Building the arm
Find
a location for the jib dolly and once there, level the dolly using
the four screw jacks. Make
sure all four jacks are resting on the ground.
Check
that all four turnbuckles, which secure the jib post, are snug in
a down-pulling plane. Hand-tighten only. Level the post to the dolly. Minor leveling corrections can be made using
the turnbuckles.
Attach
the jib yoke to the post using the one-inch bolt, and tighten with
a wrench. Make sure the keyway
is aligned. Mount the main
arm section on the yoke by inserting the large pivot pin through the
pivot bearings.
Next,
add a universal section to the front of the arm. Hand-tighten the knob underneath the arm before securely tightening the upper fastener. Install turnbuckle between sections using the
pins provided. Do not tighten turnbuckle beyond the lightest possible torque.
Attach
the 36” tail extension followed by the tail section. Insert a long weight bar into the rearmost hole in the tail section. Slide two slings onto the weight bar bearing
side top. Slide the second weight bar through the bottom
holes in the slings. Add weight
as necessary starting with three 50-pound plates between the slings and ending with no more than 250 pounds until cable
assist is completed.
Attach
a cable section to the front of the arm. Leave the first C-stand here. Attach two more universal sections followed by the second cable
section. Leave the second C-stand here. Finally, mount the nosepiece to the front of
the arm.
The
arm should now look roughly straight with all turnbuckles tightened
very slightly.
The leveling system
Mount
the head bracket to the nosepiece using 2 knobs. Adjust the side-to-side level using the two large screws inside
the nosepiece.
Thread
the short leveling rod onto the yoke passing it through the support
bracket, which is mounted to the arm section. The knob on the bracket should be on the bottom. Add all of the rods onto that one passing through
each consecutive bracket. Level
all of the support brackets. You
can place the C-stand supports underneath the leveling rods if you
locate them directly in front of or behind a support bracket.
Unthread
the adjusting barrel from the head bracket. Now re-install it engaging only one or two threads. Next, thread the opposing side onto the leveling
rod and tighten until the head bracket appears level. A final level check is performed after the
arm is fully weighted.
Cable assist
Unscrew
all turnbuckles on the cables and re-attach while engaging only the
first one or two threads as done on the head bracket.
Insert
the top tower into the receptacle on top of the main arm section. Attach the cable link to the rear cable pickup
point. Attach the short top
cable to the forward turnbuckle tab on the fourth arm section using a cable link. Run
the long top cable over the top of the tower and connect it to the
turnbuckle tab at the front of the arm using a carabiner. Do not tighten the
cables yet.
Insert
one long side tower into each side of the main arm section. Slide the rear cable heads into the cable receptacle
on the tail section. Attach
the two short side cables to the cable receptacles on the third arm section and the long side cables to the receptacles on the
nosepiece.
Tighten
the side cables evenly starting with the short pair. You can use a wrench to assist in the final tightening, but do not
pull them very much tighter than you could with your hands. Each time you tighten a pair of cables check
to ensure the arm is staying straight by looking down the top length of the arm. Straighten
as necessary while trying to keep cable pairs at equal tension.
Tighten
the top cables until the arm looks straight vertically. You can loosen the turnbuckles on the last
two arm sections if necessary to remove uplift. The short top cable must be adjusted to prevent the center sections
of the arm from drooping.
Add
weight as necessary*** to balance the arm, and once you have checked
that all fittings have remained tight (especially the main one-inch
bolt and including the dolly post turnbuckles) raise the arm and check
for stability by booming in all directions. If side wobble is detected, tighten the side cables. You should be able to tell which pair needs tightening by watching
where the wobble is coming from. If a vertical bounce occurs, tighten top cables. If this is not possible without lifting the nose beyond level,
try slightly loosening applicable turnbuckles. When optimal stability has been achieved, move on to the next
step.
*** Do not exceed
550 pounds on the rear weight bars
Remote head, wiring and electronics
Make sure the
pan and tilt motors on the remote head are disengaged. Attach the remote head to the head bracket
using the four knobs supplied. Mount
the electronics unit to the tail section with the single pivot knob. Place the 9” viewfinder monitor on top of the
electronics, securing it with the two nylon straps. Pass the rear strap (rear of monitor) through
the monitor’s handle for safety. Optionally, install a monitor shade under the front strap. Tighten both very securely. Balance and leveling of the electronics / monitor
is achieved by sliding the monitor fore and aft.
Run
the main control cable along the arm starting at the remote head. Leave 12” of extra cable between the tip of
the arm and the connector on the remote head to allow for head leveling
during up and down booms. Secure
the control cable along the arm using the elastic straps provided. Extra cables may be run along with the control
cable if needed, but make sure there is no possibility of them sagging
below the arm as they may become snagged on something. Use gaffer’s tape if necessary. Coil the extra cable at the rear of the arm
and attach it to the yoke above the lateral pivot point. Continue
along the arm to the electronics module leaving a loop at the pivot
area.
Slide
the joystick assembly onto the right side of the top weight bar, and
the focus / zoom module on the left. Thread the grip handle into the left side of the top weight
bar. Optionally, mount the handy knob into the empty one-inch hole in
the joystick-mounting block. Also
optionally, attach the 4” LCD program monitor to the side of the electronics
using the pivoting mount. Connect
the power supply cable from “DC Out” on the electronics to “DC In”
on the 4” monitor. Connect
the desired video feed to either channel on the program monitor and
select using the channel selector switch above the power button. Further options include the rear-mounted clipboard and script
light.
Connect
the AC power cables to the electronics and 9” monitor. Do not
plug the jib into a power source yet! Connect the two 12” coax cables from “Video 1” to “Video A
IN” and from “Tally” to Tally” on the electronics and monitor, respectively.
