XCS ULTIMATE 3HD User manual

User Manual
Xtended Camera Support Inc
Rev. 2.7 5/2020

Warranty
Please read before using your equipment
Xtended Camera Support will warranty this product against defects in material and workmanship for a period of
one year from the date of invoice. XCS will pay parts and labor charges to repair or replace any manufacturers defect
under normal operating conditions for that 1 year period. The buyer will be responsible for all shipping charges.
This warranty does not cover, nor will the manufacturer be responsible for, damages caused by abuse, misuse,
negligence, accidents, or by acts of God. All warranties expressed or written will be voided if this equipment has been
damaged by abuse, misuse, negligence, or accident.
Your sled is covered under our “lifetime”free loaner program while your sled is at Xtended Camera Support Inc.
(XCS Inc) for repairs.
This is extended to the original owner, individual’s name that appears on bill of sale. XCS Inc will provide you with a
“loaner” piece of equipment to keep you operating free of charge while yours in for service at XCS Inc if the reason of
failure was due to component failure due to manufacturer defect, or component failure during normal use. If the
component failure is due to accident or circumstances out of your control, we will rent the piece of equipment to you
while yours is being repaired. The original owner is responsible for all shipping charges and a 1-3 work day shipping
return time of the loaned equipment.
At our discretion, we can and will revoke this “lifetime” free loaner program if the original owner is causing what
Xtended Camera Support Inc feels is unusual or excessive damage to the loaned equipment. If this is revoked, the
loanee is responsible for these damages and any loss of rentals due to these damages and/or the owner has outstanding
open invoices.
Thoughtful engineering and design have been made resulting in no serviceable parts inside all XCS equipment.
Care must be taken when using all your equipment. One should protect it from water, dirt, shock, and excessive heat.
Proper routine maintenance of your equipment should be done. After all, if the equipment fails, you stop working.
If you have any questions regarding care for any of this equipment, please call XCS and we will be glad to advise
you on any maintenance needed.
Proper care should be taken when shipping your equipment to protect it from shock damage.
At least 2.0” of a 4 lb. Ester foam (or equal) should surround your equipment at all times when shipping. Buy a quality
shipping case.
Unlike any sled ever designed before, it takes a knowledgeable operator to understand the technical hurdles and
advancements XCS has made with the Ultimate sled designs.
We understand you have many options for sleds out there and most of them are less expensive to purchase.
However, an informed operator can quickly weed out all the competition and only one manufacturer stands alone.
With proper care, this equipment will provide you with many years of service.
Thank you for choosing Xtended Camera Support Inc.

ULTIMATE 3HD (U3HD)
Let’s get started, the basics.
There are no user resettable fuses you can push/pull - we have never used them. Instead, we use
microprocessor driven electronics that provides the most power efficient method. The U3HD sled draws just
over 0.10th of an amp, which is 500% more efficient than push/pull fused systems.
So, to turn the sled On/Off you must first add your battery, then press and hold down the MAIN power
button for 2 seconds and the sled will come to life.
You will immediately have 14v power to all the 14v outputs if the LDC screen shows M=14. If you added
multiple batteries to the sled and the screen shows M=14/28 you have both 14 & 28V out on all the appropriate
connections.
To power down the sled, which kills power to all connectors, simply press and hold down the power button for 2
seconds. Power to the entire system is now turned off. No power is being consumed period.
If you using your own existing power cables or have purchased them from an aftermarket vendor make
sure your connector wiring is correct. Do not assume that all connector wiring is the same from manufacturer to
manufacturer, it is not.
XCS highly recommends that you never use P or D Taps directly from a battery or battery plate. When
you do this, you are bypassing the sled Battery Management Systems incredible circuit protection which
protects the sled, camera and accessories basically from you. This includes the P/D Tap on the camera body as
well. If you find it necessary to use these connectors have a cable wired from an appropriately sized Lemo
connector off the sled or camera bodies Fischer /Lemo connectors.
This manual does not include any instruction for cleaning of the gimbal or any technical adjustments.
That can be found on our web page under Technical Support.
The ULTIMTE 3HD & the U3HD Modular System are the second generation of HD sleds and the only
manufacturer who actually manufactures and sells true SMPTE standard 3G/HD/SDI sleds. All other sleds use
video loop throughs, only XCS HD sleds distributes and outputs true SMPTE quality & standard 3G/HD/SDI
signals. Why does this matter? It means the video bnc are either an input or out with the exception of a video
loop through which can be used for analogue and some HD signal types.
We also are the only manufacturer who correctly wire their sled for power and power distribution.
Our Battery Management System (BMS) provides you unparalleled circuit protection, battery voltage
configuration of 14 & 26/28 volt batteries, longest battery running time, extends your batteries life, can indicate
the failure of a weak battery and provides you with on screen text messaging of real time battery input voltages,
output of current draws and system errors that it sees. Our BMS is the only sled that has one because our
engineers designed it.
All user settings are stored into nonvolatile memory. Your products serial number cannot be removed
and still function. So, in case it is lost or stolen it will be a bit easier to trace when found.

