Necessary tools for Red One

[Mike Prevette]

One of the cold heat irons or simply battery powered? Most Soldering Irons are AC... up to what wattage is a battery powered one? I see a few at only 6 watts...

Yep, The Cold Heat one. For what it is it's surprisingly effective. I wouldn't want to build cables with it all day, but it kicks ass for in field repair. Its almost instant for small soldering jobs. I use it around the house a lot as well, it's nice because it only heats up the instant you bridge the electrodes, and then cools almost instantly. So It's harder to burn the house down

 

[Eric MacIver]

You may want to bring the small Allen key for the menu knob on the back. I think it's 1mm but don't quote me.

That knob can become useless if that set screw gets loose. Of course you can make it work with the rod it sits on, but it's annoying.

 

[Brent J. Craig]

I'm thinking of buying 30 of these: http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?pid=10722

Yes. That's what we will be using for our "Fedex home" drives, but I'm not comfortable only keeping one safe backup. We will be downloading to two different 1-2 TB drives (carried by 2 different people) and then sending these smaller ones home periodically.

I think it is a better practice to consider any drives out of your control (for example, being shipped) to NOT be part of your backup strategy. If Fedex loses/trashes a drive, I will still have 2 safe copies.

And I own one of those cold-heat tools but always thought it was a scam. You mean they actually work? (and you can shoot 4K for $18000? )

 

[Alexander Christ]

As Indie Rentals mentioned, take a few allen keys (they are very thin and break or get lost easily) with you for the little menu joy stick, size is 0.9mm. Our joy stick got loose today and we were happy to have that allen key with us. Perhaps also a spare joy stick.

 

[Cüneyt Kaya]

As Indie Rentals mentioned, take a few allen keys (they are very thin and break or get lost easily) with you for the little menu joy stick, size is 0.9mm. Our joy stick got loose today and we were happy to have that allen key with us. Perhaps also a spare joy stick.

can you order a spare joy stick? i heard about a spare cf module too, how much does this spare items cost?

 

[Jorge Díaz-Amador]

Stripped Hex Socket Bolts (Cap Screws).

Stripped Hex Socket Bolts (Cap Screws).

Stripping the internal hex is a very common problem. This one reason why you should avoid changing lens mounts on a RED camera unless you are VERY mechanically inclined. And DEFINITELY switch to TORX screws.

I will soon be offering lens mount swapping service to RED owners at my shop in Miami. I can also check and verify correct flange focal distance settings to 0.005mm accuracy. On a 4K camera you don't have any room for error. It's more demanding than film on the focus calibration.

I developed a special tool for removing the very common (on ARRI) 2mm internal hex (M2.5 size) cap screws. I made it by very carefully grinding it on my lathe. It forms a new internal hex and allows the screw to be removed safely (and discarded afterward). But I won't let that tool out of my sight.

I would NOT recommend drilling. This is likely to cause much more damage. Even if you could get the camera perfectly mounted so it does not move at all, you will still likely wind up with just the thread of the fastener with no head stuck in the threaded hole That is very difficult to remove.

One time I had this situation on a 16SR mag (flat head countersunk M2.5 screw head broke), and I managed to drill out the core of the 2.5mm screw shaft without damaging the threads. But that was an operation that demanded PERFECT alignment (within 0.005 mm), a RIGID setup, and very sensitive drilling technique at high speed with a VERY hard drill bit.

I don't look forward to doing that job again. It was nerve wracking. And it was just the casting, I had to remove the tiny metal chips before assembling the mag again. I would NEVER EVER do this on an assembled camera.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

 

[Nick Gardner]

Full set Wiha allen drivers, metric, standard

Full set Precision screw drivers, phillips and flat head, blades ground flat if they are not all ready done that way.

Set of crescent wrenches

Strap wrenches

110/220 soldering Iron (they are easy to get in most places non US, if you want one now, order off the internet)

Try to get some old lead solder, the new silver solder melts at a much higher temp, and if you are not careful you can burn up components using it.

