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Moviecam Compact


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Hey guys if anyone could help me with specifications for Moviecam Compact 35mm camera batterie, cause I bought package from Alan Gordon and batteries were not included. Now I have to either buy one that is perfect fit or build one but I need perfect specs cause guys that sold me camera package said it’s “reversed polarity” something and that I need to be careful not to burn motor. I know it’s 24V battery need but the rest of the specs no clue. 

Ive been trying desperately to get specs from Alan Gordon guys but no luck. They never called back and I need to test the camera now.

 

many thanks

 

Marco Montenegro 

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There are a few old threads on this:

https://cinematography.com/index.php?/topic/65058-dc-connector-retrofit-for-moviecam-sl/

https://cinematography.com/index.php?/topic/71389-batteries-for-moviecam-compact/

If the camera didn’t come with a dedicated power cable and you’re unsure of the wiring, the best thing would be to open the side cover and inspect the back of the power socket. Normally the wires are colour coded so black or blue will be ground. See the first thread for tips on opening the side cover.

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http://visualproducts.com/pdf/moviecamcompactmanual.pdf

The connector wiring diagrams are on the last 2 pages.  I would second Dom's suggestion to inspect the internal wiring, and also check the wiring of the cable at both ends - if the polarity was reversed, it may have been done within the cable rather than on the camera itself.  

 

 

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Most rental houses changed the original Moviecam wiring because 4 pin XLR was the standard for 12V applications, using the same pin 1 and pin 4 wiring. So there was the very real possibility of accidently plugging 24V into a 12V appliance.

753205192_Moviecampowerwiring.jpg.93b3c56e8ce0aced9b6d42cf1e08db27.jpg

 

Some rental houses simply removed the pin 4 double-up of the +24V line, and left the camera wired to only pins 1 and 2. Others, like Oppenheimer, re-wired the +24V to pins 2 and 3. The double-up I suspect was to protect the camera pins and wiring from the start-up current surge. 

Normally the 24V battery connector was a 3 pin XLR, because again 4 pin XLR was a 12V standard. 

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Hey Dom  thank you so much for your reply and I will find out tomorrow the latest from Alan Gordon if they can at least tell me what is the specs on my camera cables etc,  so that I can give you a better understanding of what exactly I have and that way you might be able to precisely tell me what is that I can do to build the battery

once again thanks for this info

 

marco

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