Premium Members Brian Freesh Posted February 12, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 Last I checked, F900 body was 12lbs, don't recall if that was the F900R which is lighter than the F900. Stick a prime lens on that baby and not much else and you're ready to go. Or, stick a bunch of stuff on it and call yourself Troy Miller! And that's a Flyer, not an LE, weight limit 15lbs! Even if you upgrade the springs on your arm, over time you may stress the gimbal too much by putting increased weight on it, but I can't fault your desire. I wish I even had an LE. Bought my Flyer before the LE came out. As I type this my rig is being converted to 12/24 (and getting 4 more power outputs) and I will soon be wrapping the gimbal so it will be thicker. The arm has handled upwards of 19lbs camera weight (plus the batteries, I do worry about that gimbal...), but I can't extend the post! Yet. I do agree, Andrew, if you want to handle the ENG cameras as well as Reds set up with wireless focus, mattebox, etc... You may want to look into a used rig of some sort. But the FlyerLE is a great rig if that's what you end up with. Brian |-)~ 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 stand corrected then :) I guess what I meant was a camera package before we add the convenience goodies that Steadicam operators love so much.. Tiffen will tell you that every Flyer LE will support AT LEAST 19lbs minimum by spec, but the max weight differs between each unit because of variances in machining. I know my LE will fly 25lbs with the arm sagging slightly below horizontal...because I've gaffed a 25lb dumbell to it :lol: The arm section closest to me will max out a little higher than the outer section though, which I attribute to the machining of those little bearing guides that move the spring up and down when you adjust it.. I like your idea to add power outputs! Is Tiffen doing that work? I'd really prefer to go that route instead of making Y-cables for myself. RED still remains the camera that haunts me. Too few ways to fit it on a Flyer. I have yet to fly a package with the new Epic or Scarlet modular systems though.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Brian Freesh Posted February 12, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 I thought Flyers flew AT LEAST 5lbs? }-) just messin' Yeah. Naturally the cameras are gonna be heavier on a rig than it may appear on paper, once all the adding is done. But if you keep it as bare bones as possible (not always that flexible of a statement) you can fly a lot of cameras on a Flyer or FlyerLE. I can't figure out why the eyepiece is on the rig in that picture, could've saved some weight. Keep in mind (you probably have) that that 25lbs includes camera, batteries, sled, and monitor weight. I've flown 22 with camera + Batteries on my Flyer. I'd go weigh my sled/monitor right now, but it's getting that mod so I don't have it. At any rate, on the arm I must have had about 24 lbs, and the arm took it (yay!) with room to spare. Siggy at Clairmont Camera is doing the work for me. He bought a very light $2 box and wired the 4 connectors into it. It fits nicely under the back of the top stage. I'll post pictures when it is done. Maybe you can find someone out there who could do it, or do it yourself. Brian |-)~ 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 might hit up Mouser.com for some panel mount connectors and go to town. I've seen small black test boxes at RadioShack too.. I'm impressed to hear that your 1st gen Flyer is holding those kinds of weights! Looks like you got a good arm there. I've never been able to get a straight answer as to whether Tiffen's rating of the Flyer includes the weight of the sled or not.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Gish Posted February 12, 2009 Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 (edited) I've never been able to get a straight answer as to whether Tiffen's rating of the Flyer includes the weight of the sled or not.. I'm pretty sure the 19 lb Flyer LE weight limit does not include the weight of the sled, but it does include the weight of the batteries mounted on the sled. Edited February 12, 2009 by Dave Gish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Williams Posted February 12, 2009 Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 I've never been able to get a straight answer as to whether Tiffen's rating of the Flyer includes the weight of the sled or not.. I'm pretty sure the 19 lb Flyer LE weight limit does not include the weight of the sled, but it does include the weight of the batteries mounted on the sled. That's the information I've gotten. Seems about right, but I haven't tried to go over that yet, or needed too. With power, I've bolted a Remote Audio BDSv2 just under the rear of the stage. Works really well so far. It's the same width as the stage, and I've just gotten a few longer allen bolts going from the top of the stage through into the BDSv2. Then made a short patch cable from the Lemo to the BDSv2. 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 Owners around the world are going to cringe at this. I performed an act with a wire hanger that is probably illegal in most states. :blink: I fed it down the post to see if I could run some more cables through there...and it worked! I'm going to add a breakout box to the rear of the topstage with 3 3-pin LEMO's and a BNC. The idea is to run a BNC and 3-pin LEMO out the bottom of the post for a program monitor or any other accessory that needs to be on the bottom and could require either power or video.. I just need to figure out what size and type of cabling to use, and what Tiffen did to allow the post to be extendable. Brian, looking at your photo again, there's probably something to be said about the extra ballast that Anton Bauer batters give you on the bottom of the rig.