Rambling About Batteries
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- čas přidán 7. 12. 2020
- I needed to modify one of my cameras, and there's no part of these that isn't worth at least ten minutes of consideration. Included a little bit of sample footage from my Panasonic AG-DVC200 from it's maiden voyage outside the home.
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For the record, "twelve volts" does not mean what it says; I've just learned this.
I'm used to it meaning "anywhere from 13-14.8V" but apparently it goes as high as 18V - I've just checked this on one of my new batteries and confirmed. So watch yourself if you try to D-tap into a thing that isn't from this industry that truly wants 12V, because this is enough swing to cook it.
Hey, I was wondering if you could help me find a character for my camcorder batteries. I want to use it, but I realized once I got it, that there was no charger that came with it nor a manual. If you want to email me, its kalozjacqueline233@gmail.com
Oh I was thinking it was like 11-14 volts like a car battery
@@charlie_nolan SAME
It's also pretty often true for consumer equipment - I spent quite a lot of time figuring out how to best adapt Li-Ion voltages to 12V (3S being a little low, 4S being closer to 16V), only to find out that the power supply meant for some of my cameras would output as much as 18-19V, even when under load (talking about 80's - early 90's devices). Since then, I have used 4S packs as replacements for 12V SLA batteries - works like a charm. That said, I would definitely at least measure the voltage on the power supply when trying to run anything I haven't used before.
Yep! I actually built a NiMH charger about a year ago, and during my deep dive into the correct charging process for that chemistry, and datasheets of batteries, I learned just how high the charging voltage can go! (My Eneloop AA’s peak at around 1.65V for a 1.2V nominal cell, for example.)
I ended up going with LiIon in the end, which hits 4.2V (on nominal 3.7V), though, with various DC-DC converters to generate the voltages needed (3.3V, ±5V, 7.5V, and 5V-24V variable).
Oh god this camera is so local news it hurts. I kept expecting a stand up going "Dogs, man's best friend, but are they the city's? Councillor Shirley Jenkins wants to see dogs banned from city parks."
RIGHT
I keep wanting to go out and shoot fake local news but I'm too self conscious. I also haven't bought a Chyron yet.
Golden comment.
Heheheh! I took a field video production class in college (back in 2000 or 2001), and it was actually taught by the director of the 6pm news of the local CBS affiliate. (WJZ in Baltimore, FWIW.) We used Panasonic DVCPRO cameras with Fuji lenses, and Mac-based AVID Media Composer systems for editing. Good times!
@@CathodeRayDude Please do.
@@CathodeRayDude I actually had a Chyron CODI for a bit... The channel themaritimegirl recently did a video on the Inscriber TitleOne character generator, which is built into a freaking server chassis.
"18650s in a trenchcoat" incredible off-the-cuff description, bless
18650s: "Why are you staring at me like that Gravis? I'm *really* a V-Mount battery and deserve the respect"
You always pay a industry premium when you buy film equipment that's still in use today. RED packaged a SSD with a proprietary connector and slapped a 1500$ price tag on it
Yeah but don't forget that SSD's used on RED-cameras get a beating during recording. The amount of data written to them is HUGE and most normal SSD's most likely won't be able to keep up with that or will fail quickly. Hell, even my shoulder mount JVC camera puts out something like 1,8 Gbit of information PER SECOND over its SDI output. That's a rough 225 Megabyte/second. RED-cameras sure as hell surpass that mark. SDI-outputs aren't categorised in speed-classes for nothing.
But to put things into perspective: my V-lock batteries are made in Europe. Though I like that, it's a bit hard to understand the cheapest (90-98Wh) cashing in at 255 Euro EXCL VAT at the company mines are from. So for me, as a hobbyist that just likes to use professional gear, those things are expensive at nearly 310 Euro incl. VAT. When the cells died in all my batteries, I first started looking at sending them to the manufacturer (who offers a recelling-service at, as they state it themselves, 'about half the price of a new one'.
A bit bummed about 'half the price of a new one' (which is a rather wide defitinion in my opinion) I also had to provide safe transport according to transport of lithium-ion battery regulations. So, I opened one up myself to see if I could have a go at recelling them, as I'm into electronics, I figured I could stand a chance.
I found out the battery-management chip inside those things does not even communicate with a charger or camera AT ALL. That makes them just mere batteries that are being strapped to a power supply (for charging) that (fortunately) has some form of CC/CV control in it, with the BMS taking care of balancing the cells and providing safety, while for the price I expected more sophisticated stuff. And it got even worse: 3 of my batteries were 'cine' batteries, capable of being drained with 12 Amps (which will drain them in about 20-30 minutes). Though they hold more electronic components, they also don't seem to communicate with the charger. Those batteries cost 480 Euro incl. VAT!
Recelling them should not be anything fancy at the factory: remove the PCB (or replace the logic fuse on the board in case it was blown), reset the BMS, check the assembly for erorrs and if good, attach new cells.
I managed to do it myself. As a hobbyist, I could spend those 9 months of many, many evenings trying to get it to work, but eventually got to that point. The first battery is now happily housing 16 Panasonic NCR18650B cells and has a fresh-reset BMS inside. It sure as hell wasn't cheap (Russian software to crack the BMS open, original software and hardware from Texas Instruments to program it again) but having 5 of those batteries, I could afford doing it. It was a long and hard way, but I learned a lot and also think they are still slightly overpriced.
