Also consider tweeting potato jet, tbh he’s the one on TH-cam I see the most directly interacting with Arri. He might get a kick out of the project and know someone he could send your way
I actually emailed and DM’d him about a week ago about this project but I’m still waiting for a response haha. It really seems like something he would love to check out!
I'd have been a little bit worried about buying from somebody who had "5 of these" If you've got 5 of anything, that's not likely to be random stuff you picked up in a yard-sale - they've been collecting. If the collector then sells off "5 in a random state of completeness" - you can be pretty sure they've stripped out anything of value. The "oh it's weird that that's missing" is going to be list of consumable parts required to make a functioning camera.
This. Arri has great customer service. If they were fixable individually they would have been. They were used for scrap already - why would they be missing buttons and whatnot ? Additionally : Sensor boot errors and failing software updates are also a big nono. It seems that these got fried somehow.
I think you've been mugged off, the fact most of these are missing their buttons and exterior parts, ports etc., makes me think that these are all parts donor cameras which have already had the working bits taken from them. It'll be amazing if you can make a working camera out of these 5, but Frankenstein's monster wasn't without his issues...
Yeah I mean… if these would compromise parts to complete one camera with an appropriate amount of work, the seller would likely have done that, sold one working camera and four cameras “for parts”. This is very often the case for those lots (watch movements would be another typical example), it’s leftovers someone piled up while sourcing parts for a project, and likely at least one or two critical parts that are hard to obtain will be missing in all of them.
@@axialivanov6101 well I stand corrected anyway - seemingly it was possible to get one working camera out of the lot (meanwhile I have watched the second video ;)) - but that’s really a big risk when buying such lots. Luckily he was lucky :)
You bought Alexa's that already salvaged, they know how to pick functional parts, it would be very difficult if you could not get the parts to make it functional. .... I still admire the hard work and the process. Hope you could get it working soon.
I think you bought part donor cameras. They all have some unfixable underlying issue. And getting those parts that have been harvested from them is impossible, otherwise they would not have harvested them and ordered spare parts.
@@uhohwhy brother the 10+ years of color science development for this camera specifically is SO far beyond a “fancy video filter”… you really should educate yourself on the history of cinematography before you belt out bullshit like that so confidently
An AC power adapter to have constant power to camera for trouble shooting would be a big plus. Might be another $100 investment. The SxS-1 card your using is not supported by Arri, look into SXS pro card. That will be another expense as well. Love the project! Hope you can get one of these up and running. In my experiecne Andrew Shipsides is a great resource on these cameras, if he doesn't know he will direct you to someone that will know.
I subscribed...purely because I like the idea that you have the balls to attempt this project....no idea what you bought ..but I love the idea of getting educated in camera technology
Awesome project, I'm definitely looking forward to seeing the results! The main question to me tho is why the heck they didn't bother to protect the sensors on these... 🤦♀
Cool video! I saw that auction on Ebay but said nah. You may not need SXS cards. If you have working BNC outputs you can record to an external recorder. If you have one with the ARRIRAW license you can record the highest quality to an external recorder like Odyssey 7Q.
Definitely get AC power adapter. That’ll clear up one of the warnings, and reduce the risk of a shut off during critical work! Plus; these things eat through batteries quickly, so a v mount battery will only get you so far for so long. Also I’m sure you’ve scoured, but the Alexa manual has an error/warning code list with at list minimal explanations. Last, I’m excited to see the things that you can learn about these cameras. Now that they are getting cheaper I’m hoping more people will be able to dive into the internals and see how these tick. My Alexa Plus’s fan is a little loud so I’d love to find out if the fan has a widely available replacement;)
Awesome you got these! The DC input expects 24 volt, that's why battery warning is active at the first booting camera. If you get a battery plate you can power the cameras also with a single 14,4 Volt battery.
That’s what I figured! I can change the low voltage warning to a lower voltage so the warning goes away but every time I power the camera back on it resets back.
Short info for some of these Error-mesages: High/Low sensor temp & sensor boot error: Could be a connection issue between sensor and the rest (also maybe why some of the update failed) LDS failure: (LensDataSystem) you don't have a mount on there thats (maybe) it The red/green LED flashing is just a general system error indicator for above mentioned things. Changing sensors between different cameras of the same(!) type is possible (but there will be image artifacts since they weren't calibrated on this body), but it would be sufficient for testing.
The Alexa use a temperature controlled sensor when booting up a peltier device behind the sensor heat it up to get quicker to the optimal temperature, once reached it reverse polarity and starts to cool down the sensor to keep it at the optimal range pretty sure it is defective and the brain of the cam can't get temp data from the system
@@TH-cam_can_ESAD yep your right I'm clearly wrong. I thought the hammer finish was fiberglass reinforced plastic instead it's milled metal with a hammered powder coat my mistake.
There is nothing wrong with a properly designed 3d printed handle. 3D printed material can support 160,000 times it's own weight, but if you don't know how to design one or run a proper FEA on the part then just use a cage.
