Thank you Andy ! Wow, $ 0,75... Not sure I can afford that Which fuses should we use here ? Yes, I meant the HDMI passthrough on the DP4. Having tried it, I wonder why there aren't more monitors offering this... Yeah, I'll probably go the D-Tap splitter route. I'll try to compare to see if there is a big difference. Silent alarms are probably better on a shoot, indeed. Actually, the best would be to be able to choose a first threshold where it would start blinking, and a second threshold at which an alarm would go off, to avoid any damage in case you didn't notice the blinking. Wonder if that exists... Thanks again for sharing your knowledge with us
This one is for the Copters Guys... I have Six of this Battery for my Phantom http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__9394__Turnigy_2200mAh_3S_30C_Lipo_Pack.html Can I get a few of this adapters XT60 to JST :http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idproduct=18869 and the FreeFly JST to Dtap adapter with a Splitter to power both a DP4 and a Paralinx? I just want to now if I can use those batteries that I already have laying around!! Thanks!!
Go ahead and splurge! You know you want to.... I'd calculate the total load by looking at the specifications of the various devices and then double it and get the next larger fuse. You don't want the fuse blowing in the middle of a shoot unless something Really Bad has happened. I've wondered the same thing myself. Funny you should ask: http://www.dpcav.com/xcart/Battery-Alarm-for-2-4-Cell-2S-4S-LiPO.html Warning: The connector on these alarms is not the correct one for the FF LiPo -- which use a so-called JST-XH connector -- so you'll need to do a connectorectomy.... You're welcome. Andy.
Hi Jason My Movi is almost here and everything else bar the RR Follow focus has arrived, so I've decided to start to put a few of the ancillary pieces of gear together and am currently putting the Secraft remote tray and monitor mount together. I've been looking at your pics of your set up and can't see anything showing how you've mounted the SmallHD monitor to the Secraft tray. Is there a cheesplate of something on the mount as none of the holes on the Secraft tray line up with anything on the AC7. Any advise would be gratefully received. Cheers Garry
Hi Garry- I use the small hd dp6 attached to the tray. My monitor has the canon battery plate that is removable so what I did was remove the battery plate, put the monitor on the front of the tray and the battery plate on the back of the tray. I went to Home Depot and bought some nylon thumb screws that were longer than I needed and replaced the original battery plate screws with them. I trimmed them down to size and re-attached the battery plate with them. There is plenty of empty space on the tray to fit the screws through. Seems to be working really well. I am out of town for the next few days but when I get back I'll try to take some detailed pics and post them for you! Let me know if you have any other questions. Jason
Thanks for the quick reply Jason. I was going to go with the Canon batteries too, but have decided to go with Lipo's for everything and keep some uniformity through the whole system then we only have one charger system to think of as well. Just checked the screw moats on the back of the AC7 and I can mount it with thumb screws as you have but it'd be off centre, which cosmetically mightn't be ideal, but who cares. I wish SmallHD would have included some screws or even a spec sheet with the size required so it'd be easier to get the correct one without taking the monitor to the hardware store. Anyway thanks again for the info. Cheers Garry
Will do Andy. But I've recently been distracted by the arrival of my M10, so I'll get out tomorrow for the screws and post the details. This is my first experience with Lipo batteries. I've checked the instructions, which only tell me what NOT to do and what to do when they are likely to explode and blow up the neighbourhood. How do you know when the battery is fully charged. All I've got is a green light flashing on the charger. Do I need one of those voltage readout meters that used to be included with the Movi, or does the flashing green light and the other ones above do something special to let me know??? Any advise would be great. Cheers Garry
Garry: You should have a solid green light and the voltage will be at 16.8 volts when it's fully charged. Confirm the switch is at LiPo and the charging current is at 3A. The balance lead (white plug) should be plugged in the side so that the charger can ensure that all four battery cells are at the same voltage. The main charging lead is where the charging actually happens. LiPos are like pet tigers. Feed and stroke them right and all is well. Piss them off and anything you do will result in them catching fire. Do a YouTube search for "Lipo fire." The advantage is that they store a huge amount of energy in not much weight and can delivery at high current when you need it. Did I mention the tiger metaphor? Over-discharge them (that is let them drop below 13 volts) and Bad Tiger comes out -- and you may not be able to charge them again. So do get that LiPo alarm so you don't over-discharge them. If you're not going to use a LiPo for a while. discharge down on the MoVI to where it's showing, say, two out of three green lights on the MōVI (or invest in a charger that will take the LiPo up or down to "storage voltage" (typically around 15.3 volts for a four cell pack). Do NOT store them fully charged for long periods (e.g. more than four or five days**). Do NOT store them discharged for long periods otherwise your tigers will turn into paper tigers -- well, paperweights, actually.. Keep the tiger happy.... Andy. ** There is some debate as to how long this should be, but that's my rule of thumb, and I have happy tigers.
