Making It Move
With the connections made it’s time to test that the Revolver drive wheel spins before trying to spin the turntable.
Testing the Motor
Release the e-stop.
The Stagehand display will show “DISCONNECTED” and an IP Address
Press and hold the FWD jog button
The Stagehand display will now show “FWD 0%”
Turn the jog wheel CW to make the motor spin
While jogging, turn the jog wheel CCW to low down and stop movement
Press and hold the REV jog button
The Stagehand display will now show “REV 0%”
Turn the jog wheel CW to make the motor spin in the opposite direction
While jogging, turn the jog wheel CCW to low down and stop movement
Now that the motor spins, let’s get the turntable to spin
Moving The Turntable
Once you have confirmed that the motor is operating correctly, you can start moving your turntable with the Revolver.
Drive Wheel Tension
The Revolver motor and drive wheel are mounted to bearings, allowing the machine to accommodate eccentric turntables.
To get started, identify the section of the turntable that is furthest away from the Revolver. Push the motor toward the turntable edge until it makes contact. Now tighten up the Friction Drive Tension Nuts to apply some force to keep the Friction Drive Wheel pressed into the turntable.
This is a great time to locate a 1-7/8” box wrench or a set of 10" Channel-Lock's for the tensioning nuts
The Revolver doesn’t require huge amounts of spring tension to operate, however there needs to be enough tension in the springs to absorb any out of round-ness in the turntable. A good place to begin is by compressing the springs by 1”, which should be achievable without a wrench.
Do not worry if you need to apply more spring tension. As of this writing we have yet to find an instance of too much tension. Just keep in mind that the tension springs should have a little bit of room left in them to accommodate any bumps on the drive edge.
Encoder Wheel Tension
You'll need your favorite 5/32" hex key for this step
Once the drive wheel has tension it is time to do the same with the encoder. Much like with the drive wheel, set the spring tension when the drive edge is the furthest away from the Revolver
You’ve got enough spring tension if
The encoder wheel doesn’t free spin
You can pull the encoder away from the edge with some force
To adjust the encoder spring tension, loosen the 2 cap screws securing the encoder to the mounting shaft. Adjust the encoder wheel height to be roughly centered on the drive edge. While maintaining the height, add tension to the leaf spring by using the hex bolt at the end of the shaft assembly and lock down the 2 cap screws.
The encoder doesn’t need as much tension as the drive wheel. It only needs enough to keep the wheel engaged against the edge - not to drive the turntable.
So how much tension should there be? Great question. When initially setting the spring tension, pull the bolt about 1" after the wheel is engaged on the edge. Test the tension - if it's not enough (or if another part of the turntable is further away from the edge) you can add a bit more tension.
You’ll need more spring tension if
The encoder wheel can free spin
You can very easily pull it away from the drive edge
Testing Motion
Before diving into writing a cue test motion by running the Revolver manually from the face of the Stagehand.
Press and hold the FWD jog button, then slowly turn the jog knob CW. Your turntable should begin spinning Clockwise. You should also see the encoder counts on the Stagehand display increasing. If your Turntable is spinning Counterclockwise or if the encoder counts are decreasing while you are jogging Forward you will need to swap the motor phasing or encoder phasing. It is very important that when moving forward, the encoder counts are increasing - cues will not run if these are out of phase.
If the turntable is not jogging smoothly add a few turns to the drive wheel tensioning nuts and try again - it’s likely drive wheel slippage.
Now that the turntable is moving correctly, let’s work on positioning.
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