ALCS cp16r 45-speed crystal electronics

[Aapo Lettinen]

I am working now on the final CP16R control system I am going to make before selling the camera. This is a "price-performance optimized" system with most important features like shutter parking, easy to add external start switches, dual power supply capability. There is no internal electronic footage counter because that is not needed by most users and thus allowed saving on costs (the cameras have mechanical footage counter which is more practical when keeping track on exposed film amount). The new electronics have 1 pulse per frame output for adding separate footage counters, internal and external, if needed.

The circuit board and new back panel are user installable. The original motor drive is needed but everything else including the tachometer sensor are replaced by the new electronics. New back panel has a 2-digit led display to select the crystal speed from 5fps to 50fps , and one 6-pin connector for supplying external power to the camera and to add external start-stop switches and footage counter systems.

I will only make one batch of these because I will sell the camera after this project is done and I need the camera body to QC some of the parts of the kit. So please note that I can assemble as many as needed if they are preordered now but it may be difficult or impossible to get them later on if missing out.

Price is 750usd including shipping for one installation kit. Good discounts if ordering more than one kit. Ordering preferably done now in April2025, because of the tariffs etc. I may need to raise the price in May. The finished kits will ship in June. Partial payment plans available as long as the first part is paid in April.

DM here on the forum or on Instagram (aaplet14)

 

Edited April 8 by Aapo Lettinen

[Aapo Lettinen]

New back panel will look approximately like this. It has one button to select speed and has a start-stop button. Typically the user would install a main start-stop button somewhere on the front of the camera like seen in the previous post where the start-stop and inching buttons are installed on the small detachable panel under the lens mount.

The single 6-pin connector on the back panel is used for external power and accessories. The original onboard batteries are easy to route to the main circuit board so that the camera has dual power capability, it takes power from the highest voltage source and allows hot swapping battery etc.

 

[Aapo Lettinen]

Removed the old 1-speed crystal sync system from my own camera today and installed a cardboard print of the new 45-speed panel in place of it. The dimensions of the panel seem to be correct and will send them to manufacturing soon.

The 45-speed back panels will be black with silver coloured markings like the 3d rendering in previous post.

 

[Aapo Lettinen]

Made a video of the old 1-speed crystal sync system with comparison to the new 45-speed features. Pretty good basic view of the CP16R camera body too 🙂

https://youtu.be/BtI-rcAqRh4

[Aapo Lettinen]

btw, I was bored and drafted additional stuff for the 45-speed system so that it is possible to order it with TCXO if needed (temperature compensated crystal oscillator) for extremely accurate timebase. It needs a small additional circuit board installed and if installed afterwards, desoldering couple of components. and of course costs a little extra.

it is possible to do the module installation afterwards by the end user if needed but I highly recommend ordering the installation kit with this update already installed if wanting it for the camera.

The regular crystal which the 45-speed system has as standard is perfectly fine if you are shooting shorter than about 4 minute or 5 minute takes. Almost all people using CP16R or Eclair cameras shoot short takes less than 2 minutes long and you won't notice any difference between regular crystal and tcxo in that kind of use.  But it you are going to shoot a 10 minute single sync sound take, basically an entire 400ft roll as single take which is very expensive, then it may be useful to have the tcxo module installed in the camera.

Let me know if wanting to order the 45-speed kit with the tcxo module, I will calculate how much extra the tcxo would cost but likely less than 150usd extra

[Aapo Lettinen]

Got the control panels from factory. Much nicer to work on the software now!

As mentioned in previous post, it is possible to order this system with tcxo oscillator if needed, for those super long one-take scenes lasting over 5 minutes. Price with the tcxo is something between 850usd and 900usd per installation kit depending on how many orders there is.  Good discounts if purchasing more than one kit.

 

[Aapo Lettinen]

Making a new batch of tachometer boards (encoder sensor boards) for the CP16R crystal kits. I attach the surface mount parts with reflow soldering process and then will manually solder the tht parts afterwards and correct possible reflow soldering errors.

I apply the clay-like solder paste to the board first, then apply the smd components. when complete, the whole circuit board is baked to melt the solder paste to solid metal joints. I could manually solder the smd parts but the reflow process is much faster even if made on small scale 3 boards at a time.

 

[Aapo Lettinen]

[Aapo Lettinen]

On 4/23/2025 at 12:28 AM, Aapo Lettinen said:

btw, I was bored and drafted additional stuff for the 45-speed system so that it is possible to order it with TCXO if needed (temperature compensated crystal oscillator) for extremely accurate timebase. It needs a small additional circuit board installed and if installed afterwards, desoldering couple of components. and of course costs a little extra.

it is possible to do the module installation afterwards by the end user if needed but I highly recommend ordering the installation kit with this update already installed if wanting it for the camera.

