Pan Tilt controller for 240v ac conway heads, having trouble

[Cafemodo 0]

I have 4 Conway c990 and c950 pan and tilt heads sitting in my workshop. They are the 240v 50/60hz type. I aim to mount a number of different cameras/telescopes/gadgets on them to take panoramic and cctv use around my property. I dont need to think about what extra wires for the gadgets at the moment just how to control the pan tilt heads. One small step at a time

 

Im having trouble finding the correct type of controller for them, or if I need a intermediate switching type box. My google searching comes up with a lot of technical and immaterial results which I dont find helpfull. I dont even now the tech term for this system so the searching is extra hard.

 

If this is in the wrong place mods, I apologise as Im a total newb, please advise and move to a more suitable area.

Thanks for any advice and remember Im a newb so feel free to talk at me like Im a 3 year old, Ill soon catch up.

[kensplace 0]

Hi,

 

Do you have the leads or connector that plugs into the pan tilt head?

 

That is the first thing to worry about, as they seem hard to get hold of, unless you can get one from a supplier, but I rarely see those connectors or leads available.

 

I had to butcher my dennard pan tilt head to wire in the cable inside the unit, not recommended for safety unless you are experienced with mains electricity though. (As it is a moving unit, connections need to be perfect, and not wear or move over time...)

 

The connection details seem to be available on the net (user manuals are available online, at least for the c990, the other one should be available to)

 

If you do have the right lead, or can get it then you can move on to the next stage, the control of the head.

 

You have a couple of choices really, either hardwire a controller, with switches or a joystick, but you need mains rated switches, and 110 percent confidence your not going to set fire to the place/kill yourself or someone else with faulty wiring....

 

Or buy a premade telemetry controller/transmitter/receiver setup that will allow you to control the pan tilt heads.

 

You can get a controller that can control multiple pan tilt heads, you just select the number of the one you want, and control from the joystick goes to that unit.

 

You need a receiver for each pan tilt head, this receives the telemetry instructions from the controller and controls the mains voltages to pan/tilt the head.

 

A good place to look/ask would be building block video (google for BBV cctv or similar), they do a full range of telemetry systems, controllers and receivers suitable for this type of equipment.

 

These units will be pretty heavy, if they are anything like the dennard head I have, so if your going to mount them you will need to follow the safety instructions in the manual fully, with safety chains etc if applicable in case the mounts fail, to stop the head landing on someones head.

 

Also, you would probably need to get them installed or checked professionally if your in the uk, as they may fall under the part p electrical regs, worth checking out to be on the safe side as most electrical work of this nature (fixed mains work) now needs approval etc.

 

Its either going to be a expensive setup (unless you get a bargain on ebay, but your going to be spending a lot of time learning the ropes on telemetry systems if you go that route) to buy new, or a home made job, if you are capable of wiring them up - but I advise against the DIY route for mains electricity, its pretty deadly and easy to get wrong.

[Cafemodo 0]

Hello and many thanks for a superb answer, its lead me on a good information route.

Ive got the plugs, so thats a big bonus. My electronics skills are fairly good and I alway have work that is potentially hazardous checked by an electrician.

 

Found the manual for the c990, cant find the other but should be somewhere hopefully, emails sent to conway as well for futher information.

 

I may hardwire a purpose built controller then as this seems to be a very cheap simple option. I am taking note of your advice and would have any work checked and run through circuit breakers etc.

 

To go down the 'best' route then would be to buy one 4 way minimum telemetry controller, one transmitter and 4 receivers? Theres a good deal on a bbv system on ebay at the moment in the UK, however the receiver does not operate the pan tilt and is for fixed heads only.

Many thanks for your help.

[kensplace 0]

If you go the homemade route you could use a joystick and buttons from a arcade system, as long as the microswitches are mains rated and its all done safely etc.

 

The BBV tx1000 keyboards/controllers I can see on ebay at the moment are good bits of kit (no idea if the ones for sale are working or not, thats always the risk with ebay) but I have one like that, and they are rock solid bits of kit.

 

They can control pan/tilt as well as zoom/focus, and some have alarm capabilities (some dont). Very nice bits of kit, that are built to last.

 

You would need a receiver for each of the heads, and they would need to be for 240v heads (some receivers are for 24v's) these also pop up from time to time on ebay at a reasonable price, and manuals are available for the bbv ones on their site.

 

The controller will control BBV/Dennard/Dedicated micros recievers for pan tilts, usually via up the coax, where the control is sent via the same cable as the video.

 

Once setup, they work very well, and are reliable units that should last a long,long time.

 

If you go with a bbv controller, make sure you get a receiver that is compatible, dennard, bbv, dedicated micros stuff should be ok, but other makes such as molynx or baxall (now defunct, but the stuff will be around on ebay for a long time) use incompatible signals that are not going to work unless you get a same make controller...

 

Sometimes you just get a receiver board on its own, and it would then be up to you to source a suitable box, mount and power supply, so if possible try to get one pre-built that is ready to connect straight to your pan tilt, it saves hassle.

 

Telemetry receivers etc are becoming fairly obsolete and harder to get hold of as more people are using domes, so they tend to only come along now and again, but if you set up a search on ebay and get it to email you when any show up, you should be able to find some in time. But they do tend to be reasonably priced second hand.

[sam10693 0]

Hi mate id go for the bbv kit rather than switches as with switches you could damage your p/t head by pressing down and up at the same time. so what id do is 1 go and try get a telemetry transmitter which suits your needs Dedicated micros do a sprite lite multiplexer which transmitts telemetry bbv coax is the telemetry signal you need but remember only some sprites tranmit telemetry so make shure you get the right one 2 get hold of 2 bbv rx300 telemetry recievers these are the basic recievers from bbv you can get far more sophisticated one but for a greater price. onece you have all this connect the recievers to the pan tilt heads run coax from your recievers to your transmitter and set your transmitter to bbv coax and away you go hope this helps best regards Sam.

[Cafemodo 0]

Many thanks for all of your excellent advice. Ive gone down your route and bought a Baxall ZTX4 keyboard transmitter and ZR4M/WBX receiver that I got for a few pence on ebay and boxed as new too!

 

Im having a great deal of trouble now sourcing the cabling that goes from the receiver to the pan tilt head itself. Even thought the pan tilt units have 7 inputs, the orig cable is a 10 core (3 wires unused) thats attached to the existing connector but has been cut very short. I tried CEF and Edmundsons electrical for some simillar cabling but they had nothing apart from 8 core bt/alarm wiring which I wouldnt have thought suitable for 240v and a couple of amps?

 

Could anyone inform me please of what type of cable I want and where I could source out a few metres from, I only need about 3m max I reckon.

 

Many thanks.