Stuart91 Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 Here's the scenario - we've got a customer that has a collection of older flatscreens, a mixture of 42" and 50". They are looking to replace them with newer models, going a little larger but also Full HD. The existing screens are on Unicol trolleys, which as usual have served them well, and are still perfectly serviceable for the next bunch of screens. The problem is with the flatscreen mounts themselves. The existing mounts were custom-built to the screens, and the hole patterns don't match any modern VESA layouts. We can obviously get replacement mounts from unicol, but the customer is objecting to paying £150+ for them and wants a cheaper option. (Part of the problem, I think, is that the screens are much cheaper compared to 10+yrs ago, so the mounts look expensive in comparison) I figure that I can probably find something that can be bodged onto the Unicol "binoculars", but I'm wary of many of the cheap mounts out there. We often use quite basic mounts for installations, but with this customer the screens will be getting lifted off the trolleys quite regularly. So a good mechanism that doesn't have too many fiddly pieces would be important. Has anyone had good experiences with something that's a bit easier on the wallet? We're covering VESA 200x200 and 400x200 patterns. I figure I can probably find a way of bolting a mount onto the Binoculars without it looking too nasty so that part doesn't need to be an exact match. (Thankfully, the new screens fit the existing flightcases so I'm avoiding having a similar argument on that front) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Wiles Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 We use the rail type of wall mount to attach to binoculars for a couple of our screens......something like these. You'll probably need to do a bit of vertical bracing as you can only attach the wall mount to the top holes of the binocular (we use M8 bolt sets)... These are only for a couple of screens.....we use the unicol standard wall mounts for the rest of our screens on K bases and Parabellas. Hope that helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the kid Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 Are they the plate mounts or the sticks ? Can you not drill (or get a fabricator) the new sizes ? The Option we use for larger screens is Audipack, but if £150 for a unicol part is too much Audipack is going to make them cry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted February 27, 2019 Author Share Posted February 27, 2019 Are they the plate mounts or the sticks ? Can you not drill (or get a fabricator) the new sizes ? The Option we use for larger screens is Audipack, but if £150 for a unicol part is too much Audipack is going to make them cry. Sticks rather than plates, I'm afraid. The width is off, so we've got no chance of converting it. Audipack look very nice, too good for this customer but might be a contender for some of our own hire stock. I think part of the problem with Unicol is perception, the customer looks at it and thinks "how much money for three pieces of metal?" which is hard to argue against when they're used to buying cheap chinese pig-iron hardware for other stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Fernand Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 'The existing screens are on Unicol trolleys, which as usual have served them well, and are still perfectly serviceable for the next bunch of screens' - remind them about this line.'the customer is objecting to paying £150+ for them and wants a cheaper option' - I would leave them to it or bill them for your time wasted trying to find the lower cost solution. Agreed that Unicol tends to look pretty agricultural - against that we have never had an issue with a Unicol product in 20+ years of supplying them.Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the kid Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 Are they the plate mounts or the sticks ? Can you not drill (or get a fabricator) the new sizes ? The Option we use for larger screens is Audipack, but if £150 for a unicol part is too much Audipack is going to make them cry. Sticks rather than plates, I'm afraid. The width is off, so we've got no chance of converting it. Audipack look very nice, too good for this customer but might be a contender for some of our own hire stock. I think part of the problem with Unicol is perception, the customer looks at it and thinks "how much money for three pieces of metal?" which is hard to argue against when they're used to buying cheap chinese pig-iron hardware for other stuff. Could you not make an "edit" and have something like a unicol projector spider that fits on? like flat L plates to extend. I am guessing its not a massive size jump here. Audipack is good. Amptown even do a Audipack + screen case which is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted February 27, 2019 Author Share Posted February 27, 2019 'the customer is objecting to paying £150+ for them and wants a cheaper option' - I would leave them to it or bill them for your time wasted trying to find the lower cost solution. I largely agree, but I'd like to keep the customer. This isn't the only job that they have on the go. And whilst I disagree with their stance, I can see where the objection to cost comes from and it's not entirely unreasonable. If they were being stupid and pig-headed about the whole thing I'd be much more tempted to leave them to it. Agreed that Unicol tends to look pretty agricultural - against that we have never had an issue with a Unicol product in 20+ years of supplying them. Our experience is much the same. The nearest I've come to a problem was the first time we got one of their secure projector box things, for a multi-purpose room which had to act as both a sports hall and cinema. <_< Despite the box being unlocked, it wouldn't open. I called Unicol up, thinking I was missing something obvious. The person I got on the phone didn't know offhand, so asked a colleague across the office. "Tw@t it!" was the reply, loud enough that I could hear it on the other end of the phone. Sure enough, a gentle whack was enough to dislodge the lid from whatever it was snagging on... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninjadingle Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 If there's not many to do I'd look at getting genuine Unicol secondhand from the well known auction site - think I'd be happier fitting that than bodging a new solution. Also it's not really something that's looked at, and if the rest of the trolley is original then a used adapter plate isn't going to look too out of place? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilary Watts Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 Is it possible to have a sheet steel plate manufactured that will bolt on to the front of the existing non-standard fitting and has standard VESA mounting holes in it to attach the new screens? If you're having several identical pieces manufactured the per unit cost should be well below £150. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted February 28, 2019 Author Share Posted February 28, 2019 Is it possible to have a sheet steel plate manufactured that will bolt on to the front of the existing non-standard fitting and has standard VESA mounting holes in it to attach the new screens? If you're having several identical pieces manufactured the per unit cost should be well below £150. That's not a bad idea, Hilary. I guess the thing I'd need to check is that the metal doesn't cover the connectors on the back of the telly. And yes, I have been trawling eBay for second hand mounts but they don't turn up very often. Unsurprisingly, there are loads of non-universal brackets listed, I imagine the adjustable ones get reused rather than sold on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave m Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 There are several companies who specialise in small waterjet projects. Or laser-cutting. They do shapes and holes. You email a diagram and they make it, returning by postYou could make up a template out of mdf and have them replicate it in steel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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