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Mounting the twins

My first mount was nothing more than a scrap of wood with a pair of 1/4" holes bored through it.  Using it was problematic.  The cameras would tend to pitch forward on their lenses, the trigger and spirit level were two additional things to hold, and it couldn't be tripod mounted.  It was quick and dirty, but it was never a very usable camera arrangement.

The second version was built around a section of extruded aluminum.  I picked the aluminum out of a trash can somewhere, and I have no idea what its original purpose in life was.  I trimmed it to length, drilled it to receive tripod mounting screws.  Then the stereo jacks and switches were installed.  The result is a bar that is stiff and light.  The handle is secure and tall enough to enable me to hold it in one hand and prevent the whole thing pitching forward  The toggle switches have been separated to the left and right hands, and it can be tripod mounted.

Switch selection and mounting

I set out to find a DPST (double pole, single throw) toggle switch, and a DPST (double pole, single throw) momentary push button switch.  This turned out to be much harder than I expected.  In Juneau, there are two sources of small parts.  Neither had the switches I wanted.  Mail order sources were going to require a $20 minimum and $25 shipping.  I decided to make do with what I could obtain locally.  I selected a DPDT toggle switch to drive the "half-press" circuit and a DPDT momentary toggle switch to drive the "full-press" circuit.  I didn't need double throw (DT) for either circuit, but I can safely ignore the second set of contacts and treat them both as single throw (ST).

For version one, used a 1" PVC angle fitting.  I mounted the "half press" switch on the side, and put the "full press" switch on the top.  The 1" PVC was too small to accept the only DPDT momentary switch I could find, so (as you can see) I had to do some cutting to make it fit.  The wires hanging from the bottom of the fitting terminated in 1/8" stereo plugs which connected to the jacks hanging on the backs of the cameras.  

This functioned, but not very well.  The half-press switch location looked good at first, but turned out to be unusable.  I could never get my hand in the right position to trip it with my fourth finger, was forced to use my teeth to flip it instead.  The upper toggle switch wasn't glued in and sometimes came loose, and holding the thing in one hand left me insufficient hands to stabilize the pair of cameras on their strip of wood.

Version two saw several improvements:

• The full and half press switches were separated
• The PVC diameter was increased to 1 1/4" (large enough to accept the switch body)
• The PVC handle was glued to the aluminum bar
• The stereo jacks are mounted in the aluminum bar
• The wires to the switches are routed inside the aluminum bar
• The bar now has a tripod thread

It means that the whole assembly can now be held and aimed with only my right hand, the wire connections are much better protected and supported, and the entire thing can be transported in its assembled condition.   

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