HI-POD LR15-25 Setup Manual

Manual Index:

3 - Introduction

4 - Inventory Checklist

6 - Take Tower Out Of Case

7 - Set Legs, Safety Locks, and Sandbags

11 - Attaching the Robotic Motor

11 - Attaching Camera to Robotic Motor

12 - LCD Bracket

13 - LCD Battery

15 - Securing the Hi-Pod Cabling

15 - Connecting the Cables

18 - Cameras / Cables / Remotes

27 - Strain Relief Plate

31 - Text (REC) On Screen

34 - Camera Settings

37 - Elevating Tubes

38 - Lowering Tubes

39 - Putting The Tower Away

41 - Contact Information

Congratulations on Your New Hi-Pod LR!

Now you can begin to elevate your game.

~

LX - The HI-POD LR series combines the professional control features

of the Hi-Pod PRO units, with the ease of use and transport of a 35 lb

tower. Once you are familiar with the setup procedures it should take

10-15 mins to fully configure a unit.

*Note: Within 2 weeks of delivery, product must be checked and

confirmed by the client to have arrived in good order and in its entirety.

After that time, clients will be responsible for any and all lost parts

(which are not covered under the warranty).

*Confirm your inventory with the sheet on the following page.

LR-25 CHECKLIST

 Monitor Bracket

 Monitor Tip

 3 Piece Rain Gear

 3 Sandbags

 Robot Head with Quick Release Spud

 Robot Remote

 AA Batteries with Charger

 LCD

 LCD Visor

 LCD Battery

 LCD Battery Charger

 Camera Remote

 Camera

 16GB SD Card

 Camera Power Bank

 Gold Screw for Power Bank

 Cable Stress Relief Plate

 Extension Screw for Rain Gear

 Cable Bundle

 Hi-Pod Manual Instructions

3 IMPORTANT THINGS:

• ALWAYS use the Strain Relief Plate

for your cables

• ALWAYS use your sandbags

• Take note of the 'Text on Screen'

instructions to display record status

...and other camera settings - (page 31)

Take Tower Out Of Case

Take the tower out of your case, and place it on the ground. If you

have an LR from before 2018, there are two black twist knobs on the

base of the tower, and three yellow safety collars. Lock all 5 to secure

the unit in place. If you have an LR from April 2018 or after, you will

only have two black knobs in the base. Lock those down.

Set Legs, Safety Locks, and Sandbags

You will want to setup the base of the tower with the black slats

between the yellow legs as even/level with the ground as possible. This

will give you the maximum stability during operation.

Once the black slats are level, hold them in position with the three

yellow safety collars (see below). Once in place, turn the ratchets on

the yellow collars to lock in place (they can pop out, adjust, and

continue turning to lock more tightly), and the two black knobs should

be completely closed. (Below: yellow collars only apply before 2018).

USE

YOUR

SANDBAGS!

Sandbags continued....

The included sandbags are NOT optional. You must apply them every

time you use the tower. This is intended to provide your safety weight.

With a tower of 35 lbs, and an approximate extra 35 lbs in the

sandbags, this gets you to ~ 70 lbs in total. This is the approach which

works in the vast majority of situations.

You are welcome to go beyond the three bags should you want to.

Add cables through the legs which then connect to stakes (if not on a

turf field), add more sandbags, whatever you'd like! The three bags we

include are sufficient, but there is no harm in going beyond them if you

prefer, and also if you are dealing with extreme conditions.

NEVER WALK AWAY

FROM AN ELEVATED

TOWER.

NEVER EVER!

Don't do it - seriously!

When a tower is elevated you must manage it at all times. Anything

can happen at any time - unexpected winds can pop up, rain can

surprise you, someone could mess with your setup, or there could be

lightning - who knows?!

• If you ever need to walk away from the unit, bring it completely

down so the tubes are fully compressed. Then you can take a break.

Attaching the Robotic Motor

Simply attach the mounting pedestal that is underneath of

the motor into the top of the Hi-Pod tubes. Then lock the

mounting pedestal into the top tube spud by turning the

ratchet (which you can pop out, reposition, and continue

turning) until the motor is tightly held into the tubes.

Attaching Camera to Robotic Motor

Once the strain releif plate in in place (see page 27), simply attach the camera to the top of the

robotic motor and tighten the screw into place. Make sure the camera window is flipped open in

order for your camera to stay on while filming. However you can flip the camera window

forward and push it back to close. You will be using an HDMI cable so close the window as far

as you can.

LCD Bracket

The LCD Mounting Bracket holds the

screen on the tubes.

You will find a metal item with a black

tip on one end (for the LCD), and a black

clamp with silver connecting screw on

the other (connects to tubes).

Open the collar, size to the tube, and

close the silver screw to lock on.

<- - - see 2017 LCD battery on left

There are two LCD battery styles that have shipped. The

current 2017 model LCD and battery will be described first.