First Step…. Aquire a Service Repair Manual. Examine boards for shorts or blown caps. 3 lean how to test electronics. 4 Call an Arri service technician and makes friends. Good Luck.
bro i need the secodn part!!, hope you made it man!, honestly this is the truth behind everything, always grinding for our equipment, i would to love to know what it takes to build an arri , that´s amazing man, i hope you can get this done bro ! good luck !
Errors : Arri does not do well with after market items , you definitely need to plug this into the wall to do a firmware update as you could end up bricking it also I know it’s a little bit of money but invest in official plug unit for Arri you we’ll find it may clear up some of the errors x also that’s wrong memory card you also have a overheating issue check the fans are spinning correctly as if not could over heat and fry the board check to see if connection to fans not lose
What a cool idea and I wish you the best of luck! Just a note though - the editing on future videos in the series could use some tightening up. I found myself skipping 30-60 seconds at a time yet the same thought was being repeated.
Believe it would benefit @ARRIChannel too, to give a helping hand, as the more of these cameras can be held in service, and tried by, also amateurs, the more interest it will be for the brand. If your fix simply is swapping parts between broken cameras and there is no DRM bullshit preventing you, it is really good news for indie film makers too, and still, they will come back to ARRI for more parts and acessories, meaning ARRI will still benefit from these broken cameras getting a new life.
Is there a service manual ? Can you get schematics for it? It's worthy to monitor the basics, like measure the voltage rails, and test-points. Do you have basic test equipment, like a scope, a volt-meter, an RLC meter, etc? Can you see if there are any serial port or JTAG headers. Are there any electromechanical sensors or actuators.. Mechanical fiddly things are often points of failure to take a close look at. Can you run these boards outside of the camera and check for valid logic levels and the like?
I don’t know if you’ve check, or someone said it, but go online and search for the maintenance manual. I found one that has information on the hardware and firmware, that could help you with the trouble shooting and finding more information. It’s also nice if you can find an illustrated parts catalog. I really like this project and wish you the best!
I know it seems like $100 is a lot for a cable, but those LEMO style ends are really not overly cheap for brand name. China style ones are not terrible under normal use if you need to make one or get the chassis mounts for them
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Photograph both sides of each pcb you remove ensure the REV numbers are checked and log each board per camera chassis serial as manufactures change functions on different revs of the same camera , and you may find that one board will not be supported in external firmware to it - use a bunch of Brady number/letter labels - dont lose track.... !!!!
I did same thing with BMW 318 roadster, bought three for repairs 500 each. I had the storage and flat bed access to tools. Able to make one good one and sold remaining parts on ebay. conclusion: I made a profit. Good luck. now I'm shopping for camera and found your video
Omg I saw this ebay add last week and now you got them, that's awesome! I had the same dream as you to buy them all and hopefully make 1 working camera but it was a bit out of my $ range . I ended up buying a C100 extra cheap and am very happy.
First video I've watched in your channel. Love the concept and can't wait for the resolution but please leave out the whole "oh I don't know what is going to happen" or "I am so exited for this moment I am anticipating". Like, we know. I understand creating tension but 10 minutes of the video is just buying the cameras from ebay. 🤷♂️ Or at least make it a fast cut like "BAM BAM BAM look what I got!". Just that. Hope you can make it work. Making just one of them work will be worth it, and I can't even imagine how much having that level of gear will allow you to develop as a filmaker. Good luck! 😁👍
Hope you can get one running my dude, your enthusiasm for it is so deserving of this going well. Watching, liking and subscribing and hoping the money you make helps you get there.
Good luck on this project. There are so many different combinations of parts to make one complete unit that a high reliance on both your skill and available time are crucial factors for success.
Hey brother you inspired me to buy the cheapest arri classic ev on ebay after watching your videos. It's worked great so far. As of today though, I've been getting black vertical lines on the led side panel which makes me think the screen may be on its way out. I was wondering if you may have any working spare side screen panels left? I'll buy one off of you if you do and are willing to sell, you can't find parts for these things anywhere!
That was definitelly a great find, danm do i wish i could get myself some Arri`s and just frankestein them until one works for cheap, hoepfully you have luck with the rest, if you could end with all 4 eventually working that be amazing!
Taking into consideration that the previous owner could afford 5 of these but not to fix them is not a good starting point. My brother does this kind of fixer-upper deals with high-end speakers and amplifiers for his studio, which is orders of magnitude simpler than an ARRI camera. Good luck with this project, hope you can get at least one working, man!
Welcome to the world of cinema cameras where everything is expensive and conditions are rough 😂. Awesome project, kinda jealous haha. Some input from my side: E stands for Error and W for warning i guess. LDS is Arris Lens Data System for communicating with compatible cinema lenses through contacts in the PL Mount. The Error makes sens because the PL mount is incomplete. Should still allow the camera to function tho. The most complicated thing with the Alexa is everything around the Sensor. Arri has put a lot of engineering in the temperature management of the sensor to ensure a constantly good image. So findig an Alexa with the properly working sensor and temperature management and without any errors related to the sensor temperature may be your priority number one. Cam #1 showed Sensor boot Error and low Temperature, so it might not be suited best for the final functioning model. You can connect a monitor and see what kind of image the camera outputs and if there are any dead pixels or other sensor defects. That also works without a lens attached although I phyicaly cringe seeing these beeing shipped without any lens caps and no lens attached haha. I mean the sensor is the part that makes the Alexa that special and relevant in the industry and people would not bother protecting it. But a large studio or rental house does not care about these old work horses. They have probably paid for themselfs multiple times and are now just collect dust. It would be interesting how many hours runtime are on them. Lower runtime might indicate better internal conditions because of less use but could still be heavier use and worse conditions tho. Looking forward to part 2!
