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Aaton XTR Prod - Batteries


Ivan A Chertov

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I'll be using an Aaton XTR Prod for a feature this summer. The camera has 3 batteries, of which only one is in usable condition. All manage to run the camera ok but if i start using the video assist they all drain quite quick. The user manual says all power sources that are 12V are ok. I would like to replace those ones and output a d-tap somewhere so i could power additional accessories. Any ideas on a solution? 

I could contact a service center and ask them about the power requirements of the camera but i don't know who deals with these cameras recently. Is it ok to use some V-Lock batteries somehow?

thanks

I

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I use a v mount plate with a d tap to 12v limiter to XLR plug. a 12v limiter is necessary, since modern V mounts actually run at like 16.8v when fully charged, which can make the camera go pop. I got my adapter from indiprotools.com

you can get batteries recelled or get new batteries from Ablecine in LA btw

 

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I run the NP1 solution, which is super easy to deal with. They make dozens of varying NP1 to 4 pin XLR that you can very easily connect to anywhere on your camera. They also made adaptors which were for the Aaton which work great on ALL the cameras BUT the Xtera. I use the batteries as stock 15.6v and they work fine. The power regulators in the camera which convert everything to 5v are good for upwards of 30v before they fail. Sadly nobody appears to make 12v battery solutions anymore, they're all around 14 - 16v. 

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it is easy to find 12v nimh batteries made for other purposes. for example 12v rc car batteries are easy to find. attaching a 4pin xlr to that would be a 5 min job and it is also possible to create a adapter cable so that you would have for example a tamiya to xlr adapter cable and couple of unmodified tamiya batteries you can use with it. the lower quality batteries self discharge relatively quickly and are not very pretty but otherwise should work fine. 

a v-lock plate with a voltage regulator should also work

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I've ran an XTR+ off of regular anton bauer dionics with no issue.

If you are concerned with over voltage and cannot build or buy a 12v regulator, you can elect to not charge the batteries fully and check their output with a multimeter before use. 

As stated before most Lithium Ion batteries will be in the 15-16v range when fully charged, a battery at 75% will be in the 14.X range 

A higher voltage shouldn't have an effect on the running frame rate of the camera, the only risk it would pose would be to the components on the boards and video tap. 

Edited by Evan Walsh
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3 hours ago, Ivan A Chertov said:

Thanks to all of you ?

I wonder about the V-Mount /15 - 16v/ batteries, would there be a problem with keeping the frame rate consistent if it has more than 13-14V?

Anyone had some experience? 

Again, my batteries are around 15v and the camera works fine. The voltage regulators are designed to reduce the voltage regulators inside the camera, are designed to reduce the voltage down to 5v which is what the camera runs on. These are not "analog" cameras, they're computer controlled motors, so voltage is regulated. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
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Sorry late to this...

I made a battery adapter to use Ryobi 18V Li batteries on my XTRProd.

I used a Aaton battery and fabricated up a Ryobi flashlight which mated to the Aaton battery.

I put a DC to DC regulator in to clamp the 18V battery down to 16V to feed the camera.

I also put a 12V regulator on it and a D-Tap for accessories like a monitor or Micro-Force.

I am building one for someone now based on a smaller Milwauke 12V battery.

 

 

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  • 5 months later...
On 6/21/2019 at 8:19 PM, Tyler Purcell said:

 Sadly nobody appears to make 12v battery solutions anymore, they're all around 14 - 16v. 

This is a true 12V battery, (operates between 11.1 and 12.6 VDC) this is what I use for my Aaton.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1048193-REG/bescor_fp_12vatm_12v_lithium_ion_battery.html

I didn't know about 12V DTap / Xlr Voltage regulators , would love to get one so I can use my Vmount batteries as well if needed.  If anyone has links to a good one would be great. I found this but it's a little pricy: https://proflixsales.com/12ptif.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&adpos=1o2&scid=scplp12PTIF&sc_intid=12PTIF&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6qPc1MK_5gIVYhh9Ch1p_QUKEAQYAiABEgJrivD_BwE

 

 

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I bought the Lanparte voltage regulator 12V and changed the barrel connector to an XLR. Unfortunately the Lanparte is limited to 1AMP max. Over that it shuts down. The XTR Prod should draw around 0.5 to 0.6 AMPs when running but i couldn't even start the camera, as the peak current when the motor is spinning up is over 1 AMP.

Will try out your Indipro one, thanks for the link.

Like Tyler, I also ran my XTR Prod directly from a Vlock battery over D tap. But for other accessories, I'd like to limit the voltage to 12V.

Edited by David Sekanina
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I don't know why everyone is so scared about over-volting the camera. All cameras have pretty robust regulators on board and they shed the excess voltage by producing heat. I've done many tests with my cameras and they don't really heat up very much at all with the 14.4v solution I've been using. The regulators will go bad over time no matter what anyway, so everyone should be ready to replace them on XTR's and 35III's simply due to the age. You will know they're going bad when the LCD display immediately shuts off when you unplug the battery. It SHOULD say "batt low" first. If it just shuts off, that means your voltage regulators are shot. It won't affect your camera right away, but eventually you'll get glitches in operation like the display not turning on when you power it up. 

I've not had a single problem in the last 2 years of using the 14.4 NP1 solution, it's only 2v over power and there are lots of adaptors to 4 pin available.  

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