Mounting the camera
The remote head
motors should still be disengaged.
Locate
the focus plate, 7” rod and the bag of securing knobs. Place the focus plate on the remote head’s
camera tray, and the camera’s quick-release plate on top of the focus
plate. Insert a securing knob
through the under-side of the camera tray passing through the focus
plate and thread it into the quick-release plate. Tighten securely making sure the knob threads do
not bottom out against the quick-release plate. You should not be able to twist the plates on the camera tray. Clip the camera into its plate while holding the camera to
prevent it from flipping upside-down. Adjust the fore / aft balance of the camera
by loosening the securing knob and sliding the camera and focus plates
together forward or back. Don’t
worry about precision yet.
Adjust
the fore / aft level of the head by placing a level on a vertical
surface on the head. Do not
use the head bracket to determine level. Next, check the dutch angle by placing the level underneath
the back of the focus plate and pressed against the edge of the camera
platform. Adjust this angle using the two screws located on the side of the
camera platform. Ensure both
screws are under equal weight.
Loosen
the vertical adjust locking knob located on the front of the sliding
rods. Adjust the vertical balance of the camera by
raising or lowering the camera platform using the adjustment knob
located above the sliding rods. Make
the adjustment so that the camera does not tend to flip upside-down. As cables and accessories are added, you will find it necessary
to make adjustments to the balance of the camera.
Plug
the head cable into the receptacle on the front of the head. Set the lens switch to the type of lens you
are using (Canon / Fujinon). Attach
the lens control connector to the underside of the lens. The Hirose (snap-on) connector is for Fujinon lenses and the Tajimi
(screw-on) connector is for Canon lenses. Run a 36” coax cable from “Video Out” on the camera to “Video 1”
on the head. Make sure as
with all cables that they are in no
danger of hooking something as the jib passes overhead. Also ensure that all cables have enough slack to allow the
camera to pan and tilt fully with out pulling or catching. If program is coming from the camera, plug it into “Video 2”
on the head and then connect the program monitor to the “Video 2”
connector on the electronics.
Insert
the 7” rod into the front of the focus plate and secure it. Locate the focus servo and focus gears. Install the proper gear for your lens. Slide the focus servo onto the 7” rod and locate
it near the focus barrel of the lens. Do not engage the
gear yet. This is done after
the jib receives power. The
direction which the servo is installed will determine the direction
the operator will turn the focus adjuster to reach the respective
ends of the focus. The servo can be turned around at any later
time with a minimal effect on balance. Plug the focus servo into the head cable connector marked “F”.
Optionally,
install the secondary servo on the lens using the mount provided to
control iris. Make sure the
correct gear is on the servo. Plug
the iris servo into the head cable connector marked “I”.
If
the camera uses a Triax type cable and it is acceptable to use a coax
adapter, simply run a coax line from “Triax” on the head to the back
of the camera and utilize a Triax to coax adapter. One is supplied with the jib. Next, run a coax cable from “Triax” on the electronics to a
point where it is safe to install the other half of the Triax to coax
adapter. One good place is
in the coil with the control cable.
Continue
to balance the head until it is able to stay in whatever position
you set it without drifting. It
is helpful to start with the fore / aft balance and then the top /
bottom balance. Once the fore / aft is set, check the top /
bottom by tilting the camera either up or down and letting go. If the camera falls back toward level, it is
to bottom heavy. Raise the
camera platform. If the camera
tends to flip upside-down, it is too top heavy. Lower the camera platform. Each adjustment you make in one plane has an effect on the
other. Continue to check and adjust, alternating between the two, until
optimum balance is achieved. While
balancing, remember to check that the camera is straight on the camera
platform. An easy way to do
this is to tilt the camera straight up and use the vertical side of
the head as a guide. Double-check
that the securing knob is tight and attach the nylon safety strap. Make sure it runs through the handle on the camera and between the
sliding rods on the head.
It
is now safe to lightly engage the pan and tilt motors, and add as
much weight as is necessary to balance the arm.
Power-up and final check
It is advisable
to read ahead in this section before continuing.
Make
sure all switches are in the “OFF” position. Turn the three speed adjustment knobs on the electronics to
their slowest settings (counter-clockwise).
Plug
the jib into a 110-volt AC outlet. Turn on the monitors, and cautiously flip on the “Power” and
then the “System” switches on the electronics. Keep an eye on the head. It
may start spinning or tilting on its own. If this happens, adjust
the centering knobs on the electronics to counter the action. Next, turn up the speed adjustment knobs to the desired settings,
still watching the head. Speed
setting changes sometimes affect centering.
With
the assistance of a second person, turn the focus adjuster completely
one direction while the second person watches the focus gear. Turn the lens the appropriate direction to
match the direction the gear moved. Mate the gear to the wheel securely but without excessive pressure. Tighten the servo mount to the 7” rod. Test the focus gear in both directions several
times. Enable the zoom using
the push button on the joystick. The “Zoom enable” light should illuminate on the front of the
electronics unit. Test the
zoom using either the left-hand module or by twisting the joystick. The selector switch between the two is located on the joystick. The speed can be adjusted either on the electronics
panel or with the adjuster installed on some lenses. On Beta tape cameras, run / stop is controlled
with the bat switch on the joystick. One direction is fixed and the other is momentary. Which one you use will depend on the camera.
Before
operating the jib, always double-check every fastener on the jib,
dolly and camera. Check to
make sure nothing was left sitting on or hanging from the jib (tape,
tools, etc.). Also, check the level of the jib again as it
may have settled under the weight. If the jib is moving between locations, always check the level
of all parts and tighten all fittings before operating. During rolling moves, the remote head motors should be disengaged
and someone should hold the camera steady.
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