Camera Motion Control - Bescor MP-101, Rat Rig Slider, MIDI, Teensy and Ableton Live!8/14/2015 Part 1 For the past few months I have been building up a DSLR camera rig for making video. This week I am concentrating on controlling a motorised slider (a really nice affordable DIY kit from ratrig.com), a motorised pan/tilt head (Bescor MP-101) and a focusing servo for my main manual lens, a Samyang 35mm T1.5. The pan tilt head is a simple device with two geared DC motors and a remote control for moving the camera up and down, and from left to right in a fixed position. The remote only allows movement of one axis at a time, and the speed control is a slide potentiometer with a narrow range. It moves a bit too robotically for my liking! My immediate goal for this project was to have control over these motors with MIDI, so I could use Ableton Live to automate motion in both axes simultaneously in a precise and predictable fashion (hopefully). This is an important requirment for a miniature music video I'll be shooting in my studio the next few weeks. I also have a 3D mouse (3DConnexion SpaceMouse Wireless) that has 6 axes of control, which struck me as being the ideal controller. Thankfully, a program called OSCulator exists which converts data coming from the mouse directly to MIDI, so communication with Ableton Live is trivial. For the bridge from computer to motion control, I used a Teensy LC Arduino. Having spent quite a lot time messing around with hacked USB-MIDI cables and ATMega328 chips, this thing is so easy to use. It has a native USB-MIDI mode so sending or recieving MIDI over USB is very quick to implement. Also, the Teensy is very small, so will comfortably fit into the enclosure in place of the original PCB. I'll be CNC milling a PCB to the same dimensions to securely fasten the DIN socket, Teensy, and deal with connections to the motors. Some advantages and disadvantages to taking this approach: Advantages: - precise motion control of both axes of the pan tilt head, with independent variable speed. - wider range of speeds by using 7.4V instead of 6V, and using PWM - MIDI control allows movements to be stored as MIDI Continuous Controller data in Ableton Live or other DAW - by automating the process, I'll be able to get exactly the frame I want, so will be able to concentrate more on what's in front of the camera than behind it. Disadvantages: - bypassing on-board battery / mains power in favour of using a high capacity Li-Ion battery pack or mains means the unit will no longer be stand-alone. - the use of Pulse Width Modulation has inherent audible noise at lower speeds. While this won't be a problem as long as external mics are used, in some situations the sound could be an issue. - by hacking the unit, its resale value could be greatly reduced, but I think it'll actually be far more useful this way! More information and documentation of this hack and my motion control rig next week. 3/28/2016 06:58:10 pm Hi Ed. really interesting work you are doing. I initially came onto your website looking about hacking my bred or Hague pan tilt for the music studio but I love your instruments as well. 3/29/2016 01:31:12 am Hi Cormac. To be honest I haven't done anything with the project since shortly after writing the blog post. I moved house and didn't have a workspace for several months and haven't had time since. I'll resurrect the pan tilt slide zoom project soon though as I need to use those features for a couple of projects this year. Thanks for the interest! ed. 4/7/2016 12:01:07 am Hi Ed, This is a great camera rig slider. I like it ! 9/14/2016 02:46:15 pm Here are the three most popular hidden security cameras that can be used for both home security and business security. Read on to learn more. 3/11/2017 05:19:42 am Camera based home security systems are more popular today than ever before. This is due to the inexpensive prices, and the advanced technology. Hundreds of thousands of families now enjoy the benefits of feeling safe and secure in their homes because of these new security systems. 4/28/2019 09:24:56 am How much was it to buy the Bescor? 2/9/2021 08:08:09 pm HI Ed, Leave a Reply. |
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Bescor Mp-101 Hack Software
Bescor Mp-101 Hack Driver
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Overview The Bescor MP-101 Motorized Pan & Tilt Head attaches between a tripod and camera and enables panning and tilting the camera remotely. Two independent motors smoothly operate horizontal and vertical motion at adjustable speeds. The head supports payloads up to 6 lb. Bluetooth controlled Bescor MP-101 Pan Tilt Head modification - Mobile Modding (mobilemodding.info) Portland, Oregon. 31°F # ptz # video # arduino.
