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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

NAB13- DSMC FAN 2.0 Upgrade Kit

So can I buy the dragon fan? Are the names on the buttons just so you know what camera you have? I just want to buy once.
 
Congrats Patrick. Sounds like you're up and running.

Kyle Dones said:
So can I buy the dragon fan? Are the names on the buttons just so you know what camera you have? I just want to buy once.
Click to expand...

When your camera goes in for the Dragon upgrade the button will be swapped out with the correct camera designation.
 
Beautiful. Considered ordered

****And ordered. 2-3weeks shipping! Damn I messed up
 
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Both 2.0 Fans Arrived & Have Been Installed

Both 2.0 Fans Arrived & Have Been Installed

All -- Scarlet # 1534 here. FedEx delivered the new top & bottom fans yesterday. Probably a good thing, as Albuquerque has been a bit warm lately.

Spoiler alert: what follows is probably more for "newbies," such a yours truly, than for advanced users .... in any event, if someone can improve on
this posting, please do so ! (The stone-soup method is hereby invoked ...)

1) You'll need a Torx #8, not included, to remove the top shield (4 screws). Before starting with the top fan replacement, make sure you have a Torx #8 and that
the current screw heads are not stripped or damaged to the extent that you can't back them out.

You'll also need a small English (not Metric) hex key, but since you already have a complete English hex key set (right ???), I'll assume your set will have the
needed size(s). If you don't have a couple of English hex key sets, you need to buy them immediately !

2) Instructions were not included, but since I'm a Mac user, if they had been included, I'd probably not have read them anyway.

3) Once you get your nerve up (it is, after all, "brain surgery" ....) the installs go fairly easily.

4) Scarlet # 1534 has the Ti Canon lens mount; in trying to replace the front fan, I found that removing the lens mount made things go a lot easier (clearances
just were too close IMHO to wiggle things into place with this lens mount still attached). Other lens mounts may not require removal ... or those who are more
ingenious/dextrous than yours truly may be able to avoid removing the lens mount.

Included in the bottom fan kit was a plastic "knitting needle"-like device that actually proved helpful in seating the front fan plug (used the flat end to push down
on all sides of the micro cable plug for proper seating).

5) After replacing the front fan, did a power-on test, and indeed, the new front fan did "suck" (single ply of Kleenex got pulled toward fan), and more important, no
small wire seemed to have gotten broken or shorted out. Take care in routing those micro wires.

6) No wires to deal with in the top fan install. No fan to remove (as with the bottom fan install). And you'll need that Torx #8 to back out the 4 screws holding the
current shield in place. Once the shield is removed, you'll also need to remove a small piece of black plastic, held in place by two screws, before the top fan assembly
can be installed. Drop the new fan assembly in place, making sure the power connector seats. Attach the new shield.

7) Do a power on test. Save the previous parts (maybe even placing them in marked pouches).

There you go. Three, count 'em, three fans now in your Epic/Scarlet.

If there already is a "How to Install" entry somewhere, please add it to this.

Hope this helps someone,
Serge
 
Has anyone gotten more info about upgrading their top plate? I want to upgrade the fans on my Scarlet but need the use of the cage so can't have the fans installed without it.

Sorry if has been discussed, been out of the tech loop a bit now. Thanks!
 
Kyle Dones said:
Beautiful. Considered ordered

****And ordered. 2-3weeks shipping! Damn I messed up
Click to expand...

I would not count on that 2-3 weeks shipping since I ordered in April and still have not received.
 
New Front Fan and Third Party Stuff - bit of a nightmare

New Front Fan and Third Party Stuff - bit of a nightmare

I have received both top and front fans and at the moment have only been able to install the top one. People who have various third party accessories on their cameras will need to work out whether they will play well with the front fan module. First there was the Action products LW rail system. Action Products has announced modifications to this so that is fixed.

My second issue is that it does not look as if the fan module will fit with the Optitek Nikon mount - there just is not enough room sadly for both.

I guess this brings me to my question. How much improvement overall do you get from installing both fans instead of just one fan? Which fan - top or bottom makes most difference?

Further, how do the fan algorithms actually account for whether you have one of both fans installed?
 
