Premium Members joe mcnally Posted June 27, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted June 27, 2004 Hello everybody I have an Ultra Rig that has developed some play in the side to side area of the stage. I have tried tightening all the external screws thereabouts but none of these seem to cure the play, about .25mm in the side to side. I have had the Master rig top stage apart in the past and have been able to do on site repairs with reasonable success. My question is if I start dismantling the top stage is there anything I should look out for before dimantling ? Or any major problems getting it back together again ? I am based in London UK and would happily send it over to Robin at Optex but I kind of like finding out how it all comes apart and together again, I hope, as sometimes there is no choice out on a job in the middle of nowhere. Before CP went to Tiffen there started to appear various blow up diagrams of the Master rig on the CP website. Is there anywhere to look for similar diagram of the Ultra ? Many thanks for any help or advise on this Hopefully Joe McNally Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Livingston Posted June 28, 2004 Report Share Posted June 28, 2004 Hello Joe, The trick to getting a Master/Ultra stage apart is removing the roll pins that hold the knobs to the cross-shafts. Regarding the play in the stage: Did your rig get set down on its side? If the rig did get hit, or sometimes just laid on its side, the knobs will bend the stage housing. This housing is also the support for the bearings that carry the shafts, so the play is nearly impossible to remove without replacing the housing. If the play is coming from the bearings inside, it is best to take it to Robin Thwaites or Jonathan Hill at Optex. He can have the stage apart, realigned and reassembled in less than an hour. The internal bearings are held in place by two rails. If these rails are not aligned PERFECTLY the bearings will push out and you will have even more problems. If these rails are tightened too much: the bearings will burnell the races. This will cause dips in the races and the stage will not work smoothly. This turns into an expensive repair. There are some great drawings of the stage. You will need to contact Rob Orf at Tiffen (Rorf@Tiffen.com) to get a set. Robin might also have them, they were made for the service centers around the world. Good luck, James Livingston Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinThwaites Posted June 28, 2004 Report Share Posted June 28, 2004 Hello Joe Defininitely a job better done in the workshop, I can't add much to James's comments. Robin OpTex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members joe mcnally Posted July 2, 2004 Author Premium Members Report Share Posted July 2, 2004 Thanks for the info James and Robin. Robin, good to see you the other night and hoped you enjoyed the Alvin Lee gig. I probably will bring it over when I get a spare moment and yes I agree the bearing thing needs expert attention. I had to do an on site repair once on the Master rig managed to get the bearing race back in again and held for a day or two then off to Robin. Anyway I would still like to take off the top cover and take a little peak to see if it may be something other than the bearings is this possible without disturbing the bearing arrangement or anything else catastrophic ? James, I do not know if it has been on its side as I have purchased the rig pre owned. There does not seem to be any evidence of any mis use or scratching or anything. One other request do you know the configuration of the 6 pin hirose monitor output ? I have been tutoring a couple of new operators and yesterday whilst adjusting the tilt of the 5" monitor it came off in one of the guys hands, had a reasonably soft landing but ripped the curly 6 pin lead clean out. I have managed to solder it all back together by copying the other end that was intact but thought it might be useful to know whats on each pin. Is this a one off with the Ultra arc or has it happened to anyone else ? Thinking of putting a little safety chain on it for the future as I cannot see any real fault apart from maybe a little too much pressure being put on it. Thanks again for previous advise. James, I liked your tribute to Mr Edmund DiGiulio Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members RobVanGelder Posted July 3, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted July 3, 2004 I think you can download a pdf file from the Ultra at the Tiffen site. There are drawings with the pin-outs too. Rob van Gelder, Bangkok, Thailand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members joe mcnally Posted July 3, 2004 Author Premium Members Report Share Posted July 3, 2004 Thanks Rob I thought I had downloaded everything but must of missed the pin out page. Cheers Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Andrew Bradley Posted June 29, 2015 Premium Members Report Share Posted June 29, 2015 Hey Joe, This is going a while back now, but what happened with the play in your ultra top stage? I have an ultra cine and noticed there is play also in the side to side section of the stage. Currently waiting to hear back from Robin of a good time to take it in, but like yourself I am quite keen to take the top off and have a look inside:) Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Victor Lazaro Posted June 29, 2015 Premium Members Report Share Posted June 29, 2015 Not sure if it helps, but the same thing was happening on my Zephyr and I fixed it by tightening 3 screws in the donkey box. http://www.steadicamforum.com/index.php?showtopic=18259&hl= Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Andrew Bradley Posted June 30, 2015 Premium Members Report Share Posted June 30, 2015 Thanks Victor, not sure how similar they are, the ultra cine has a motorized stage also - I spoke to Robin at Tiffen and he believes some shims need to be added to take away the movement. I will give all the visible screws a look over though and make sure all is tight before I send off to a technician. Would be great to see an assembly video for this stuff like the GPI tutorial videos you guys mentioned.Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members joe mcnally Posted July 1, 2015 Author Premium Members Report Share Posted July 1, 2015 hi Andrew , yes shims are the way forward . it could be something else of course. take the red knob off and find some washer/shims to take the play out of it . joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Andrew Bradley Posted July 1, 2015 Premium Members Report Share Posted July 1, 2015 Thanks Joe, its not just the knob, its the whole front section of the stage on the side/side end that moves. I did a little video clip but it will not let me upload it here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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