Soldering station with magnifier.

Needle nose pliers

Locking forceps

Dremel tool with abrasive disks, rotary files, wire wheels, all the goodies.

Set of SAE taps and dies - these are VERY hard to find outside the US, a simple 1/4-20 or 3/8-16 hole is really hard to do with out the tools, even if you find a ghetto machine shop.

Set of files. Get a tiny triangle, round, tapered, round set as well.

Sand paper, emery paper

wd-40 * not as a lubricant, dab it on qtips and hit the heads of bolts that are rusting

Machine or gun oil

CRC electrical contact clener

q-tips

orange wood sticks

HSS imperial drill index- again hard to find in metric land.

Bolt extractors for removing stripped bolts

Spare standard hardware, 1/4-20 3/8-16 10-32, make a list of all the hardware you have and then buy 10 of each.

BNC cable

BNC connectors

Crimp tool

A very good multimeter that can test for continuity, voltage, resistance etc. Spare batteries for it.

Wire strippers

Several gauges of wire

Exacto knife

Electrical tape.

Zip ties, large variety

Epoxy lined heat shrink tubing (for making cables, and a million other uses). Ancor brand is excellent and available at West Marine.

Inverter

120/240v converters and plug adapters.

Fuses for all your stuff that has fuses (battery chargers, AB plates, etc)

Make a list of connectors for all your cables, xlr, lemos, hirose - buy spares so if you lose or break them you can make/fix them.

5 minute two part epoxy

2 part epoxy putty sticks - you cut off how much you need, knead it form it let it dry. It can be drilled tapped and filed - for fixing broken shit.

cheap hot glue gun

Flash lights, spare bulbs

Air bulb

Magnifying glass

Look at all the things in your production chain that if they fail you can't shoot. Consider which it is practical/affordable to have spares of and buy them.

Jensen tools makes great kits
http://www.stanleysupplyservices.com/

I am sure there are a couple of things I am forgetting, but all this stuff is what I take out of the country on a long job, and I have used every item on here. Some of them were learned from experiance sadly. Should fill up two pelicans ;-)

Good luck,

Nick Gardner

 

[Eric MacIver]

Great list Nick!

Could be part of the Red One FAQ....

 

[Alex Carr]

Solder comes in two types

Lead Acid (soldering joints, larger areas without a PCB board)

&

Rosin Core (doesn't burn up your electric components)

Bring both.

 

[Alexander Christ]

can you order a spare joy stick? i heard about a spare cf module too, how much does this spare items cost?

If I remember rightly there is a spare joy stick available. I dunno what the spares cost, this is a question for Brent!?!

 

[Brent J. Craig]

... blades ground flat if they are not all ready done that way.

What does this mean? Are you grinding the flathead drivers so they no longer have a wedge shape? Why?

 

[Nelson Goforth]

Torx T-10

Torx T-10

What size Torx heads do you need for the new mounts? Regular or security?

The Torx screw is T-10 -- at least on our freshly arrived Red One (Huzzah!). We replaced the PL with the Nikon mount.

It would be good to know exactly the dimensions on those screws though, or how to order some spares.

I carry a full set of metric and SAE hex keys (Allen wrenches) in my personal toolbox, but I want to put a set of camera specific keys in the case with the Red. Are they SAE except for the mount?

The keys come with the camera of course, but I like the little ball-end wrenches.

Nelson

 

[Mitch Deoudes]

I carry a full set of metric and SAE hex keys (Allen wrenches) in my personal toolbox, but I want to put a set of camera specific keys in the case with the Red. Are they SAE except for the mount?

Old question, but I'm bumping it up b/c I don't have my Red-provided set with me, and I'd like to hit the hardware store tonight to buy a spare set.

So - anyone know the sizes of the six allen's that come with the camera? Metric or "vanilla"?