Ultimate 3HD Lower Electronics Housing (LEH)
Pushbutton functions and LCD display readings
There are 5 pushbutton’s that allow the end user to program and set all the functions on the Ultimate 3HD
1) Main Power
2) 14/24 Camera Power
3) MENU
4) SELECT Up/Down
MAIN POWER
This pushbutton turns the sleds power on or off. One needs to hold down the power for 2 seconds to power the
system up and again holds down for two seconds to power the system down. The two second delay makes sure that
one doesn’t accidently bump a button and turn the sled off or on in error.
14/28 CAMERA POWER
The camera power can be switched at any time into and out of 14V or 14/28 volt mode. The Ultimate 3HD will
always run 14 volts to all 14 volt output whether or not you are in 14 volt mode or 14/28 volt mode as long as you
have at least one 14V battery.
You can run 14/28 volt mode and deliver both 14 & 28 volts, only if you have two or more 14 volt batteries or at
least one 14 volt and one or more 26 volt batteries.
To toggle between 14 to 14/28 volt mode one needs to press and hold down the 14/28 CAMERA POWER button for
3 seconds. The LCD will start to blink and then switch automatically between the two modes every 3 seconds.
Releasing the button when you see the voltage output you wish selects your mode.
At any time if you are attaching a 26/28V battery block and are in 14V mode the Battery Management System (BMS)
will automatically switch into 14/28V mode.
By default, you can only put 26/28 volt battery blocks on battery positions B2 and or B3. If you install any battery
voltage greater than 19vdc in battery position one, B1, an error message will appear indicating that it cannot be
installed there and will not distribute the power. You will need to remove the battery from B1 position and cycle the
ON/OFF power button to continue operating.
Any battery plate can be B1, B2 or B3. It’s simply a matter of where the battery plates power wires are attached on
the circuit board. It is a simple change that can be made at any time. There is a PDF on this under Technical Support
on the web page.
Standard battery plate location.
B1- Directly under the lower electronics housing
B2- Top rear sliding battery plate
B3- Bottom rear sliding battery plate

MENU
This pushbutton scrolls you through your user selectable MENU pages and you use the UP/DOWN push buttons to
set the parameters for that MENU page. The selection is set when you let go of the up/down button and the
selected setting is displayed on the LCD screen.
MENUS user selectable settings. LCD Display, LCD Brightness, 14 & 28V LowBAT Limit (low battery), Regulated
power output and Menu time out
1) SET DISPLAY
Three user options. This MENU page is the default page that will always be displayed when you are finished
editing your other user pages.
a) Display the current BATTERY INPUTS voltage.
b) Display the Current POWER OUTPUTS on both the 14 and 28 volt outputs.
c) Cycle back and forth between the two. Cycle time is the same as the “Time Out” cycle time.
Just a note on our “real time” reporting of voltage and current draws. We monitor these readings in
milliseconds but we report the data on screen only when a “factory set threshold” change takes place.
So, things like peak current draws that happen in milliseconds would not be reported on screen.
2) LCD BRIGHTNESS
The brightness range is OFF,1 2, 3, 4, 5, MAX.
This range sets the intensity of both the LCD screen and the LED indicators.
At any time if you set the display to a lower or OFF setting and bring up the LCD for MENU change it will
automatically turn on at a high brightness for the TIME OUT duration that is set and will resume the low
intensity setting when it “Times Out”. In the OFF position we leave a very faint blue LED power light on so you
can tell its powered up.
3) 14V LOW BATTERY LIMIT
This is the setting you would set to trigger the low battery indicator to turn on 1/10th of a volt below the setting.
Its selectable range is from 12.0 volts up 18.0 volts in one tenth of a volt increments. The LO indicator LED will
blink when the battery voltage drops below the user preset. The 14V low battery indicator is independent from
the 28V low battery indicator because you are able to run both sets of batteries at the same time.

