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Fisher 10 Cue Dials


Andrew Riggs

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Hey Guys,

I've been working with the Fisher 10 for today and yesterday and I was wondering what the Cue up and down dials are and how they function. They are located just to the left of the boom control knob. Also, we had 400 pounds on the boom arm and it was having a hard time booming up; most of the time it wouldn't budge. Any one have any suggestions?

 

Thanks alot and love reading everyone's posts,

Riggs

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Hey Guys,

I've been working with the Fisher 10 for today and yesterday and I was wondering what the Cue up and down dials are and how they function. They are located just to the left of the boom control knob. Also, we had 400 pounds on the boom arm and it was having a hard time booming up; most of the time it wouldn't budge. Any one have any suggestions?

 

Thanks alot and love reading everyone's posts,

Riggs

 

Hey there. I think the 10 is meant to do 500 pounds so I'd say something aint right. i *think* the cues are for setting the feather at the top and bottom. Not really to do with payload.

 

Im not a dolly grip !!! Just rumours and overheard...

 

jb

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but I do know the arm has a 500lbs limit.

Yep, right there on the Fisher website. ;)

 

 

Your Boom Issue-

I'm not on your set, so I can't say for sure. Like Jake said, make sure your tank is full (obviously). However, if you have not made a first-time-on-a-set mistake, from what you describe, it is most likely low nitrogen. This is a compressor problem, and cannot be fixed by you on set. It must be fixed at the rental house or at a Fisher service center.

 

To check the nitrogen level-

1- empty out the tank so that your dial reads zero (boom up and down until you have nothing left, apply weight on the boom if necessary).

2- when it's on zero, plug in the dolly and turn ON the compressor for THREE SECONDS (count to 3 out loud).

3- check your dial. For a Fisher 10 it should read 1000psi. Anything less and you have low nitrogen, and it should be serviced. Keep in mind that it is pretty exact, so look at your dial carefully.

 

The Cue Dials-

These dials, which are usually "locked" together (not really though) with wire or something similar when they come from the rental house, are NOT for feathering the boom. (feathering the camera is a skill that a good dolly grip has). Underneath these knobs are springs, which allow the hydraulics to be sent to the boom control knob. They are used to adjust the sensitivity of the boom control knob (meaning, at the start of the turn and end of the turn). Most of the time when playing with these cue dials, people just screw this up, and then they cannot boom any more. These are NOT to be touched on set if you don't know what you are doing (hence them being wired together). Doing so will screw up your boom control, and you will no longer be able to boom. Then you'll be stuck on set, and having the rental house talk you out of this over the phone is difficult, because they can't see or feel the cue knobs or pressure on the boom control knob. If you need the boom control knob adjusted and don't know how to work the cue controls, do it at the rental house during your dolly checkout so that one of the techs can assist you if you mess it up.

 

 

-DW

Edited by Daniel Wallens
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Daniel,

Thanks for the awesome response. As far as the issue with booming up with the weight, I made sure it was fully charged with the dial to 2000 PSI every time I tried yesterday. Sometimes it would move the arm very slowly (nowhere near full speed when the boom knob was fully turned) or it wouldn't move at all. Today, I still made sure it was fully charged and we had a little more weight on it (switched to a remote head setup from the 7+7). With more weight on it, it worked flawlessly with several lifts per charge. I'm not sure at all what was going on, but I definitely think checking the nitrogen levels is the best place to start. I'll be checking the nitrogen level on set tommorow as it is my school's dolly and it has not been in to be serviced for at least the last three years.

 

Just for clarification on the cue dials, I think what you are saying is that they control the point at which the boom knob starts actuating the boom. Not the actual speed or ramp of the boom, just the point at which it becomes engaged; almost like a tight steering system on a car starts to steer as soon as you barely move the wheel, where as on a truck you can move it a quarter of a turn in either direction and you would not start turning right or left.

 

Thanks so much for the heads up about the cue dials; glad I didn't experiment too much on set today but I don't like how much the knob has to be turned before the boom starts to respond as it is.

 

Regardless, after two 13+ hour days 100% on the Fisher, we have some amazing shots as of yet.

 

Thanks again,

Riggs

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it is my school's dolly and it has not been in to be serviced for at least the last three years.

 

Allow me to muster up my gruffest big hillbilly mechanic voice.....ahem..."well there's yer problem!"

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Riggs,

 

What school is this from? What's the Serial Number on the dolly? If the school doesn't have a trained service tech, they NEED to contact Fisher imediately and set up a training date. The dollies are robust and can take a pounding for years, but sooner or later they need some work. The Tens especially are prone to lose Nitrogen, which as Daniel described is most likely the problem. Daniel, thanks for a succinct description of what the Cueing does, too. I'll be at Fisher in LA the next two weeks, and at the NAB after that.

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Daniel,

Thanks for the awesome response.

No problem :)

 

As far as the issue with booming up with the weight, I made sure it was fully charged with the dial to 2000 PSI every time I tried yesterday.

If the unit has low nitrogen, this won't make a difference. When you "charge" it, all you are doing is compressing air into a cylinder.

 

Sometimes it would move the arm very slowly (nowhere near full speed when the boom knob was fully turned) or it wouldn't move at all. Today, I still made sure it was fully charged and we had a little more weight on it (switched to a remote head setup from the 7+7). With more weight on it, it worked flawlessly with several lifts per charge. I'm not sure at all what was going on,

Heh, certainly wouldn't be the first time a fisher acted one thing one day, and another thing the next.

 

as it is my school's dolly and it has not been in to be serviced for at least the last three years.

So yeah, this is a big deal. Like Wick said, Fishers are extremely durable, but just like anything else, they need to be looked after. Schools are breeding grounds for crappy equipment. There may in fact not be someone at your school who is certified/able to handle the issues you talked about (both the servicing and knowledge of customizing the cueing). If not, call a local rental house that has fishers on site, and most likely, they can help you. Otherwise, you can call Fisher directly in Burbank. Alan there is very nice, helpful and knowledgeable.

 

Just for clarification on the cue dials, I think what you are saying is that they control the point at which the boom knob starts actuating the boom. Not the actual speed or ramp of the boom, just the point at which it becomes engaged; almost like a tight steering system on a car starts to steer as soon as you barely move the wheel, where as on a truck you can move it a quarter of a turn in either direction and you would not start turning right or left.

Correct.

 

 

 

Good luck.

 

 

-DW

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These dials, which are usually "locked" together (not really though) with wire or something similar when they come from the rental house, are NOT for feathering the boom. (feathering the camera is a skill that a good dolly grip has).

 

 

Indeed.

 

Thanks for the very informative response Dan.

 

jb

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Warwick,

The school is an art and design college in Savannah. Officials in charge of the equipment say that each summer the 10 is returned to Fisher for servicing and back for the fall quarter but I find it improbable. I followed DW's advice on checking the nitrogen levels and I definitely know something can't be right with it. It took 90 seconds to reach 1000 PSI from 0. Definitely wonky.

 

DW,

I'll be giving Fisher a call a little later in the week and see if I can figure out the service history of our model. Unfortunately the closest rental facilities that supply Fisher dollies are 4 hours away in Atlanta or Charlotte so getting it serviced by my own pulling of strings maybe a little difficult.

 

But despite the low nitrogen level, it has been amazing using the Fisher 10 along with the 21 Jib. It has been awesome not having to fight our equipment. It just works and works great.

 

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions,

Riggs

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