DSLR Camera Slider

[TLHarrell]

Mechanical issue. Check that your v-wheels don't have some dirt in them, and that the bearings are not wobbling on the shafts.

[jpmurph]

Mechanical issue. Check that your v-wheels don't have some dirt in them, and that the bearings are not wobbling on the shafts.

I disassembled, cleaned and checked all v-wheel no sign of flat spots or dirt. However, I did find that one v-wheel had some motion in it when I held both bearings firmly b/w thumb and then wiggled the v-wheel it would move up and down slightly. It seems that the washer between the two bearing was not sitting flush or was warped. I replaced the washer and reassembled.

Try to get the setup as balanced as possible with respect to the center of the tripod mount so there is no initial torque on the setup.

I've attempted to get the setup as balanced as possible, as well as, securing the extrusion to a a flat solid surface(kitchen table). Both had some beneficial results but a slight wobble is still evident in the playback of the time-lapse.

still working on troubleshooting the issue.

[jpmurph]

so I think I have a bad v-wheel or bearing. See the video below to see the play in the v-wheel bearing assembly.

[bdring]

I have received about 6 lots of those wheels. I have never seen that before. It should be a press fit into the bearing and there should be no end play. I have used hundreds of them without seeing that. I will spot check a whole bunch of my stock again. I can send some replacement wheels.

I hope it is just a problem on that wheel.

[jpmurph]

It's only doing this on 1 of the 4 v-wheels. The others all fit perfect. I'll work on getting a replacement and see if that fixes the wobble in the timelapse.

[pcmofo]

I have not yet been able to get the code up and running on my arduino with your motor controller shield. The motor driver just heats up when I plug it in. I can issue commands via serial but nothing ever happens. I double checked my connections etc. Either I am doing something else wrong or I have already burnt out the motor controller and its a lost cause.

Any ideas on something to try next?

Also, I would love to have some feet for desktop use. This would be very handy, especially if they folded etc.

My plan was to get the slider working with arduino + pc, then arduino alone, and then finally a custom PCB in an enclosure with nice buttons connectors etc for actual field use as a complete system.

I was thinking more like the kesseler style of control, not like many of the over complicated dslr controllers etc. Just speed and direction. Maybe add limit switches for unattended timelapse use. I have a timelapse controller for my DSLR. I think I would like to keep those independent for now as it offeres less complexity and more flexibility.

Ebay has a number of 12v battery packs that are perfect for this application. Throw that together with an arduino, motor controller, toggle switch, and rotary encoder and you have a nice and easy automated slider.

If you had some compact feet and a better tripod connection I bet everything could fit into a tripod bag for portability.

Here is a slider made from 8020 that has a nice tripod mounting plate, simple end stops, and decent feet.
http://www.indisystem.com/products/indi ... Dlegs.html

[bdring]

How hot does the motor driver get. Does the motor lockup when it is on?

[pcmofo]

How hot does the motor driver get. Does the motor lockup when it is on?

I have yet to see a reaction from the motor at all. The driver is hot to the touch on the heat sink. Like, I dont want to touch it hot.

[pcmofo]

Any ideas on something to try?

[bdring]

Post a closeup picture of the driver that also shows the motors wire connected.