Problem: cPro random connection shutdown
Partially solved (see below)
I hope you guys can help me! I contacted cMotion, but they are already on vacation.
unfortunately we had a horrible shoot yesterday because my CPro One connection kept shutting down irregularly.
My 1AC and I couldn't really pinpoint the problem.
Symptoms:
Lens Data was suddenly gone, but focus could still be adjusted, zoom no longer, no camera control either.
Sudden and independent adjustment of the zoom. Zoom possible but only within a small range.
Message on the CPro that a new LBUS device is connected (so it had previously switched off).
Stuttering cforce motor, as if it had a very low resolution (occasionally).
After restarting all systems, everything was always available again for a short time (lens data, zoom, focus, camera control/REC).
Our setup was (latest firmware on all devices):
Red V-Raptor
cPro One (Red License, Data License)
cPro RF Motor (new cMotion Custom Y-cable, RED 8PIN-LEMO2PIN-CAM)
cforce Mini Motor (new LBUS cable)
OCU-1 on the cPro for zoom control (power supply via DTap-LBUS cable)
Standard antennas
Angenieux EZ 22-60mm (very smooth focus and zoom)
Ronin 2 (2xTB50 batteries)
Camera power via Ronin cable/RED power cable
Ronin 14.4V P-Tap to 2pin Lemo distributor unregulated for accessories.
(1x Teradek LT 4K TX, 1x cPro RF Motor, 1x cforce Mini Motor)
We have swapped all cables and antennas
We have increased the baud rate from 115200 to 460800 as ARRI requires this for the High5 on the V-Raptor
We added additional power to the LBUS chain (14,4V) We run on channel 1 and have not tried anyone else.
After a very helpful phone call with cmotion support I can say that we had at least two issues parallel maybe even three. 1. the data license was not installed correctly. This was due to a coding change in the license file I received. It is possible to install this file “half”, so the manual says to check this in the “About” menu of the cPro after installation. A downgrade to 5.0 may help, or a rewritten file containing all the other files. I managed to install it eventually by trying 7 times on 6.02.
2. loss of contact to a motor leads to the assumption that either the LBUS socket of the cPro or the cForce is broken. It often occurs on older models that do not have the new upgraded “movable” socket. Do not use L-shaped elbow cables. This is the reason why cMotion does not sell them!
(3.) Even 2 motors at 14.4V 10A can be very current hungry during calibration or fast runs. Always use two current inputs at both ends of the chain.