So true.. When you buy the body of the cinema camera about a month later you end up spending about 4-5x more for new lenses, accessories, gear and quality of life improvements. The cinema world is crazy.
I've never used any cinema cameras, but I do a lot of electronics work. I just found this in an Alexa firmware update PDF... "Updating ALEXA Classic M or ALEXA XT M Cameras Please note that the first time an ALEXA Classic M or ALEXA XT M is upgraded from a version before SUP 10 Open Bate 2 to SUP 10 Open Beta 2 or later, a slightly different update process (two-pass upgrade) has to be used. "The two-pass update process is as follows: • Initiate the update as described in the release notes. • The camera will start the update and at some point inform you that the APIC update failed. This is normal and not a problem. Please wait until the update is finished updating the CMC and ACOM boards." "• Then power down the camera and power it back up again. • You will see an error and a message in the LIVE INFO screen like this:" (shows an LCD screenshot, with E: System Error, Apic Update Failed, Please Reinstall.) • Initiate the update again. The camera should go through the entire update procedure this time. That suggests it might be a similar situation for the Alexa classic maybe? ie. I don't think you can jump too many firmware versions in one hit, you have to do it in steps. So hopefully the APIC update error isn't anything too serious. I couldn't find much info on the APIC online (I thought it sounded like a Power Management IC at first), apart from somebody asking on an Alexa reddit about repair of the APIC board, and they said it's the "video processing board". btw, if you end up with a camera at the end of this project that has most of the boards but other things missing, I'm very interested in buying it from you. Although I guess it I probably couldn't do much with the sensorless versions, I would still consider it. lol P.S. I'm fairly sure the E: and W: just mean "Error" and "Warning".
Oh, not sure if anyone mentioned this yet, but it's possible that if the seller dismantled some of the cameras more than others, there might not be enough (or any) thermal materal between the heatsink and the camera sensor. Or, the heatsink might not have been tightened to the sensor assembly correctly. If the camera doesn't have a temperature probe right under the sensor itself, then it might not be able to detect that problem, and the sensor could possibly get damaged by overheating if it's left like that for too long. I don't think the sensors produce a massive amount of heat, tbh, but I'm not 100% sure on that. I think they mainly use the peltier coolers to help reduce pixel noise in the image, especially at low-light levels. (like they do for sensors on telescope cameras.) Since all the cameras have been taken apart at some stage, it could be worth tearing them down just a bit further, to see if everything looks in place, especially the heatsinks and thermal pads / paste.
@@alain99v6 Yep, but I was thinking that since the APIC message was one of the main messages after the attempted firmware update, it might be the same or similar issue.
This is an awesome video bro! I just got my Arri Alexa Plus a few months ago! I'm sure someone told you about the compatible SxS cards by now on the comment thread. Can't wait for the 2nd video and I really hope you get 1 or 2 up and running!
I'm occasionally hacking "interesting" consumer cameras (still photography) to make them full spectrum. I've been pretty much following the method of buying a bunch of "almost-functioning" cameras to end up with a few working ones, made from harvested working modules. But some cameras have design / component flaws that are un-fixable unless you have special tools or access to parts and service manuals. I have bought "broken" cameras that just needed some cleaning and some in great condition that won't even power on. The PSU often is a source of many troubles and so are aging micro switches and, believe it or not, solder points. Especially the lead-free variety: A good solder point can age for no apparent reason at all and you won't be able to tell from looking at it...
Usually these cameras are parts cameras from a rental house. The imagers are notorious for going bad, so are things like the SDI boards. So most of the time, they're just throw away for that reason. I doubt highly you'll be able to make one work because if there were any working licenses on the boards, the rental house would have used those boards for other cameras to keep them working. So without licenses, you'll struggle to even get software to work, let alone hardware. The best thing to do is build one chassis that powers on with a board that appears to work and simply swap parts around using that chassis. You may get an image out of using all 5 donors, but my guess is, it won't be good to use for any real shooting. Having worked in and around these cameras for years, sadly they're at the end of life, they have many issues, 100's of them are not working due to typical on-set wear and tear. It's not something you can fix with a soldering iron, it's generally full-scale failure of multiple components. Anyway, good luck with the work, great channel and I hope you at least have fun.
