PROAIM PT-SR Tilt Head with 12V Joystick Control Instruction Manual
- June 5, 2024
- PROAIM
Table of Contents
PROAIM PT-SR Tilt Head with 12V Joystick Control
What’s In The Box
Please inspect the contents of your shipped package to ensure you have received everything that is listed below.
Parts of Pan-Tilt Head
- Gear for Tilting Movement
- Gear for Panning Movement
- 12V Motor for Panning Movement
- 12V Motor for Tilting Movement
- Adjustable Camera Platform
- Base Platform for Tripod/Jib Mounting
- Joystick for Pan/Tilt Movement
- On/Off Switch
- Pan Speed
- Tilt Speed
- Dead Spot
- Tilt Damping
- Pan Direction
- Tilt Direction
- 4-Pin Power out to Head
- Fuse Holder
- 12V DC Input – 4 Pin XLR
Pan Tilt Head Setup And Attaching Joystick Controller
Pan Tilt Head Setup
- Attach Sr. Pan Tilt Head with jib MountingPlate. Align screw holes and tighten precisely to secure the head.
Attaching Joystick Controller
The Pan Tilt Head circuitry is built entirely into the Joystick Controller. The only requirement is AC adapter (Included) or Battery Power (Not included). The AC adapter can handle 100-240 volts. Users will need the appropriate plug adapter for local use.
- Install 12 volt AC adapter (4 pin XLR) in the pocket of the Joystick Box.
NOTE: Any 12 volt battery may operate this Pan Tilt Head as long as the Connector and the #1 Negative pin & #4 Positive pin of Cable meet together.
CAUTION: The power specification we have provided is as per 12volt. For this, we provide a 12volt/3A regulated power adapter. In case you use a voltage higher than 12V, it will affect the performance and life of the motor, and there is a high risk of the motor getting damaged.
- Attach 4-pin Power Cable with JoystickController. Then attach other cables of motors with long cable.
- Attach the 4-pin male connector of Cable 4-pin female connector of Head for Panning &Tilting.
- NOTE: If the Joystick Control is opposite, undo the connectors of motors, rotate 180° and re-install.
- Attach & secure your camera on camera platform of Head with the help of the provided checkout.
Functioning of Joystick Controller
The Joystick is a 2-Axis Variable Speed Servo Controller. The further you move in one direction, the faster the output to that motor. This will be a little tricky at first, but little practice will improve your success. The joystick may be operated in a handheld position or from a flat surface such as a tabletop, or attached to the boom arm of Jib.
NOTE: After plugging the power cord into a proper outlet, press ‘Power On’. The LED light on the control box should illuminate and the head may jump slightly on start up or shut down. This is normal. This can be controlled by Dead Spot. Adjust the Joystick to ensure correct movement of head. It may be necessary to reconnect to the motors, if required.
Speed
This is the power control knob. Turning to the right will be full power and back to the left will decrease the available power to both pan and tilt operation. The advantage of power control is to be able to limit power when only slow accurate movements are needed. With the power control at half power (approx. 8 volts max. output) the full range of motion on the joystick will be between 0 and 8 volts making finer adjustments possible. The power control will be usable between approximately 4 volts to 12 volts.
Linear or Logarithmic Taper Joystick Control
All joysticks are linear, meaning that each degree of movement of the stick correlates to the output. On the 12 volt Pan Tilt Head, half deflection of joystick means approximately 6 volts is sent to the motors. But with the advent of Digital, we can now control the taper of joystick, making in Logarithmic as well. Logarithmic taper means that the first joystick movement only sends a small amount of power to motors and the last of the deflection will send more power per degree of deflection. On the Logarithmic taper, 1/3 of joystick deflection might yield 2 volts output, the next 1/3 will yield 4 volts output and the last 1/3 yields 6 volts for a maximum again of 12 volts. This mode gives the operator fine slow movements yet retain the ability to go to maximum speed, if necessary.
Damping Control
- The damping control knob prevents the Head from stopping abruptly with a jerk, giving you smooth endings. The amount of damping is increased by rotating the damping knob clockwise.
Dead Spot Control
The Dead spot control determines the center band of the joystick where no motion will occur and ensures no crossover to the other axis when not wanted. You can adjust your joystick when it is not centered by rotating this knob clockwise. If you observe the Head moving without deflecting the joystick, it will be necessary to adjust the centering. And to perform best in reversing the Head, the dead spot knob should be 30 to 40 percent.
Pan /Tilt Direction
- Using the Reversal switch, you can reverse the panning and tilting direction when required.
- At the time of reversal, you can also use the damping function. So, the best way to reverse the pan tilt head is to use this Reversal switch.
Balancing
Balancing the camera on head is critical for smooth operation.
- Find the horizontal balance point of your camera by using two fingers of one hand while holding the handle with other hand.
- Mark this point on the side of camera with chalk or tape.
- Turn the unit on and move tilt control until the camera plate is vertical.
- Loosen the two screws holding tilt motor (Do Not Remove).
- Grasp the motor and turn slightly to disengage gears.
- Mount the camera onto camera plate with the screw provided.
- Tighten by threading the nut up to the bottom of camera plate securely.
- Make sure your balance point previously marked with chalk or tape is in the middle of plate.
- Loosen the knob below camera plate and slide the camera and plate up or down until the center line of your camera is about in the middle of large gear. Now tighten the knob.
- If the camera is perfectly balanced it will stay in any position while motor gear is still unattached.
- Gently tighten motor screws.
- Secure the camera.
NOTE: All reduction boxes have a small amount of backlash. The balancing of the camera will reduce the backlash to a minimum making it felt at the top of the tilt arc.
Operation
- With the camera set up, as previously described above, switch ON the power on the Joystick Controller.
- For inverted use, disconnect the leads to the motors, rotate the control box 180° and re-install.
NOTE: Always watch the cables for binding.
YOUR PROAIM SR. PAN-TILT HEAD ALL DRESSED UP AND READY TO GO!
Warranty
Warranty: We offer one year warranty for our products from date of purchase. Within this period of time, we will repair it without charge for labor or parts. Warranty doesn’t cover transportation costs nor does it cover a product subjected to misuse or accidental damage. Warranty repairs are subjected to inspection and evaluation by us.
Liability: We are not liable for damage caused by products that we do not supply or from mishandling in transit, accident, misuse, neglect, lack of care of the product, or service by anyone other than our company.
Contact Us: If you are dissatisfied, please contact us immediately. We promise our utmost support and care until you use our product.
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