Im planning on getting the M10 batteries to power my follow focus unit only. My only problem with them is that the shipping takes too long and they could be cheaper (brand upmark). Amazon has all of the FreeFly accessories EXCEPT for the batteries!! This is very frustrating as I can get everything in two days but have to wait weeks for the batteries or pay a hefty shipping cost. So my question is: Does anyone know where I can find an alternative LiPo battery also with JST connector? Also, the Movi M10 batteries at 14v but is that neccessary for a follow focus? Could I just use a 11v or even a 7.8v?
What's the voltage of your follow focus? I'd bet it's 12V, so the Freefly batteries wouldn't be good for you, anyway. Probably any 3S LiPo would be fine, but without knowing the power requirements you're flying blind.
Ill be using the Ikan PD1 Movie WFF. I called Ikan and they said its 5v which suprised me but thats what they said. Why wouldnt the Movi batteries work if they are 14v?
Khayyam: Gary's right -- if you look here: http://ikancorp.com/productdetail.php?id=964 you can see that there is reference to a USB charger and cable -- well, USB emits 5 volts. The unit *might* withstand 6 volts given that it has some kind of internal regulator, but if you use the MoVI's battery, their voltages range from 16.8 volts fully charged down to around 14 volts -- and that's way too much voltage. The magic smoke will come out of the wires along with a loud, and probably expensive, bang. However, if you could wire up a DC/DC regulator that emits 5 volts, then you could use the MoVi's LiPo. You would need to know the current draw that the Ikan needs, but, if it's less than one Amp, then a device like this could work: https://www.quadrocopter.com/DCDC-Converter-for-Flight-Controller-ME_p_59.html As you can see this accepts an input voltage of 6.5 - 32 Volts and down converts it to 5 Volts at 1 Amp. Andy
The USB charger refers to the remote itself, not the receiver and motor. Since the FF motor comes with a Dtap wire wouldnt it be able to handle the Movi LiPo? When I talked to the Ikan product manager he did say something about a downconversion in voltage. Ill have to double check on that... What if i just charged the batteries to 12v or something lower? Is that an appropriate way to use LiPo's?
That all depends on the maximum voltage that the FF motor expects. I may be wrong here, but is there a "standard" voltage associated with a D-Tap connector -- that is, does having a D-Tap connector imply that a specific voltage or voltage range can be used? I think the product manager may have been telling you the same thing as I did, but perhaps with less details! LiPos don't work like that I'm afraid. You choose a LiPo based on the number of battery cells within the battery. The minimum cell voltage is 3.3 volts and the maximum is 4.2 volts. So you can calculate the voltage you get (and the voltage to which you need to charge it) by knowing whether you have 1 cell (known as "1S"), two cell ("2S") all the way up to even 12S. Just multiply number of cells x minimum voltage and number of cells x maximum voltage and that will tell you the range of voltages that particular LiPo battery can produce. Hope that helps. Andy.
Hallo I use a M10 with a black Magic Production Camera 4K. So I tuck the original Battery away and take a V-Mount and a power distributer on his place the problem I have got now if the battery is not fresh and the Voltage goes under 14.5V the M10 will switch off.
Frank: Is the voltage 14.5 volts just before the M10 switches off? Or are you measuring the voltage *after* the M10 has switched off? What I suspect is happening is that the voltage gets too low for M10 to continue to operate -- I'm not sure what that exact voltage might be -- but what I know happens with LiPo's is that under load, they will show one voltage -- and as soon as the load goes away, the voltage bounces back up around 1 volt. Andy.
Hallo Andy the voltage 14.5 volts is just before the M10 switches off i asked freely: Chris Harrison (Freefly Systems) Jul 08 08:31 Frank, Thank you for contacting Freefly and MoVI tech support. It is not recommended that you power other devices/accessories using the same battery used to power the MoVI. The MoVI will shut down automatically if the voltage drops below a certain point. This is to not only protect the MoVI, but also to prevent the LiPo batteries from becoming over-discharged to the point they cannot be re-charged again. Please let me know if this helps or if you have any other questions. Best regards, Chris Harrison Freefly/MoVI Technical Support
Thats interesting for us also. We are about to bypass the MoVI battery as it is borderline useless in freezing snow work. When it is 2 or 3 degrees in the mountains we get 15 to 25 minutes, depending on what we are doing. If I am skiing fast with the rig, we get 15. However, if it is below zero, and add in wind chill on a cold day (which could effectively be -15 or -20) we get only a few minutes. Which is not good enough to function on a commercial set. We are keeping the batteries in a warm place before use, rig is balanced, crew is experienced. We have made a custom distribution box and are running epic, axis 1, bolt from a v mount. Just waiting on plugs to arrive and we will try running the MoVI as well. (We cannot continue to work in the alpine environment with the little hobby batteries, they are not up to the task). What is the M10 shutdown point set to? We will engineer an appropriate solution.