The first rule of troubleshooting: the bigger the problem, the easier the fix. Never touched one of these cameras but all those errors indicate something simple and global to me, like an unstable power source. I agree with the people saying to get a power adapter asap, then see what happens. Oh; and many electronic tools maintain an error log; so you might be seeing a list of every error this camera ever had.. 🤷🏻♀️
I got a full Alexa Classic 16:9 kit for around $3600, so you can definitely find deals, maybe kits with fewer extra accessories. Just keep in mind the rather high individual cost for key accessories like the viewfinder, top handle, battery plate, and PL mount (though Leitax's EF mount is relatively inexpensive). And the high wattage batteries and heavy duty fluid head and tripod hahaha
Woooo this is awesome, I mean wow, as a person who loves rebuild things, like the ooooold sx-980 Pionner amp which I bough few months ago, I'll start to rebuild it to its original and new state, but come on, is one of my passions but is only a 500 dollar amplifier, but a really expensive and marvelous camera, cinema cámera like this, wow I mean, I wonder which movie those cameras taked, who used it before, amazing video, I stay tuned for the next part!, regards from San Luis Potosí, México!
I've ran into so many scams on eBay like this I would have just passed right over it I'm glad you got it though that's great news my luck is I wait 3 months and get nothing and end up having to ask eBay to step in watch out for the A7 camera lineup there's a lot of scams on there
I doubt they just dump the cameras. So, there is a possibility someone, at some moment, make a damage report prior to release them. Try to reach the seller, at least they can give you a better idea of what is missing. I think the will have more info to share about it. I hope you got through. Nice proyect. And also online forums (every one knows this last one piece of advise). Godspeed!😊👍
From what I remember they were used for parts by the reseller that sold them. They sold a few other Alexa’s and that’s why these would have been stripped. Before that I don’t know. Inventory clean out of a large rental house or repair centre?
The first 1,000 people to use the link will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare: skl.sh/foxtailwhipz07221
you definitely needed that sponser i blocked using sponsorblock
Also consider tweeting potato jet, tbh he’s the one on TH-cam I see the most directly interacting with Arri. He might get a kick out of the project and know someone he could send your way
I actually emailed and DM’d him about a week ago about this project but I’m still waiting for a response haha. It really seems like something he would love to check out!
Potato jet is gonna go potatoes !!! When he hears what you bought and for how much imagine just fixing one your good
@@FoxTailWhipz any news on Potato? We can bomb him with requests if need be!!
@@FoxTailWhipz recommend just doing a public tweet. The upvotes and response from his subs will get his attention easier, IMO
I'd have been a little bit worried about buying from somebody who had "5 of these"
If you've got 5 of anything, that's not likely to be random stuff you picked up in a yard-sale - they've been collecting.
If the collector then sells off "5 in a random state of completeness" - you can be pretty sure they've stripped out anything of value.
The "oh it's weird that that's missing" is going to be list of consumable parts required to make a functioning camera.
This. Arri has great customer service. If they were fixable individually they would have been. They were used for scrap already - why would they be missing buttons and whatnot ?
Additionally : Sensor boot errors and failing software updates are also a big nono. It seems that these got fried somehow.
You have a unique ability to talk without saying anything.
I think you've been mugged off, the fact most of these are missing their buttons and exterior parts, ports etc., makes me think that these are all parts donor cameras which have already had the working bits taken from them. It'll be amazing if you can make a working camera out of these 5, but Frankenstein's monster wasn't without his issues...
Same
Yeah I mean… if these would compromise parts to complete one camera with an appropriate amount of work, the seller would likely have done that, sold one working camera and four cameras “for parts”. This is very often the case for those lots (watch movements would be another typical example), it’s leftovers someone piled up while sourcing parts for a project, and likely at least one or two critical parts that are hard to obtain will be missing in all of them.
Despite the missing parts he got a extremely good deal check prices on any fully built one
@@axialivanov6101 well I stand corrected anyway - seemingly it was possible to get one working camera out of the lot (meanwhile I have watched the second video ;)) - but that’s really a big risk when buying such lots. Luckily he was lucky :)
@@ashedinthewoods bro what the fuck with the spoilers
Interesting. Definitely would like to see a follow up after working on it some more.
You bought Alexa's that already salvaged, they know how to pick functional parts, it would be very difficult if you could not get the parts to make it functional.
.... I still admire the hard work and the process.
Hope you could get it working soon.
I think you bought part donor cameras. They all have some unfixable underlying issue. And getting those parts that have been harvested from them is impossible, otherwise they would not have harvested them and ordered spare parts.
All their cameras just do a fancy video filter, they are overpriced junk.
@@uhohwhy Lol what are you talking about ARRI cameras?
@@uhohwhy brother the 10+ years of color science development for this camera specifically is SO far beyond a “fancy video filter”… you really should educate yourself on the history of cinematography before you belt out bullshit like that so confidently
@@daviduribe5897 i bet he prefers the colors of his iPhone, because it's Apple 😂
@@uhohwhy lmfao, bruh, sober up 😂☠️😂
You are a hero. Your passion and determination will surely get rewarded. Good luck
+2
An AC power adapter to have constant power to camera for trouble shooting would be a big plus. Might be another $100 investment. The SxS-1 card your using is not supported by Arri, look into SXS pro card. That will be another expense as well. Love the project! Hope you can get one of these up and running. In my experiecne Andrew Shipsides is a great resource on these cameras, if he doesn't know he will direct you to someone that will know.
