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Ultra-flexible, multi-purpose FF motor cable

Discussion in 'MōVI M10' started by Austin Glass, Nov 25, 2013.

  1. Austin Glass

    Austin Glass Active Member

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    UPDATE: This cable has been improved upon and is now available for sale through this web shop.

    We chose the Redrock microRemote as our solution to handle focusing. Having the fingerwheel for a true single-op mode was/is too good for us to pass up. While we prefer to have an AC on hand, it's not always possible.

    Regardless of what FF you use, one of the things that always bugged me about the whole follow focus situation has to do with powering and mounting. I never liked the idea of putting any weight down on the gimbal that doesn't need to be there, so the idea of mounting a battery and the motor controller down there was a problem for me.

    Our temporary solution was to mount the Basestation on the handlebar assembly (as well as an extra Freefly batt to power it), and run Redrock's motor cable down to the gimbal. Obviously this solution is not gimbal-friendly, but having the controller and battery up top was nice, especially if we ever needed to recalibrate. If the choice is between a still motor cable and a stiff fingerwheel cable, then it makes sense to mount it up top and deal with the consequences.

    Of course this solution was only ever going to be temporary for us, and I want to share what we came up with:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    What is it?

    We had a prototype built (these photos are of that prototype) by a cable manufacturer here in the US. It's an ultra-flexible 7-pin Lemo that utilizes the same connectors as the existing Redrock cable, only this one creates virtually no drag from the gimbal.

    Oh yeah, and there's a friggin HDMI cable integrated within the same sheathing… o_O

    I mean, why not, right? Most of us are using HDMI to our DP4's or whatever, so why not include it so we only have to run one cable instead of two? I gotta say, I am really proud of this cable…

    We decided we are going to do a small run of these from the manufacturer. The current estimated lead time is 4-6 weeks, but we are taking preorders right now for those that are interested. If it's popular enough, we'll make more, and we even have a few ideas for some other cables in the future, so if this is something that is interesting to anyone, please let me know.

    You can place your order on the Slackline website.
     
  2. Wolfgang Armin

    Wolfgang Armin Active Member

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    That´s cool Austin, I just ordered one! Thanks!
     
  3. Chris Durkee

    Chris Durkee Member

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    Looks great! Id maybe like to see the hdmi tail a little longer to avoid connecting a extension but never the less ill get one but im Trying to order but it is saying the price is pounds and actually 275?!
     
  4. Austin Glass

    Austin Glass Active Member

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    Thanks Chris… the shop is doing funky things indeed… I'm trying to fix it as we speak!

    This is the prototype version, which wasn't built precisely to spec. The production version has longer leads on either side for the exact reason you mentioned!
     
  5. Austin Glass

    Austin Glass Active Member

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    The issues with the store should be sorted out. Please reach out to me if anything seems amiss. To confirm, your order should be going through in USD, not GBP. That shouldn't be an issue any more, but just in case, I'm saying so anyway.

    Also, US shipping should be adding $5 for shipping, and WA residents 9.5% tax. International shipping has to be quoted on a case-by-case basis for now.


    Thanks everyone!
     
  6. Jeff Cook

    Jeff Cook Member

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    Austin,

    I have been switching between cameras and the one thing that has taken the longest is remounting the follow focus system. You idea is exactly what I need to solve my problem.

    Great timing, I'm on board.
     
  7. Austin Glass

    Austin Glass Active Member

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    Thanks Jeff! I'm glad this will help. Keeping that Basestation upstairs on the handlebar assembly should help a lot!

    By the way, those Freefly clamps (http://store.freeflysystems.com/collections/movi-accessory/products/accessory-mount) are by far my favorite way of mounting the Basestation. You just need a short 1/4-20 bolt to screw it in.
     
  8. Austin Glass

    Austin Glass Active Member

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    UPDATE:

    This cable has been a little mini-hit, and I'm excited to say that we only have a few remaining in our pre-order batch. I just wanted to make sure that anyone that is on the fence gets a little reminder so they don't miss out! We are still on track to hit our mid-January ship date.

    Thanks again to all that have ordered!

    Order here
     
  9. Cam Batten

    Cam Batten Member

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    Hi Austin, your cable looks great, I'm keen to put down an order. On your site it mentions a new cable, is it improved/same/different in some way?

    How's your overall impressions of the Redrock. pretty happy? would you buy again?
     
  10. Austin Glass

    Austin Glass Active Member

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    Hey Cam,

    Thanks a lot. The actual specs on the new cable will be official hopefully in the next week. We are finalizing details and making little tweaks beforehand, but once we are at a place where we are comfortable with the design of it, we will open up preorders again. It is a similar cable, but it will be considered a new product line.

    And I'm pretty happy with the Redrock overall. We have a early model that has been known to have range issues sometimes, but the newer ones use an upgraded antennae that absolutely solve the problem. We have one of those on order, so I guess technically you could say I DID buy again ;). The one thing that can't be beat by the competition is the Fingerwheel. Absolutely a necessary option for Majestic Mode. Although if you are shooting wide open on a normal or telephoto lens you will need a focus puller, for other times a single op can easily pull focus themselves.

    As an added plug for why our cable is needed… mounting the Basestation up on the crossbar means you can run the Fingerwheel drive cable without any stiff cable concerns ;)
     
  11. Austin Glass

    Austin Glass Active Member

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    By the way, here's a couple of photos of the production run. We are officially shipping these out tomorrow!

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
    Kyler Zee likes this.
  12. Cam Batten

    Cam Batten Member

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    Thanks for the info Austin, that's good to hear!

    I pulled the trigger on a FF from the freefly store, I assume those ones also have the upgraded antenna? do you know how to tell?
    Pretty excited nonetheless and will take on your advice regarding the basestation from the bars.

    Cheers!
     
  13. Loren Simons

    Loren Simons Member

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    Cam,

    If you've ordered your microRemote in the last two months, it will most likely have the new chips already installed. If you want, shoot me a PM and I'll tell you how to check.
     
  14. Grant Appleotn

    Grant Appleotn New Member

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    Hi Austin,

    I tried to order this cable but I see they are all sold out, do you have an estimation when there will be more in stock.
    Thanks
     
  15. Austin Glass

    Austin Glass Active Member

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    We will have them for sale again soon. I should have an update within a few days. I want to ensure we can meet demands and only make promises that we can keep. In a few days the store will be updated with new product.

    Thanks for your interest!
     
  16. Jacob Schwarz

    Jacob Schwarz Member

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    I love this. I need to get my hands on one in the next few days. I'll buy one off someone else if they already have one. Contact if so. Love our movi and being able to have a flex cable for the base station would be amazing!
     
  17. Jeff Cook

    Jeff Cook Member

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    Austin,

    Just wanted to let you know I had MoVI job today with a Canon 1D-C and used the cables for the first time, (untested- Gulp!), but they worked perfectly! Much nicer not having to hang everything on the gimbal. Thanks for making my job a little easier:)
     
  18. Austin Glass

    Austin Glass Active Member

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    Very cool Jeff! Thanks for the positive words. I'm very happy that it's working out.
     
  19. Jacob Schwarz

    Jacob Schwarz Member

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    Loren,

    I bought our RedRockMiro Remote a while back can i get our base station updated with the new chip to extend the range?
     
  20. Philipp Meier

    Philipp Meier Member

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    Hi Austin,

    on your website you mention:
    • For a semi-permanent solution, use ties to attach the cable along the frame of the gimbal, leaving a loop in the cable so each axis has full range-of-motion
    Could you post a picture of this setup? Where do you tie the cable and where do you have a loop?
    Thanks,
    Philipp
     

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