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Sound Cart - Simon Paine


Simon Paine

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I finally got round to taking a few decent pictures of my cart.

Here we go :

lockedupreadytoroll.jpg?width=400&height=600

Thats my cart all closed up and ready to roll around on set. On this angle you can see the top road case with front doors closed. Thats where all the gear is located. Below is a drawer that can slide forward. You can also see one of the removeable hooks that are at the back, as well as the antenna poles (manfrotto light stand centre piece) that are retracted, next to the boompoles.

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Here she is with the doors open to reveal the gear protected inside. you can also see the antenna poles extended (not fully extended for this picture, but they can reach up to 7-8 feet.)

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I had a custom door panel made to hold my wireless mic packs and microphones in there white plastic cases.

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This is the back end of the cart. Here you can see the Dually wheel configuration I have incorporated into the cart to help spread the weight and help roll over any obstacles. you can also see the rubber boompole holders and plastic cups (at the bottom) to help keep the poles out of harms way when not in use. You can also see the exhaust vent from the cooling fan i have set up on the side of the cart. Because all the gear is contained inside the box, it can sometimes get quite warm, but the exhaust fan (a item sold by Mid Atlantic) helps to keep things cool. It came shipped with a thermostat so it can automaticaly go off when the temperature rises too much. But I have it set on manual on off. Will hopefully soon have it activated by the Logic in out of the 788T.

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Here you can see the patch panel. lots of in/outs for audio. Also BNC's for Antenna, video and timecode. RCA jack for the logic in/out of the 788T (i made up a little box with LED lights that get triggered by the recorder to put over the entrance to set to let people know when we are rolling. At the bottom is my SLA battery housed in the pelican case.

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Here is the cart in work mode. I turned out the lights in my basement to better show the LED lighting I incorporated into the cart. It definetly lights up the cart and lower drawer nicely when working on a dark set.

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A little closer look with the LED lights on.

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In this photo you can see what my setup is:

Zaxcom Cameo Digital mixer, Sound Devices 788T recorder, Lectrosonics Venue wireless receivers.

The display for the Cameo is held in using a Ram mount which allows for great adjustability. I'm using a flexible keayboard to enter data into the 788T. I also record to an external Rugged Drive you can see next to the keayboard.

Above the Venue receiver is a custom panel I had made. It has (from left to right) a small adjustable LED spot light (used for cockpit lighting) that lights up anything on the sliding shelf (usually keyboard) Next to that are 5 LED light switches that control the 3 lights on the cart, turns on/off the 4 pin DC output at the back of the cart and turns the cooling fan on / off. Next to the switches are 2 LED displays. the blue one is my battery voltage and the red one is the incoming (to my battery charger / supply) AC voltage.

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Here is the cart broken down into it's three pieces and ready to load into my car. This was the most important part for me in the cart's design. I didn't want to have to use a big van to transport my cart. When it's broken down, it can fit into the back of even a small hatchback if need be.

The cart has served me well the past 3-4 years. Over that time I've gone from a Mackie Onyx to the Cameo, I switched from a 744T to the 788T and I also added in the Venue reciver. The cart is great for being able to incorporate new gear easily as my needs change. I resisted making it fit too specifically the gear I had at the time, so that switching to different equipment over the years wouldn't mean totally reconstructing the cart.

I'd like to add 1 or 2 video monitors in the left hand side door panel and I keep toying with the idea of adding my Mac Mini into the cart. We'll see......

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Thanks for the kind words,

I just finished a long project last week, so I finally had a little time to take some decent pictures and write out some info.

I'm sure i'm like most of you, the cart is never really finished. I'm constantly adding little touches or coming up with new ideas to make it work better. This forum has certainly help inspire ideas for my design.

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Love the color, love the duallies, although I think having the rear wheels bigger might make the cart easier

to get over cables/curbs/grass etc.  How much if a hump is it to remove the case w/ all the gear and set it down?  The Venue and the 788 don't weigh much--how heavy is the Cameo?  Good on you for being able to use a small car....

Philip Perkins

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The Venue and the 788 don't weigh much--how heavy is the Cameo?

Philip Perkins

I'm sure Simon will tell us more exactly, but the Cameo is very lightweight. When I first had my Cameo and without the battery inside, when I lifted it I thought it was an empty box with switches.

-  Jeff Wexler

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  Wow and wow, it's awesome.  How wide is it?  Looks like it might be over 30 inches.  Also I question the dolly wheels and casters - don't you have bumpy streets out there across the pond?  Also where are your IFB / Comtek antennas?

  I guess the natural progression would be, when your sound stuff is all set, you add a pneumatic device to automatically open the doors with a "CHK-hsssssssss" sound...  Also get some dry ice holders to have some cool smoke fall out when the doors open!

  Dan Izen

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I'm sure Simon will tell us more exactly, but the Cameo is very lightweight. When I first had my Cameo and without the battery inside, when I lifted it I thought it was an empty box with switches.

