MRMC-2258-00 Mimic Handwheel User Guide

Quick Start Guide
QSG Product Code: MRMC-2258-00
Product covered: MRMC-1083-00

Mimic Handwheels Quick Start Guide

QSG Product Code: MRMC-2258-00
Product covered: MRMC-1083-00
© 2020 Mark Roberts Motion Control Ltd. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or translated by any means — graphical, electronic, or mechanical — including photocopying, recording, taping, or storage in an information retrieval system, without the express written permission of Mark Roberts Motion Control.
Although every care has been taken to ensure that the information in this document is accurate and up to date, Mark Roberts Motion Control continuously strives to improve their products and may make changes to the hardware, firmware, and software described in this document. Mark Roberts Motion Control, therefore, cannot be held responsible for any error or omission in this document.
All product names mentioned herein are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Contact information
Mark Roberts Motion Control Ltd. Unit 3, South East Studios Blindley Heath Surrey RH7 6JP the United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 (0) 1342 838000
E-mail: info@mrmoco.com (sales and general enquiries) support@mrmoco.com (customer support)
Web: www.mrmoco.com/ www.mrmocorentals.com

Safety

• Do not use flammable gas. All electrical equipment can generate sparks that can ignite flammable gas.
• Heads have powerful motors that can pinch, so take care not to get your hands trapped in the head or cabling.
• Keep the equipment dry. The system has not been made weatherproof. Do not use with wet hands.
• Keep cables tidy. Use cable ties to keep them out of harm’s way. If you have a head with slip rings then make use of them; avoid running any cables between the base and the rotating head or camera.

Overview

Thank you for using the Mimic Handwheels controller from Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC). You can use the Mimic Handwheels unit as an integrated addition to a computerized camera installation running Flair Motion Control Software. The Mimic Handwheels unit is a robust controller designed for day- in, day-out use in professional studio and outside broadcast environments.
The Handwheels give you smooth, precise, real-time control over your choice of four axes. The axes can be a combination of head controls (pan, tilt, roll, etc.) and camera controls (typically zoom). The Mimic Handwheels is connected to a larger system that is using Flair motion control software running on a Windows PC to use the Handwheels as a mimic device to move the rig.
The controller includes the following features:

• Lens axis control ­ to give absolute position control when required
• Standard axis control ­ to give relative position control when required
• Control scaling ­ to allow fine adjustment or a fast response
• Serial lens control ­ Both Canon and Fujinon digital lenses can be controlled.

Connecting the cables

Connecting the Handwheels

Powering up
There’s no need to power the handwheels separately. The device is powered when the RT-14 that the Handwheels are plugged into is powered.
Mimic Handwheels controls

On the Mimic Handwheels, two of the handwheels are typically assigned to the Pan and Tilt head axes, and the third handwheel is typically assigned to Roll or Zoom, although you can change the assignments in Flair if you want.
The meanings of the lights on the Mimic Handwheels controller are as follows:

• POWER – The power is on.
• ENABLE – Indicates that this named axis on the head or camera (for example Pan, Tilt, Roll, Focus, or Zoom) is now connected to its corresponding control in the controller.

You can control a maximum of four axes using one Mimic Handwheels, which is connected to the Mimic1 port in RT-14. The Mimic2 port also allows for four mimic inputs should you want to connect another set of Mimic Handwheels to mimic the additional four-axis on the rig.
Using the control direction switches
The Mimic Handwheels unit has three direction control switches across the bottom. Which controls are affected depends on how the Root Mimic Axes are assigned in Flair. They are typically assigned to the left wheel, front wheel, and right wheel.
The switch settings interact with Flair axis settings as follows:

• FWD (Forward) – The control will operate using the direction that you have set Flair.
• OFF – The control will be inactive.
• REV (Reverse) – The control will operate in the opposite sense to whatever direction you have set in Flair.

Using the Scaling Switches
SCALE switches on the Mimic Handwheels control the general speed of the axis movement when using the wheels. SCALE switches allow for normal axis control (1x), twice as fast (2x), or four times as fast (4x).
Note The mode that Wheels would be used in is usually Encoder Pos, whereas the Focus Pot would be used in Encoder Post, Encoder Vel, or Encoder Pot. Any Zoom controller would be used in Speedboat mode.
Using a FIZ pot
If you plug a FIZ pot (Focus-Iris-Zoom) into the handwheels, you identify it by the name of the connector that you attached it to, for example, Zoom. You assign it to an axis by using the Flair Show Mimic feature.
If your FIZ pot moves the axis in the wrong direction then you need to first make sure the associated lens axis moves in the correct direction relative to its axis values in the Flair Axis Setup dialogue box, then adjust the direction setting of the FIZ pot control for that axis.
A FIZ pot differs from the controls on your Mimic Handwheels, in that a FIZ pot has hard stops that limit its rotation range to about 355°. This has several consequences, described below.
You might reach the FIZ pot hard stop before you reach the soft limit of its assigned axis. If this happens you can do the following:

1. Press and hold the Disable button on Disable the FIZ pot, which disables the FIZ pot button output.
2. Rotate the FIZ pot back to centre (without affecting the axis).
3. Release the button and rotate the FIZ pot again in the original direction to continue moving the axis where you left off.

