Hi, my name is Ken Stone and I'd like to introduce to you the most basic setup we have for the
Go-Kart C1 cable camera system.
So here I have before me the C1 Go-Kart with the added bumpers.
This is to help protect the line and helps if you run in the objects.
I've got two carabiners, basically a pair of scissors, a piece of string.
The scale is optional, I like to use it to make sure I have my tension well set for about 20-30 pounds.
I've got two pieces of webbing, I don't want to hurt any trees, leave no trace.
So I'll use webbing around the trees to keep them in place.
This particular string we're using today is 100 pounds on a filament.
I recommend at least 800 pounds or higher when you're using the Go-Kart system.
These towels here will be used in the braking system.
You can also use trash bags or other bags to stop the car as it reaches the end of its flight.
I prefer towels because certain bags tend to stick to the line and can have unexpected braking speeds.
So now I'll walk you through the basic setup of the Go-Kart C1 system.
The first step in setting up the gravity-driven basic C1 Go-Kart is to tie the knot to the line.
You want to tie the special knot, particularly if you're using monofilament, because monofilament tends to creep
and you don't want your string popping off your carabiner.
Then here I have one of the pieces of webbing and a suitably high tree as my starting point.
You want to go from high to low because the basic cart is gravity-driven.
First we put our webbing over the tree, if you can.
Then we flip the carabiner into the webbing such that the knot is pointing towards the direction of travel.
The second part of setting up the basic C1 camera system is to roll out your string from the high point to the low point, which is behind me.
Be aware of obstacles in a way, no people, no trees, and bushes that might interfere with your path of the camera in the car.
Now we've gone from our high point to our low point and we need to tie off to the tree again.
This piece of webbing is a little bit short, so sometimes what you'll need to do is get a longer piece of webbing.
In this case I've used a little adapter to make the reach around the tree.
As you can see I don't have the string in hand.
This monofilament string that we're using is inexpensive and is good for starting with.
Again I recommend using a high string, a hundred pounds or even more if possible, to avoid any safety mishaps.
But I know this string will stretch, so what I'm going to do is I'm going to walk back towards my high mount, tie the knot, and then walk back towards my low anchor,
using the gauge to see if I'm in a safe zone. So let's do that and we'll bring the string back to the tree.
Alright, so I've come back away from my low anchor and I have the string in hand.
If you wish to conserve your string you may just wrap it around the carabiner like a few dozen times to conserve your string, unwrap it, and then recycle the string.
For demonstration's sake I'm going to go ahead and cut it because it's easier for me.
So I'm going to cut the string and then put your string in a safe place.
And then I'm going to tie that knot again that I showed you earlier.
Where it's basically, you take it, you go one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, ideally seven or eight turns.
Go over the string, around the string, and then back over the string that you put the working end, and then bring it up through.
And I'll show you this in more detail. Make it nice and tight, nice and free.
And then because this is a monofilament, again it tends to creep.
For safety purposes I'm going to add an overhand knot so that if it creeps it will stop against the knot.
So now I have my low string and then I also have a scale that I like to use to see how much tension I'm putting in the string.
So I'm going to take this and walk back and the scale will show me how much force I'm putting on the string.
Okay, so we have our low end anchor set up.
We have our string tied off to our carabiner.
Now we're going to bring the carabiner to the tree in a careful fashion.
Make sure there's nobody around so if the string breaks that you don't get hit, that nobody gets hit or hurt.
And I'm going to use this scale to bring it to the tree to check the force on the string.
Be right back.
Okay, so here is the string on the scale.
I'm putting about 30 pounds of force on the string right now.
I like to keep it below about a third of the breaking string.
Generally about a quarter. This is a little bit higher, but again this is the kind of demonstration purposes.
So what I'm going to do is bring the string to the anchor.
Push the gate down.
Let the gate come up.
And let it sit. There you go.
Okay, so your string is set. Nobody's in the way.
Now remember when your system is coming down the line, you don't want it to hit the tree.
So what we're going to do is use what I prefer for my breaking system is towels.
And I'm going to fold this like this so that when it hits it will squish up the towels
and slow down the go-kart before it hits the tree.
And I like to use a little bit of string on the last piece of towel
because I don't want the wind to blow it off and then smash my camera.
It's just a general wrap.
I think fancy.
I mean, generally you want it to get away.
So it absorbs the impact of the camera.
Got one more red one here. And I think I'm going to go ahead and wrap it a little bit since it's windy.
It's not going to work because it just rolls it off.
So I shall do it like this.
You kind of have to be creative.
Like this one I'll just tie a knot in.
So the idea is that it keeps hitting stuff until it slows down.
And then there's something between the carabiner and the tree so it won't hit.
Okay, high end, low end.
Let's go shoot some video.
Okay, so this is the C1 kart setup.
I had to add a little extra spacer here, which is not conventional,
but I forgot to bring the right mounting.
But this is mounted up with the GoPro, which you can use a contour or a Sony handy cam or whatever other small camera you want.
I'm probably going to put my Rebel XT on there later and try it out.
This is a basic gravity drop.
Turn on my camera.
Good going.
And this is the beauty of the C1 is that all you do is put on the line.
And this is the beauty of the C1 is that all you do is put on the line.
And this is the beauty of the C1 is that all you do is put on the line.
And this is the beauty of the C1 is that all you do is put on the line.
And this is the beauty of the C1 is that all you do is put on the line.
we are
You missed me, but that much.
