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daniel514  
#1 Posted : Thursday, March 2, 2017 4:48:22 PM(UTC)
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Two cameras controlled with my custom pan tilt LANC controller (Capable to control 4 Sony X70)...
It's not programmed PTZ but for the price i get High video quality with some remote control.

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Two men show... It's the best combination, compare to have a cameraman doing only camera, it's a lot more usefull if anything go wrong i can fix it when director take over cameras control...
Director on vMix
Me on cameras/audio/streaming....
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Also tally lights on cameras... Another Arduino for this.
Tally lights project is what sparkle the builder inside me.... thanks vMix for that!
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stigaard on 3/2/2017(UTC)
DWAM  
#2 Posted : Thursday, March 2, 2017 5:44:33 PM(UTC)
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Hi Daniel

Seems nice! Can you tell us more about this custom controller for the Bescors? What type of cabling do you use?

TIA
Guillaume
IceStream  
#3 Posted : Thursday, March 2, 2017 8:32:16 PM(UTC)
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@ daniel514

Awesome stuff, thanks for sharing!


Ice
spino  
#4 Posted : Friday, March 3, 2017 5:19:59 AM(UTC)
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DWAM wrote:
Hi Daniel

Seems nice! Can you tell us more about this custom controller for the Bescors? What type of cabling do you use?

TIA
Guillaume


+1 Can you control the zoom too?
DWAM  
#5 Posted : Friday, March 3, 2017 5:28:06 AM(UTC)
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Hi Spino

I think he does because he mentionned LANC which is a standard for controlling Sony and Canon cameras.
However I don't see how he does it on his control board, I guess the joystick is used for pan and tilt, unless he can also rotate the joystick for zoom.

Also curious to know how he controls the speeds for pan and tilt and also for the zoom.
spino  
#6 Posted : Friday, March 3, 2017 7:38:04 AM(UTC)
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DWAM wrote:
Hi Spino

I think he does because he mentionned LANC which is a standard for controlling Sony and Canon cameras.
However I don't see how he does it on his control board, I guess the joystick is used for pan and tilt, unless he can also rotate the joystick for zoom.

Also curious to know how he controls the speeds for pan and tilt and also for the zoom.


Hi Dwam.

Thank you I didn't know LANC and I learn something new. About the pan and tilt control, there are some projects made with Arduino. You can search them on youtube.
DWAM  
#7 Posted : Friday, March 3, 2017 7:52:04 AM(UTC)
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Thanks Spino, I will check on Arduino solutions. Do you have a precise link for Arduino/Bescor project ?

I personally use this to control multiple Bescor heads with CAT6 and a Logitech gamepad
http://expedition-electr.../pantilt/pantiltlanc.htm

It gives full control of pan tilt and zoom + focus and also speed for moves and zoom. One button on the joystick changes the bescor to work with. I love it

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doggy  
#8 Posted : Friday, March 3, 2017 7:52:56 AM(UTC)
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Curious too

Know about LANC for Sony's etc but wondering about the pan/tilt

Myself I modded it so the speed would be according to what I need (panning faster range and variable ) using speed controller and joystick as standard there is not much variation possible ( be it good enough for many other purposes).
Has worked to my satisfaction for years now but had to sort of gut the standard control :-)

with a sony I used the lanc control , for a panasonic a hacked the wired remote
DWAM  
#9 Posted : Friday, March 3, 2017 7:56:40 AM(UTC)
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@Doggy

you modded what? A bescor head?
doggy  
#10 Posted : Friday, March 3, 2017 8:00:56 AM(UTC)
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yes, the Bescor head

DWAM  
#11 Posted : Friday, March 3, 2017 8:05:43 AM(UTC)
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Ok. Good job!

With the solution I use, speed for moves and zoom is independently controlled in 2 ways:
- the fader for initial values in the control software
- the joystick use which gives ability to go very slowly or progressively faster.
Very nice!
doggy  
#12 Posted : Friday, March 3, 2017 8:16:28 AM(UTC)
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Similar

Joystick for very slow to fast , can be tweaked depending on voltage used but not to much as the motors can not cope with to fast (their internal slider flip as they are to weak )
Needed pretty fast to pan a whole sports field
its about 10 years old now
ripped out the standard wiring , an directly connected to the motor dual speed controllers via cat cables ( practicality)
Distance is currently limited to the HDMI cables and height of the mast but NDI will cover this in future ;-)