@@weeardguy yes but they're regular mSATA SSD you can buy for your computer and they're normally rated for 6 Gbit/s . But cine gear is usually priced higher because they're mostly bought by rental house and they're definitely gonna make money with it
@@delamarx2144 Well, I don't refuse them making money with such a device ;) I usually don't really complain about the price of things, but batteries are a world on their own and some just seem quite overpriced for what you get (like mine...)
@@weeardguy yes I totally agree V-Mount are so expensive for what they are 😂
@@weeardguy And yet red got caught using the most bottom of the barrel mSATA SSDs. There was 0 special with the drives
"gee gravis, how come your ma lets you power TWO tvs off your battery?"
I'm just waiting for Gravis to take this to its logical conclusion, daisy chaining V-Mount batteries together to power his home entirely off V-Mount
"I'm a person who's staunchly opposed to commitment of any kind" Yes absolutely, thank you for introducing me to lever locks
I really hope the algorithm starts picking this channel up, solid production quality, interesting material, well deserving of far more attention!
It already is, it just takes time to build up a follower base. Thanks for watching!!
I really appreciate the sound quality you maintain in your videos.
I try! It's REALLY tough to achieve.
@@CathodeRayDude That I certainly understand. I've got great equipment, but little drive to produce videos. With old man ears, it's nice not having to dive for the volume slider many times per video.
@@CathodeRayDude Even if you put in minimal effort on the audio, it’s still better than most of YT. Thanks for being another great watch in my subs!
That squirrel's giving you the 'I didn't sign a release...' look!
I work for a company that makes portable gear that uses Anton - Bauer battery plates. For reliability, we solder our own wire assembly right onto the pins in the bracket and ignore the factory connector.
But is that actually more reliable?! Especially if vibration is present, soldered joints are fundamentally less reliable than crimped ones. That’s why the auto industry avoids soldered connections wherever possible. (For example, the LEDs used in some tail lights are not soldered onto a PCB, but actually swaged onto sheet metal! And almost all the PCB connectors in ECUs are press-fit, not soldered.)
@@tookitogo the original connector assembly is soldered to the same battery pins. Using the connector just introduces another potential failure point.
@@moconnell663 ah, gotcha!!
As a video marketing professional, this is one of the best things about this industry. Most of the main professional manufacturers are completely willing to work together to design products and an ecosystem around major cameras. In fact, camera manufacturers will even support this, as they know having this ecosystem will attract more pro users to their products. It's really nice!
My guess says the Anton Bauer name carries so much weight in the industry that it was worth it to buy the first party plate as a manufacturer. It would be a big selling point. Like when a laptop says something like "audio by Bose" or something.
The Anton Bauer name is a selling point not because it’s high quality (although it is) but because it’s so ubiquitous. Most studios already own thousands of dollars worth of Anton Bauer batteries and don’t want to have to buy all new batteries when they upgrade their cameras. So it’s to Panasonic’s benefit to include the Anton Bauer Mount on their pro cameras.
Construction crews also hate proprietary garbage 18650s-but-expensive power tool batteries, so there are all manner of cursed adapters for getting around the problem. Nearly all of them are 18v nominal because that's what a 5s Li-ion kicks out, so the adapters are mostly passive pin-to-pin wiring in plastic.
Though for most of the major brands, clone batteries are available that do pretty well match the performance of the factory batteries. The clone dewalt XR batteries are near enough identical.
There's the Cordless Alliance System interoperability standard, Outside of the US, naturally.
as a singer, i only knew about 3 pin XLR before this, and seeing the 4 pin socket messed me up for a second
There is also 5pin, but it's an interesting thing.
you spend so long in music studios where the most you usually see is a 3 pin or a 5 pin midi, and then you see some industrial scale 20 pin connector or some shit and get real thankful that audio signals are pretty damn basic in the grand scheme of things
just looking at a serial pin connector gives me slight agita
@@Pleezath Five pin xlr is for DMX
wait until ya'll find out there's 6 pin XLRs (two balanced audio connections, on one connector!), or that weird 3 pin XLR standard Shure has with extra microscopic pins for control signaling.
@@teckman02 5-pin is also standard for headsets.
I love your content and I love technology connections and connextras, you do great work ❤️💕👍😘😍
The Squirrel at the end was probably swearing in squirrel "How dare you to film me without my consent!!! I'll sue you for all your nuts!!! You'll hear from my lawyer!!!!"
*slappy the squirrel voice*
pure local news story style footage at the end - love it!
I really want to shoot bogus local news but I need staff! Can't do it all by myself!
God, the footage reminds me of watching KXLY, KREM, and the other Spokane channels when I was a kid. Maybe I'm imagining it, but if "news camera vibe" is a real thing, this camera's output has it.
ALso, that molex connector looks like something from an automotive wiring harness way more than from a camera. It's clear they weren't playing games when they built this stuff.
That automatic camera-lamp control feature, you will also find on many Sony pro cameras. It is usually located at the left side of the top handle. On the left is the switch, on the right side of the handle, there is a D-Tap that is controlled by the switch on the left side.
V-mounts are not just popular in broadcast, they are *everywhere* in the cinema industry. The market split is also funny, the ultra high end shooters(think $200k ARRI Alexa LF rigs) usually use single-company single-brand Anton Bauer, who *hunt* knockoff manufacturers, and everyone else(under $200k) usually uses V-mounts, which are made by everyone and their non-branded dog.
And yet, this single company somehow survives in a sea of cheap V-mount alternatives.
I also really agree that the "18650ies in a trenchcoat" is a very apt description of these batteries, and their price is completely unjustified. But on the upside, you can buy toast cinema batteries from the early 00s and swap the cells for bargain prices, since once they're at 70-80% capacity they're considered "no longer holds a charge".
