a time balancing the gimbal itself. So i figure i might be able to just buy a replacement one from tiffen and adapt it to my rig. if you want to check it out..

 

http://www.turborocco.com/rig/rigpics/

 

last few links are when it's actually completed.

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Hi Trike, nice interior you have..... who´s your designer? :D

And what´s the telescope for...... looking at the neigbours daughter......? B)

 

just kidding.

 

I have the impression that the only gimbal that could work with your rig might be the one from the Mini or perhaps the flyer ( though I never saw that one)-

if the diameter of the post is the same

 

all other gimbals will need a bigger post . You might be able to put a spacer ring between a bigger gimbal and your post but I´m not sure it you can balance it then.

 

 

Rob van Gelder, Bangkok, Thailand

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hehe.. sorry. it's a mess here. the telescope *was* for looking at the comets that were here a while back.

 

i don't think having a bigger gimbal would hurt all that much. as i can maybe use a pipe as a spacer and clamp that onto the post and then mount the gimbal onto that spacer. but the key is how do i get a replacement gimbal? i think i remember reading that you need a serial number off a steadicam to get a replacement.

 

Thanks

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great man great work ..but i have to work on the size of the parts the joint of the to parts of the arm its to big...and haw much wait u want to carrie cause sames to me that for a small camera your rig its to big....

 

 

ps where u from ....i gonna seand u a gift for all your hard work ....(dont dream not a gimbal but other spares parts )

guillermo nespolo buenos aires argentina

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Ian,

do you have a spare 3a gimbal that you want to sell? if so i'm interested. maybe you can help me by getting the ID of the assembly.

 

gnespolo

I live in Seattle, Wa . I can accomodate almost any camera and weight, i just need to tune the springs for differant sled weights. currently with the vx2000 it's about 20lb's. I will be shooting with a friends DVX100.

 

sweet. what kind of spare parts do you have laying around?

 

 

Thanks!

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Hi Trike,

Yes i have a 3A gimbal for sale. It was purchased with a Pro sled before anybody could make sell gimbals. This gimbal has done minimal work as I changed over as soon as I could to the Pro. I can't find any any serial number or anything for that matter to help you with the assembly. As for price I aould be looking for $2500.00 Australian dollars.

All the best

Macca

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Hi Trike,

I totally understand your concerns with the cost. I also would take note of Robs comment about adapting a larger gimbal to such a small post. I'm NO engineer or physicist but something niggles me about how well a llarrge gimbal would go on that post. I feel like the slightest error in the milling of the step down ring and you have nothing more than some modern art for you living room. Perhaps you could get more advice from somewhere.

All the best and I do hope you can complete the rig.

Macca

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Actually, the precision is in the gimbal, and posts can be pretty awful by comparison and still work just fine.

 

We balance the sled to the gimbal, and as long as that relationship is locked, a good gimbal will spin true and keep the c.g. of the sled centered. The post could be square, hooked, not a post going through the gimbal at all (see JR...) and it will work fine as long as the sleds masses remain locked to the gimbal, and the gimbal is well centered (all three axes).

 

If the post is out of round, or in this case, possibly not well centered to the gimbal via the spacer, it will only be noticed when one lossens the gimbal to re-balance, rotates the post inside the gimbal, and locks the gimbal in the new position relative to the c.g. Might be annoying, but not a worry. just a little re-balance.

 

I haven't looked at the rig. Is it worth the investment in this good a gimbal? (I'm not saying the gimbal is expensive at all.. it seems a very fair price..) I'm saying is this rig worth the gimbal? Maybe as a starter rig, a way to practice with at least a good gimbal, upgrade later, and the gimbal still works....

A question only the owner can answer.

 

Jerry

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