On the back of the screen take note of the velcro strap,

and two ports: 'HDMI IN 1' for video and 'DC' for power.

Attach the LCD battery as shown.

<- - Use the adapter on

the left to plug into the

USB end of the

battery, and then

connect the DC tip into

the LCD.

LCDs Pre-2017: Clients before 2017 will have a different battery system

Connect the battery by lining up the metal pins on the LCD battery

plate, and sliding them into the holes on the battery. Be careful not to

misalign and bend the pins.

Securing the HI-POD Cabling

It is important to minimize the strain on the connectors for the camera. Make sure the top

of the cables pictured to the left is at the top of the tubes and the bottom (pictured to the right) is

at the bottom of the unit.

There will be a yellow line at the top end of the chord. You will then find the strain relief

for the cables hanging down from the top of the tubes. Attach the clip below the yellow line or T-

bar attached to the cable. This keeps the cord for tugging on the connectors for the camera and

robotic motor, ensuring your equipment will last longer.

Connecting the Cables

1. Plug the cable pictured below into the back of the robotic motor. This cable controls the

motor. Set the robot to 'M' for manual, and set to 90 or 360 degrees.

2. Connect the HDMI cable into the HDMI Out port on the left side of the camera

pictured below.

Then find your long lanc cable which sends

remote control signal between the remote

and the camera. The WHITE end of the

cable goes into the remote. The BLACK end

goes into the camera. DO NOT REVERSE

THIS as if you do it does not function.

Plug in the HDMI cable into the HDMI IN source on your monitor pictured below.

In the cable bundle you'll find a slightly thicker cable with

pins inside at the bottom. You will connect this cable to the

directional remote to enable control over pan/tilt.

Notice the speed slider that is near the

bottom of the remote. For best

performance you will want to push that

slider all the way to the right.

Cameras / Cables / Remotes

There are also two categories of cameras, which have different setups:

(1) - Cameras with a fixed shell w/USB external battery (2016 forward)

(2) - Cameras with a battery that connects in the back (ended 2015)

• Cameras w/USB Power Pack (2016 forward)•

Sample Cameras: Sony CX240, CX405, etc...

The newest Hi-Pods ship with cameras that use an external USB power

pack. We have shipped white and grey batteries (they setup the same).

Find the USB power pack (exact style may vary), and attach to the

tower where there is a hook at the top of the tubes. Use the brass

screw (shown in the image) to sandwich the battery to the tower.

Connect the battery pack to the

camera with a USB female to male

extension cable (included in your

case). Note the shorter USB cable in

the hand-strap of the camera, and use

the longer extension to connect the

camera/battery.

Some versions of the battery

will have more than one

power port. The higher of the

voltage options is what you'll

plug into. On the current grey

battery (not pictured) the

plug is 2.4A

Now it's time to connect the camera to the remote which controls

zoom and record functions. The cable/remote are pictured below:

*NOTE IMAGE BELOW: If reversed, the system will not function.

* 2018: Note: The White Cable tip is now Red (edit for image below)

• Find the plastic cradle, insert remote, and attach to the LCD bracket.

*NOTE the Red (2018) or White (pre 2018) end plugs into the remote.

**NOTE the black end of the cable plugs into the camera 'Multi' port.

• Cameras w/battery in the back (ended 2015)•

For cameras that have

a battery which

connects in the back of

the unit, there are a

few more steps. We'll

work from the top

down in this setup.

*Note the 'Multi' port

under the hand strap

on the camera.

4 Cables In Total

• (1) Find the 'Multi-Adapter cable

(pictured right), and plug it into the

'Multi' port.

• (2) The 'Sony D-Cable' will plug into the D-

shaped port on the 'Multi-Cable'. In the vast

majority of cases, the only cable involved is the

black cable with the stereo tip. The RCA cables are

only involved if not using HDMI. Just ignore them.

(3) You'll find a really long

skinny 'Lanc Cable' (pictured

right), which links the 'D-

Cable' down to the remote.

This cable runs the length of the

entire unit (top to bottom).

(4) Over the years, three different remotes have shipped with this lanc

system. See images below (left to right: Silver Sony, Vivitar, VariZoom):

All of these remotes have a 4-6" cable

which ends in a silver connector with

three pins. This will connect to the

long 'lanc' cable on the end which has

ports to receive these three pins. Just

connect the ends, and they will snap

into place. You can release by

pressing the small black button when

disassembling.

Connecting HDMI:

For all HD cameras (regardless of what battery system you have) you

will plug the long HDMI cable into the mini/micro port on your camera

(found under the camera's LCD window), and run it down to the

standard HDMI port in the large LCD at the base.

(Camera)

(Back of LCD)

Strain Relief Plate

*This is one of the most important steps during setup for any camera.

Failure to use this plate can void your electronics warranty. See the

cable Strain Relief Plate below:

NOTE: Cameras shipped in 2018 will snap into a quick release plate

-

no need to re-thread cables every time. Before 2018, follow the steps

below.

