Preventing Wireless FF Motor from popping off the gears.

[James Jetel]

Hey guys,

Does anyone else encounter this? I've had it with both a Preston and Cinegears regular torque motor on a Ronin. It's the single mounting point on a 15mm rod that will slip. The Ronin really only allows you to mount from one place, so I'm wondering if anyone has any strategies or tips that can help. Maybe a bushing exists that can prevent slipping, maybe the mounting brackets just need to be replaced more often. Open to any ideas, because it's been a time waster on a few shoots now.

 

[Jon Carr]

I usually tighten it as tightly as possible on the rod and leave it like it. And when swapping lenses I loosen the whole rod keeping the wireless tight.

 

[Nick Gardner]

This is usually a problem with shitty rods. Red rock, zacuto, Shape, and any chinese or indian stuff have shitty tolerances. Get a good motor, buy rods from ET, things that hold the rods from good companies, and this problem mostly goes away. However, sometimes, with all of the tolerances lining up against you, you can get this with all good shit. If the rods are 2 thousandths out of spec, and the clamp is 2 thousands out of spec the same direction, then you can end up with a shitty interface and it just wont tighten. This is why expensive shit is expensive. it's hard to make all those parts work together perfectly .

Nick

 

[James Jetel]

Jon, that's a great idea! As long as it's on non threaded rods. And perhaps I should've specified further, that it is really the Ronin's restrictive mounting that is the issue. I wouldn't have clearance or play to use your strategy.
Nick - to your point about shitty rods we did encounter it on Zacuto shoulder rig with the Preston FIZ. I think it was a perfect storm of out of towners and rental gear.
I love expensive shit, finding the right expensive shit is always interesting.

 

[Jon Carr]

Well if your doing the ronin, is there a way to do 2 bolts holding camera? I know the movi m10 only has the spacing for 1 3/8s bolt and I think it's like that on the ronin. That's usually 80% of the problem when the motor moves the camera body cause there's only one bolt.

 

[James Jetel]

Luckily the Ronin plate does have room for 2 bolts, the hinge points of the FF motor mount are usually the things to slip. So it's either at the Rod clamp or in a less likely scenario the toothed knuckle on the Preston.

 

[Josh Becker]

I've had terrible luck with the motors included with the rental Bartech that I've used. The 19mm to 15mm adapter sleeve sucked and it wouldn't get tight onto the rod, no matter how much I tightened it. Not sure what motor it was... I own both the RedRock torque motor and a Heden M21VE, both of which attach very tightly to my 15mm rods.

Like someone else said, rods might make a difference, too. I use Berkey System rods, and all the Berkey gear is spot on for size/tolerances. Really well machined stuff.