4) 28V LOW BATTERY LIMIT
This is the setting you would set to trigger the low battery indicator to turn on 1/10th of a volt below the setting.
Its selectable range is from 21.0 volts up 32.0 volts in one tenth of a volt increments.
The LO indicator LED will blink when the battery voltage drops below the user preset.
5) REGULATOR VOLTS
The ULTIMATE 3HD has a selectable output volt setting for an internal power supply. It will output 3 amps
between 4.5-12.5 volts selectable in 0.10 volt increments or OFF. Unless otherwise specified it is not connected
to any connector at the time of sale however it is accessible via an MTA connector inside ready to use. An
obvious use may be an add on signal converter, laser or a video recorder. Best to keep it OFF when not in use.
6) MENU TIME OUT
Setting range is 4, 6, 8, or 10 seconds.
This setting tells the microprocessor how long you wish to keep your MENU selectable options to stay on screen
while you are editing them. Once your MENU times out it defaults back to the Battery Input, Current Output or
cycling between both menu pages.
SERIAL NUMBER & SOFTWARE REVISION LEVEL LOCATION.
Your sleds serial number and your software revision level will appear on the splash screen upon startup.
This information will stay on screen for approximately 5 seconds.

1
)
2
)
1
)
3
)
1
)
4
)
5
)
7
)
6
)
12
11
)
19
)
9
)
8
)
10
17
18
15
16
14
13
Upper Camera Platform (UCP)
Front View
1) 6-32 tpi MDR bracket attachment holes
2) Analogue video in
3) Video loop through, Analogue /HD
4) 0S304 14V MDR power
5) .375 “D” hole capped
6) 4-40 tpi tapped holes
Camera Right Side
7) Camera plate safety stop
8) 9mm capped hole
9) 0B304 14v/analogue video out
10) 12 mm capped hole
11) Camera plate clamp
Rear View
12) 3G/HD/SDI out
13) 3G/HD/SDI in
14) 3GHD/SDI out
15) 2B 303 14/28V out
16) 2B 302 14V out
Camera Left Side
17) Camera plate clamp
18) 1B 307, 4.5, 7.2, 9 & 12V out
19) 10-32 adj. handle tightens the clamp

Lower Electronics Housing (LEH)
20) B1, Battery 1 voltage input. Only 12-18 vdc input on battery one position.
21) B3, Battery 3 voltage input. 11-36 vdc input on battery position 3.
a) In 14 volt mode will show battery 3’s current voltage.
b) In 28 volt mode using 14 volt batteries will show combined voltage of the 28 volt output.
c) In 28 volt mode using 26/28 volt batteries will show battery 3’s current voltage.
22) Power ON led.
23) Power ON/OFF power button. Must be held in for 1.5 seconds to activate.
24) Knurled locking ring for post.
25) B2, Battery 2 voltage input. 11-36 vdc input on battery position 2.
a) In 14 volt mode will show battery 2’s current voltage
b) In 28 volt mode using 14 volt batteries will show battery 2’s current voltage.
c) In 28 volt mode using 26/28 volt batteries will show battery 2’s current voltage.
26) M 14/28 or M=14. Shows the Menu setting for the voltage output.
a) In M=14 mode all 14V output will outputting battery line voltage.
b) In M14/28 mode using 14V batteries only. All 14 and 28V outputs will be outputting battery line voltage on
14 volt side and combined line voltage of the 14v batteries on the 28v side.
c) In M14/28 mode using 26/28 batteries only. You will have 28v battery line voltage out on the 28v pins only.
d) In M14/28 mode using combined 14/26V battery packs will provide 14V line voltage out to all 14V connectors
& and will provide all 28V connectors 26/28 battery packs line voltage.
27) SELECT up/down pushbuttons. Scrolls you through the options you have for that MENU page. Active only after the
MENU button has been pressed.
28) LO battery indicator.
29) 14/28 CAMERA POWER button. Selects the voltage output you wish to use. Must press and hold down after 1
second it will blink and after 3 seconds it scrolls between 14V and 14/28 volts out. Will automatically switch to
14/28 anytime a 26/28V battery is inserted.
30) MENU pushbutton. Scrolls you through your settable MENU pages.
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30

