Cinevate Battery Attachment to 15mm Rods

[sciolist]

I'd like to secure a Cinevate rechargeable battery (see http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cinevate-Multi- ... SwOgdYo3Gh) to a 15mm rod support system having the standard spacing. I queried Cinevate about this and haven't gotten a response. Any recommendations?

[David M. Leugers]

If you hang the battery below the rods, the battery has a "T" slot on the top running the length of the battery. One can easily enough make one or more plates thick enough to bore two holes through which the rods would slide through and be secured with a set screw at the proper position. Midway between the bored holes would be a hole drilled down through the plate perpendicular to the rods. Through this hole would pass a "T" screw coming up from the battery below and a nut to tighten it against the plate completes the install. One could add a strip of rubber or felt to the bottom of the plate(s) to aide in preventing the battery from slipping and to prevent marring the finish on the battery. If you have access to a mill or lathe this can easily be done with aluminum or maybe even some Delrin if the battery is not too heavy and the plate can be made thick enough. If you only have a drill press, the "T" screw can be made from a proper sized square head bolt or a carriage bolt and filed down to fit in the "T" slot of the battery. Just one way of doing it.

[sciolist]

Thanks for the good suggestions. I found I had a Cinevate Atlas 10 vertical slider equipped with two 15mm rod brackets (affixed to a housing nearly identical to that of the battery), so I scavenged one of the brackets, drilled the battery case (after removing the front panel to assure clearance), and bolted the bracket in place. I would've liked to install a second bracket elsewhere on the battery case because the battery's quite heavy, but I could see no way to remove the cells, which were either glued or wedged into the housing. Your solution may allow me to provide a second point of support (I've got a drill press but no lathe or mill).

[David M. Leugers]

Good luck on your project! The Cinevate battery looks like a good candidate to power some of the Bolex 16mm motors or the Tobin motors.

[sciolist]

The Cinevate battery looks like a good candidate to power some of the Bolex 16mm motors or the Tobin motors.

You'd think that'd be the case given its bulk, but the battery has selectable outputs of 3.3V, 5V, and 7.2V, so I'll use it with my Beaulieu 4008 series cameras. It's overkill, for sure, but it's brand new and cost just $49.00 at eBay - much less than recelling or a new Wittner battery would've cost. Most of what I do requires a tripod or other fixed mount, so the weight isn't an issue.

[inlieubeaulieu]

isn't the 4-pin XLR output 12v? (with the switchable 3.3/5/7.2v output coming from a mini-TRS(?) output)
This actually looks like a great battery for my Éclair ACL, but I am a bit dismayed that the ebay auction linked to in the initial post wants double the advertised, and very affordable, price of $49

Also, with regards to using this with a Beaulieu, I'm not sure if you'll get full functionality out of the camera without rewiring the battery. The light-meter (and maybe the zoom, I don't quite remember) requires half the voltage of the motor (as to why there are three electrical contacts on the Beaulieu batteries). Certainly worth a try, but you might need to drill a new hole and install an additional power output (or, probably easier, rewire the XLR to have the Beaulieu-centric power requirements)

[sciolist]

isn't the 4-pin XLR output 12v? (with the switchable 3.3/5/7.2v output coming from a mini-TRS(?) output)

Also, with regards to using this with a Beaulieu, I'm not sure if you'll get full functionality out of the camera without rewiring the battery. The light-meter (and maybe the zoom, I don't quite remember) requires half the voltage of the motor (as to why there are three electrical contacts on the Beaulieu batteries). Certainly worth a try, but you might need to drill a new hole and install an additional power output (or, probably easier, rewire the XLR to have the Beaulieu-centric power requirements)

Yes, you're right . . . the 4-pin XLR is 12V. You're right on the second count, too (i.e., re: the Beaulieu power requirements). Thank you.

[inlieubeaulieu]

did you already purchase the battery? If so, I'd be happy to take it off your hands...

[sciolist]

did you already purchase the battery? If so, I'd be happy to take it off your hands...

I've had the battery for more than a year. There'd been a seller at the time who offered a quantity of these batteries at $49.00 each, and I was fortunate to get one of them.

[inlieubeaulieu]

yeah, I'm jealous, that's a great deal! I'm currently using a 12v 5Ah remote-control-car battery that works great, but these look much sturdier/more functional (especially the indicator)
I'll have to keep my eye out for one on ebay that isn't priced at $150 ea. (w/$25 shipping)