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Joined: Wed Mar 16, 2011 2:58 pm Posts: 1348 Location: Denver, Colorado | Has anyone gutted one of these? Bescor MP-101 I DID!!!!!! :) Has anyone used one of these or opened it up to see what it packs inside? I assume servo motors. I like the size and design, i wonder how much effort it would take to retrofit it with some steppers. EDIT: I got one and gutted it, ill work out a detailed write up when i get time, skip down and ill have more info in this post. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00535 ... BFRGNC65N0 _________________ http://www.BioLapse.com http://www.TheChronosProject.com |
| Fri Jul 01, 2011 9:43 am | |
Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2009 10:45 am Posts: 1685 Location: Merritt Island, Florida, Estates Unitas | Re: Has anyone gutted one of these? Bescor MP-101 Thats a pretty nifty pan/tilt head. It can move a lot of mass if you balance the load. Here's a link to a picture of a remote controlled camera with a huge zoom lens and infrared lights I made with one. The lights pan and tilt with the lens by the way. http://www.flickr.com/photos/scienceloo ... hotostream The pan/tilt has DC motors and gearing, thats it. No position sensing as far as i could tell. It does allow variable speed for both the pan and tilt axes. Its remote controllable through that round plug. If you wanted to use one for timelapse, I wouldn't bother taking it apart. Just put a relay in the common wire on the remote plug. Use the relay to interrupt the movement except for a short pulse after each exposure is completed. If you have a Dynamic Perception MX-2 controller, use it to power the relay from either of the motor outputs. Any 12 volt relay should work as long as the coil draws less than an amp (pretty much any 12VDC relay). Use the MX-2 in interleaved (shoot, move, shoot) mode. The MX-2 will adjust the duration of the relay-on pulse depending on the inches per exposure you set. Wire the pan/tilt to the relay contacts that conduct only when the MX-2 wants to move the dolly motor. You can set different speeds for the pan and tilt axes by adjusting the resistance from the common control wire to one or two of the other pins on the remote plug. This way only one motor plug on the MX-2 needs to be used to control two axes on the pan/tilt head and you can move each axis at a different speed if you want. The remote plug on the pan/tilt has five wires. Common, left, right, up, down. Conductivity between common and one or two of the other pins makes it go. |
| Sat Jul 02, 2011 11:45 am | |
Joined: Wed Mar 16, 2011 2:58 pm Posts: 1348 Location: Denver, Colorado | Re: Has anyone gutted one of these? Bescor MP-101 Well i ordered one of these, NEW, unfortunatly it arrived yesterday and it was clearly used, and it was a non functioning unit. The Automatic mode worked, but the Manual mode does not, it was worn all around with grime in it. I just spoke to the company that sold it to me through amazon and they are sending me a return label, then will ship me a new one. what a pain in the butt, i really wanted to crack this thing open however they are taking care of it. mistakes happen. Anyway, my first impression was 'Wow, this thing is small!' It fits on my timelapse Rail Chronos 1.0 nicely. It just LOOKS like it belongs. The movement on the automatic mode is very smooth, very quiet. The tilt was not working, if it WAS i probably would have kept it, but i did not want to find out that the tilt motor was not working. I opened the front plate, there is a control circuit in there as expected however there are a BUNCH of wires from the control circuit into the housing, i dont think they are all wires for the motors. Being a Bescor 101 i know it has a tab that hits a switch preventing a full 360 degree panning, so the extra wires are probably for that switch. Upon opening the other side (battery side) thats all it is, batteries, and a pair of wires. So all the mechanical guts fit into the central body of the unit. Ive seen pics of the body opened up exposing a couple worm gears on wevbsites that show the easy conversion from a Bescor MP101 to Mp-360. I am fully confidant ill be able to take control of this thing with a motor driver shield and arduino. Ill be very careful to document my processess, take shots of everything. This may be about the best timelapse P&T deal on the market for the DIY'ers Another guy has created a very slick system called AUTOMATE 1.0 based off this unit, turning it into a smartphone controlled bluetooth connected timelapse?gigapan head and sells them for 400 bucks. Not a bad deal for all the development he put into it, however, if i went with the AUTOMATE i would just have to hack it to get it to work with my system anyway. _________________ http://www.BioLapse.com http://www.TheChronosProject.com |
| Thu Aug 25, 2011 6:47 am | |