The Strain Relief Plate locks the video and lanc cables firmly under the

camera. When the unit is fully elevated, it prevents gravity from pulling

down on the delicate cable tips/camera ports, which can cause the tips

to break or ports to widen. If damage occurs your control/video signal

will drop - so USE THIS ITEM EVERY TIME. *Damage to the system can

occur as quickly as a single use if not applied.

You use this plate by threading your video and lanc cables through it (in

opposite directions to come out on the appropriate sides of the

camera).

Attach your

camera with the

brass screw in the

middle of the

plate.

The brass screw is

flushed against the

bottom of the black

plate, so you'll need to

use a coin (or whatever

is available) to securely

connect.

After the Strain Relief Plate is attached, to mount to the Hi-Pod

wheeled head, find the smaller of the two holes next to the bottom of

the brass screw. This will connect with the camera mounting screw.

Text (REC) On Screen

In general, cameras under $1,000 do not have the ability to save a

setting to push out text (record/battery status) from the camera down

to the LCD. There is a way to achieve this on less expensive cameras,

but it's applied every time the camera is turned on. Once memorized it

takes about 5 secs.

• First, click on the 'Menu' button in the top left corner:

• Select

'Camera/Mic'

• Scroll down until you find 'Scene Selection' and click on it

Your screen will change to look like this. Click on the bottom right

arrow to continue.

At this point, your screen will clear up leaving the middle unobstructed.

DO NOT CLICK ANYTHING. Just leave the screen here. The text

displayed will push down to your LCD - notice the 'STBY' in green. This

will change to a red 'REC' indicator when you're recording. This way

you'll always know when you are or aren't recording.

This text overlay will not be on your final video files. It is only seen by

the Hi-Pod operator when they are filming.

*Note: If you have a remote which has a 'Photo' button option - DO

NOT HIT IT. If you do it will bounce you out of this view back into the

menu where you chose 'Scene Selection.' If you do this while the

camera is in the air, you will have to bring it all the way down to setup

on the camera again.

Camera Settings Continued: Dual Video REC

On new cameras for 2017 (example CX405), they appear to default ship

with a setting called 'Dual Video REC'

enabled in the camera settings.

When this feature is active the camera saves two copies of the same

clip in different quality settings (one is higher def, one is for online

sharing). What this means is that the camera is taking double the

storage space that it needs to. Whether you want to leave this setting

on is up to the preference of the user, but if you want to turn it off..

• First go to 'Menu'

• Then 'Image Quality/Size' • Then look for 'Dual Video REC'

• Turn this feature 'Off'

Camera Settings Continued: Confirming Camera Battery

For those clients using either the grey or

white USB batteries, you need to confirm

that the battery is turned on and is set as

the main power source before elevating.

Without doing this, it's possible to leave

the small internal camera battery active

which will die quickly.

If you have your camera

connected to the LCD (with

text on screen applied as

explained earlier in this

manual) you will see the

battery icon in the top left.

This means the small

internal battery is active.

This is not what you want.

First, mount the battery to the tower at the

hook on the side of the tubes. Connect the

battery to the camera with the female-to-

male USB cable extension. The female end

will connect to the USB cable found in the

camera hand strap.

Click the button on the side of the battery

to turn it on.

You will see the buttons on the battery light up blue.

When connected correctly and

turned on, the battery button in

the top right of the LCD will

disappear. This is what you want

,

and (when charged) will allow the

camera to record for at least 5 hrs.

Elevating Tubes

At this point in the setup, your unit is set to elevate.

Grab a pole above a collar, unlock, raise to your desired height, and lock

again.

Lowering Tubes

When lowering the tubes, always grab the pole above a collar before

opening that collar. If you do not grab the pole first, it will shoot down.

Velcro Cables to Tubes

We include a strap of velcro above

every collar. Use this to attach your

video/lanc cables to the tower. This

keeps your cables out of the way, and

acts and an additional strain relief.

Putting The Tower Away

When it's time for you to put away the unit, most of the setup can just

be done in reverse.

Two key things to point out:

(1) When attempting to fold the tower, unlock all knobs and push your

foot lightly down on the black slats between the legs, and pull up on

the silver ring. The legs will fold in.

• For the tower to fit back into the case, you must line up of all of the

knobs on the unit - both top (tubes) and bottom (base). If this is not

done, the tower will not fit into the case correctly.

*Note: Cases are provided to protect the tower during shipment, and to

facilitate easier transport on and off the field. Cases have a fabric

exterior, so be aware of this when putting other gear around/on top of

it, and also when moving in and out of a vehicle - make sure not to

catch on anything that could rip the case. This is up to the user.

For more information, please contact HI-POD at:

Attn: Enrique Morales

7316 Laurel Canyon Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 91605

818-982-2601

Fax 818-982-2621

info@hi-pod.com

www.hi-pod.com