Seriously, I want to see a whole lot more of your content. You have a lot to offer here, I love learning more about older pro camera gear like this. Very insightful, and thanks again for the RAM I borrowed for a dumb vintage computer build!
As another comment mentioned Anton Bauer has been (especially decades ago) VERY AGGRESSIVE about patent and design protection ensuring they were the only one to make the design and the batteries. For whatever reason people bought into it so it became this thing of production houses having gold mount batteries, so naturally people would want that mount on the camera. As a result Panasonic had NO choice in the matter- they either capitulated and bought the plate from Anton Bauer or they didn't offer it and possibly cost them sales of the camera. And given how prevalent Anton Bauer was, that would have been a lot of sales. For whatever reason Sony allowed more folks to get in on the V-mount design, or at least let folks copy it in the idea of allowing it to spread is my best guess.
The way I figure it, if Panasonic WANTED to bypass their patent, they could do it - no way AB has the kind of clout to not get steamrolled by a zaibatsu. But, fair point to consider - maybe it *was* just too much bother to fight it.
Mwiz100, that alllowing more folks to make the V-Mount may just be what helps the AB Mount keep it's hold. I've never seen a Gold Mount brick fall off, even though they mount from the side. They make a very satisfying click when they're locked on. I think every pro has seen a v mount battery fall off once. It's possible that only happens on non sony made plates, I don't know.
Your videos are a joy. Thanks so much for making all these. I'm slowly getting caught up with the whole back-catalog
Damn, I’m just getting rid of some of my HiFi stuff so that I don’t start hoarding and so that I can keep a CRT TV I just got out of a dumpster and fixed, and now this is making me want to find a professional analog camcorder (even though your one shown is digital).
As someone that works in the film industry (primarily in camera department), here's some thoughts on gold vs V mount batteries:
Over time (in heavy use cases, like at rental houses) V-mounts will start to wear down and pop off at inopportune times. Because the locking mechanism is essentially just a pin, both the pin and the "v" on the battery will wear down, and start to pop off when the camera is rested on the ground, transported, or handled in general. On older gear you often have to slam the V-mount in to the camera to get it to lock, and it will still pop off.
The latch based locking mechanism on the Gold mount means that even if the plastic starts to wear down, you still get a tight hold as long as the spring in the latch is intact.
Also, because of the mounting direction (V-mount mounts up-down, gold is left-right), V-mounts tend to wear down if your camera rig finds itself resting on the battery, which happens allot. Gold mounts won't experience the same type of wear in those situations.
Also, I find gold mounts to be a bit more idiot-proof. Sometimes a V-mount can feel like it's seated properly even if it's not. That can ultimately mess up the pins on the camera, and further wear the plate/camera. Because of the gold mount 3-pin system, it's almost impossible to seat incorrectly.
All in all: gold mounts are a better long term solution and investment, though it seems like V-mounts are more widely used for whatever reason.
thanks for all this! I'll work that in whenever I talk about them in the future. I think the v mount might be more common because it's not a fiercely defended patent like gold mount is - Sony doesn't seem to force anyone to put their name on v mounts for instance, so I'd guess they aren't enforcing the patent at all if they even have one. It's also older, so maybe any patent they had expired - and maybe that's also why it isn't as good a mount.
Yeah, but one forgets that the small V-lock plate on the batteries can be replaced should they wear too much. As the mating mechanism on the plate is all metal (well, on the better plates it is), you're far more likely to wear out the batteries before you have to replace the plate (and at the time that will be necessary, the camera has either been discarded for economical/cosmetic reasons or has broken down already.
I even doubt one gets to the point of the batteries wearing so far they pop off: I think you can call yourself lucky if you get 500 to about a 750 cycles out of them (no matter what the manufacturers tell you, lithium-based batteries just have their limits in heavy use like this).
Batteries that stick out in such a way the camera rests on it when put on the ground or whatever, are just badly protected or are on a badly put-together rig: don't forget their primary use has been to power off-the-shelf cameras. ENG cameras will NEVER have the battery stick out from underneath the camera and usually even feature a protective bar at the bottom (or even a cage around the battery) to protect against impact on the battery. Camera's that do sound far more like the 'I-wan't to take video with my photocamera but the battery-life sucks so I added this whole construction and a V-lock plate' kind of people.
I have been using professional V-mount batteries and camcorders over 20 years and never experienced such things. You are probably using crappy Chinese clones instead of the high quality ones build Sony, IDX Technology, PAG Ltd and Bebob. No battery touches the floor on a decent camcorder. This only happens when you are trying to build a cheap DSLR Frankenstein rig, instead of using a properly designed ENG/EFP camcorder.
@@XDCAMHD422 My thoughts exactly. I also experience the cheap Chinese V-lock plates to have not such a good un-locking action on press of the lever at the side. Most of them tend to need quite some force and still don't unlock as good as a real IDX, Blackmagic or Sony plate.
@@XDCAMHD422 usually happening on heavily used Alexa minis with old SWIT batteries and similar. Not sure what to tell you!
Sounds to me like you're in broadcast, not using old panavision rental house gear.
I've had some wall warts that output to what looks like "d-tap"(???) ... but I am watching on my little smartphone.
Been shopping for building camera rig and I understand the gold mount is supposed to be a more solid connection but choosing v mount since availability of less expensive second hand batteries are more available
Honestly they’re both very solid.
