Dual battery system - swap without re-boot?

[Douglas Underdahl]

Hey

Anyone want an inexpensive dual battery system, one that would allow you to swap batteries but keep the camera powered up so that you don't have to shut down and re-boot?

Batteries would be $70 each
Charger, 15 minute smart unit, $99

Adapter with mount to 19mm or 15mm rails, two batteries, $395

???

Douglas Underdahl
www.longvalleyequip.com

Nikon mount on RED here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhmolBMtDzg&feature=related

[HD Hildebrand]

Yes interested, but what are these batteries and charger - seem freaky cheep.

Info please.

[Anders Holck]

Duwall?

[tj williams]

aners: DeWalt.. power tool batts. usually lion in 24v though there are a lotta power tool batts out there which have been used by Steadi an film cams for years with adapters... adapt to red would make sense for the part of the mkt who are very price concious...
TJ

[MikeHedge]

hey Douglas. great video. I hope the Birger switch out is just as easy...

do you have any Pelang 8mm lenses in stock? or would ebay be the best bet.

Mike

[Anders Holck]

Sorry, Duwall is of cause the actor...
Seems my brain hurts from all the excitement of finally getting my #430 tracking number :-)

[Finner]

Doug are you refering to the dewalt system you show on your website. I think it is a good idea but is there enough jam in the dewalts to power the camera and accessories properly? Are you thinking the 12V dewalts or a 14.4, 18 or 24 Volt battery that has a voltage regulated system that takes it down to 12volt?

I am very interested in this and I assume many others would also be but some camera run times with this set up would need to be tested. If it all shapes up to work well I am in like flint!

One note if you are doing this check into the possibility of having it be a home depot "RIDGID" system. Mainly because Home Depot has a program you can sign up for when you buy a new ridgid drill or other product that covers the tool and battery for life. I have already traded in batteries for brand new ones 3 times under this program.

[Douglas Underdahl]

Hey

My guess is that two 14.4 volt batteries would drive the camera for about as long as one existing RED battery. Of course, I would do real world tests first. But the camera would be able to run on one battery so you could swap bats and not have to power down and re-boot.

There are lots of power tool battery systems out there, and the newer ones are Li-ion. I've had excellent results with the DeWalt Ni-Cads over the years. The batteries are incredibly durable, long lasting, and inexpensive, and the 15 minute fast charger has been a shoot saver over and over.

Doug

[Steven-Marc C.]

Are these the same batteries that can be seen on your website?
Could you give us some idea of the weight of the mount with two batteries?

[Douglas Underdahl]

Yes, they are the batteries you can see on my site. For a better look, Google DeWalt batteries, specifically the XR 14.4 models. I don't know what the weight is but I would say that two of them weigh about as much as one RED battery.

[BigLu]

I like this idea, if you an keep me from having to turn off my camera. I am all for it and I would it.

[Radoslav Karapetkov]

Great video. Thanks!

[Curran Giddens]

Sounds good. I can't wait to see a video of the dual battery system.

[Finner]

http://www.dewalt.com/us/products/attachment_detail.asp?productID=8136

Here is the 14.4 dewalt but they only have 34.56 WH as compared to the 140wh of the red brick. It is a good idea but I can't see it working.

[PMascetta]

Hi Douglas,
I've purchased from you in the past and dealing with you has always been great. I know you do custom parts, I am curious if you might offer a solution for a 19mm to 15mm adapter problem. I am interested in the redrock followfocus but the red conversion is far over priced and adds to much weight. Would you by chance have a more simple solution for this?

[Douglas Underdahl]

Finner - so it would take 4 DeWalts to equal one RED battery? Hmm. So you would get 1 hour of operation from 2 DeWalts? Then you swap out the batteries one by one, and the camera stays on all the time. Four batteries at $70 each, dual battery mount for 15mm or 19mm rods for $395, 15 minute fast charger is $99? Would that work, or maybe just a single DeWalt battery adapter so that the cam would stay on when you swap RED batteries?