Next will be RC remote controlled (not sure if it will be bescor again as their motors tend to be noisy at higher speeds , more likely servocity parts ( robotshop in france if they ever get them in stock )
Makes for even compacter pan/tilt setups and more options in control ( wired/wireless)

camera control i don't know yet , will depend on the cameras used
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Ario on 12/31/2017(UTC)
DWAM  
#13 Posted : Friday, March 3, 2017 8:21:33 AM(UTC)
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I stopped using servocity models because I find them very uneasy to use. It's very difficult to manipulate the head for smooth movements on air. I still have one MPT1100 that I use sometimes but I think Bescor is much better despite the lower price and the lack of native ETH connection.

Did you try servocity already?

BTW nice mod of Bescor you did. I wish I could do things like that too, but I don't know nothing about electronics so I prefer not to try! ;o)
doggy  
#14 Posted : Friday, March 3, 2017 8:38:59 AM(UTC)
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servocity might be confusing as i am not talking about their pan/tilt units but rather individual robotparts ( motors and gears and proper r/c motor controls . (more the robotics side of things )

Was quit impressed with a friend build (not happy with servocity heads also), rc controlled, quiet , few parts and very smooth using clamps to mount them quickly anywhere if not on top of a mast (image below is older concept, newer even less parts, used for sports )
(direct gear driven pan holding the 1rpm tilt motor )

try to use as little electronic and other parts as possible , sort of KISS
My joystick was ripped out of a rc controller lol , the controllers where kits (K166)

Like the bescor as a unit, good build, cheap , compact , motors just to weak for a perfect score




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DWAM  
#15 Posted : Friday, March 3, 2017 8:50:38 AM(UTC)
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Nice!

Did you evaluate the price for builds like this ? Like I said I'm not skilled enough to experiment on this but I would be interested if someone did

Apart from LANC missing, I really like the POE feature with Servicity.
doggy  
#16 Posted : Friday, March 3, 2017 8:56:50 AM(UTC)
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as mentioned newer version uses less parts, would have to ask permission to show a pic of it first
spino  
#17 Posted : Friday, March 3, 2017 9:36:37 AM(UTC)
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DWAM wrote:
Thanks Spino, I will check on Arduino solutions. Do you have a precise link for Arduino/Bescor project ?

I personally use this to control multiple Bescor heads with CAT6 and a Logitech gamepad
http://expedition-electr.../pantilt/pantiltlanc.htm

It gives full control of pan tilt and zoom + focus and also speed for moves and zoom. One button on the joystick changes the bescor to work with. I love it





In youtube put "arduino pan tilt" in search and you'll find a lot of solutions.
These are just some examples:














Have a good job :-)
I'm working at a new external controller for vmix and I haven't time to check the pan and tilt but maybe, as soon as I finish this project, to study that new project.
daniel514  
#18 Posted : Friday, March 3, 2017 9:57:55 AM(UTC)
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More details...

Just to be honest:
It's a great workflow to position "static" cameras! No way i can follow some walking presenter on stage!
But if the camera is on full 24x zoom and i need to adjust slightly the frame: WOW! no cameraman can do it so discretely !

A custom PCB over Arduino Mega
and 16-Channel PWM PCA9685 (4 PWM per BESCOR head)
4 Cat-5 connectors...

Cat-5 tested to work on 250 feet! i still can't believe it....

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A B C D select the camera/bescor
zoom IN/OUT low medium fast
N F for near far focus...
R for record...
OLED to indicate camera selection and PAN TILT speed ratio % adjusted by potentiometer on left.
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CAT-5 to BESCOR and SONY Multi for X-70
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thanks 1 user thanked daniel514 for this useful post.
DWAM on 3/3/2017(UTC)
DWAM  
#19 Posted : Friday, March 3, 2017 10:04:40 AM(UTC)
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Thanks Spino.

Yes I know about DIY projects for motorized heads with Arduino, I even tried myself with basic servo motors from a MEGA starter kit, but I thought you were talking about arduino projects specific for bescor heads which I never found yet.
DWAM  
#20 Posted : Friday, March 3, 2017 10:08:57 AM(UTC)
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Really nice Daniel!

Congrats, impressive work!

Did you also design the adaptor box for connecting the head and the cam?
How far can you use the cams with CAT5? Up to 100m? I never went further than 75...

Bien à toi
Guillaume

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