Joined: Wed Mar 16, 2011 2:58 pm Posts: 1348 Location: Denver, Colorado | Who has gutted one of these? I HAVE!!!!! So i butchered up a Bescore Mp-101, i cut that baby open, ripped her guts out, and... well.. i suppose that sounds bad coming from somebody using the online name of Jack Ripper. anyways, i digress, I ordered one of these, i got it in and last weekend my project partner and i cut it open, figured out the required voltage levels to get the motors spinning, pulled out all the automation junk, and left it bare and hollow with just the required parts. in the end, this could quite possibly be the best deal in timelapse history. Oh yeah and forget the MP-360, mine runs 360 degrees now anyway. I am chomping at the bit to get some time to do some mind control on this thing, however ive been so busy with a full time job, being a full time dad, and working on project chronos, laying the groundwork for project puppetmaster, and STILL getting headway on Project Orion that i just havent had any time to mess with it. The good news is the DC motors are very low voltage, they seem to run fine at .75 volts, which is about the low limit, and it is SLOW at that speed. The gear ratio looks to be about 2500:1 which is why such weak tiny motors can move this thing so well. It uses a double worm reduction with 50:1 to 50:1 The motor has to spin approximatly 7 times to get 1 degree of rotation on the panning, so to get a 45 degree pan at 1 spin per movement you can cut it up into 315 events. that aint bad. if i can get 1/2 spin per movement event i can get 630 shots in a 45 degree pan. dude yeah this is totally gonna work. _________________ http://www.BioLapse.com http://www.TheChronosProject.com |
| Wed Sep 07, 2011 12:30 pm | |
Joined: Fri Aug 19, 2011 6:50 pm Posts: 92 Location: PacNW | Re: Has anyone gutted one of these? Bescor MP-101 I DID!!!!! Sounds encouraging... I have had one of these for a while and it mostly sits because of the sloppy controller ... if you could hook this up to the MX2 or even something that would add better control in realtime that would be fantastic looking forward to your progress... Thanks...Ric _________________ Ric Kasnoff | Photographer http://www.ricphoto.com twitter: @ricphoto Adobe Certified Instructor | Apple Certified Trainer Member: APA (National VP) | NANPA | NPPA | PLUS |
| Thu Sep 08, 2011 11:08 am | |
Re: Has anyone gutted one of these? Bescor MP-101 I DID!!!!! I know this thread is old... but how did your MP-101 hack work out? Thanks muchly! | |
| Tue Sep 18, 2012 10:27 am | |
Joined: Wed Mar 16, 2011 2:58 pm Posts: 1348 Location: Denver, Colorado | Re: Has anyone gutted one of these? Bescor MP-101 I DID!!!!! I actually never got around to finishing it. you need some very low power DC motor drivers. about 1VDC... _________________ http://www.BioLapse.com http://www.TheChronosProject.com |
| Tue Sep 18, 2012 10:37 am | |
Joined: Tue Aug 28, 2012 9:29 am Posts: 140 Location: Seattle, WA | Re: Has anyone gutted one of these? Bescor MP-101 I DID!!!!! I actually never got around to finishing it. you need some very low power DC motor drivers. about 1VDC... That's too bad. I have a couple of these guys on the way and I plan to take at least one of them apart to see what I can do with it. Running off of AA battery power will be helpful, should be very compact and lightweight. |
| Tue Sep 18, 2012 8:35 pm | |
Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2009 10:45 am Posts: 1685 Location: Merritt Island, Florida, Estates Unitas | Re: Has anyone gutted one of these? Bescor MP-101 I DID!!!!! I finally got around to looking up the 360 degree hack. The one I saw was here; http://www.blindskunk.com/Bescor_MP101_360_Hack.html I'm impressed! I expected plastic injection-molded gears. The ones I see in the video appear to be steel. I have to pay more for a set of metal gears than this entire unit costs. The video only shows it disassembled enough to remove the contactor for the autopan function. It doesn't show the rest of its guts. Does Jack or anyone else have pictures of one with more of her guts ripped out? This thing appears to be pretty densly populated inside, leaving little room to hack in anything interesting like a stepper motor unfortunately. It appears to be a great deal for anyone DIYing a simple camera mover using DC motors and an MX-2 or PWM control. While we're on this subject, does anyone have pictures of the Merlin or other telescope or P/T head disassembled? These things could really simplify DIY P/T heads if they can be adapted to conventional timelapse controllers. Divinitii, Post some pictures of its guts when you crack it. |
| Sun Sep 23, 2012 9:27 am | |
Re: Has anyone gutted one of these? Bescor MP-101 I DID!!!!! While we're on this subject, does anyone have pictures of the Merlin or other telescope or P/T head disassembled? These things could really simplify DIY P/T heads if they can be adapted to conventional timelapse controllers. Yes, they are low-quality plastic gear trains with small DC brushed motors. Can just cut the wires from the motors to the control PCBs, and run new wires. The optical encoders are standard-type and are before the gear train offering a high output resolution. !c | |
| Tue Sep 25, 2012 7:00 am | |
Re: Has anyone gutted one of these? Bescor MP-101 I DID!!!!! I'm working on an Arduino controller for the MP-101 whenever I find the time to finish it. I got pan working with some transistors, however, no go with tilt. I'll try some relays next. | |
| Tue Sep 25, 2012 9:03 am |
Bescor Mp-101 Hack File
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