Premium Members Charles Papert Posted February 12, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 OK, the forum is being poopy about me uploading pix so I've put them on a separate page: http://gallery.me.com/chupap#100255 The first few are older when I was using the PRO arm but the ones with the 235 are from just a few days ago (with Mr. Freesh himself lurking nearby!) with the modified Flyer arm. I've included a couple of shots of the yoke so you can see what it does. It uses spring washers so you can tilt and pan without having to unlock anything, and the pivot points are set at the CG of each axis so it truly does not affect balance of the rig when you adjust it. The battery plates can slide along the tubes, can mount over- or under-slung or be removed completely (for super-light 12v, you can run a single battery as seen with the camcorder). The sled weighs 2lbs more than a Flyer and has all industry connectors (PRO style). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Mike Germond SOC Posted February 12, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 I love it all. I think you might have shown me a few snapshots of that rig back before I had my Flyer and was in need of a rental. Who did the work and how much did it cost if you don't mind me asking. I need more of a J-box than the flyer provides, so one way or another I'm going to solve that problem. I like the Monitor+Batteries solution! I'm really interested in doing some work on my LE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Charles Papert Posted February 12, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 I have a machinist out here, can't remember exactly the cost of those mods at this point but it wasn't dreadful--the base is really simple (just brackets for the rods and battery plates really). The rig itself has cost me somewhere between a Flyer LE and HD but it took a long time to locate all the bits and pieces, included some bartering etc! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Brinkhaus Posted February 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 Charles, this is something I would definitely be interested in after I get my rig! I am in LA so if it is a local guy who does the mods, or if I can bring my rig in to someone, that wouldnt be a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Mike Germond SOC Posted February 12, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 Was your J-box a premade item or something that was custom fabricated to that rig? If you have any specs/dimensions, receipts, or part #'s, I'd like to start building a better lower spar.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Charles Papert Posted February 12, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 Lower J box is a stock MK-V D-box (as they call it, confusingly) that I bought second hand. I had been looking into building a custom one but this fulfilled my needs handily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Brian Freesh Posted February 13, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 I don't like to think of it as lurking. I prefer "quietly observing." With a big smile on my face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Mike Germond SOC Posted February 13, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 Are the rod mounts and battery plates a sourcable item, or were those custom made too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Brian Freesh Posted February 13, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 Okay, so... Huh. I just taped together 5 5lb weights and stuck them on my Flyer arm. That's 25 lbs for the math impaired. Based on previous observations, I figured this would be pretty close to the limit of my arm. Not so much. So I plopped 2 2.5lb weights on top of that. That's 5 more lbs. Now with 30lbs on the arm, I STILL wasn't maxed out. 1 more 2.5lb weight later (32.5 lbs) and the front section of the arm sagged just below horizontal, with the back section perfectly horizontal. Usable, but not proper. I get my sled back tomorrow, and I look forward to weighing it. What I'm taking away from this is that I could support a 30lb payload on the sled with the arm. That's a up to a 27lb camera set-up. In reality it would be less, cause for a camera that heavy I would need to add weight to the bottom of the rig. So I'll say 25lb maximum camera load until I've done further testing. Testing which may involve an Arricam LT if I get ambitious. All of this makes me cringe when I think of the poor gimbal. {-( Having camera problems (convenient, I know) but will post pictures of the weight on the arm once they are resolved. Brian |-)~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Brinkhaus Posted February 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Brian, you have the original Flyer, or the Flyer LE? Though it's not recommended, tests like these make me that much more confident in the quality and reliability of these systems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Brian Freesh Posted February 14, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Andrew, how could you not be reading every single post of mine with rapt attention? I'm insulted! Eh, I'm over it, I've just a Flyer. Bought mere months before the release of the LE! Grr.... I'm pretty sure the raise in the official weight limit was more due to the difference in the gimbal than the arm though. I could be completely mistaken of course. Pictures tomorrow of the weights on the arm, camera issues solved, but right now quite sleepy. Gotta say too, I love Charles' ideas for modifying the lower spar. Mostly because I've seen his running rig in person. I've not had much issue with dynamic on my rig, but I won't deny the awesomeness of his set up. One day, when I can afford to, I'll do it Brian |-)~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Charles Papert Posted February 14, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Eh, I'm over it, I've just a Flyer. Bought mere months before the release of the LE! Grr.... I'm pretty sure the raise in the official weight limit was more due to the difference in the gimbal than the arm though. I could be completely mistaken of course. Pictures tomorrow of the weights on the arm, camera issues solved, but right now quite sleepy. Gotta say too, I love Charles' ideas for modifying the lower spar. Mostly because I've seen his running rig in person. I've not had much issue with dynamic on my rig, but I won't deny the awesomeness of his set up. One day, when I can afford to, I'll do it Brian |-)~ Hi Brian, Sounds like your arm is a tad beefier than mine--we weighed the 235 setup on the scale at Clairmont and it was 29 lbs and close to maxed on the arm. The LE arm does actually lift more weight due to changes in design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Mike Germond SOC Posted February 15, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 I'm jealous Brian! My LE arm sags below horizontal with only a 25lb dumbbell on it! I guess I got the runt of the litter.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Brian Freesh Posted February 19, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 19, 2009 (edited) Okay, the long awaited (not so much) pic of the 32.5lbs worth of weights... There are five 5lb weights gaffed together. When that wasn't enough I taped the two 2.5 lb weights on, then just stuck the last 2.5lb on top of that. You can see in the picture that the rear section of the arm is still up a bit, while the front section is down. And it turns out my sled weights somewhere between 4.5-5lbs. So after sled and batteries are accounted for, I can take a camera set-up weighing up to 24.5 lbs, assuming it can be balanced properly (darned non-extendable post!) Charles, too bad your arm is modified, we could trade! Brian |-)~ Edited February 19, 2009 by Brian Freesh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Mike Germond SOC Posted February 19, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 19, 2009 okay I don't feel as bad now...that's about exactly the result I got by strapping a 25lb dumbell to the dovetail plate, sled and all.. I still want more though! I got Dan at Tiffen to confirm that I shouldn't push the gimbal past 30lbs safely :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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