Dude, the markups some of these pro video and audio companies get away with is absolutely insane. Check out RED Mini-Mags, for instance, $1450 USD for a 300MB/s 480GB SSD, and they're current industry standard in film. Comteks and timecode slates are also an absolute racket, blows my mind that noone has tried to undercut these people yet
You know what I really want? Some PAG batteries, the ones that stack. GOD I love them. I want a video clip of me running around the park with a camcorder with 1.5' of batteries sticking off the back interspersed with mic transmitters and a Firestore but that's like $3500 of gear I just described.
i like meaty bones, but i like nerdin' out over a cool bit of tech that i otherwise wouldn't have ever known existed or otherwise understood what was interesting and unique about it too~
YKK zippers on average cost twice as much as their competitors but are found on an incredible number of brands, due to quality. Sometimes it's worth having a known quantity on your good even if you have the capability to manufacture it yourself.
(Not entirely relevant to electronics, but first thing that came to mind)
Actually, you are spot on Surkit. The Gold Mount batteries replaced carrying around a battery belt, they were first to market (sometime around 1979? ) And they nailed it in the first try. The sony mount is excellent, and some feel better because it's easier to drop a heavy battery down into a slot than to slide in from tthe side. But sometime (rarely) a battery slides off a V mount. And that may be only on licensed makers of V mounts, and not Sony,. But I've never seen a gold mount battery fall off in 40 years.
@@StevenBradford A number of Steadicam operators I know have had issues with v-mount popping off the sled when jostled, and well, that happens quite a bit with a Steadicam sled. I keep a v-mount battery plate with my Aero sled, but its never used as I have all Gold mount batteries, so I have not personally had that happen.
Pro Audio equipment; and entirely separately, pro network/comms equipment; both are generally supplied direct from the vendor's factory with Amphenol branded connectors integrated right into the design.
Another great video. More stuff I didn’t know that I wanted to know about. 😊
I love these videos showing the older pro cameras. And you're right, broadcast production isn't going to put up with each camera vendor having their own battery standard. They want one type of battery for their estate and not have to worry about the trucks having the right combo of charger and batteries.
Awesome video! I wish consumer level stuff had swappable batteries.
I chuckled a little bit when you pulled out those huge wago connectors.
I remember the Anton Bauer mount on the Panasonic DVCPRO ENG cameras I used in college! I have one of those tapes somewhere in my stuff… (and nowhere to play it, lol)
I have really enjoyed your content since I recently discovered your channel
I bought a JVC camera which is very similar to this one (JVC GY-DV5000U) and the way they dealt with the battery was somehow even more unheard of in the consumer industry. They never actually shipped the camera with a gold mount plate, they sold it with their own (presumably semi-proprietary standard) battery that is only refered to as 'Flat Shape Type Battery Pack' and gave people an anton bauer part number to go order from them that would fit the camera.
I've got a Portable 5 inch PVM-5041Q. Is there any modern battery that would work on that thing?
I haven't found a source for a new-manufacture Sony NP-1, I think because they were all NiMH chemistry instead of lithium-ion, so you can't just put lion 18650s in a box and have it work - the charge circuitry in the TV would freak out and/or destroy the battery.
It DOES look like that model has a 12V input, so my recommendation is to do what I did here - camera battery, D-tap adapter, and velcro it to the side.
@@CathodeRayDude im guessing each type is still just a battery, so a bunch of 18650 and a dc-dc regulator would probly solve all that
@@CathodeRayDude IDXtek still makes NP-1s for about $160 if that's what you need. I'm not 100% sure, but I think they are actually 18650s... Not about to crack one open (shit's expensive), but the battery is exactly the right dimensions, and all the NP-1s I've ever seen were lithium-ion
@@devinsvideos8667 You do need to make sure you have a charger that can do those if they are lithium or NIMH. There’s a lot of legacy chargers out there and a lot of them are NiCad only.
@@CathodeRayDude swit and hawk-woods still manufacture np-1 batteries. Look in sound supply houses rather than video, they're still widely used in sound bags.
smokin rn and im mad excited to watch this video before bed
so fucking good
In the consumer space, USB C Power Delivery is coming decently close to this sort of "plug anything in" approach with power levels above the measly 5V and a couple amps of traditional USB (PD can do up to 100W). It's still a bit early for it to be truly ubiquitous, but I can envision a few years from now where there's a lot more availability of USB C power splitters of varying capabilities readily available.
An added tip to help this convenient future arrive sooner for your own devices: There are very cheap "PD trigger" boards now being made (ZY12PDN being my preferred one as it's flexible/configurable) that can allow you to convert all kinds of devices to USB C power. The standard (and most associated power supplies) support 5/9/12/15/20V, and most any device will tolerate one of those values. Cut off the crappy power brick it came with, solder or screw the wires to a PD trigger, then use the button to configure it to request the appropriate voltage on startup. Heatshrink the thing together, and then use any standards-compliant USB PD power supply (of sufficient wattage) to run the thing. Very convenient! I just converted a "12V" input on my telescope mount using this technique to make it easier to power from a variety of sources in the field; USB C PD car chargers are often rated for 12V-24V automotive, which means you can feed them anything from about 11V to 30V from a DC power source of your choice using suitable cables/adapters.
Other contenders for reasonably standard power delivery are the PoE standard used in the networking space, and if you're willing to go more homebrew and are just concerned about the connectors and not voltages, the RC industry has a bunch of really nice high current DC connectors for dirt-cheap prices (XT60, Deans, etc...) that you can use to make your own set of adapters to convert various DC sources to each other.
you fall into the group of youtubers i can just listen to for hours. classic gaming quarterly is one that comes to mind.
