I am new to my glidecam 2000 pro, I would like to relocate the camera battery to the bottom sled. I understand I would need to drill holes in the post for the wires, is there some sort of kit for mounting a battery on the sled? I have a PD-170, and I am not sure where to look for a relocation kit. I am trying to do this as cheap as possible, and I am considering a DIY using a battery charger to hold the battery, and a cord from the AC adapter to plug into the camera. am I on the right track?

Hi Allen,

Q's,

Why are you wanting to change the battery location ?

Why not just use another small battery that you can carry on your belt ?

Why the "using a battery charger to hold the battery, and a cord from the AC adapter to plug into the camera" ?

Why not just use Velcro strips to attach any wires to the post ?

Seems like an easy DIY situation to me.

Harold

I am trying to reduce the weight of the glidecam. the battery is kinda heavy. whether I relocate to my belt, or the lower portion of the glidecam, still takes a method of relocating that I am not aware of how to do. is there a battery for the pd170 that is designed to wear on a belt? if the battery is on my belt, then the wire would be constantly changing the balance of the glidecam.
If I make my own holder for a battery, I need something for the battery to clip into, so I could remove it to change batteries. it looked to me like the battery charger could be adapted to do just that.
If i velcro the wires to the post, then the glidecam would be unable to rotate at the bearing, I would have to remove the wire everytime I balance it.

Hi Allen,

I've got the 1000 Pro Unit. Looks much like your 2000 unit.

You're not reducing the overall weight of the system by simply moving the battery from the Cam to the bottom of the Glide Cam. You've got to get the battery off the Cam, and seperate from the system, to reduce the weight.

I use a 12V Battery (you chose Amp hr and size, based on how long you want to power the Cam) plugged into a Sima DC Converter, which is then pluged into the Cam (in my case either my Sony TRV950 or my HV20).

The battery I use sits in a bag, along with the Sima converter, that can be either worn over my shoulder via it's own strap or straped around my waist.

I just use one small Velcro tiedown along the vertical tube, below the handle, to keep the wire from floating around.

Harold

Actually, by moving the battery down to the base of the rig, it would reduce the total weight of the rig. By reducing the weight up top, the rig would require less counterweight on the bottom, some of which would be replaced by the battery's weight. You would remove the mass of the battery in washers, and then remove some extras, since the camera is now lighter. It's common on full-sized rigs to power cameras from the sled itself, not only to remove having a second battery, but to have the camera battery work for you, rather than making you add even more weight.

With regards to having a battery off of the rig, although the affect of the external cable on the rig may not be very significant to you and your shots, it can upset the balance of a rig, and cause restrictions on the rig's movement, and possibly introduce some instability to the rig. Whether any of these are a big deal is up to the operator, but it certainly could be.

As to doing it with the PD170, I don't know if there are any easy ways of doing it. It sounds like you may have an idea with the battery charger, but be careful. Good luck.

Allen,

Here is a picture of our rig that we altered to have a bottom mounted monitor. It is similar to what you would have to do with your Glidecam only you would adjust one side of your bottom plate to hold the battery and whatever weight washers you needed to balance the rig.

We did drill small holes in the top of the post and the bottom of the extension post to accommodate the video cable. You would route your power cable there instead making sure it wouldn't snag or short out. Make sure you include enough extra length to allow the bottom extension post room to extend. When routed inside the post it doesn't affect your balance like going on the outside of the post will.

Tery
Indicam