Steadicam merlin issue!! possibly broke!
 

ok so i got this merlin right, i'm using dvx 100a with a 9hr battery.

i was setting it up last friday, and i noticed something fishy after a little while of me getting it ready for the camera. The Front Trim Line( the silver threaded piece that the front trim is attached to keeeps on sliding left and right between the plastic housing). Now, i dont think thats supposed to happen, i can grab the gimbal grip and just slide the gimbal left and right as i please, it is not secured in the middle as i belive it should.

Each time i adjust the trim to the place hwere its ballanced, i slightly move my hand and the grip slides to one side, throwing hte camera off.

I'm going to get it looked at tomorrow, but if anyone who has one now can just doulbe check for me if their does the same thing, wich i dont belive it does. Can u get back to this thread.

thanx

Can you post or e-mail me a picture of the part in question?

I'm having trouble picturing which part has the problem.

- Mikko

I think best is to post a video to demo the issue.

Regards
Leigh

video link pulled, appears that the screws were loose and its fixed , thanx to all

it appears that no one on this board has one of these units.....come on ppl...heheh gimme somethin' here

I have one, and that piece should not slide back and forth. I don't know what might be causing it to move -- are those two Philips head screws loose? The only problem with mine is that the lever that holds the dovetail plate tight needs an occasional tightening with a screwdriver. But a minor problem.

nothing is loose....i didnt tighten nothing or unscrewd anything, its under warranty....i just think that for that kind of money, this shoudlnt really happen...plus on the first day of setting it up..come on!!!

ill be taking the link down in a day, anyway, on tuesday i will get it hopefully taken care off.

Saturnin,
EXCELENT video!

The good news is that it's not "broken" per say, but no that should not happen.

It is probably as a simple fix of a loose part.

First sugestion is to indeed check that those two philips screws on the bottom of the stage. As you can see, they clamp down around the end of that rod and should hold it in place. Tightening them should fix the problem.


- Mikko

thanx Miko..that did the job.......

Good to hear it's working.
Seems like there has been a minor issue with that before. Suposedly Tiffen is looking into it. Thankfully it's not a big deal. :-)

Can you give us some of your impresions of the Merlin?
...oh oh, and video is always good too!

- Mikko

I had the same problem. I highly recommend checking all of the screws on the Merlin.

I found several that were loose, one of which holds the "switch" on the stage that secures the stage to the base.

This allowed me to slide the camcorder back on forth on the base while the switch was supposed to be locking it down.

yah..i will get some video when my ankle gets better.....right now i'm hopping around on one foot..lol
cheers

Saturnin:

Perhaps the two screws under the ankle are loose, try tightening...!

Seriously though--I can commiserate as a severe ankle injury took me out of operating Steadicam for five months last year. Baby that baby!

fractured fibula....pain in the ass, i tell ya...

don't you mean a pain in the leg?

Seriously though, get well soon!
...Untill then, you need to find a wheelchair and have someone push you around for all the moving shots! (it's fun!)

- Mikko

screws loose....pffft.....some people.... :P

You may want to pickup a tube of Loctite (blue). A drop of this on the threads will stop the screws from backing off, but still allow removal. If the screw will not be removed ever, Loctite (red) will lock it.

For the $$$, you'd think they'd have done that for you....