Wish we had this in the consumer space. What comes close maybe is the NP-F battery format, like the NP-F550 for powering photo cameras, stage lights, etc. Modded several things to take these 7.4V (8.4V) batteries
the other is what is happening now with USB-C.
Very much enjoying your content! I'll keep watching. :)
pro and broadcast cameras are sold with Anton Bauer gold mount or IDX V-mount since the mid 90's when the NP-1 was phased out, except for Sony who used their own V-mount and it is still the same in 2021
Great video!
As far as the connectors go, it should be Tyco Mini Universal Mate'n'Lock, but with male/female pins opposite to what's "normal"
you can tell by the contact pins being round instead of square and the cables being able to rotate in the plug housings.
Female pins (as used on the battery side) are TE #0-0170366-1 or similar, male pins are 0-0170364-1 (both for 22-18 gauge wires, but the numbers should get you were to look for if you need different wire gauges.
Housings are 0-0172165-1 and 0-0172157-1 respectively. IIRC the pins originally used on the battery and camera are gold plated but that never was an issue when fitting new battery plates that have only tin plated contacs.
Great video!
Are you also interested in modern professional video cameras? Would you buy one if money wasn’t a concern?
Absolutely - I love video of all sorts and I would *love* a modern one. It's a fantasy that if my patreon got up to like 3K a month I'd pick up a modern HD ENG shoulder cam and probably shoot my channel video on it haha.
@@CathodeRayDude i just got a dvcpro hd (but p2 cards not tape) camera donated to my schools fillmmaking program. Let me know if you’d like to check it out sometime. 16 lbs with lens.
@@CathodeRayDude the P2 HPX-500 is a good base for that
Awesome. Thanks, man!
Loved the video and loved your voice
And, yes, I should've watched the video in whole before commenting on other things: those battery-plates are usually compliant and fit a whole range of devices, just like the cameras usually accomodate both V-lock and Gold Mount plates. For the record: cameras in Europe feature the same setup. Sony, JVC, Panasonic or whatever the camera's brand is, they usually all feature an IDX batteryplate, IDX being the big name for V-lock stuff as far as I know.
I always tend to err on the side of caution with those very cheap V-lock batteries. I've seen a couple from the inside that had no-name cells inside, while I know that the bigger-brand batteries always feature quality cells. Besides that, I was VERY surprised to see you could run both monitors with 1 battery. Most of those very cheap things can really provide 90 Watthour of power, but usually don't like it to be drained with more than say 3 or 4 Amps.
And oh yeah... they're really NOT just like a USB-powerbank. The electronics inside are VERY, VERY sophisticated. I can know... I took my V-lock batteries apart to recell them myself, which involved messing with the BMS-chip... a piece of electronics so complex on its own it took me a few months to grasp the basics of them and eventually get to the point I got a working battery again.
best part of the video for me was the lever locks. so cool
00:09:48 Posi-Twist connectors are the size of butt connectors and are reusable. (and can be spec'd with rubber end seal inserts for automotive, etc.)
Great video! I use these V-mount batteries about as much as my Sony NP-F InfoLithiums. Despite the premium, I'm inclined to get more of them specifically because they are so universal. Been using them for external USB GoPro Power in livestreams recently.
Silly question for another video: If I want to play around with professional cameras and VTRs, is there a good recommendation for noobs to all of this? Would be a neat video to show what you can get sub $200, $500, $1000, etc on the second-hand market.
It's kinda random ime - you go to ebay and just sorta flip through what's available. But I'll think about it, and if I come to a conclusion I'll put something together explaining how to get into it!
@@CathodeRayDude Mainly as I look around eBay I just have no clue what I'm looking for. I just want a camera and an external recorder and wanna shoot onto some tape. (as ignorant as that sounds.)
I don't even think your videos need any more "meat on their bones"... you could literally talk about watching grass grow and I'd still happily listen
I know this is an older video, but if you ever get to see this: I would love it if you could do this kind of analysis of 18v cordless tool batteries. They seem to be an entirely different beast.
They’re generally 5 lithium ion cells in series. (Or 10 cells divided into two banks in parallel, each containing 5 cells in series.) The nominal 3.6-3.7V cell voltage x 5 = 18-18.5V.
The funny thing about those fake lvr-locks ( brand name from wago, they actually make a newer clear slimmer one you can check with a mult-meter and not get leads stuck ) is the ones you have are "clones" of ones that don't exist at all funny enough. Big Clive did a video on them. Sadly there's no official version that does the in-line option or at least none that I am aware of. Anyways love old pro equipment :)
I love those knock-off wago lever connectors. I saw big clive's video on them & got a bunch
Yea they cheap but reliable, but I wouldn't trust them at 230 v
@@volt1309 I'd never leave them unattended. but I have put 240 through them running a sodium lamp quite a few times without melting or anything.
the squirrel did a funky little wiggle :0
Interesting fact regarding the connectors at 9:50, I saw another video a while back saying that Wago doesn't actually make that type of connector [where it goes in a straight line rather than back 180 degrees], it's an innovation by one of the clone companies.
That video is wrong-ish, WAGO definitely does make some inline couplers, such as models 224-201 and 221-2411. The series his clone is of (series 222), however, does not have an inline coupler, so either it is a clone maker’s own design, or possibly WAGO used to make it but has since discontinued that product.
I’ll try and put links in a separate reply, since CZcams has been auto-deleting a lot of replies with links lately.
