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Step 9Putting it all together
Now we bring it all together, the arm assembly gets attached to the stem mount bracket with 2 - 1/4" x 1" bolts. I had to drill two holes in the L-angle bracket to match the holes in the hinge strap (see the picture). Two 1/4" bolts goes through the two hinge straps and a 1/4" holes drilled in the L-angle bracket on the stem mount. The tripod L-angle bracket gets attached to the other end of the arm assembly.
You'll need to check two basic functions of the spring arms;
1) Keep the camera in a neutral (balanced) position.
2) Make sure that as the tripod head moves up and down, it keeps the the camera level.
--Balancing procedure--
Place your camera in the tripod head and secure it. Now you may need to try several different springs or combinations of springs, as I did, to "equalize" the weight. Ideally it will require the same "pressure applied" to move the camera up or down when it is in the middle of the range of motion. I secured the ends of the springs with some brass washers and the #10-32 nuts and bolts.
--Level checking procedure--
To check the "level" of the arm place the entire assembly in a vise or mount it on your bike. Then put the small "bubble" level in the tripod in place of the camera and move the arm to the extreme top position. Now check the position of the bubble. NOTE: you may want to tweak the position of the assembly in the vise or on the bike to center the bubble and then re-tighten the clamp or the vise. Now move the arm to the extreme bottom of the range of motion and compare the bubble position. If it's off by more than a small amount, then you'll want check the measurements of the parallelogram (hinge corners) and re-align if necessary (see step 6).
Once you're satisfied with both of these requirements, you're ready for a road test, place the camera (mine is a JVC Mini DV GR-D250) in the tripod. Place the PVC "T" halves around your stem and use the hose clamp to secure the assembly. One note here, you may have to remove a little bit of additional material on one of the two halves, in order for it to clamp tightly enough.
You'll need to check two basic functions of the spring arms;
1) Keep the camera in a neutral (balanced) position.
2) Make sure that as the tripod head moves up and down, it keeps the the camera level.
--Balancing procedure--
Place your camera in the tripod head and secure it. Now you may need to try several different springs or combinations of springs, as I did, to "equalize" the weight. Ideally it will require the same "pressure applied" to move the camera up or down when it is in the middle of the range of motion. I secured the ends of the springs with some brass washers and the #10-32 nuts and bolts.
--Level checking procedure--
To check the "level" of the arm place the entire assembly in a vise or mount it on your bike. Then put the small "bubble" level in the tripod in place of the camera and move the arm to the extreme top position. Now check the position of the bubble. NOTE: you may want to tweak the position of the assembly in the vise or on the bike to center the bubble and then re-tighten the clamp or the vise. Now move the arm to the extreme bottom of the range of motion and compare the bubble position. If it's off by more than a small amount, then you'll want check the measurements of the parallelogram (hinge corners) and re-align if necessary (see step 6).
Once you're satisfied with both of these requirements, you're ready for a road test, place the camera (mine is a JVC Mini DV GR-D250) in the tripod. Place the PVC "T" halves around your stem and use the hose clamp to secure the assembly. One note here, you may have to remove a little bit of additional material on one of the two halves, in order for it to clamp tightly enough.
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