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Brian Freesh Posted February 12, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 Yeah, I'm pretty sure I checked with someone, perhaps Peter Abraham, and the "Max payload 15 lbs" was camera and batteries, which makes sense. The sled weight never changes, so they might as well leave it out. The variables are the camera set-up, and how many batteries and what type of battery. Also, if the gimbal is part of the weight consideration (also my understanding from Peter), then it would make sense to leave the sled out of the weight consideration, as the gimbal is bart of the sled. That BDS looks like a good solution. Mike, maybe you should look into that too. You've got me wondering now, today I will put weights on my arm to see where it will max out, and I'll weigh the sled too. When I did the 22lb payload I still had room on the post to dock it while properly balanced. But recently I had so much weight that the gimbal was so high I could not dock the rig! And the arm still had room for adjustment! Still in the process of figuring out how much that weight was. I purposefully set aside my scale and then forgot to bring it that day! Andrew, as you can see, the Flyer certainly has it's weight limitations, and though they can be pushed, I know it is not recommended. Keep researching, I'm sure you'll find the best rig for you. Brian |-)~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Brian Freesh Posted February 12, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 (edited) I got the picture from Steadicam.com. Yeah, I use Hytron 50s, but if ever necessary I could go bigger. The nice thing about the V-lock is with the steadicam power cubes you can stack them, or is that not the powercubes? Well, there are stackable ones. So you don't need different batteries, just more, which isn't a bad idea anyway, especially after adding a break-out box and powering everything off your rig! I'm actually most excited about my modification because I will be able to fly SR3s, 235s, and 416s. I already could, mind you, but now that I can take the battery off the camera, more options are open to me. When will I ever be asked to fly these cameras? The world may never know.... Watch where you put that coat hanger! I imagine the cable inside the LE either has slack on it, or more likely is coiled. Though you probably would have noticed when you stuck the hanger down there. Brian |-)~ Edited February 12, 2009 by Brian Freesh 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 Out of curiosity, are any of you Flyer owners who are modifying their rigs looking into rebuilding the lower spar? 'Cause if I had one, that would be one of the first things I'd go after--dynamic balance is so limited on that sled (compared to the Pilot, even). 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 (edited) You've got my ear Charles. I didn't know there were options...please enlighten us! Brian, I'm pretty sure the hanger just took the route of least resistance, weaving through whatever coil or extra wire was stuffed down there. Probably best to do that with the post fully extended. For all you Flyer owners wondering what happens if you extend the post too far, you cant. There's a steel braided cable that gives it a maximum length, and the wires still have slack at this point too.. I like that distro box, but I'd want to switch them to 3-pin LEMO jacks and add a BNC jack somewhere that I would thread down the post. I'd like to have at least 1 power and BNC at the bottom for PGM monitor or what have you. It's just nice to have that option. If I ran 2, then I could run component video down the sled between all 3 jacks at some point if need be. That is all dependent upon what Charles is talking about with the lower spar upgrade.. Just thinking for the future.. B) Edited February 12, 2009 by Mike Germond Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Brian Freesh Posted February 12, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 Good point, Charles. I've actually been told to my face that Dynamic balance is unachievable on a Flyer, but I've not had any big problems. Other than a 235 with a 4lb battery hanging off the rear of the dummy side. Still got it pretty close, but that won't be a problem anymore. Maybe I will look into altering the sled for this in the future. Mike, I agree about changing out the connectors. Brian |-)~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Alec Jarnagin SOC Posted February 12, 2009 Moderators Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 Charles, Well, I'm not sure my Flyer is really much of a Flyer at this point, but the lower battery unit is still similar and that's the next modification. Having two batteries on the back of the spar is crap for dynamic balance so I need to separate them like your lite weight base. Still need to find a good machinist though. 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 Anything that is made out of machined aluminum is fair game for modifying, Mike!! I would think that replacing the lower spar with a tube a la the Pilot (or dual rods) that can migrate the monitor and battery fore and aft would be a great start. I personally would also make the battery itself migratable fore and aft, and make a yoke for the monitor so that you can adjust the tilt without affecting balance. 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'm pickin up what you're puttin down Charles. Got any pics to share? I'm thinking a rod system for both the monitor mount and battery. I have free access to a machine shop, so I can do all the work. I just need a visual reference to come up with an idea.. I don't quite understand what you're talking about for the monitor that will make it not affect balance. Also, what is the issue with having 2 batteries on the back? I'm not able to visualizie the other options.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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