WAGO 224-201: www.wago.com/global/installation-terminal-blocks-and-connectors/service-connector/p/224-201
WAGO 221-2411: www.wago.com/global/installation-terminal-blocks-and-connectors/inline-splicing-connector-with-lever/p/221-2411
@@tookitogo thanks for the links, it seems that the distinguishing feature the other video mentioned was specifically the existence of multiple inline splices for separate pairs of wires within a single block [you can see these sold online as "XHF 3"] which the ones shown in this video did not have. I'd misunderstood it at the time since all the counterexamples shown were standard 222 connectors for a single splice.
Though the ones shown here are interesting too in that they're separate blocks but appear to be able to snap together in a modular way to be nearly as compact as a single block.
@@random832 Gotcha!
Yoooooo I see the gunpla in the background! 😎
Imma need a link for that 89.95 battery, please. Loved your channel, btw. Reminds me of talks with my dad about the industry back in the 90s.
Very cool
The pro market has different compromises but I do like it a lot more. You have a lot more leeway to say "I will pay you to make it my way because its cheaper than modifying it when it gets here".
And, I'd say if you want to go wander around and use a rocket launcher cam without feeling self conscious, look up Radwood. You would be very very welcome there.
Yeah! I have friends who have suggested Radwood, I still think it might be a little awkward but I totally would like to do it once Things Are Better
about the no power standards in the consumer market...USB PD does exactly this... 5,9,12,15 or 20V, up to 5A depending on the capability of the power source. Of course a power bank that can deliver 100W will start at about $80 direct from China, but it's an off the shelf thing you can have delivered to your doorstep.
What's more, you can get USB PD power trigger boards, which are fingernail-sized PCBs with a USB-C connector that will negotiate a preset voltage and allow you to power anything out of your USB-C powerbank or power supply (if they can provide the voltage and power, not all can).
Some fancy(-er) laptops and phones have bi-directional power capability over USB-C as well...
Now it just needs more market penetration.
I see those Gunpla boxes in the background. Do you make many of them? I'd totally love to see a video of you building one or just chatting about them. XD
Agreed. We need a gm 2 building video.
Just wait till you get to the mess that is 28V V mount. there is no pin out standard and so in some cases you can connect a 28V battery to a unit designed to only take 14V
Gold mount doesn't have that issue because AB set their standard up right and so a 28V battery can't kill a 14V device but devices can be setup to be dual.
AB almost certainly forces you to buy gold mount plates from them, I'm only aware of some lighting gear and no name plates for cameras that aren't branded that way.
There is now a new B mount from Bebob which Arri supports that is natively dual voltage and has some cool features. I suspect it won't see much use but it is better than V.
More rambling ❤👌
Actually this approach does exist in the consumer market, take a look at Braun's electric toothbrushes: those are Braun Oral-B products. Braun didn't license some patents but got the real deal because a specialist's name just enforces the brand. Sony and Panasonic also did it in the consumer camera business, they used the name Leica and Zeiss.
@7:20 It happens in the consumer market, when brands use other brands with higher "value". Like... everything has got optics from Zeiss nowadays.
Friend... why you snip Molex? You need to look into the wonderful world of Molex connector assortment kits, terminal crimping tools and terminal removal tools! You could have just removed the terminals from that connector shell and popped them back into whatever standard you like... These days I Molex ALL the connections! Molex changed my life, and it can change yours too!
I've been using Molex since I was a kid, but I've never met two Molex connectors that mated unless they came as part of the same product. Molex makes millions of plugs, I cannot imagine finding an assortment with a probability of including this one. I still wish I had snipped on the other side though.
I still have war flashbacks from badly made molex connectors shorting out and melting in PCs around a decade or more ago. Guess I should blame the "craftsmen" and not the tools!
@@CathodeRayDude You see, that's the beauty of a terminal removal tool! You can pop the metal conductors out of the plastic Molex connector shell in the camera and swap it for whichever standard you prefer. Those .093" pins will click into any Molex shell type that accepts .093" connectors... The metal part stays on the wire, the plastic bit can be switched to your preferred standard.
@@Aquatarkus96 I know your pain!
I wonder if you could pick up a used/old battery and upgrade the internal cells. The LG MJ1 18650 cells pack a real punch at 3500mAh.
An even bolder idea: use the front mount but 3D print your own case around the back to hold as many cells as you wanted to. It seems like this battery system is a 4S arrangement: ~11-17V, assuming it doesn't have any internal regulators.
Nice video as usual.
Trust me... that's hard. I replaced the cells in one (so far, got extremely ill then) of my V-lock batteries as all the cells had gone completely depleted. But there's an extremely complex BMS in mine (BQ20Z65 by Texas Instruments). If you want to alter the data in it (which you will have to if you swap the cells for something better) you'll need to either know the unsealkey (a two word 4 byte big key only known by the manufacturer (if you'r lucky, it's the standard key)), and then you can read out and enter the rest of the keys (like FullAccess key (again, two word 4-byte big) and, in my case, as the cells were dead and the BMS had triggered the Permanent Failure Alert (and blown a logic fuse on the PCB, a fuse that can be blown on external command), you'll also need to enter the PermanentFailure Clearkey (again two-word 4 byte big, but entered in reverse order compared to when you read it). Once in Full Access you can change these keys, change the Chemistry ID of the cells (so the BMS knows EXACTLY when the cells are drained at a given amount of current drawn at that moment) but you can also completely update all parameters for capacity, amount of cells and what not.
Taking a battery and just removing the cells will trigger the 'battery-removed' and almost all of the BMS'es out there and could even blow that fuse again.