If you don't mind me asking, what does a setup like this cost? And what does it weigh with the the follow focus etc, Thanks,
I'm really glad I posted this question. Because I thought the white lead on the battery was to connect the voltage checking device and had no idea it had to be plugged into the charger. Stupid me. I can't quite understand why there are no instruction with these things to show the very basics. Its like its expected that everyone just know these things. The charger is switched to Lipo and also 3A, so all good there. I've now got the little Tiger purring with all red lights glowing, which I assume means its charging, or maybe its getting ready to do a Fukushima style meltdown "downunder". Is there a good brand of alarm that you'd recommend. Ideally it'd be good to have a voltage readout wouldn't it. I'll look after the tigers as you've described and hopefully have them eating out of my hand before long. Thanks again Andy.
I agree with you. It's even worse in the multi-rotor copter field. Actually, you'll be relieved to hear that all is well. When the single red LED turns green, the battery is charged. I've just ordered up a few of these but have not yet tested them: http://www.amazon.com/Venom-Voltage...d=1385593204&sr=8-1&keywords=venom+lipo+alarm Hitherto, I've been using these and they seem pretty good: http://www.amazon.com/Bluecell-Digital-Battery-Voltage-Checker/dp/B0081Y6QC8/ref=pd_bxgy_t_img_y The alarm beep is very loud for the one on the left (you get both for $10.99), but you can mute it with some gaff tape across the apertures. Saves pissing the sound guy off on set. That's what they do just before they eat your hand! Andy.
Thanks again for the advise Andy. And perfectly timed too. I had been charging one of the batteries I've got and just checked it a short while ago and indeed the red light has turned green, which I thought probably meant its charged, but was unsure as the row of lights above the green one were still red. So I thought I'd give it another 30 minutes and see what happens......nothing or explodes into flames. Then I got your post, so beautifully timed. I'm going to check around the RC stores here in Melbourne to see if I can walk in and buy rather than wait for stuff to be delivered online. So will go armed with the details of the ones you've recommended. Cheers Garry
G'day Garry....sorry, I'd forgotten you're down under otherwise I'd have translated my posting to Strine... <evil grin> Do a Google search for: 4S Lipo Alarm You should find some hobby stores carrying the right stuff. It's getting pretty cold here, so must be toasty your way. Stuff a shrimp on the barbie for me... Andy (sorry...I should have identified myself as a pom.)
I wasn't going to mention my location as I knew you a Pom and didn't want to cop anything about the cricket. Which by the way we're 1up in, for a change. Yes its nice and warm today, 28 I think, so the air-conditioning is on. But being Melbourne that could change in the next hour. But its still BBQ weather, which means outdoors with a cold beer [yes I did say cold] cooking then probably a glass or 2 of red with dinner. I haven't goto to lunchtime yet and I'm thinking of dinner already. Thanks!
Hi Andy. I'm still waiting for SmallHD to get back to me with the specs on the screws I need for mounting an AC7 to the tray. They initially responded by saying that the mounts are on the top and bottom and not the back, maybe a bit of miscommunication, so I had to ask the question again. I ended up going to a specialist hardware place today in search of something that fits after failing at the local hardware store. The specialist store tried both imperial, metric and everything else they had and also failed, so it looks like I'll have to be a little creative and adapt something to suit. If SmallHD do get back to me with specs I'll post the details. Cheers Garry
Accidents happen. Sounds idyllic. Guinness is supposed to be drunk cold so I can live with that. However, I understand Fosters is not supposed to be drunk at all? On the other hand, Mountain Goat is allegedly rather good? Andy.
That's odd. I don't have the AC7, just the DP7 high brightness, and they have a 1/4 x 20 mount point on each of the four edges. There's also a 1/4 x 20 from the back towards the front at the lower center of the monitor. The AC7 manual only shows the top edge of the monitor (with the BNC connectors) -- so are you finding that the large hole in the center (with two small holes either side) is not 1/4 x 20? Why would SmallHD have gone non-standard, you wonder? Andy
Hi Andy and Garry, I'd like to thank you Garry for asking many of the same questions I was going to ask while searching the forum as I'm pretty much in the same boat as you. And thanks so much for all the useful info Andy! I've been up and running for a little bit with my RED Epic on my Movi10, I've been charging and using my four Freefly Lipo's for a while and things are working pretty great. I also purchased a couple of the 2-pack battery meters from Ebay and have a pretty good handle on keeping my "Tigers" happy considering what a Lipo noob I am. I have a couple of questions still about the care and feeding of my Tigers... I have to travel on a pretty ggod gig with the Epic, but no Movi - so the Movi and the Lipo's will be at home for possibly a month (if I'm lucky). I'm wondering if my Tigers are actually needy little kittens that need a trained Lipo babysitter to look after them? How long can I lock them away with say a 3.8-ish charge? Also, what do you keep them in? I've searched the internet and some RC guys have cinder block bunkers they've built and stories of their friends homes burning to the ground. I don't really have an indoor garage or anything like that. Thanks again for the info, Mike