If he's in LA or NY or another industry heavy town, check craigslist. You'll be surprised what people will let go for next to nothing (comparatively).
any Lab supply will do they are cheap and chinese Ive several in use for years....
My TH-cam algorithm knows me too well: DIY project, repair and Arri Alexa. Count me in!
I subscribed...purely because I like the idea that you have the balls to attempt this project....no idea what you bought ..but I love the idea of getting educated in camera technology
„ I can‘t believe the first camera powers one without any problems“
Alexa: Please kill me.
Nice vieo tho :D
Awesome project, I'm definitely looking forward to seeing the results! The main question to me tho is why the heck they didn't bother to protect the sensors on these... 🤦♀
I know it was a litttle scary but luckily there’s no damage to the sensors. They could definitely use a good cleaning though
They say cheap is expensive , hope you nail it.
b'coz $1250 is way too much money from where i come from to buy broken stuffs.
All the best.....
The relief I felt when it turned on...
Cool video! I saw that auction on Ebay but said nah. You may not need SXS cards. If you have working BNC outputs you can record to an external recorder. If you have one with the ARRIRAW license you can record the highest quality to an external recorder like Odyssey 7Q.
Definitely get AC power adapter. That’ll clear up one of the warnings, and reduce the risk of a shut off during critical work! Plus; these things eat through batteries quickly, so a v mount battery will only get you so far for so long.
Also I’m sure you’ve scoured, but the Alexa manual has an error/warning code list with at list minimal explanations.
Last, I’m excited to see the things that you can learn about these cameras. Now that they are getting cheaper I’m hoping more people will be able to dive into the internals and see how these tick. My Alexa Plus’s fan is a little loud so I’d love to find out if the fan has a widely available replacement;)
Tear it apart rewind the motor.
just kidding but not if you're desperate
@@TheGalacticWest not desperate enough yet to mess with a working Alexa haha
Build a DC regulated supply or buy one they are cheap...Lemo connectors are mega expensive military use them in non-critical applications!
Dying for Part 2. Oh how I wish this was a full series I could binge watch.
Awesome you got these! The DC input expects 24 volt, that's why battery warning is active at the first booting camera. If you get a battery plate you can power the cameras also with a single 14,4 Volt battery.
That’s what I figured! I can change the low voltage warning to a lower voltage so the warning goes away but every time I power the camera back on it resets back.
@@FoxTailWhipz try changing the little 3 volt battery in the camera, it may also be able to handle a firmware update after that
@@FoxTailWhipz what model number are these. I've seen the 35 for €86,000 😱
Short info for some of these Error-mesages:
High/Low sensor temp & sensor boot error: Could be a connection issue between sensor and the rest (also maybe why some of the update failed)
LDS failure: (LensDataSystem) you don't have a mount on there thats (maybe) it
The red/green LED flashing is just a general system error indicator for above mentioned things.
Changing sensors between different cameras of the same(!) type is possible (but there will be image artifacts since they weren't calibrated on this body), but it would be sufficient for testing.
The Alexa use a temperature controlled sensor when booting up a peltier device behind the sensor heat it up to get quicker to the optimal temperature, once reached it reverse polarity and starts to cool down the sensor to keep it at the optimal range pretty sure it is defective and the brain of the cam can't get temp data from the system
Please don’t do a 3D printed top handle - Arri classics are heavy and imo not worth the risk at all of a plastic top handle
The whole damn camera is plastic
@@doulos5322 No it’s not, that Alexa is a literal boat anchor bro… You’ve clearly never operated one and know nothing of what you speak. 🤫👉🏽🤡
@@TH-cam_can_ESAD yep your right I'm clearly wrong. I thought the hammer finish was fiberglass reinforced plastic instead it's milled metal with a hammered powder coat my mistake.
There is nothing wrong with a properly designed 3d printed handle. 3D printed material can support 160,000 times it's own weight, but if you don't know how to design one or run a proper FEA on the part then just use a cage.
@@TH-cam_can_ESAD 🖕🏽💩
Can’t wait for Part II!
Lol, I actually saw these for sale and wondered who would buy them. Good to see that you got them!
same lol
Someone with more money than sense, probably.
First Step…. Aquire a Service Repair Manual. Examine boards for shorts or blown caps. 3 lean how to test electronics. 4 Call an Arri service technician and makes friends. Good Luck.
do you know where these Service Repair Manuals are? my Alexa has a white screen on bootup
bro i need the secodn part!!, hope you made it man!, honestly this is the truth behind everything, always grinding for our equipment, i would to love to know what it takes to build an arri , that´s amazing man, i hope you can get this done bro ! good luck !
Errors : Arri does not do well with after market items , you definitely need to plug this into the wall to do a firmware update as you could end up bricking it also I know it’s a little bit of money but invest in official plug unit for Arri you we’ll find it may clear up some of the errors x also that’s wrong memory card you also have a overheating issue check the fans are spinning correctly as if not could over heat and fry the board check to see if connection to fans not lose
I SAW THIS LISTING AND ALMOST BOUGHT IT 😂😂😂 glad you got them for some content. I considered doing something similar
Unless you're someone with deep knowledge in Electronics I would never touch a project like this.
this is a real once in a lifetime opportunity, , I'm excited for part 2!
