EX1 on a Flycam 6000

From what I understand here, you were able to change out the springs without disassembling the arm pivot screws?

I'm going to rummage upstairs for a piece of 1/4" plywood to make a male slide in adapter for the el-cheapo LCD I got from Costco. The wood attaches to an L bracket, and that to the 1/4" pivot mount on the sled.

It's been a crazy week, so not getting as much techie stuff done, due to a new family member (we got a cockatiel for my daughter).
 
basspig said:
From what I understand here, you were able to change out the springs without disassembling the arm pivot screws?
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The only thing you need to unscrew are the spring adjustment screws. The two springs are different. One has a loop of cable and the other end a hook.

After you unscrew the springs, unhook them and slide the cable out from around the pivots. Pull the springs out. All done.

To assemble put the loop spring in without screwing it in. Thread the loop around the two pivots. Hook the end with the other spring. (That's the hard part.) When they are hooked together pull one spring nearer the adjustment screw hole and screw it in. Then do the other side. Done. :-)

Hint: moving the arm bones changes the length of cable needed.
 
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After reading your procedure, I checked out the arm and I see how it could be done with just unhooking the springs. Was it difficult to get the adjusters threaded back into the springs, or did you find you had enough room to grip the springs and hold everything in alignment?

I just got a call from FedEx to say an express overnight is coming Tuesday. The tracking number traces to Chandigar, India, so it means they already shipped my new springs! Cine City is working to overcome the 'stigma' of their location by providing excellent customer service.
 
My hands are big and the way to make the cable the loosest is to pivot the arm bones so the distance is smaller, but that makes the opening smaller.

Therefore, putting one finger at the cable-end of the spring and pushing towards the screw gave me enough maneuverability to get them screwed in.
 
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Terrific. Thanks Duke!
My springs are on a FedEx truck in my area.. apparently they tried to deliver a day earlier than predicted on the tracking number.. but will definately be here tomorrow!
 
New springs arrived today. Threads are clean. Had no trouble threading a 1/4-20 screw into them. Was nice and loose and effortless to turn. Will try installing them later, after extensively photographing the existing configuration.
 
Duke M. said:
Did you get everything installed? How's it working?
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Yup. The lower arm was too weak with the new springs, so I put back the stronger spring on the lower arm and the new spring on the upper. Still has bounce when I walk though.
 
HaHa... You guys are killing me with all the work and effort you're going through!! My solution: I sold my Steadicam and now simply use Motion in the Apple Studio Bundle through FCP. Makes my walking shots smooth as glass.
 
Yeah Frank, that works great if your intended output is standard definition. But the rest of us are probably wanting hi-def output, not resampled and upscaled output from a window that's sliding around the frame. And that doesn't fix the motion blur artifacts either.
 
Well, you're right about that Mark. If you're doing a movie and want to stay in HD, then you have to do what you're doing. All my corporate client work ends up in SD, so HD is not a factor there. But hey... Thanks for your posts. You always present something for the rest of us to learn from and we appreciate it.
 
This is the new PMW-F3, an XDCam Sony camera, being flown on a steadicam. With the hassles we've had with the springs I'm wondering about putting the old springs back and going heavy. Maybe to 15 or 20 lbs.

155657_459808153043_285137218043_5460112_1031846_n.jpg
 
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