Fanotec MECHA C2 User manual

i
MECHA C2 User’s Guide v.01.10
© 2021 FANOTEC
C2 USER’S GUIDE
March 3, 2021

ii
MECHA C2 User’s Guide v.01.17
© 2021 FANOTEC
Contents
WARNINGS...............................................................................6
Introduction.......................................................... 7
C2 – C1 Differences and Similarities ....................................8
Table of Equivalences: Numbers ‒ Buttons....................................9
About the User Interface .....................................................10
Set MECHA in AP, STA, or AP+STA Mode at - + ≡ on Display .....11
About the Firmware (FW) Update.......................................12
Before First Use...................................................13
Power on and Test ...........................................................................15
Check the Battery Level...................................................................16
Simple Rotations..............................................................................16
Parked, Level and Raised Positions ...............................................18
Quick Panoramas Using MECHA’s Buttons..................................19
Firmware Update Using a Hot-spot....................................19
Test Using MECHA’s Buttons.............................21
Set the Rotator Using MECHA’s Buttons ......................................21
Test without Camera – 1312 Parked Position....................22
Test without Camera – 1313 Level Position .......................22
Test without Camera – 1321 Raised Position.....................22
Panorama with Camera Mounted ......................................23
Panorama with Automatic Shooting Pattern Using only
the MECHA’s Buttons ...........................................................24
C2’s Menu Mode .................................................26
How to Access the UI..........................................28

iii
MECHA C2 User’s Guide v.01.17
© 2021 FANOTEC
Access the User Interface (UI) with a Smartphone ..........28
Access the User Interface (UI) on Your Computer
Connected to a Wireless Network ......................................28
Test Using the UI.................................................30
Set the Rotator on Conguration Page.........................................30
UI Test ‒ 1312, 1313, 1321 Codes ...................................................31
User Interface (UI)..............................................33
UI Controls.............................................................................33
Conguration Page.............................................43
Default Mode....................................................................................43
STA Mode ..........................................................................................44
Fixed Settings ...................................................................................45
Rotator Settings ...............................................................................46
Buzzer PWM and Start Page...........................................................46
IR Settings and more.......................................................................47
Reverse Direction of Rotations.......................................................48
Camera Settings...............................................................................48
Arrow Buttons ..................................................................................49
Favorite Codes..................................................................................50
Battery Voltage.................................................................................50
More from Server, zLM, Firmware .................................................51
Technical Details ‒ IP Addresses, FW ............................................52
Backup and Restore Data ...............................................................52
Other Updating Methods...................................53
Firmware Update Using a Smartphone: Method 2 .........53
Working with Presets .........................................54
Programming a Preset Using Parameters.........................54
How to Create Your Own Presets Using the UI.................56
Default Presets.................................................................................56

iv
MECHA C2 User’s Guide v.01.17
© 2021 FANOTEC
Loading a Preset ..............................................................................57
Modifying a Preset...........................................................................60
Saving a Preset.................................................................................60
Preset Power Code .........................................................................61
MECHA’s Simple Scripting (MSS) ........................................62
Panorama of 3 Rows + Nadir + Zenith (MSS)................................62
Shooting Panorama Made Easy for Dual Axis..............................64
MSS Script Explained .......................................................................65
What Needs to be Changed, sometimes, in Real Situations ......67
Using Pause in MSS Script ..............................................................68
Let's Take a more Dense Approach with more Photos toward
Gigapixel Imagery............................................................................69
Rewind after each ROW ..................................................................70
Shooting in Horizontal Zigzag Pattern..........................................70
Download more Presets from Server.................................71
How to Set Both MECHA and Smartphone to
Have Internet Access..........................................72
MECHA’s Current Codes ....................................74
Current Codes List ................................................................74
Appendix
MECHA’s S (Shots) Language............................83
Panorama of 3 Rows + Nadir + Zenith ‒ EXAMPLE 1 (SL)............85
Panorama of 3 Rows + Nadir + Zenith ‒ EXAMPLE 2 (SL)............85
Panorama Using Loop in Script ‒ EXAMPLE 3 (SL) ......................88
Panorama with Extra Shoots and Pause ‒ EXAMPLE 4 (SL)........88

5
MECHA C2 User’s Guide v.01.17
© 2021 FANOTEC
MECHA C2 User’s Guide
Copyright © 2021 by Fanotec International Limited
www.nodalninja.com
www.fanotec.com
To report errors, please send a note to [email protected].
All rights reserved. No part of this guide may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,
or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For
information on getting permission for reprints and excerpts, contact
[email protected]
How to use this User’s Guide
Welcome to the MECHA C2 User’s Guide!
C2 is our second generation of controllers, with OLED display, external bat-
tery, and support for two MECHA rotators.
Before you start reading page-by-page, go section-by-section, looking at ti-
tles, tables, highlighted paragraphs, images, etc. Although there is a lot of
information you have not read yet, this will clue you into what you are about
to read.
After that, go back to the beginning and read the Introduction and Before
First Use chapters. Please move on only after you become familiar with the
basic operations we present here, and leave aside the more complex chap-
ters and deepen the part that interests you more.
Even if you are an experienced user, please pay attention to the warnings.
If you find the firmware update and other operations difficult, you can
receive support and guidance at [email protected]
Let’s get started!