You can repeat this procedure as necessary until you get to the soft axis limit.
Chapter 2 Setting up the Mimic Handwheels unit as a mimic device in Flair
Once you plugged the Mimic Handwheels to RT-14, you can start controlling the axis using the Handwheels via the Flair Motion Control Software. You can still use the DIRECTION and SCALE switches on the Mimic Handwheels, and you can use the Zoom/Roll switch to toggle the control for the third mimic axis between the third handwheel and whatever device is plugged into the ZOOM port, such as a Zoom controller or FIZ pot.
System configuration and startup
You can add up to two mimic devices in Flair using RT-14 called the RIC Mimic, or Root Mimic devices. Each Root mimic device has four mimic control axes allocated to it in Flair as Rt Mimic Axis1, Rt Mimic Axis2, etc. A Focus Pot would normally be plugged into the Focus socket on the back and would appear on the Test Screen as Ric Axis 4.
The procedure below tells you how to configure Flair to recognize the Mimic Handwheels.

1. Make sure the relevant cables are attached as described in the previous section.

2. Edit the file C:FlairFlairxFlair.ini. This file is a text file that you can edit with any text editor such as Notepad, either directly or by using the Flair menu option Help > View .ini File. You need to add or edit some lines in the file similar to the following lines.
   *RICMimic: True This allows you to use the Root Mimic inputs.
   Remember to save the file after you have edited it.

3. With the Windows PC running but with Flair not running, attach the power cables to the head, and the RT-14 unit.

4.  When the RT-14 unit has finished starting up, start Flair by double-clicking on the Flair icon on the Windows Desktop.
   At this point, ignore any Flair error messages and Mimic Handwheels LED lights.

5. Check that Flair is receiving data from the encoders in the Mimic- Handwheels by using Flair menu option Setups > Test Mimic Inputs and making sure that the relevant Root mimic axes numbers change when you move the handwheels:
   Typically the left wheel is assigned to the Pan axis on the head and appears as Ric Axis 1.
   Typically, the middle wheel is assigned to the Tilt axis on the head and appears as Ric Axis 2.
   ­ If a Zoom controller is plugged into the ZOOM port and the ROLL/ZOOM switch is in the ZOOM position, then this will appear as Ric Axis 3. If the ROLL/ZOOM switch is on the ROLL position, then the right wheel can be assigned to the Roll axis and appears as Ric Axis 3.
   If a FIZ pot or Zoom controller is plugged into the FOCUS port at the rear, then this will appear as Ric Axis 4.

6. In the Flair window, click Show Mimic. The additional Root Mimic options appear below each rig axis

7. In the Controller drop-down, specify which Root Mimic axis you want to control this axis, for example, to assign Pan to Wheel 1, select the Controller as Rt Mimic 1, or RIC Mimic 1:(The mimic axis numbers are the same ones listed earlier in the Setups > Test Mimic Inputs pop-up.) Note that after you assign the Root Mimic Axes the ax’s names appear in the Controlling column in the Test Mimic Inputs dialog box.

8. Specify the other Mimic Settings that you want to use for this control.

9. Specify Live for the axes that you have assigned the handwheels to, then Apply. After you have tested the mimic operation you can use other settings; see the Flair manual for details.

Moving a handwheel should now move the associated axis and change the axis position numbers on the Flair screen.
Appendix 1 Troubleshooting MQuimicikcSHtaarntdGwuhideelsQuickStartGuide
Typical symptoms, causes, and actions

controls to your preference.
Limits are being ignored or causing the
head to oscillate when reached.| The axes have not been zeroed. You must do this at the beginning of each session just after you load the head.
When you set soft limits, you must set the MAX limit to the higher (or more positive) axis
value, and set the MIN limit to the lower (or more negative) value.
Check the scaling of the axis on the Mimic Handwheels. If the axis is moving too fast, then lower the scaling and vice versa if it is going too slow.
Can’t set limits, or the head oscillates when
you set a limit.
The head moves too slowly or too quickly.

Appendix 2 Back panel

Connector Pinouts summary
Auxiliary connectors for Focus, and Zoom
The pin assignments for these connectors are identical.

1. A+
2. B+
3. N/C
4. N/C
5. +5V| 6. A–
7. B–
8. N/C
9. GND
---|---

Root Connector
The root is a (25-way D-type Female) connector.

1. A1+
2. B1+
3. A2+
4. B2+
5. A3+
6. B3+
7. A4+
8. B4+
9. Mimic GPO 1 (Open collector) LED
10. Mimic GPO 2 (Open collector) LED
11. Mimic GPO 3 (Open collector) LED
12. Mimic GPO 4 (Open collector) LED| 13. +12V
14. A1–
15. B1–
16. A2–
17. B2–
18. A3–
19. B3–
20. A4–
21. B4–
22. +5V
23. GND
24. GND
25. GND
---|---

Appendix 3 Specifications

Weight: Unit with stainless steel handwheels: 10.2 Kg
Unit with aluminum handwheels: 6.2 Kg
Temperature range: 0-45 °C (32-113 °F)
Humidity tolerance: 0% to 85% relative humidity, non-condensing

Mark Roberts Motion Control Ltd.
Unit 3, South East Studios,
Blindley Heath, Surrey RH7 6JP
United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 (0) 1342 838000
info@mrmoco.com
www.mrmoco.com

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