I know nothing about camera but this is exciting, can’t wait for part 2!
What a cool idea and I wish you the best of luck!
Just a note though - the editing on future videos in the series could use some tightening up. I found myself skipping 30-60 seconds at a time yet the same thought was being repeated.
Believe it would benefit @ARRIChannel too, to give a helping hand, as the more of these cameras can be held in service, and tried by, also amateurs, the more interest it will be for the brand. If your fix simply is swapping parts between broken cameras and there is no DRM bullshit preventing
you, it is really good news for indie film makers too, and still, they will come back to ARRI for more parts and acessories, meaning ARRI
will still benefit from these broken cameras getting a new life.
I am absolutely enthralled with this LOLZ
Is there a service manual ? Can you get schematics for it? It's worthy to monitor the basics, like measure the voltage rails, and test-points. Do you have basic test equipment, like a scope, a volt-meter, an RLC meter, etc? Can you see if there are any serial port or JTAG headers. Are there any electromechanical sensors or actuators.. Mechanical fiddly things are often points of failure to take a close look at. Can you run these boards outside of the camera and check for valid logic levels and the like?
I don’t know if you’ve check, or someone said it, but go online and search for the maintenance manual. I found one that has information on the hardware and firmware, that could help you with the trouble shooting and finding more information. It’s also nice if you can find an illustrated parts catalog. I really like this project and wish you the best!
I know it seems like $100 is a lot for a cable, but those LEMO style ends are really not overly cheap for brand name. China style ones are not terrible under normal use if you need to make one or get the chassis mounts for them
Buddy, this is the dream of every filmmaker in this planet.
So excited for Part II ! Great Projekt! Hop you can get one of them Babys Running.
I used to work at a TV station, I think I might have seen one of those camera hanging on the wall of dying or dead cameras
First video of yours ive watched and I love it! Subscribed liked and commented!!! Keep it up! You inspire me for sure!
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looking forward for part 2! even if this was a long video, i would still watch it. Awesome project!
Photograph both sides of each pcb you remove ensure the REV numbers are checked and log each board per camera chassis serial as manufactures change functions on different revs of the same camera , and you may find that one board will not be supported in external firmware to it - use a bunch of Brady number/letter labels - dont lose track.... !!!!
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I did same thing with BMW 318 roadster, bought three for repairs 500 each. I had the storage and flat bed access to tools. Able to make one good one and sold remaining parts on ebay. conclusion: I made a profit. Good luck. now I'm shopping for camera and found your video
i would recomend that you make your own cables for the camara, its more cheaper than buying the cable
Been keeping up w/ your progress in the FB group & you just popped into my recommended on YT! Algorithmmmm 📈
What a journey! I’m excited to dive into the next videos…this is like a new Netflix series to binge now 😁
I really appreciate the support! Love your videos too!
@@FoxTailWhipz oh wow thank you! 😁
Omg I saw this ebay add last week and now you got them, that's awesome! I had the same dream as you to buy them all and hopefully make 1 working camera but it was a bit out of my $ range . I ended up buying a C100 extra cheap and am very happy.
You can get SXS and P2 adapters for SD cards, as long as you get good quality SD cards, it should work fine.
At least you will have some nice display items on your shelf.
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Genuinely amazing project, I can't wait to see the final results!
This video blew up!!
I hope this kicks your channel up a little bit.
Looking forward to this project :)
Thank you!!
First video I've watched in your channel. Love the concept and can't wait for the resolution but please leave out the whole "oh I don't know what is going to happen" or "I am so exited for this moment I am anticipating". Like, we know. I understand creating tension but 10 minutes of the video is just buying the cameras from ebay. 🤷♂️ Or at least make it a fast cut like "BAM BAM BAM look what I got!". Just that. Hope you can make it work. Making just one of them work will be worth it, and I can't even imagine how much having that level of gear will allow you to develop as a filmaker. Good luck! 😁👍
That whole sequence about "I don't know if I'm going to get them" was pure padding. Clearly you got them, otherwise you wouldn't be making the video.
This is madness lmao
see I knew I had seen some of your videos! It was great to meet you in person the other night at NAB!!
Hope you can get one running my dude, your enthusiasm for it is so deserving of this going well. Watching, liking and subscribing and hoping the money you make helps you get there.
Good luck on this project. There are so many different combinations of parts to make one complete unit that a high reliance on both your skill and available time are crucial factors for success.
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Oh you’re really crazy to spend $1500 into broken Alexas but this video is awesome. I love your content :)
E - error
W - warning
Good luck with it!
Thank you!!!
aston from the future here: hey you did good
I had been watching this listing and was contemplating buying and fixing them hahaha. Glad you got them and made a great video on it!
Hey brother you inspired me to buy the cheapest arri classic ev on ebay after watching your videos. It's worked great so far. As of today though, I've been getting black vertical lines on the led side panel which makes me think the screen may be on its way out. I was wondering if you may have any working spare side screen panels left? I'll buy one off of you if you do and are willing to sell, you can't find parts for these things anywhere!
The anticipation is killing me!