Why don t you test it and tell us your results. It not so difficult to test for you as you are one of the luky who recieved both. We would greatly apreciate.

Pat
 
Patrick I would love to do a comparison but once I put the new front module in I don't really want to have to take it out again. It seems quite tricky to replace. I may be able to modify the Optitek to be able to use it with the front fan module in which case I will indeed go ahead and do some tests.

I can say several things at present. The new fan module and the associated new settings in camera have introduced more complexity into controlling camera sound on a shoot. I am not sure at this stage what will be the best setting for me. Also the camera actually seems a bit louder on equivalent percentage settings when in manual mode than previously. I guess that you would expect this with a whole new fan added to the front fan. Perhaps this is because I have not been able to replace the front fan? I am very keen to see what difference the front fan makes.
 
I only tried it at my normal manual record setting which is 38% and it sounded louder. I brought it down to 35% and it was then acceptable. I want to stress that I have not done any comprehensive testing yet.

I have heard back from Jacek and there is hope that I can get the optitek mount and front fan can be made to play together so it looks like I may be able to get it in.

However, this is a useful opportunity I suppose for me to see how the camera operates with just the top fan in for those who only are intending to put that fan in. I have a shoot tomorrow and will report back.

I still have residual concerns I have to say at using adaptive mode - particularly having to operate the camera at such generally high temperatures to keep it acceptably quiet. I would like to hear from Red itself that setting the camera at 70 C for adaptive is ok for the camera in the long term and wont reduce its working life.
 
Rob Castiglione said:
...
However, this is a useful opportunity I suppose for me to see how the camera operates with just the top fan in for those who only are intending to put that fan in. I have a shoot tomorrow and will report back.

I still have residual concerns I have to say at using adaptive mode - particularly having to operate the camera at such generally high temperatures to keep it acceptably quiet. I would like to hear from Red itself that setting the camera at 70 C for adaptive is ok for the camera in the long term and wont reduce its working life.
Click to expand...

On my other two camera's I will probably just get the top fan and not get the bottom, I'm finding my top fan makes the camera overall quieter ... while the bottom fan is more for cooling the camera in 105+ degree situations with an increase in noise. I'd think most people with optitek and/or rail systems that don't work well with the uber front fan will be fine just with the top fan and the new adaptive mode. Great thing about red is these are all interchangeable modules, where you can do as you want ... with your story dictating the requirements.
 
Thanks for the info Rob. I myself may order both for my Scarlet but would want to make sure it is worth it. Though my theory is even adding just the top fans should flow the air through ultimately making the front fan work less. Would love to hear how you use the top fan and what fan settings with it etc. I like the adaptive setting but even at 60 degrees the standard fan is still too loud to roll with. Perhaps the new fan combo will fix this. I agree with you though, seems that running the camera hot would add more stress ultimately leading to more wear and tear and a decrease in life span. But regardless, I think adding fans where there were non is beneficial and a good upgrade. Would be good to hear some reports and numbers on camera temps vs. recording lengths vs. fan settings.
 
"On my other two camera's I will probably just get the top fan and not get the bottom, I'm finding my top fan makes the camera overall quieter ... while the bottom fan is more for cooling the camera in 105+ degree situations with an increase in noise. I'd think most people with optitek and/or rail systems that don't work well with the uber front fan will be fine just with the top fan and the new adaptive mode."

Thanks Patrick for that information. Its valuable because based on your actual experience. I will decide ,I think , after my shoot tomorrow whether or not it is worth while or not putting the front fan in.
 
I just got back from my first shoot after having just installed just the top fan.

The new set up is promising. It seems that the front fan does not need to work as hard because of the top fan now. The top fan is quiet. Adaptive mode is really good though I am still not sure what maximum temperature I should run it at. A definite improvement even with just the top fan.
 
I ordered my Fan kit today and I would like to thank everyone for their research.. I also felt that RED made this kit for a reason and the last thing I want to hear if my camera should overheat is...why didn't you order the kit to avoid this issue? here is your repair bill. I would rather be apart of the group with the fan kit due to my investment than without it.
 
Really... BOB if you don't mind me asking what are your fan settings because I haven't gotten a chance to test my EPIC X because of work and rain.
 
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