Kessler Crane Oracle User manual

ORACLE™ QUICK REFERENCE
A. Backlit LCD Screen
The LCD screen displays menu options and
current status of the ORACLE. Below is a sample
of the home screen and values.
1. MAX SPEED value (28 - 1000) see G.
2. DAMPING in seconds (.05s - 2.55s)
see H.
3. DEADBAND mode (LIN or LOG) see I.
4. Current Joystick Y speed value (+/-)
5. Current Joystick X speed value (+/-)
6. LIN/LOG value (0-99 in LIN mode and
99-0 in LOG mode).
To access child menus from the home screen,
press the MENU button (B.) on
the ORACLE.
B. MENU Button
The MENU button is used to call up the ORACLE
menu when on the home screen. It can also
be used to escape back to parent menus and
cancel changes when altering settings in the
ORACLE options.
C. ENTER Button
The ENTER button is used to save settings
when making changes to the ORACLE options.
Alternatively, the MIDDLE JOYSTICK BUTTON
(J.) can also be used in most cases.
D. E. F. Memory banks 1, 2, and 3
The ORACLE has 3 memory banks for
storing and playing back camera moves.
Each bank can be cleared by holding the
corresponding button down for 5 seconds. The
1, 2, AND 3 BUTTONS can also be used to select
their corresponding menu options when
navigating the ORACLE settings menus.
For more information on recording and playing
back camera moves, reference that section in this
quick start guide or in the ORACLE manual.
G. MAX SPEED control dial
This dial is used to control the maximum
speed of the elektraDRIVE motors. The value is
adjustable from 28 (being the slowest) to
1000 (being the fastest) and is displayed in the
left column of the top row on the home screen.
For the sliders, these values are arbitrary and will
vary depending on the which series of motor
you are using.
Adjust and test as needed to achieve the speed
required.
This dial can be adjusted in real-time during a
camera move to ramp speed up and down. These
values are also recorded if creating a recording to
one of the memory banks.
H. DAMPING control dial
This dial is used to control the damping of the
elektraDRIVE motors. The value is adjustable in
seconds from .055s to 2.55s and is displayed
in the center column of the top row on the home
screen.
Damping is the amount of time the motor takes to
achieve maximum speed (G.). This helps smooth
the motion of moves.
A low value will make the motor jump to full
speed quickly creating snappy moves. A higher
value will slowly ramp the motor up to speed and
then back down when the joystick is released.
This is useful when wanting to create very
mooth moves with gradual start and stop
motions.
Select the time frame you want in seconds to
determine how much
damping is applied to the motor start up and
shut down.
I. DEADBAND control dial (LIN/LOG)
The DEADBAND dial controls the sensitivity of
the joystick. The values can be adjusted from
0 - 99 in LIN (linear) mode and 99 - 0 in
LOG (logarithmic) mode.
Deadband is the circle of travel from the center
of the joystick before power is sent to the
motor(s).
In LIN (linear) mode, 50% travel of the joystick
equates to a 50% increase in speed. By adjust-
ing the LIN value, you can increase and
decrease the sensitivity of the joystick. Higher
numbers will make the joystick less sensitive
toward the middle. Any remaining travel of the
joystick will be in linear values.
In LOG (logarithmic) mode, the movement
of the joystick has an exponential eect on
the speed of the motors. In this mode, the rst
50% of joystick will increase power from 0 to
approximately 10% on the motor(s). The
remaining 50% of joystick will increase speed
from approximately 11% to full power.
Logarithmic mode is useful if fully zoomed in
with your camera. It allows very precise, slow
control at the center of the joystick with the
ability to perform quick moves as the joystick is
moved to the outer limits.
J. Joystick Button
The JOYSTICK BUTTON is used for making
selections in the menu system of the ORACLE. It
functions the same as the ENTER button (C.)
K. Joystick
The Joystick is used for moving sliders left and
right (X travel of joystick) and Pan/Tilt heads (X
and Y travel of joystick). It is also used for navi-
gating the menu system of the ORACLE.
The current position values of the joystick are
displayed in the rst two columns of the second
row on the ORACLE home screen (A.). The rst
number displays the current Y speed value
while the second set of numbers displays the
X speed value. These values are dependant
on the MAX SPEED (G.) setting and will vary
between 28-1000 depending on what the
MAX SPEED is currently set to.

CAMERA MODE:
This function allows you to control your
camera through the Oracle controller.
You must have the Kessler Crane Camera
Control Module for this to function.
Pictures: The number of pictures that will be
taken over the specied Time Lapse period
Exposure Time: The time that the shutter is
open for each photo
Shutter Delay: The time that the shutter is
closed between each photo that is taken
1. Enter Camera mode by selecting
Camera from the main Menu
2. Press ENTER/JOYSTICK BUTTON
3.Select Camera Setup
4. Press ENTER/JOYSTICK BUTTON
5. Select the number of Pictures to be
taken by moving the joystick UP/DOWN
6. Press ENTER/JOYSTICK BUTTON
7. Select Exposure Time by moving
the joystick UP/DOWN
8. Press ENTER/JOYSTICK BUTTON
9. Select Shutter Delay by moving
the joystick UP/DOWN
10. Press ENTER/JOYSTICK BUTTON
Note: Use 0.50 seconds or more for most
applications. If you use a faster shutter delay
(ex. 0.25 s), your camera may not be able to
recover fast enough.