The regular crystal which the 45-speed system has as standard is perfectly fine if you are shooting shorter than about 4 minute or 5 minute takes. Almost all people using CP16R or Eclair cameras shoot short takes less than 2 minutes long and you won't notice any difference between regular crystal and tcxo in that kind of use.  But it you are going to shoot a 10 minute single sync sound take, basically an entire 400ft roll as single take which is very expensive, then it may be useful to have the tcxo module installed in the camera.

Let me know if wanting to order the 45-speed kit with the tcxo module, I will calculate how much extra the tcxo would cost but likely less than 150usd extra

I will probably make all the extra installation kits with the tcxo module. So if wanting to purchase the installation kits later on it is probable that the "shoestring version" would not be available and I would only have the more expensive tcxo version in stock.

If you want this 45-kit with the cheaper regular crystal, I highly recommend preordering it.... I will need to make a large-ish batch of the tcxo modules to ensure very good build quality and thus I will just throw the extra ones to all the available installation kits automatically unless someone specifically orders the "shoestring normal-crystal" version 🙂 not going to take the modules out and replacing with regular crystal because that can harm the boards. other way around is possible to do more easily so it is possible to preorder with regular crystal and decide later that you want the tcxo after all and install it afterwards by yourself.

The preorder price for the kit with tcxo module is 850usd. And if specifically wanting the kit with the regular crystal instead then the price is 750usd like before.

I will make extra installation kits for later sale, likely they will cost from 900usd to 950usd a piece with the tcxo module. Might have or might not have normal crystal versions available later, likely not because I will need to make a batch of 25 or 30 of those tcxo modules minimum and will thus have lots of extra ones which I will just attach to the boards unless specifically instructed otherwise 😄 

[Aapo Lettinen]

Designing the IO-module for the 45-speed system. I was able to make this small enough that it can be shared with my NPR camera motors to make these in larger batches to reduce costs and improve quality.

The CP16R main circuit board is relatively large and I am intentionally using larger sized components on the main board for mechanical strength. Using tiny parts is reliable if having them on separate circuit board like this, I am using from 3x to 4x smaller components on this module than on the main circuit board so that I can stack more features in the same board area.

This IO module contains optocouplers and other parts isolating the 6-pin accessory connector from the sensitive microcontrollers on the main circuit board. If there is large electrostatic discarge, misconnection etc. on the 6-pin connector they will likely just destory components on this IO module and one can swap the module to new one instead of desoldering and swapping similar-functioning components on the main board.

board dimensions about 48mm x 28mm and the smallest components are 1.6mm in length. I am assembling these by reflow soldering and only manually soldering the connectors in place.

[Aapo Lettinen]

Working on the main circuit board design for the 45-speed system. This is a draft which will change, I have not tested the exact component placement with the camera mechanics yet and need to make sure nothing is too close to the belts etc.

 (There is more components on the backside of the board and this is a 4-layer circuit board with quite a lot of connections on the internal layers so not possible to copy anything from the images, thus can post some work-in-progress screenshots 😄  )

Like mentioned before, the "normal" version of this control system will only be available as a preordered item. I will try to make couple of extra kits for later sale which are all with the tcxo module.  Preorder prices:  750usd with shipping with normal crystal. 850usd with shipping with the tcxo module.  Later sales: only tcxo module version available, price either 900 or 950usd with shipping depending on the world politics. Hopefully something like 5 kits will be available later and I may not make more of these after that so if anyone here needs the 45-speed update for cp16 camera, please preorder rather that waiting for too long.

 

 

[Aapo Lettinen]

Got the circuit boards back for the first version of the IO board. this board protects the inputs/outputs of the 6-pin accessory connector from ESD and misconnections so that the main board electronics won't get damaged if there is static electricity etc on the external connector. the same board will be used on my NPR camera motors so that I have more resources to develop and test this module 🙂

will assemble a test board next week and then test with high voltage sources etc to see how well it works.

4-layer circuit board, will assemble a batch of 20 or 30 when having done all the tests and determined if this is the final version or if changes are needed.

[Aapo Lettinen]

I sent the main circuit board to manufacturing now. When getting the board bases back will assemble the first prototype and start testing. This first board may not fully work with the camera yet as there is some board edge and component clearance stuff because of the belts etc. which I can only verify by testing with the actual circuit board.