Like Jeff mentions, the cameo is quite light. In fact I would say the SLA that fits into the front of the Cameo weights as much, if not more then the actual mixer ! Which is why I don't normally keep one in it. The heaviest part of the gear would be the road case it self. But I can, and usually do, lift it off myself. Next time I'm near a scale I'll let you know more precisely. The bottom frame is made out of sqaure aluminium tubing which helps a lot. As usual, the heaviest item in the cart is the 35 AH battery in the pelican.

Wow and wow, it's awesome.  How wide is it?  Looks like it might be over 30 inches.  Also I question the dolly wheels and casters - don't you have bumpy streets out there across the pond?  Also where are your IFB / Comtek antennas?

It's 24 inches wide. narrow enough to make it through every door I've come across up to now (knock on wood). It's tough to see in the pictures, but the gear at the top of the cart is all in standard rack rails. The lower sliding drawers are 5 inches wider,  to be able to accommodate larger mixers if need be.

Lots of people who see pictures of the cart also question the wheel choice, but It's been great so far. The rear wheels (sourced from a wheel chair company) roll over everything. I even dragged the thing a few hundred meters across a beach without much problem. When I'm rolling it around, I tip it onto the rear wheels and roll it that way, the front casters are only for pretty flat surfaces obviously.

LOL...across the pond...I'm across a smaller pond, called Lake Ontario.

As for IFB, I use a Lectro LM transmiter for that. It usually just sits on top of the cart, with audio sent out the back patchbay. I would like to incorporate a IFB T1 transmiter into the system and be able to mount the antenna higher, but for now the LM works well.

I love the idea of the dry ice and remote opening doors. Maybe incorporate a disco ball and laser lights and we've got a show !! let's call it Pimp my Cart !! I'll post the video when I get a chance to try out the dry ice trick.

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I love the idea of the dry ice and remote opening doors. Maybe incorporate a disco ball and laser lights and we've got a show !! let's call it Pimp my Cart !! I'll post the video when I get a chance to try out the dry ice trick.

A while ago my boom op and I thought it might be funny to make a "ghost ride the cart" music video.  Have a bunch of mixers rapping about the gear on their carts (or something like that) while someone (out of frame) is pulling their cart in the background with fishing wire...

Or...maybe not.

-Greg-

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  • 2 weeks later...

One more photo just to show how it can fit in my Chevy HHR Panel. It's a little snug, but I can still fit in the cart and a couple of cases.

incar.jpg

I can also operate the cart from the back of the car. I just pull the road case to the back opening (on top of a few pancakes or hockey pucks, whichever is handiest) open the doors and slide the mixer drawer out. It sits at a nice comfortable height for me to sit at and because of the hatch opening of the car it provides a little overhead shelter from the sun. I've also added to the cigarette lighter/DC output (on the back right side of the car) an XLR output, so I can plug into the car's power system.

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Hi Whitney,

Mine is a 2007. It's been great so far. I have the smallest engine with a manual transmission. Although the manual transmission helps a little in the performance, I won't be winning any races, but it's good enough for hauling gear around.

It hides the gear nicely in the back, without any windows it's nice and out of sight. It has a couple of handy hidden storage compartments underneath the cargo floor. It's also been designed with contractors in mind, so it has a DC output at the back of the truck (can I call it that ?) that, according to the manual, is rated at 40 amps.

Only thing I added was small bubble mirrors on the main sideview mirrors, to help see in the blind spots. Without the rear windows, the blind spots take a little getting used to.

If I were to buy one now, I might look at the SS version. It wasn't available when I bought mine. It has more horses under the hood, and I like the more aggressive look of it.

X07SV_CT005_%28544x408%29.jpg

Thats the SS version.

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I too own the HHR Panel.

Be advised the rear hatch opening is only 28", so any cart you have will have to roll in will have to be under that or split in half as in Simon's photos.

Fairly economical in gas usage, but the 2.2L Ecotec is enough power to haul ass when required.

The 260hp SS version is something else! The panel SS is special order, and the salesman I dealt with had neither seen or heard of one before.

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The HHR does look nice....

I don't know if they are everywhere yet, but the Sprinter-esque new Ford Transit

sure looks appealing for the medium package work vehicle.

Certainly worth a look....

https://www.fleet.ford.com/showroom/2010fleetshowroom/2010-transitconnect.asp

Mike Filosa, CAS

Atlanta

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I've been driving an HHR for over three years now.  It's always a challenge to pack in the amount of gear I usually carry as well as lots of backup and stuff for "Justin" (Justin Case).  I get thirty to thirty-two MPG highway (In this case, YMMV -- literally).

I prefer the windowed version.  The windows are tinted in such a way that it's difficult for someone to see the gear inside but I can see out fine.  When I toss my black Duvetyne cover over everything, it's even better.

I opted for the automatic transmission -- I didn't like the action of the standard shifter.  I liked the stick shift on both the Prelude and Porsche much better.  The automatic works well on the HHR and I'm happy I made that choice.  The car has lots of features standard.  One unexpected thing is how spoiled I am by the remote start -- absolutely great in the dead of winter.

Considering that it'll fit into an HHR, I'm especially impressed by your cart design, Simon.  Excellent!

John B.

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