That was definitelly a great find, danm do i wish i could get myself some Arri`s and just frankestein them until one works for cheap, hoepfully you have luck with the rest, if you could end with all 4 eventually working that be amazing!
Glad you got it working man, congrats!
This is amazing. I remember seeing this listing and almost pulling the trigger.
Taking into consideration that the previous owner could afford 5 of these but not to fix them is not a good starting point. My brother does this kind of fixer-upper deals with high-end speakers and amplifiers for his studio, which is orders of magnitude simpler than an ARRI camera. Good luck with this project, hope you can get at least one working, man!
Welcome to the world of cinema cameras where everything is expensive and conditions are rough 😂.
Awesome project, kinda jealous haha.
Some input from my side: E stands for Error and W for warning i guess. LDS is Arris Lens Data System for communicating with compatible cinema lenses through contacts in the PL Mount. The Error makes sens because the PL mount is incomplete. Should still allow the camera to function tho.
The most complicated thing with the Alexa is everything around the Sensor. Arri has put a lot of engineering in the temperature management of the sensor to ensure a constantly good image. So findig an Alexa with the properly working sensor and temperature management and without any errors related to the sensor temperature may be your priority number one.
Cam #1 showed Sensor boot Error and low Temperature, so it might not be suited best for the final functioning model.
You can connect a monitor and see what kind of image the camera outputs and if there are any dead pixels or other sensor defects. That also works without a lens attached although I phyicaly cringe seeing these beeing shipped without any lens caps and no lens attached haha.
I mean the sensor is the part that makes the Alexa that special and relevant in the industry and people would not bother protecting it. But a large studio or rental house does not care about these old work horses. They have probably paid for themselfs multiple times and are now just collect dust.
It would be interesting how many hours runtime are on them. Lower runtime might indicate better internal conditions because of less use but could still be heavier use and worse conditions tho.
Looking forward to part 2!
So true.. When you buy the body of the cinema camera about a month later you end up spending about 4-5x more for new lenses, accessories, gear and quality of life improvements. The cinema world is crazy.
@@tb1235 Yup, bought a Red Raven last year, the body was 2500€ but all together I ended up spending tripple of that for everything
Fantastic video. Commenting to push the algorithm
I've never used any cinema cameras, but I do a lot of electronics work.
I just found this in an Alexa firmware update PDF...
"Updating ALEXA Classic M or ALEXA XT M Cameras
Please note that the first time an ALEXA Classic M or ALEXA XT M is upgraded from a version before SUP
10 Open Bate 2 to SUP 10 Open Beta 2 or later, a slightly different update process (two-pass upgrade) has
to be used.
"The two-pass update process is as follows:
• Initiate the update as described in the release notes.
• The camera will start the update and at some point inform you that the APIC update failed. This is normal
and not a problem. Please wait until the update is finished updating the CMC and ACOM boards."
"• Then power down the camera and power it back up again.
• You will see an error and a message in the LIVE INFO screen like this:"
(shows an LCD screenshot, with E: System Error, Apic Update Failed, Please Reinstall.)
• Initiate the update again. The camera should go through the entire update procedure this time.
That suggests it might be a similar situation for the Alexa classic maybe?
ie. I don't think you can jump too many firmware versions in one hit, you have to do it in steps.
So hopefully the APIC update error isn't anything too serious.
I couldn't find much info on the APIC online (I thought it sounded like a Power Management IC at first), apart from somebody asking on an Alexa reddit about repair of the APIC board, and they said it's the "video processing board".
btw, if you end up with a camera at the end of this project that has most of the boards but other things missing, I'm very interested in buying it from you. Although I guess it I probably couldn't do much with the sensorless versions, I would still consider it. lol
P.S. I'm fairly sure the E: and W: just mean "Error" and "Warning".
Oh, not sure if anyone mentioned this yet, but it's possible that if the seller dismantled some of the cameras more than others, there might not be enough (or any) thermal materal between the heatsink and the camera sensor.
Or, the heatsink might not have been tightened to the sensor assembly correctly.
If the camera doesn't have a temperature probe right under the sensor itself, then it might not be able to detect that problem, and the sensor could possibly get damaged by overheating if it's left like that for too long.
I don't think the sensors produce a massive amount of heat, tbh, but I'm not 100% sure on that.
I think they mainly use the peltier coolers to help reduce pixel noise in the image, especially at low-light levels.
(like they do for sensors on telescope cameras.)
Since all the cameras have been taken apart at some stage, it could be worth tearing them down just a bit further, to see if everything looks in place, especially the heatsinks and thermal pads / paste.
the M is the Alexa Mini a completely different camera model
@@alain99v6 Yep, but I was thinking that since the APIC message was one of the main messages after the attempted firmware update, it might be the same or similar issue.
This is an awesome video bro! I just got my Arri Alexa Plus a few months ago! I'm sure someone told you about the compatible SxS cards by now on the comment thread. Can't wait for the 2nd video and I really hope you get 1 or 2 up and running!