As I had 5 of those batteries, it was a viable option for me, because new, good cells, the fuses, nickelstrip connectors and all the hard- and software needed to perform this whole operation aren't cheap. And don't forget a spotwelder. I already had one, but you'd want to have a good one.
As I didn't know the unsealkey and just brute-forcing this manually will take you ages (every wrong input will lock the device for 5 seconds before it accepts new input), I used some shady Russian software with a CP2112 SMbus adapter. It most likely either knows the hardware-method how the key is stored (thus trying known combinations will probably get to a fully retreived key quickly) or they make use of undocumented features on the chip for retreival of the key, as it takes just about 30 seconds (there's also a list coming with the program with known passwords for the specific chip)
Once unsealed and in full Acces I switched to the program by Texas Instruments and their hardware (EV2400), altered all the dataflash and such and ran the learning cycles.
8 months after I started the ordeal, which incorporated many, many evenings after work messing with this, reading through 300 pages of documentation, a lot of moments of 'dust yourself off and try again' I managed to get the first battery up and running (of course, I now know what I need to do, so the next will be done far quicker)
From an original 90 Wh battery, it has now become a 185 Wh battery in the same enclosure (they are now unsuited for air-travel as well). The runtimes on my camera are excellent and though I hardly saved any money doing this myself compared to sending it to the manufacturer for recelling (which they offer at 'about half the price of a new one'), it was a journey full of new experiences, I learned a lot, I know how to do this for the future and I just had to screw the manufacturer for not letting me mess with the batteries I bought (well, I got them second-hand as they came with the (also) second hand camera)
So yeah, it is possible to do what you state, but darn, know what you're getting yourself into: if you do succeed on all of the above, you have to solder a LIVE battery pack to the PCB with your BMS on it. That's about the scariest part of this whole operation. I underestimated it all quite a bit and I even had the original hard- and software at hand to deal with it.
apparently it's possible to buy gold mount to v mount, but it starts at $50 (ebay special) and averages around $70, so yeah, the way you're doing it might be cheaper if you only plan on doing a few of them.
V-Mount Batterys are more than 12Volts. They can reach up to 16-17Volts.
I like them to. I need them for my Sony PDW-700. It's shoots 1080p/i and is still used today. Even today there are just a few prosumer lenses with image stabilisation. Normally they dont have it in the ENG Setups.
Btw, the consumer market is a joke.
When starwars the phantom menace was shot on Sony HDW-F900R with panavision asscesorise.
so its not uncommon for big brand for the pro line ups to use other companies standereds or parts.
Quick question, what camera do you use to record your videos? I'm impressed at how sharp and clear it is
heh, I'm actually surprised to hear that, I've been feeling like the video is really blurry and I wasn't sure what to do about it. Maybe that's just me. It's a Panasonic AG-AC30.
What was the model of battery you bought?
I own two BetacamSP video camera units, both UVW-100Bs. One is an ex-KIRO TV unit I bought from a retired KIRO photographer and the other is an ex-WPLG unit. The WPLG unit has an NP-1B battery box and I'm going to switch it out to a V-mount battery for simplicity.
Also what is your average run time on a battery? My ex-KIRO unit has a V-mount and the battery it came with was stone cold dead when I bought the camera in 2013. I have used it since by way of "jump starting" a charge on it from a car battery but lately I can't get more than ten minutes or so.. (I've also converted all my Frezzi lights to 8-watt LED equivalent)
What's the adapter you specifically bought? I found out that my JVC GY-X2B should support one of those plates but I was looking at them on eBay and Amazon and they seem to vary wildly in price?
They really do vary wildly in price. Sometimes because they are 'made to fit' (ahum) a specific type of 'very-popular-camera-at-that-time' which basically means their wiring is ready to connect to that type of camera: the holes to mount those plates mechanically usually are all the same as they should fit a whole range of devices, though it's not bad to check that first.
Besides that it's also about the brand: a real IDX plate is always more expensive than some cheap-knock off and though some people think otherwise, the quality really does go down quite significant: springs are less flexible, the unlocking lever is flimsy plastic (while it's usually thicker plastic or sometimes even metal), the plate can miss the extra pins beside the usual pack plus and pack minus connections. Those sort of things.
And then the amount of D-tap connectors: the more they got, the higher the price is.
The rest is just: it's professional stuff which isn't turned out to the market in the same numbers as consumer-equipment, which gets the price going as well.
ok where did you get the bare wire latchy connectikins? (sorry I don't know what they're actually called) there've been a bunch of times I would have preferred something like that to alligator leads.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TQ2JX3K/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 here's the ones I got (not a promoter link)
I was thinking "gee I'd love to have a camera like that" then I saw the price when you cut the wiring... I know nothing about cameras or filming but I want something that shoots some 90s looking footage for music vids haha
Heya, I picked up a Hitachi Saticon VK- C870 from goodwill for 10$. You have any ideas on how to hook it up? I'm looking for manuals on how to hook it up without a portable vcr. Also thanks for the videos!
It's conceptually easy, you just need the right parts and some soldering skill. If you're completely new to electronics you might want to find some assistance - if you get the wiring wrong you'll smoke the camera permanently.
You have two options: first is that you cut the connector off of the camera, work out which wire went to which pin on the plug, and solder your own connectors onto them; the second is that you buy a mating EIAJ plug (google "hirose EIAJ" and you can still find them) and solder fresh wires to it. I recommend the latter so you don't have to modify the camera.
