Premium Members Jerry Holway Posted June 26, 2007 Premium Members Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 A little trick for owners of the Ultra2: The "center" button that is used for set up (driving the stage to the center of its travel both fore and aft and side to side), is programmable, just like the buttons on the remote. If you have a camera that nominally balances to one side, you can set the side to side "center" off-center, so hitting the center button only drives the fore-aft control to the center of its range - perfect for setting up at the beginning of the day, big lense or accessory changes, etc. Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Alfeo Dixon SOC Posted June 27, 2007 Premium Members Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 A little trick for owners of the Ultra2: The "center" button that is used for set up (driving the stage to the center of its travel both fore and aft and side to side), is programmable, just like the buttons on the remote. If you have a camera that nominally balances to one side, you can set the side to side "center" off-center, so hitting the center button only drives the fore-aft control to the center of its range - perfect for setting up at the beginning of the day, big lense or accessory changes, etc. Jerry Nice tip Jerry... I had to figure all that out my first time out on the job... still couldn't figure out the remote until I got the manual. It's now my best friend. -Alfeo "push to balance" Dixon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Amando Crespo Posted June 29, 2007 Premium Members Report Share Posted June 29, 2007 Thanks Jerry, I read it at the manual an it rules ok. Aps!. I´ve just finish my first movie with the Ultra2, under very hard weather conditions and the sled, arm, vest, antlers...gives me good satisfacctions. Best regard By Alfeo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulEdwards Posted June 29, 2007 Report Share Posted June 29, 2007 Jerry, Had a funny fault today on the stage remote and just wondered if you had any ideas. The side to side buttons on the remote have stopped working. Everything was working fine at the start of the day and then suddenly the side to side buttons wouldn't activate the motors. The motors themselves work fine, as it's still possible to activate both fore/aft and side/side with the preset buttons. Any ideas gratefully received. Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Amando Crespo Posted June 29, 2007 Premium Members Report Share Posted June 29, 2007 Paul. Try to see the transmiter if it have a little dust or the bottoms don´t push right the connections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Alfeo Dixon SOC Posted June 29, 2007 Premium Members Report Share Posted June 29, 2007 Jerry, Had a funny fault today on the stage remote and just wondered if you had any ideas. The side to side buttons on the remote have stopped working. Everything was working fine at the start of the day and then suddenly the side to side buttons wouldn't activate the motors. The motors themselves work fine, as it's still possible to activate both fore/aft and side/side with the preset buttons. Any ideas gratefully received. Paul Paul, Did you try to recharge it? May sound simple but your battery might just needed a bump. Alfeo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Garrett Brown Posted June 30, 2007 Premium Members Report Share Posted June 30, 2007 Paul, I forwarded your note to the factory late yesterday and expect a more informed answer from Rob Orf or his colleagues. Meanwhile another possibility is that either the side-to-side pot on the electronics module in front of the stage has been accidentally turned down, or the switch was bumped to the center position (off). I apologize if you already checked those items, but I have had the same issue and it didn't occur to me for an embarrassingly long time. Please let us know when you find out the cause. best regards, Garrett you wrote: <<Had a funny fault today on the stage remote and just wondered if you had any ideas. The side to side buttons on the remote have stopped working. Everything was working fine at the start of the day and then suddenly the side to side buttons wouldn't activate the motors. The motors themselves work fine, as it's still possible to activate both fore/aft and side/side with the preset buttons. Any ideas gratefully received. Paul Paul, Did you try to recharge it? May sound simple but your battery might just needed a bump. Alfeo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Steve Fracol SOC Posted July 1, 2007 Premium Members Report Share Posted July 1, 2007 Paul, I am betting that the switch got bumped. Where I live I rarely let assistants mess with my stuff (with the exception of one or two) but one day I did pass the gear off...and sure enough same thing happened. I had it up and running in just a few minutes but that switch or the remote charge is probably your issue. The remote seems to run forever on a charge and it only takes a few minutes to re-charge. I guess there is a very slight chance that you would need to change the frequency on the remote transmitter and receiver for the top stage but I seriously doubt that is an issue. I have tried to take the time to learn the rig inside and out so that I don't have to deal with sending it back when something seems not right. This rig is VERY user serviceable (even though it is full of cool stuff) as to not have to rely as much on factory support....which is paramount to me! Small price to pay for such PERFECTION!!! The system rocks. You just need to know where to look when something like that comes up. All that said...I have gotten incredible customer service out of everyone at Tiffen especially Robert Orf. They have bent over backwards for me. Kudos to Tiffen!!! Not the same as the old CP!!! They seem to have transitioned into a company that better understands OUR NEEDS as operators regarding customer service. I hope they continue down this same path for a long time and continue to support everyone well! They seem to be on the right path and the Ultra 2 seems to be selling very well. All that should lead up to a healthy company...lets all stay on it to make sure they continue to deliver this good service to everyone!!! In the Steadicam selling business it is nice to have the coolest rigs with the latest gadgets BUT....your only as good as how well you treated your last customer with a problem. That is more important than the original sale in my book!!! Customer service is everything. Repairs with quick turnover, back up rigs, discounted rental rigs, loaner rigs, whatever it takes to keep the end customer making an income. When our gear is down we don't make money. Remind them of that next time your rig is in for service. They have their ears open right now! They are listening!!! They want to do things right. Regards, Steve Fracol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Orf Posted July 2, 2007 Report Share Posted July 2, 2007 Paul; Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Orf Posted July 2, 2007 Report Share Posted July 2, 2007 Paul; Let me know if you need some help. Regards Robert Orf rorf@tiffen.com 818-843-4600 x 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulEdwards Posted July 2, 2007 Report Share Posted July 2, 2007 Thanks everyone for the input and offers of help................and now the embarrasing truth. As suggested by Garrett, it was the side to side direction selector switch being in the center position (and hence off). I guess it's the knid of thing which'll catch you out once and then you'll remember for ever! Thanks again Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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