31) 14V Monitor power out & analogue video out
32) Two 3G/HD/SDI video outputs
33) Video loop through, analogue/HD
34) 14V power out & analogue video out
35) * 9 mm capped hole. Shown with optional connector 14/28V output.
36) Two 5/32nd SHCS allows sliding of rear battery plates in/out
Next Page
37) Lower electronic housing (LEH) post bayonet locking ring. 60° turn from open to locked.
38) Upper camera platform locking ring. Full threads/unthreads to remove post about 3.5 revolutions.
*35
34
33
32
31
36

Top and bottom stage mounts.
The XCS bayonet mount is standard on all Ultimate 3HD sleds. Complete with a 2” filament wound center post and the
16 pin (red) high current center post cable.
Battery Management Error Codes/ Messages
We have developed additional software to help inform you of power issues that may arise that the Battery Management
System (BMS) is monitoring before the issue becomes a possible problem. The BMS monitors all power ports in and out
for unusual power behavior. When it sees this unusual power behavior it will provide you with an on-screen text
message if necessary, and disappear after 10 seconds if it’s good to continue. Or, for something critical like placing a
26/28V battery on the wrong plate or having a dead short, the BMS will show you a error message and prevent the sled
from powering devices until the fault is removed.
ERROR MESSAGES
Code Message Cause / Operation
---- ----------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
01 BATT 1 Cannot be Greater than 19V is sensed at BATT1 position. If there are no other 14V
28V VOLTS batteries connected, all 14V outputs are disabled. Note: The sled can operate
in both M=14V or M=14/28V with no 14V battery in the BATT1 position. In this
case however, stacking BATT2 or BATT3 to make 28V is inhibited.
02 14V CAMERA PWR 14V Camera current draw has exceeded 40A. Message remains until current
Over-Current draw is less than 40A.
03 14V AUXILIARY 14V Auxiliary and/or 14V Monitor and/or 4.5V-12.5V REGULATED PWR current draw
Over-Current has exceeded 16A. Message remains until the current draw is less than 16A. If
over-current condition persists for more than 5 seconds, the Error Code
changes to code 06 to protect the circuitry.
04 28V CAMERA PWR 28V Camera current draw has exceeded 40A. Message remains until current
Over-Current draw is less than 40A.
37
38

05 28V AUXILIARY 28V Auxiliary current draw has exceeded 16A. Message remains until current
Over-Current draw is less than 16A. If over-current condition persists for more than
5 seconds, the Error Code changes to code 06 to protect the circuitry.
06 AUX Over-Current If either the 14V or 28V AUXILIARY current draw exceeds 16A for greater than
Cycle PWR Off/On 5 seconds, then the output is disabled indefinitely to protect the circuitry
from over-heating, even if what caused the over-current is corrected.
Cycling the sled power off/on is required to unlatch this protection
mechanism.
07 BATTERY Voltage If the voltage at any BATTx input appears to be fluctuating too much and a
is Unstable reliable voltage value cannot be determined, then this message is displayed
and all outputs are disabled.
08 14V_Mode Cannot This is a vestige of the LOCKED vs UNLOCKED MODE menus that are now removed.
use 28V Battery
09 POWER-UP FAILED At each power up during the XCS splash screen display, the integrity
Code=09 Info=xx of each EEprom memory location is tested. If a cell is found to fail this test, this
message is displayed for 30 seconds then operation attempts to return to normal
operation. Note that xx is the failed memory address.
0A POWER-UP FAILED This message appears at power up if the communication interface to the
Code=0A Info=xx keypad board is inoperable. The keypad board is not connected, wired wrong, or
keypad IC is damaged.
0B POWER-UP FAILED At each power up, the USER and FACTORY settings in EEprom are summed
Code=0B Info=xx and checked if they match the last stored EECheckSUM value. If they do NOT match,
then one or more EEprom memory locations are assumed to be corrupted. This
message is displayed for 30 seconds; EEprom USER and FACTORY settings are restored
from the flash FACTORY memory area; and then operation attempts to return to
normal operation.
Alternate power UP sequence. In case your POWER on/off button is ever damaged and you are unable to power up
your sled we have added an alternate Power On option. Simply press and hold down
the 14/28V mode button for 6 seconds and sled will power up. This will not power down
the sled however you will simply need to remove the battery source.
Restore FACTORY settings. To restore the software back to a Factory value. With a battery attached and power is
OFF. Simply press and hold down the MENU button for 10 seconds, when the system
turns on it will be reset and all your settings erased.