The only wires you need are ground, power, video out and video ground, and you just connect those respectively to a DC power jack and an RCA plug, and you're good to go. You can find the pinout by googling "labguysworld eiaj pinout". Hope that helps!
(I'm tempted to start building adapter cables and offer them for sale on ebay...)
The only other battery system I have seen that can be somewhat useful are the DeWalt 20V/60V system. Other than obviously powering their tools, you can also buy USB adapters for them, and you can also buy the mating side for the battery so you can make your own adapters or items. Not a standard, but pretty useful. The USB adapters have saved me in a power outage a few times.
yeah the dewalt/milwaukee/etc. systems are concessions to the idea that people might need to solve real-world problems and are willing to pay for that ability.
its not only a 110v powersupply but an universal powersupply 90-240vac ;)
so angry that we don't get something like DTAP
Cool device
Now I do want to knew what Molex connector that is?
It looks similar to one that are on my LED lights
Molex makes an *unreal* number of unique connectors so there are probably a few dozen that look just like this, but somewhere out there the model can be found, I'm sure.
hey Gravis, what's your audio setup? it sounds really good
For videos where I'm not onscreen like this one, I'm using an Audio-Technica BPHS1 headset (same ones they use on AGDQ) through a FETHEAD preamp into a Steinberg UR242 DAC. The latter two are probably fungible - the AT headset has a really nice dynamic mic that I can get close to my mouth, so it moves with me and rejects background noise, and that's probably what does 99% of the job. It's a really nice headset, I can't recommend it enough - only bummer is the pads could be a bit softer.
That PVM with the "DC only" label looks just like the one I have that also doesn't work over AC power
I bet there was a design defect in the PSU. I pulled the AC PSU out of mine and couldn't find anything obviously wrong with it, replacement parts are hard to come by, and it's too sophisticated to bodge in a 12v SMPS - easier to just run it off 12V, not like I don't have supplies!
@@CathodeRayDude exactly the same here. No shit stains or blown fuses, but the board is complex enough that it would take more effort than it was worth to really dig into given how easy making an XLR adapter is. Then I discovered this thing used to be on a VTR, so it's got pretty extreme burn in. It's effectively a parts machine, but I don't have any need for a PVM/BVM in this size, so it's in my garage until I fix the rest of my monitors - could be that I could sell/trade a group of parts machines and throw it in there.
Speaking of common failures, all of the N-series PVMs I have have a destroyed bezel and/or funky geometry issues.
@@ZiggyTheHamster the switching supply input is too weak and often blow on the switching parts (the 3 legs to-220 diodes pack often) also cold solder on the transfo itself on the 110v input side
Its crazy how expensive television and cinema standard equipment has always been, you take a look at the start of 3ccd and broadcast studio cameras would cost upwards of 10 thousand dollars, and that huge price hasn't changed today, top of the line field box lenses from Fujinon literally cost the same as a house. Like 220 thousand dollars, and thats just for the lens. Not to say that they dont have ultra reliable quality that the media industry depends on, but damn.
Great video btw, definitely subbed. 👌
I dream of someday finding a 25 year old box lens at an auction and taking it home and just getting to *touch* it for a bit before I ebay it
It's actually really interesting to see WHY those lenses are so insanely expensive. This video is probably the best I've ever seen at not only explaining but actually demonstrating what makes box lenses incredible (both in function and price!)
czcams.com/video/RkTaMyatsTo/video.html
My workplace dropped over 60k on new cameras and stands to go with them last year. I'm the station's audio engineer and have to contend with working off an outdated and inappropriate for the job Yamaha LS-9 and old, noisy (but tank like) Senny wireless lavs, while the cameras get upgrades whenever someone does as much as sneeze at them it seems.... Stupid corporate mandates....just give me a Behringer Wing at the very least so I mix all the stereo sources we use more easily, and I can call it a day lol
@@mwiz100 I've seen it! Great video going into depth, its insane how its done. There's another sort of one off video where they put the huge set of glass on a little gh4 czcams.com/video/E-baLc-POBM/video.html
Great watch too.
You can buy compact wago connectors btw
Electric assist mountain bikes often make a real selling point of who supplies there motors and some cars crow about bang and Olufsen systems, but it isn't comman
HDV cameras are getting cheaper these days. I used to shoot with a canon XH-A1 and Sony fx1 and to be honest their image quality still holds up to this day. In fact the canon xha1 was used to shoot crank2
I enjoy shooting on the jvc guy-hd250
Everyone uses Gold Mount. I haven't seen V Mount used in ages.
I recommend buy much larger V-Mount batteries. You're going to find yourself rather limited. I started off with a similarly sized battery, and that's fine for many devices, but there are things like lights that you'll need to get 190 wh or 230 wh, potentially a pair.
Also, keep an eye on the brands when buying the cheapest batteries on Amazon. I'm not saying you can't buy cheaply, but it's one of those categories where bad brands fail quick. (I have a 190 of the brand you show there and it's been fine for me).
I would be shocked if the USB ports on those batteries don't support at least 2 amps since to output 5v2a over USB all they have to do is stick a resister across the data lines in the cheesiest implementations.
Gravis video hype
Oh my this channel rocks... Do you accept donations of classic gear? I have no self control while thrifting lol.
Hah! Depends on the stuff, but generally yes - if you have anything you're looking to get rid of, email me articles@gekk.info and I'll let you know if any of it is up my alley. Thanks for watching!!
Each brand has thier own standard
nice gundams
Not related so much. What about a bunch of us 80s 90s kids with remote control tycos with 9.6V packs? Anything we can use?