If it happens to work perfectly with this first board version I already ordered enough to make the sales boards quickly. If changes are needed, then will order another updated batch. Will see when getting the first boards back and have installed components on them and done some basic testing with the camera body.

[Aapo Lettinen]

btw, I do have footage counter options for the cp16r type cameras if someone would need them. it did not make sense to integrate a counter with warnings to the main circuit board as people like to use the mechanical counter on the camera and leaving counters out allowed making the main board more sturdy and affordable. 

I for example have some experimental footage counter designs which are really small, basic and consume very little power, thus should be possible to even integrate them to the film magazines or at least to be attached to the mag with velcro. This would allow having a separate counter on each magazine showing the amount left in that particular magazine. Would need a cable to connect the counter to the camera body but otherwise could be handy in some user scenarios.

[Aapo Lettinen]

On 6/4/2025 at 10:04 AM, Aapo Lettinen said:

btw, I do have footage counter options for the cp16r type cameras if someone would need them. it did not make sense to integrate a counter with warnings to the main circuit board as people like to use the mechanical counter on the camera and leaving counters out allowed making the main board more sturdy and affordable. 

I for example have some experimental footage counter designs which are really small, basic and consume very little power, thus should be possible to even integrate them to the film magazines or at least to be attached to the mag with velcro. This would allow having a separate counter on each magazine showing the amount left in that particular magazine. Would need a cable to connect the counter to the camera body but otherwise could be handy in some user scenarios.

I have plans for the footage counter system already. there is that one extra cover panel on the camera over the point where the front handle attaches. I would make a replacement aluminium panel which mounts in place of that cover and which has a 6-pin connector, likely Hirose type and slightly different pinout than on the back panel gx16 accessory connector.

A small matchbox-sized or little larger footage counter device is connected to the Hirose connector with a short cable and it takes the frame pulses for counting and its operating voltage from the connector. The counter device is small and lightweight so it can even be attached to the magazines with velcro if needed. One could have separate counter device for every magazine to keep track on how much film there is left. The most affordable counter device has couple of led lights indicating different amounts of film left. I could make slightly larger sized counters with proper display, for example lcd or 7-segment etc, but they would be more expensive.

I would estimate less than 200 usd for the very simple led light indicators counter device + panel + cable. A more advanced counter with proper display could be something like 300usd or tiny bit more.

externally attached counter allows both setting the film amount more freely and it is is easier to read than a built-into-camera counter would be.

[Aapo Lettinen]

On 5/28/2025 at 10:31 AM, Aapo Lettinen said:

Like mentioned before, the "normal" version of this control system will only be available as a preordered item. I will try to make couple of extra kits for later sale which are all with the tcxo module.  Preorder prices:  750usd with shipping with normal crystal. 850usd with shipping with the tcxo module.  Later sales: only tcxo module version available, price either 900 or 950usd with shipping depending on the world politics. Hopefully something like 5 kits will be available later and I may not make more of these after that so if anyone here needs the 45-speed update for cp16 camera, please preorder rather that waiting for too long.

Preordering for normal basic crystal version will close in June 20th. After that, only tcxo version is available for ordering.

like mentioned, please let me know beforehand if wanting to order this 45-speed CP16R update kit even if you don't have possibility to purchase it just yet.

I need to make all the possible extra boards in June2025 because they need to be made in batches of 5 or more. I can easily add extra ones to the June batch but it may not be possible to make single boards one by one later on and I don't know if I have possibility to make any of these in 2026 anymore.

the couple of extra ones I will make will quickly run out of stock, thus want to know if someone would for example purchase these kits in September2025 so that I can prepare by making one additional kit or too in June

[Aapo Lettinen]

Testing circuit board fitting! seems to work fine, just making a very small cutout to the motor holder so that it surely clears the IO module. will assemble a prototype board next and start software testing

[Aapo Lettinen]

Small cover panel which is mounted in place of the cover next to the battery release button on the front of the camera. The 6-pin connector will be of Hirose type and is meant for connecting external footage counters, start stop switches etc.

will send to manufacturing next week after collecting some other stuff to the same shipment.

 

[Aapo Lettinen]

On 6/6/2025 at 2:20 PM, Aapo Lettinen said:

Preordering for normal basic crystal version will close in June 20th. After that, only tcxo version is available for ordering.

like mentioned, please let me know beforehand if wanting to order this 45-speed CP16R update kit even if you don't have possibility to purchase it just yet.

I need to make all the possible extra boards in June2025 because they need to be made in batches of 5 or more. I can easily add extra ones to the June batch but it may not be possible to make single boards one by one later on and I don't know if I have possibility to make any of these in 2026 anymore.

the couple of extra ones I will make will quickly run out of stock, thus want to know if someone would for example purchase these kits in September2025 so that I can prepare by making one additional kit or too in June

I determined that I would have possibility to sell some incomplete installation kits for cheaper if someone would like to purchase them.