*Standard sled configurations:
Number of input batteries positions: 3 gold mount or V mount.
Acceptable battery input voltages: Two positions 12-36 vdc, one position 12-19 vdc.
Maximum voltage input” 39.0 vdc. All 26/28 volt unregulated power ports would then output 39.0V.
Maximum 14V current output: 40 amps on camera power ports & 16 amps on accessory power ports
Maximum 28V current output: 40 amps on camera power port & 16 amps on accessory power ports.
*These current draws are only available when using the XCS red 16 conductor power cable that can handle these
type of high current draws.
Regulated power outputs: One, 4.5-13.5V on the Ultimate 3HD & U3HD Modular System LEH
One, 4.5, 7.2, 9.0, 12 volt. Ultimate HD top stage only.
Total sled power consumption: 0.14 amps @ 14.4 volts
Video connectors Includes both top and bottom stages:
One analogue input distributed SMPTE outputs. X5
One loop thru, analogue/ some HD/SDI signal rates X1
One 3G/HD/SDI input with X2 SMPTE outputs top stage
Two 3G/HD/SDI SMPTE outputs on the LEH from that single top stage input.
There are many optional variations of video signal we can offer. Up to two individual, SMPTE quality 3G/HD/SDI
distributed video lines are possible. Variations are center post cable dependent.
*Standard Power connectors
Ultimate HD top stage: Lemo 2B 302: 14.4V out @ 30 amps
Lemo 2B 303: 14.4 & 28.8V out @ 17 amps
1B 307: 4.5, 7.2, 9, 12V out @ 3 amps max
0S 304: 14.4V out @ 4 amps
0B 304: 14.4V out/analogue video out @ 4 amps
Space for up to an additional three 9mm & one 12 mm connectors
Ultimate HD Modular top stage: Lemo 2B 302: 14.4V out @ 30 amps
Lemo 2B 303: 14.4 & 28.8V out @ 17 amps
0S 304: 14.4V out @ 4 amps
0B 304: 14.4V out/analogue video out @ 4 amps
0B 303: 14.4 & 28.8V out @ 4 amps
Space for up to an additional three 9mm & one 12 mm connectors
*These current draws are only available when using the XCS red 16 conductor power cable that can handle these
type of high current draws.
Specifications are subject to change.
Since we offer custom built sled designs your sled connectors may vary from the standard. This also holds true for the
large variations we offer in regards to video signal cabling and the number of 3G/HD/SDI signal lines and distribution.
Xtended Camera Support Inc.
www.xcsinc.com
310-663-9665

0S 304
1-14 Vdc+
2-Ground
3-Ground
4-14 Vdc+
.375”
capped hole
2B 302
1-14 Vdc+
2-Ground
2B 303
1-28 Vdc+
2-Ground
3-14Vdc+
Ultimate 3HD & Modular System
Because our sleds are completely customizable, some connectors and placement can vary.
Camera platform rear view
Camera platform left or right side view
0B 304
1-Ground
2-14Vdc+
3-Video signal
4-Video gnd.
Lower electronics housing front/rear view
1B 308
1-Power gnd
2-14 Vdc+
3-Video signal
4-Video gnd
5,6,7,8 not connected
8-Video out from
recorder deck.
0B 304
1-Ground
2-14Vdc+
3-Video signal
4-Video gnd
HDSDI loop
through
1
1
1
4
1
1
1
8
3
HDSI Video IN
3HD sled
HDSI Video
out (x2)
3HD sled
1
7
1B 307 regulated pwr. *U3HD sled/ Ultimate HD
top stage
1-Power gnd
2-Regulated + voltage out
3- +12V
4- +9V
5- +7.2
6- +4.5
7- Common w/ one pin only, 3 - 6
*Special cable wiring is required.
HDSI Video
out (x2)
*U2HD & 3HD
sled
Analogue In
Analogue/HD
loop thru to
bottom stage
HDSI Video
out (x2)
3HD sled
0B 303
1-Ground
2-14Vdc+
3-28Vdc+
1
1
9 mm capped
holes
9 mm capped
holes
0B 303
1-Ground
2-14Vdc+
3-28Vdc+
1