Peter - yeah, I'm always looking to make up new gear. Send me a sketch.

[Finner]

Doug where I see the money is in block batteries with a cable that will last 6 or more hours. Most productions are use to using block batteries and even most dolly's come with a designated space for them. A good sized rechargeable block battery that sells for $750-$1,000 would sell like crazy. No idea what the costs would be to build them though? Hey I'm just the idea guy.

Check out "DOLLY PACK" batteries there is also a company in LA that makes more of a plastic pelican looking block but I forget the name.

[Mike Prevette]

A Pelican style Block battery is SOOOOO easy to make it's retarded. I made a ton a few years ago with built in chargers for less than $100 a peice. The problem here is that until Red has some kind of voltage monitoring system It's impossible for the camera to know the batteries condition so the camera can shutdown without warning.

[Michael Morlan]

GT-TS hot-swap v-lock dual battery adapter from BatteriesForBroadcast.

http://www.batteries4broadcast.com/extras_cart.htm

scroll to lower-right of page.

Powers great. Swaps just fine. No battery status on camera. Will affect side-to-side balance on a steadicam.

Michael

[Rich Schaefer]

I have and use the AB hot swap dual adapter. Usually, by the time I realize one is low it is too late....both are low. I end up having to re-boot. If it were more intelligent it might work more effectively.

[Finner]

A Pelican style Block battery is SOOOOO easy to make it's retarded. I made a ton a few years ago with built in chargers for less than $100 a peice. The problem here is that until Red has some kind of voltage monitoring system It's impossible for the camera to know the batteries condition so the camera can shutdown without warning.

Hi Mike

PM me please as I want to talk to you further about this and a few other things.

cheers
D

[tj williams]

http://store.zacuto.com/product.php?productid=158&cat=37&page=1
by zacuto seems to offer what is requested here.
TJ

[JFirestone]

http://store.zacuto.com/product.php?productid=158&cat=37&page=1
by zacuto seems to offer what is requested here.
TJ

Does this interfere with the RED batteries communication with the camera?

[Tai Wah Lim]

I have and use the AB hot swap dual adapter. Usually, by the time I realize one is low it is too late....both are low. I end up having to re-boot. If it were more intelligent it might work more effectively.

richcam1, are you referring to the same Switronix Hotswap? Are you saying that the power is drained from both batteries at the same time? If one is alert, I presume we can swap one battery out first and use the camera continuously. As you said, it should be more effective if it has more intelligence.

[SF Geek]

How about we combine the hot swap idea with a block battery? A hot swappable mount with handle that can take two or four v mount batteries and can communicate with the camera.

[tj williams]

Zagato already makes a dual battery mount for this purpose.
Look on their web site.

[Michael Morlan]

The Switronix hot-swap does not pass battery status to the camera. I use it with one battery at a time, then load a fresh battery and remove the old, to avoid reboots.

Michael

[Jason Wingrove]

Sorry but this is dog ugly.

[Cüneyt Kaya]

what about the swap mount from the swiss guys, looks good but costs about 500 USD (was it 500 or 400?)

[Michael Morlan]

Sorry but this is dog ugly.

And that's important, why?

[paul engstrom]

A Pelican style Block battery is SOOOOO easy to make it's retarded. I made a ton a few years ago with built in chargers for less than $100 a peice. The problem here is that until Red has some kind of voltage monitoring system It's impossible for the camera to know the batteries condition so the camera can shutdown without warning.

Hey,

did i see that viewfactors remote on/off button has a little voltage meter incorporated into it? a blinking light feature giving you some warning when voltage drops?

would this suffice?

by the way, if Mike and Finner come up with cheap pelican battery with built in charger for cheap...i know someone who wants one.

p

[Michael Morlan]

RED One does a very elegant shutdown when a RED brick is critically low, complete with countdown. It's very exciting on the set with everyone counting down with the camera.