Incomplete means that there would be all the circuit boards and aluminium panels included as well as the IO connectors, but there would NOT be internal wiring included  so you would need to make your own wiring to connect the circuit boards together and to the switches and panel connectors, display and battery etc.

making the cable bundles for the camera internal wiring is pretty time consuming and stressful for me, lots of manual work needed. so would gladly sell some kits without wiring if someone would like to buy them. It depends on the amount of orders how much the kits would cost a piece without wiring but I would assume savings of at least 150usd and at most 200usd per kit.

Let me know before June 20th if wanting to purchase these kits without wiring.

[Aapo Lettinen]

If needing a footage counter for the 45-speed system, you can check my Tiny Footage Counter v1.0 for very simple affordable counter, and it is possible to make other types of counters too like with 7-digit led displays or oled displays

https://cinematography.com/index.php?/forums/topic/103526-acls-tiny-footage-counter-for-cp16r-and-other-cameras/

[Kevin Marck]

Hi 

I would like to pre-order one for my cp16r with the tcxo module for longer sync takes  please contact 

filmxferguy@gmail.com 

 

[Aapo Lettinen]

42 minutes ago, Kevin Marck said:

Hi 

I would like to pre-order one for my cp16r with the tcxo module for longer sync takes  please contact 

filmxferguy@gmail.com 

 

Sent email now from underline***...gmail address

[Aapo Lettinen]

Working on the CP16R software now. The 45-speed system will have PHASE CORRECTION function too, tested it today and works fine! so lots of value for the money I think

 

Current feature list:

• 45 crystal speeds from 5fps to 50fps. will test if 3fps and 4fps work, if they do then they are included too

• very accurate tcxo crystal oscillator for extremely good sync accuracy even if shooting the full 400ft roll at once

• automatic shutter parking after shooting a take

• electronic inching with adjustable inching speed. makes it possible to check the gate by inching the mirror open after shutter parking

• possibility to feed external power to the camera and use the onboard battery at the same time (two power inputs on the circuit board

• only original electric motor drive needed, other stuff is replaced by newly made boards including the tachometer board, main circuit board, back panel and connectors as well as switches

• start-stop button and inching button

• when running, the inching button works as PHASE button

• bloop marker output to use with visual and audible bloop marker devices

• 1 pulse per frame output for external footage counters

• connector on the main board for sync warning led light

• back panel 6-pin connector (gx16 type) has start-stop, frame pulse out, bloop marker out and power in

• front panel 6-pin connector (hirose 10A type7 fm) has start-stop, inching, frame pulse out, blooper out and 4.6v 80mA power for external counters, switches etc.

• the 45-speed kit has the belt drive gear type (24fps black gear/25fps red gear) changeable from the display menu so it is compatible with both type of camera mechanics out of the box

• external footage counters available separately if needed, prices approx. 160usd to 350usd depending on features

• the 45-speed kit is user installable. Includes the circuit boards, new back panel and the small front panel with 6-pin Hirose, necessary switches, wire bundles and connectors. Possible to get without the wire bundles for cheaper (from 150usd to 200usd cheaper) . One gets good discount if purchasing more than one kit at once.

 

the first batch of 6 is already sold out but one can order a installation kit from the next batch which will ship in August-September. If ordered before 1st July it is possible to get the kit from the second batch for 850usd including shipping. Later orders are 900usd including shipping.

 

Only tcxo version available, there was no demand for the normal crystal version so will make all the circuit boards with tcxo

 

dm on Instagram (aaplet14) or here . Facebook messages don't work

[Aapo Lettinen]

Prototype board for CP16R has slightly different connectors than the final ones will have to ease testing and the ICs are socketed whereas on final boards the ICs are directly soldered in place to make the board more reliable. functionality is the same so will finish the software with this easier-to-test board and then assemble the final ones when the software is final.

[Aapo Lettinen]

Had to make a small change to the main board to enhance shutter sensor mechanical fitting and move a mounting hole a tiny bit. Waiting for new boards to arrive and working on the software in the meantime. 

Estimated shipping date is between 12th and 15th July for the preordered kits. I will make couple of extra ones half assembled and can finish them in late August/early September.

If wanting to order those next batch ones one can get them for 850usd a piece including shipping if ordered now. Later on they cost from 900 to 950 with shipping. Looks like availability will be limited all the time so necessary to preorder if wanting a installation kit from future batches