BLINDSKUNK Hack - Bescor MP101 Motorised Pan Tilt Head - 360+ Horizontal Hack: www.around.co.uk www.addressbookonline.com: After purchasing the Bescor, I already had plans to alter it to allow it to continuously pan in one direction. Maxwell Electronic Power Panner, aka Bescor MP-101 Motorized Pan Head, aka Hague Pan & Tilt Power Head. On this picture, it has a very solid look — as if its enclosure is bullet proof. Unfortunately, it is just grey plastic.
The pan tilt zoom controller, PT+z Controller™, when used in conjunction with the Bescor™ MP series(such as MP-101) motorized pan head allows you to take control of your live video production with an all in one sleek controller that provides dynamic speed control and movement using the natural movement of a joystick. Replacing the Bescor™ Remote Control (MP-Remote) for the MP-101 Motorized pan head with a more intuitive and responsive controller was the primary function of this unit, however we have also incorporated some vital camera functions found on the eBenk® zoom controller for Canon and Sony cameras using LANC/Remote protocol such a zoom in/out and record start/stop. LANC auto-power-on for cameras with a soft power button is also programmed in the PT+Z Controller™, that means if your cameras are remotely located, our unit can power them on. The PT+z Controller™ unit comes complete and ready to use out of the box with a joystick, a motor interface cable and a 2.5mm LANC cable for connection to a Canon or Sony video camera. A single cable solution is being developed using a breakout interface unit to allow a CAT 5 or CAT6 cable to carry both pan tilt and LANC commands. All units are backwards compatible with this update. While the pan tilt zoom controller is a perfect addition to any production studio we have not forgotten the field user and designed the PT+z Controller™ as a remote unit that requires no external power supply, giving you more flexibility in the field where access to a power source is problematic. The PT+z Controller® draws a small amount of power from the Bescor™ head and also works on 4 AA alkaline batteries used by the motor. Please make sure however that you are using alkaline and not rechargeable batteries as the voltage of the rechargeable batteries is below 1.5v/cell. The PT+z Controller™ can be used in place of MP-Remote and works in conjunction with RE-20 or RE-50 Bescor™ cables or you may use an ordinary LAN cable extension. This allows you to place your Bescor™ motorized head up to 50 ft away or more from the ptz controller. See restrictions for more information on LAN cables and batteries below:
- - any four pair(8 wire) LAN cable extension CAT 3-6 may be used as long as it is wired as EIA/TIA 568B.
- - no patch panels, router or switches may be used, no powered extenders on any connection between the PT+z Controller™ and the Bescor™ Motor
- - always use alkaline batteries and never use rechargeable batteries in the Bescor™ MP series motor compartment
- - failure to follow these rules will void both the PT+z Controller™ warranty and may destroy your Bescor™ motor.
Introduction
The Bescor MP-101 is a motorized tripod head that in its original form is controlled by a four-button switch connected by cable.It's a popular and well-built device that is crying out for wireless control.
If you buy the very expensive CamRanger (~350 USD) for wireless control of your camera, there is an (expensive) accessory available that allows you to also control the Bescor MP-101. Many people love the CamRanger, but I find the system unstable, and when it hangs the server needs to be restarted, which is pretty annoying when it's on a mast 12m up in the air.
An alternative (and better) solution for wirelessly controlling a camera is DDServer which is donationware and runs on the same hardware as the CamRanger (the TP-Link MR3040, which costs around 40 USD when bought without the CamRanger firmware installed). Chinnari pellikuthuru telugu serial today episode. I also find the interface of DSLRDashboard much better than that on the CamRanger.
You need to be (or know) a little bit of a nerd to install the DDServer firmware on the TPlink MR3040, but you're getting a better product and saving 300 USD.
However, DSLRDashboard can't control the Bescor MP-101 head, which is crucial for the mast jobs that I do, which is why I was really happy when I found this simple solution to wirelessly controlling it.
Parts
IC 2262 / 2272 4-channel remote-control kit (~ 4 USD on ebay)7-pin DIN plug and wire (Or you can cut the plug off the wired remote)
The IC2262/2272 is a wonderful system comprising a key fob with 4 buttons, and a tiny circuit board with 7 pins - power and ground plus a pin for each of the buttons (plus a pin that goes high when any of the buttons is pressed). And it needs the same 5v supply that the Bescor head uses, so you don't need an extra battery.
Construction
Decide which buttons you want to control which movements (I chose A=Left, B=Right, C=Up, D=Down))Connect the corresponding pins to the 7-pin DIN plug.(Leave the VT pin on the board, and the speed pin on the DIN plug unconnected)
And that's it ! Couldn't be simpler.
But it can be more complicated, if you want, so I have actually put an arduino microprocessor between the 2272 and the head so that I can do more complicated things in the future (eg programmed panorama stitching).
But that's a story for another day (see below).
Another day :The range of these remote controls is normally around 100m, but I found that was reduced significantly when I had the Bescor motor switched on, presumably due to electromagnetic noise interfering with the radio signals. The device still worked, but at longer distances the motor ran intermittently when a button was held constantly.
For this reason, plus future features, I added an arduino microcontroller between the receiver and the Bescor head, whose job was to create a one second pulseeach time a short signal was detected, thus smoothing out the noise (at the expense of the loss of a few degrees of positioning precision).
The wiring is pretty simple : Pins A,B,C, and D on the receiver are connected to Arduino input pins 8,9,10, and 11. VT is connected to pin 12, while ground and 5v are common to the Bescor, the receiver and the Arduino. Output pins 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 on the Arduino are connected to the 7-pin DIN going to the Bescor.I also added an LED to pin 5, as a confirmation lamp.
Here you can pick up the Arduino code
Bescor Mp-101 Manual Instructions
© Mark Harris 2016, but feel free to distribute without changes.