I'm occasionally hacking "interesting" consumer cameras (still photography) to make them full spectrum. I've been pretty much following the method of buying a bunch of "almost-functioning" cameras to end up with a few working ones, made from harvested working modules. But some cameras have design / component flaws that are un-fixable unless you have special tools or access to parts and service manuals. I have bought "broken" cameras that just needed some cleaning and some in great condition that won't even power on. The PSU often is a source of many troubles and so are aging micro switches and, believe it or not, solder points. Especially the lead-free variety: A good solder point can age for no apparent reason at all and you won't be able to tell from looking at it...
Usually these cameras are parts cameras from a rental house. The imagers are notorious for going bad, so are things like the SDI boards. So most of the time, they're just throw away for that reason. I doubt highly you'll be able to make one work because if there were any working licenses on the boards, the rental house would have used those boards for other cameras to keep them working. So without licenses, you'll struggle to even get software to work, let alone hardware. The best thing to do is build one chassis that powers on with a board that appears to work and simply swap parts around using that chassis. You may get an image out of using all 5 donors, but my guess is, it won't be good to use for any real shooting. Having worked in and around these cameras for years, sadly they're at the end of life, they have many issues, 100's of them are not working due to typical on-set wear and tear. It's not something you can fix with a soldering iron, it's generally full-scale failure of multiple components. Anyway, good luck with the work, great channel and I hope you at least have fun.
Rest in Peace anyone who played this on speakers with an amazon Alexis near haha. Best of luck with the build, love this content!
This is fantastic. Looking forward to Pt II!!!
I was so excited when it booted up. I am such a geek. Great video.
Me too hahaha!
Fascinating! A total geek out for me!
The first rule of troubleshooting: the bigger the problem, the easier the fix. Never touched one of these cameras but all those errors indicate something simple and global to me, like an unstable power source. I agree with the people saying to get a power adapter asap, then see what happens. Oh; and many electronic tools maintain an error log; so you might be seeing a list of every error this camera ever had.. 🤷🏻♀️
That's bullshit...sry buddy
TronicsFix would be proud.
So cool! I’m not as bold as you, I think I saw that listing though. I’m holding out for a working Alexa at around $4K
I got a full Alexa Classic 16:9 kit for around $3600, so you can definitely find deals, maybe kits with fewer extra accessories. Just keep in mind the rather high individual cost for key accessories like the viewfinder, top handle, battery plate, and PL mount (though Leitax's EF mount is relatively inexpensive). And the high wattage batteries and heavy duty fluid head and tripod hahaha
Woooo this is awesome, I mean wow, as a person who loves rebuild things, like the ooooold sx-980 Pionner amp which I bough few months ago, I'll start to rebuild it to its original and new state, but come on, is one of my passions but is only a 500 dollar amplifier, but a really expensive and marvelous camera, cinema cámera like this, wow I mean, I wonder which movie those cameras taked, who used it before, amazing video, I stay tuned for the next part!, regards from San Luis Potosí, México!
I've ran into so many scams on eBay like this I would have just passed right over it I'm glad you got it though that's great news my luck is I wait 3 months and get nothing and end up having to ask eBay to step in watch out for the A7 camera lineup there's a lot of scams on there
You mean like sellers listing fake camera listings?
@@infinitepower6780 yes
You’re insane!!! I respect this! I wish I saw that eBay! 😭😭😭
This is sick dude! Excited to see what you do with them
man if You could get DIY PERKS on this, who knows You may create an Arri Alexa XLF by bringing 4 sensors in one body lol
Let’s make it happen!!
i wish you the best, and hope you fix them
is this scam? @foxTailWhipz
Looking forward to future updates 🙂
Amazing video, waiting for part II !!
Did you manage to get info behind why these units got junked?
I haven’t figured out the history behind these. Surprisingly though they have very low hours! Alexa #1 has just over 1500 hours and #2 has 790 hours!
I doubt they just dump the cameras. So, there is a possibility someone, at some moment, make a damage report prior to release them. Try to reach the seller, at least they can give you a better idea of what is missing. I think the will have more info to share about it. I hope you got through. Nice proyect. And also online forums (every one knows this last one piece of advise). Godspeed!😊👍
From what I remember they were used for parts by the reseller that sold them. They sold a few other Alexa’s and that’s why these would have been stripped. Before that I don’t know. Inventory clean out of a large rental house or repair centre?
@@FoxTailWhipz Surely they can't have such low hours, for top flight professional cine bodies that's near newborn baby hours.
Wow what an adventure! Cant wait for part 2, liked and subscribed.
ARRI ❤
My Amazon echo going crazy while I’m watching this. Lol…Alexa. …Alexa….
amazing video and it’s touching to see your emotions going through all that. keep up bro!
Thank you so much!
This was very interesting to watch, can't wait to see the second part💪
Dude that is the holy grail of cameras, super hopeful you can get one working because that would be epic if you scored one for that price!
this is crazy! cant wait for part 2
I am looking forward to your journey of fixing these camera's
Dude I got excited watching the video, such a well documented journey :D :D Amazing! LOL that happy face when you had the box!!!!
I hope you can make one of them work. Good luck!
All the best! Can't wait to see you get the Alexa up and running!
Can’t wait for part II
Excellent, looking forward to second part.