11. Select Intervmtr Start by
moving the joystick UP/DOWN
12. Press ENTER/JOYSTICK BUTTON
13. Select Run Time by moving the
joystick UP/DOWN
14. Press ENTER/JOYSTICK BUTTON
15. Select 1:Start or Enter:Test
16. Press ENTER/JOYSTICK BUTTON
CONFIGURING JOYSTICK:
The ORACLE joystick can be
adjusted to suit your preference or
particular setup.
6. Move the joystick to start the recording
right away or press the center joystick
button to start recording without moving
the device. The following screen is displayed
during recording:
Note: Keep your maximum speed slow &
under these specied values:
CineSlider, Shuttle Pod & Pocket Dolly: 300
Revolution Head: 100
7. To stop recording press the same memory
bank BUTTON (1, 2, OR 3) you chose earlier
or press the MIDDLE JOYSTICK BUTTON.
8. To playback the SmartLapse™ recording,
press the memory bank BUTTON (1, 2, OR
3) that you recorded to and adjust the play
back time using the joystick.
9. Move the joystick up or down to select
one of the following:
ShootMoveShoot,
Continuous,Stop Motion, or
No Intervlmtr(Intervalometer)
10. Press ENTER/JOYSTICK BUTTON
11. Move the joystick UP/DOWN to select
the number of Pictures
12. Press ENTER/JOYSTICK BUTTON to
conrm or scroll through the sub-menus by
moving the joystick LEFT/RIGHT
13. You can adjust Y:Playback Time
from the time you took to make the record-
ing up to 29.5 days.
14. Press ENTER/JOYSTICK BUTTON
Note:(Only in Shoot - Move - Shoot)
Make sure to have“Synced” shown if you
want your camera time to auto sync with the
SmartLapse™ play back.
15. Return to your marked
Start Position
16. Press ENTER/JOYSTICK BUTTON to start
the playback
17. You will see the current memory bank
being used as well as the time remaining
18. To cancel the playback and return to the
menu, press ANY BUTTON on the ORACLE.
LIVE RECORD:
This section will cover recording and play-
ing back real-time camera moves on a Kes-
sler Crane slider/dolly unit.
1. Once in Slider/TT mode press the
MENU button until you get to the main
menu
2. Use the joystick to move the camera
carriage to your desired start position. Note
this position. For convenience you can use a
piece of tape, wax pencil, or optional mea-
suring strip.
3. Move the Joystick down and select
Motion Control
4. Press ENTER/JOYSTICK BUTTON
5. Move the Joystick down and select Live
Record.
6. Press ENTER/JOYSTICK BUTTON
7. Press any 1, 2, 3 Button to select a
memory location
7. The screen will display Erasing
8. Move the joystick LEFT/RIGHT to begin
recording your camera movement. Press the
MIDDLE JOYSTICK BUTTON to begin
recording with a pause before the beginning
your movement.
9. The MAX SPEED, DAMPING, and DEAD-
BAND dials can all be adjusted during this
time and will be recorded as will the
timing.
10. All movement is recorded in real time
and a seconds counter is displayed on the
screen.
11. To stop recording press the same
memory bank BUTTON (1, 2, OR 3) you
chose earlier or press the MIDDLE JOYSTICK
BUTTON.
12. To play back your recorded movement,
press the BUTTON (1, 2, OR 3) for the
memory bank you recorded under.
13. The screen will prompt you to return the
carriage to the start position.
14. Use the joystick to move the carriage to
your marked start position.
15. Press your memory bank BUTTON (1,
2, OR 3) again to start playback. The screen
will display Playback with the selected
memory bank and seconds counter.
16. To cancel the playback, move the joystick
on the ORACLE and you will be returned to
the home screen.
If you nd that the joystick moves your
Slider/Dolly/Head in the opposite direction
of what you would like, you can reverse the
direction the joystick moves the motor(s).
The joystick can be set to move in clockwise
(CW) or counter clockwise (CCW) on both
the X and Y axis independently.
1. From the home screen, press the MENU
button
2. Move the Joystick downward until
Joystick is selected
3. Press ENTER/JOYSTICK BUTTON
4. Move the Joystick LEFT/RIGHT/UP/DOWN
so that the arrow is on the value you want to
make changes to.
5. While selected, toggle Axis1 or Axis2
from CCW to CW by pressing the MIDDLE
JOYSTICK BUTTON or ENTER.
6. While selected, toggle UP/DN, L/R,
TWIST by pressing the MIDDLE JOYSTICK
BUTTON or ENTER.
7. When nished, press the MENU button.
MOTION CONTROL
SMARTLAPSE:
The SmartLapse™mode can be used on
either a slider, dolly or Revolution head.
With SmartLapse™, you can record a
real-time camera move to one of the
memory banks and then play that move
back over a longer length of time (up to
29.5 days).
1. Once in Head Unit or Slider/TT
mode press the MENU button until you get
to the main menu
2. Turn the DAMPENING dial all the way
down to 0.05 S
3. Adjust DEADBAND dial to a value of 10
on the LIN side.
4. Press and hold down one of the 3
memory bank BUTTONS (1, 2, OR 3) for 5
seconds.
The word Erasing appears for a few seconds.
5. In the next menu select 2:Smart-
Lapse by pressing the 2 BUTTON
Make sure to note your start position by
using marking tape or a white wax pencil so
that you may return to it when prompted.