WARNINGS
WARNINGS to Dual Axis MECHA Users
●Test MECHA WITHOUT a camera mounted first!
●Please test for camera clearance before running any program.
●Test any preset supplied or adjusted WITHOUT a camera mounted FIRST,
especially when the clearance is not enough.
●CHECK for clearance with shutter cable attached!
●Use short cable with extreme caution.
●The power button, P, can always be used as an emergency stop, except
for the speed calibration procedure (123123<).
●If the movement is not as expected, or there is any danger for the
moving parts to hit something, please press
P
, the power button of
MECHA, to stop the movement immediately.
6
MECHA C2 User’s Guide v.01.17
© 2021 FANOTEC

7
MECHA C2 User’s Guide v.01.17
© 2021 FANOTEC
Introduction
You may already know, from the doc-
umentation available at this time,
that MECHA consists of a rotator (E1,
E2, or P1) and a controller (C1), and is
generally used to automate the
movement of various devices, such
as a panoramic head mounted on a
tripod, or a turn table holding an ob-
ject for filming or photography.
Two such paired MECHA units –
MECHA Dual Axis Combo (DAC) – can
be used for dual axis applications, for
example, in panoramic photography.
The controller is the part of MECHA where
the buttons are located and that allows you
to send various commands to the rotators,
or to update the firmware, for example,
when you do not want to use the User
Interface (UI) for these purposes.
The new controller – C2 – which we present
in this user guide, is specially designed for
dual axis applications.
It is similar to C1 and can control the same
rotators – E1, E2, and P1 – so now you can
choose from the two controllers the one that
best suits your needs and preferences.

8
MECHA C2 User’s Guide v.01.17
© 2021 FANOTEC
C2 – C1 Differences and Similarities
●C2 can be connected to two rotators, so it can control two rotators
simultaneously.
○C1 can control only one rotator at a time.
For dual axis applications, you need either one C2 controller and two
rotators or two C1 controllers and two rotators.
●The C2 controller connects to the rotators with its built-in cable.
○The C1 controller connects wirelessly to another C1, thus two C1 can
be assembled in DAC and control two axes.
●The C2’s battery is external and you can quickly replace it when needed.
○C1 has a built-in battery which lasts for one day after a full charge and
can be charged from a power bank or outlet adapter even while it is
in use.
Both systems allow MECHA to operate non-stop.
●C2 has a 0.96 inch OLED display on which various data are
shown, including the codes that you enter using the controler buttons.
The Codes are special, predefined numerical combinations that you can
use to get information from MECHA or to ask MECHA to perform various
operations
○C1 has no display, but it has five LEDs with a similar function.
●C2 has nine buttons, C1 has six.
○-The minus button of C2 is the equivalent of 1button of C1. It
comes pre-programmed with 4 shots around. It can also be used to
enter the number 1, or to execute the favorite code 1 by long
pressing this button.
○+The plus button of C2 is the equivalent of 2button of C1. It
comes pre-programmed with 6 shots around. It can also be used to
enter the number 2, and to execute the favorite code 2 by long
pressing this button.
○=The menu button of C2 is the equivalent of 3button of C1. It
comes pre-programmed with 8 shots around. It can also be used to
enter the number 3, or to execute the favorite code 3 by long

9
MECHA C2 User’s Guide v.01.17
© 2021 FANOTEC
pressing this button. In case the favorite code 3 (FavCode 3) is not set,
the menu with all codes will be shown instead.
NOTE. When we say the MECHA’s buttons, or the buttons, we are
actually referring to the controller buttons.
Table of Equivalences: Numbers ‒ Buttons
○<> On both C1 and C2, the left and right buttons are used to
rotate the system manually to the left and to the right, respectively,
and also to specify the direction when launching a preset using the
controller buttons, as terminator for codes (similar to the Enter key).
○/\ The up and down buttons of C2 control the up and down
movement of the upper rotator, when two rotators are used.
→On Dual Axis Combo, the left and right buttons of the upper C1,
<>, act as up and down buttons and control the upper
rotator.
○SThe middle button of C2 has a camera trigger function and
confirms the execution of the code selected from the menu.
The codes can be entered using the buttons and can also be selected
from the C2’s menu.
→There is no C1 equivalent of the above button.
○POn both C1 and C2, the power button is used to power on/off
MECHA, to confirm or cancel some operations, and it is also the
equivalent of the number 0 (zero) when power codes are entered.
Power codes are codes that start with zero.
●Both C1 and C2 have support for IR or wired remote control.
numbers 1 2 3
C2 buttons - + =
C1 buttons 1 2 3

●Both C1 and C2 can be controlled using the User Interface and also using
their own buttons.
●C2 uses Wi-Fi for connection, as does C1, so both can be accessed
directly by phone or via a Wi-Fi network, or even via the Internet, with a
device connected to the Internet.
●On both C1 and C2, for complex tasks, or to assign complex tasks to a
single button, the User Interface can be used.
About the User Interface
To access the MECHA’s User Interface, a
device with an Internet browser needs to
be used. It can be a smartphone, or a
tablet, or even your own computer.
MECHA uses wireless connection, ab-
breviated Wi-Fi.
It can be set as AP (Access Point), or STA
(Station), or even both: AP+STA, as well as
no Wi-Fi, in which case the control is
possible only by buttons.
The desired mode can be set as default in
MECHA's configuration page, or by a short
press of a button when MECHA expects
this, and this is when - + ≡ is shown on
the display, during the starting sequence,
as in the image on the right.
10
MECHA C2 User’s Guide v.01.17
© 2021 FANOTEC