I'll mount two batteries on my Switronix hot-swap mount and see if the camera recognizes a low voltage condition and performs a graceful shutdown.

Michael

[Elizabeth Lowrey]

Will be interested in your results, Michael. I already have an investment in Sony V-Mount batteries. Would be nice to use them with RED, even though they won't last nearly as long as a RED brick. Being able to hot swap would make them a much more practical solution.

[Steve Sherrick]

Michael what was your result?

[Adrian Van Rossum]

Just thinking out loud, but could the Switronix dual swap-plate help avoid the RED battery plate findings detailed over on this thread (http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=15615)?

I am thinking the dual swap plate could be locked into the Red battery plate from day one and left there indefinately. This could avoid the circuit board within the Red battery plate being "pushed down" by numerous battery swaps or by bricks with slightly warped pin sockets - a behaviour thought to be the root of some Red One powering problems.

A hot-swap plate would be a time and money saving alternative to trying to source a replacement Lemo connected battery plate on a remote shoot where mains power is not an easy option. We are ordering three Red battery plates (2 belt clips and the one that comes with the production pack), but like to have all angles covered, especially for the price of $175 US.

I only hope the battery info can still get through to the camera to avoid an abrubt power-down mid-take. Looking forward to the results of Michael's test.

"There are no problems, only solutions."

[Michael Morlan]

Wow! Can you say "bump?"

The Switronix does not pass camera status data to the camera so you need to keep a close eye on the battery level to avoid an unexpected shutdown.

best,

Michael

[paul engstrom]

how is that geoffb (actioncam Geoff) managed to make his swap mount in a way that passes the info to the camera? anyone know?

p

[SF Geek]

I think it's because he's super smart.

[Wes Printz]

I've adapted two of the Switronix GP-TS Hotswap adaptors to pass the RED battery info, works like a charm. Same applies for the IDX P-V2.

[J.Burger]

how is that geoffb (actioncam Geoff) managed to make his swap mount in a way that passes the info to the camera? anyone know?

p

have a look here:


The secret of this, and made by an audio company here in holland (http://www.noyzboyz.nl/) is that they take out the special magnet which is in the Red battery plates that will dispay the info on the battery. They than take a better and bigger battery plate (Hawkwoods) and combine this with a regulator and a special plug which will take over power when another powersource is connected. You then take another batteryplate or powersource with a full battery attached, connect it, take of the empty battery, drop in the new one, and disconnect the "switch" batteryplate. Voila, the whole day shooting without rebooting.....

[Steve Murray]

I've adapted two of the Switronix GP-TS Hotswap adaptors to pass the RED battery info, works like a charm. Same applies for the IDX P-V2.

Sounds cool.

[Paul Moss]

Pana-Tech,
Can i send my Switronix GP-TS Hotswap adaptor to you to get the mod done....?

[Wes Printz]

Pana-Tech,
Can i send my Switronix GP-TS Hotswap adaptor to you to get the mod done....?

sure can, just fired you of a PM

[Oliver Schietinger]

The Anton Bauer VCLX is rated 560WH which with an average RED draw of 75Watts gives you 7.5 hours of run time.

If you figure a more complete rig with accessories to be 100Watt (estimate conservatively) that works out to 5 to 51/2 hours.

AB makes the Red cable (4pXLR - Lemo 6pin) and yes the block is designed to fit on dollies.

The VCLX/2 is the little brother block battery with half the wattage = 280WH, divide all my times in half.

Still no intelligent feedback or Red display countdown, but the battery itself has a feedback display a red blinking low voltage warning light. We've been using an inline voltmeter so you don't have to keep checking the battery itself but its obviously not perfect solution.

Both as a plug and for full disclosure, we've just recently started carrying Anton Bauer products so I'm happy to get the word out.

[R. Gonzales]

Hey Pana-Tech can i witronix GP-TS Hotswap adaptor to you to get moded?

Method