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Massive issues. Help ASAP. Lost a day of shooting and money!

Discussion in 'MōVI M10' started by Sam Donaghy Bell, Mar 4, 2014.

  1. Wolf Schiebel

    Wolf Schiebel Active Member

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    The reason for the gimbal going limp is either:

    - A balance issue
    - too much weight
    - too strong movements, bumps
    - the batteries last only about 30-45 min. with this payload and low temperatures

    I had all those issues during my feature film shooting, i'm now on day 12 of 24, all my fault and easily corrected.

    Be aware that the "holding power" of the complete gimbal and all the payload is pure magnetism.
    If one axis gets too much load/weight power, normally pan-axis, the magnetic power is simply not high enough to hold the
    weight. The motor current goes above limit then and the overpower protection of the motor drivers shuts down the system to prevent damage.


    Main help is to reduce weight.... and avoid too shaky and bumpy movements.
    It is not a Mōvi issue, but a feature ;-)

    Best,

    Wolf
     
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  2. Kurt Wallrath

    Kurt Wallrath Member

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    Sam,

    From Abel's website:
    http://www.abelcine.com/store/FreeFly-Systems-Movi-M10-Batteries-Pair/#tabs

    Here's the MoVI M10 battery specs:
    Dimensions: [100mm (L) x 25mm (W) x 30mm (H)] Weight: 200g

    Here's the PolyPower specs:
    Dimensions: [154mm (L) x 54mm (W) x 30mm (H)] Weight: 445

    I don't think the PolyPower would fit into the battery cradle on the MoVI. You might be able to stretch or get a longer rubber band to compensate for the length of the PolyPower but I doubt the more than double width would fit into the battery cradle.

    Also, this is a copy and pasted directly from the manual:

    "Always use Freefly-approved LiPo batteries." (just to point out the obvious)

    Also, I'm not sure if the connector types are the same. The PolyPower is listed as a JST-XH connector, while the MoVI M10 LiPo battery is a JST. You might need to solder a JST connector to it.

    On the subject of the shoot I was on where I lost the pan motor, it was just the pan motor. The only time I've had all three axis go limp is either from a battery around 15.0 volts (the lowest I let a battery get now is around 15.4 volts) or using an aftermarket battery. I would also never have less than 4 LiPo batteries on an all-day shoot.

    If one of your LiPo cells is below 3.0 volts, that could be your problem, or one of them.
     
  3. Sam Donaghy Bell

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    Hi Kurt,

    I'm just trying to avoid every problem. I've been given another chance on friday nightshoot to get things working. I have 4 fully charged freefly batteries and I'm going to see where I get to. Hope to hell it works this time. How long do you usually get from your freefly batteries?

    Sam
     
  4. Wolf Schiebel

    Wolf Schiebel Active Member

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    Sam, as mentioned above, the most you get with this payload is about 45 minutes. I change batteries when the first green led is off, or voltage drop below 15.2 volt on the tablet display.

    Best, Wolf
     
  5. Kurt Wallrath

    Kurt Wallrath Member

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    Sam,

    Wolf's advice is perfect above. 45 minutes is a good rule of thumb but more than likely you're going to lose track of time on set. If you don't have a voltage indicator that plugs into the balance port of the LiPos (highly recommended you get one if you don't. They're very inexpensive, like $15 bucks or less) then do as Wolf recommended and watch the MoVI's voltage as displayed at the bottom of the app on the tablet.

    Also, once you've balanced the MoVI, set the motor strengths, check the motor graph (under charts). I mentioned this in a previous post in this thread. If any or all of your motors are exceeding +/- 10% then use the remote to turn off the MoVI so you can adjust the motor that's straining.

    Always, I always like to have a battery on the charger and make sure the balance plug is plugged in.

    Have a good shoot tomorrow evening.

    -K
     
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  6. Sam Donaghy Bell

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    I've got 4 batteries total and will be checking them with my voltage indicator. I'll also check the motor graph. Thanks guys!
     
  7. Sam Donaghy Bell

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    She's now working perfectly. Will report back with some stills and info soon!

    Sam
     
  8. Angus Benson-Blair

    Angus Benson-Blair Active Member

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    Hi Sam, I have had initial problems with the Movi going limp and it was indeed the battery being at about 50%. I also had it go futt on my flying on set the other day but that was with winds gusting up to 30mph- kind of like someone knocking the gimbal all of a sudden- and that was without the sail like legs attached to the Movi! Anyway, best of luck with it, now you know you can save the settings and that the batteries should ideally get changed out shortly after you go from 3 greens to 2.
     
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  9. Veve Borimov

    Veve Borimov Member

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    Excellent thread!
    Never thought the issue would have been related to the batteries. If the MoVI would have gone limp on me like that, I would have been convinced the cables were the reason and that they had to be reconnected.

    Good to know in case it happens!

    Thanks to everyone who helped Sam, great forum!
     
    Sam Donaghy Bell likes this.
  10. Justin Marx

    Justin Marx Active Member

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    Hey Sam, make sure you check your IMU cable - Its the cable that runs from the brain by the roll motor along the arm under the camera plate.. My cable looked fine and I was having the same issues as you. I was on a job last night and my heart dropped when it started doing this..again! This is not the first time for me (not sure how I fixed it the last time, guess it was just starting to get bad). After 30 min of ruling out everything, I started to touch every part and every cable. I brushed the IMU cable in the area near the roll motor where it hangs a little low and it went nuts. I luckily have a spare and that solved the issue so far.
    I have been doing a lot of Movi gigs lately, and that cable has contact a lot (being put in a case, on a car seat, etc..)
    Hope that helps.. I know the feeling !
     
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  11. Veve Borimov

    Veve Borimov Member

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    Exactly what I would have said Justin.
    I am convinced this issue is related to a malfunctioning or unplugged cable.
    Unplug and re plug them all, if problem still persists, try fiddling with each one of them while the MoVI is on, and see if at any point it goes crazy.
     
  12. Paul Watt

    Paul Watt Member

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    Just wanna second changing batteries every time the 3 light indicator drops to 2 lights. It's my experience that things go wonky when there's only 2 lights from time to time. I've heard you can run two batteries in parallel and hotswap. Anyone have experience doing that? possibly a solution?
     
  13. Paul Watt

    Paul Watt Member

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    Also, I've mounted the battery bracket (for camera and AKS) on the top bar and run a flexible 10 amp rated silicone cord down the frame and onto the camera with a P-tap breakout box there to power everything. It works very well and keeps the weight off the gimbal.
     

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