wanted:- ONBOARD WIRELESS CAMERA experts!

[PandaBear]

Guys, Melbourne THUNDERDROME 2005 is up again.
February 26th Saturday evening
http://www.ausmicro.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2918&FORUM_ID=17&CAT_ID=7&Topic_Title=THUNDERDROME+2005+is+on+again%21+%28Melbourne%29&Forum_Title=nonMicro+RC+%2D+Discussion

We had a few fellas getting into wireless Onboard cams
and know what they’re doing… youse free to help out?

Last time’s video could be better eg less dropouts.
My organisation then was pretty rushed too, unfortunately.

What I’m after ideally is:

1) setup a better fixed receiving antenna/s in the infield,
maybe powering it via 12V (vs 8/9V std) for better reception too.

2) someone to monitor the signal & fix glitching if it occurs

and whilst we’re on the wishing,

3) how about multiple cams? 🙂

[betty.k]

well that sounds like me!:D i should be free that night and i can bring my wireless along too. i can’t provide a camera car though, mine just wouldn’t be fast enough.
will we have mains power in the middle? i have a good filtered/regulated ac power supply that i’d rather use for the reciever. and we’d be able to keep the camera setup with charging separate.:8ball:

[PandaBear]

I got a bit overdosed on adrenaline the last time, driving back-to-back races for over an hour. Might put some cameras in other racers’ cars this time!!

Am planning to build some rechargeable 8-cell packs for the cameras to make them self-contained.

Good if you can make it, BK. Definitely chalk it in your calendar! :smiley16:

I don’t think there’s mains power but I got a car-battery-in-a-bucket that will supply perfectly clean 12V.

Maybe we can setup a picnic table in the infield with the receiver on a 10′ pole. Or find a way of attaching a better antenna via a longer coax.

ahh, so much work, so little time.

[jamiekulhanek]

Steal one of Wills’ Novak Brushless motor/esc’s and run an 8 cell pack, that should keep up 😀

[betty.k]

i used 9v nimh rechargables, i get a good 40 mins out of them and they’re light weight. i can also have one charging while the other is in use.
raising the aerial sounds good. and from memory my video rx can be used with your camera too so maybe we only need 1 rx setup, just twiddle the knob to swap camera:8ball:

[PandaBear]

Quote:

Steal one of Wills’ Novak Brushless motor/esc’s and run an 8 cell pack, that should keep up 😀

Been there, done that. 😀

The camera car was EvoIII running the Novak SS5800. Geared sky-high
it was averaging 74km/h and barely made 4m runtime with 3300s.

Novak SS can only take max 7-cells.

Don’t think the extra cell does all that much. 7-cell packs would
have to be matched too as we’d be flying even closer to runtime.
(More Vs = more current!)

[betty.k]

and even if it all worked well, i’d have no chance of keeping something that fast on it’s wheels! i’m struggling with 35 – 45kph at the moment!:dead::8ball:

[merc-blue]

i will probly be there.. im happy to help if ya want some..
also try to run a proper arial for the camera.. becasue the signal output from the radio gear just floods it.. also i would try to use the car on a freq as FAR away from the 2.4Gh that the cam runs on.. also who knows about arials about lengths and such to get optimum broadcast.. if ya guys want i can do some reasearch about these issues..

[PandaBear]

more the merrier, Rohan!

Are you running? 🙂

[PandaBear]

Quote:

also try to run a proper arial for the camera.. becasue the signal output from the radio gear just floods it.. also i would try to use the car on a freq as FAR away from the 2.4Gh that the cam runs on..

Mine run at 1.2GHz. Too much crap on 2.4GHz, from Bluetooth
and 802.11b wireless to modern longrange cordless phones.
Think betty/ph@t’s runs on 1.2 too… we shared stuff once.

Only camera is transmitting, the car doesn’t. 🙂

Might get some dirty RF from brushed motors but the Novak ain’t.

A fixed & optimised receiving antenna would be ideal.

Maybe we should pop into Coburg one weekend before
to do some private testing!!! Who’s up for it?

[merc-blue]

lol yeah . i might acctually try to run my car at this even running a 8double 😀 (i think it wont last the full day..)

i know the car doesnt transmit but ur TX does which can help cover up some of the radio signal around..
im thinking a unidirectional antennar and keep it faced at ur car.. would the let some one stand in the middle and walk in circles 😛

[betty.k]

mine is on 1.2ghz too. i’ve never had any rc induced interference with any of my toys, provided the motors have caps in the right places. my aerials are the right lengths, i’m thinking about a coaxial lead to sit between the rx and aerial should be fine.:8ball:

[peteWah]

I think Trash would have some usefull info for you guys in regards to arial lengths for the cameras and such
Electronic wiz/ ex Telstra worker…

I know i would like to more in regard to this project you guys are undertakeing :smiley2:

Cheers:smiley2:

[novin]

hey pete,

first mistake you did was click this topic which said “experts”
2nd was ur gay icons
wtf is it with u?

novin

Edited by – novin on 18 January 2005 14:14:04

[betty.k]

play nice fellers, play nice:angry::8ball:

[novin]

i am, im only joking with pete, he knows i think he’s a top bloke, just gotta make sure he loses those frickin icons, i gave him a whole crapload to play with hehe

novin

[betty.k]

ok, no sweat. you had me goin’ for a minute there!:D:8ball:

[novin]

really?
what did you think i was up too?
pete’s mad, you should hear me rattle on about his cousin /duck

novin

[peteWah]

You just want in beXta’s pants… :smiley2:

BTW, betty did you end up contacting trash…
:smiley2:

[betty.k]

nah, no need. my aerials are the right length and i’m confident that a raised rx aerial will give us enough range.

panda, not including mine, how many cameras are we talking? and how many recording devices?

my thinking is if there’s only 1 recorder then we only need 1 rx. and if it’s only yours and mine we’re set.:8ball:

[merc-blue]

if you gonna have 2 cars on track and ur both on the same band arent u straigh out fucked?

[betty.k]

nah, our cameras are slightly different frequencies, we’ve done it before at templestowe:8ball:

[PandaBear]

Quote:

panda, not including mine, how many cameras are we talking? and how many recording devices?

I got 3 cameras and 2 receivers if you’re feeling adventurous. :smiley16:
If you want more there’s still time to go shopping…

Still gotta get around to building some 8-cell NiMH packs
for them and make them fully self-contained, its the best way.
All up probably a 50g onboard package.

[PandaBear]

Quote:

2 cars on track … both on the same band

These things aren’t xtal locked, their output freqs are all
a little different to one another (doubt if that’s by design).

Probably could get a dozen before finding any 2 that conflict.

[merc-blue]

yeah panda mounthing them is gonna be a bitch.. ur gonna loose ur balance.. lol.. or ur COG if ya have to mount them high

[betty.k]

like i said, we’ve done it before, no sweat. and there won’t be any sharp turns to flip the cars so we should be fine.

so where you wanna mount the cam’s? shooting through lexan gives a blurry picture so we either need to cut a hole in the windscreen or mount the cam’s outside the shell.:8ball:

[merc-blue]

yeah trent when ur going 80kph plus in a car thans 50G heavy er on one side or even if you hvae to avoid another car that has crashed

[PandaBear]

Quote:

…if you hvae to avoid another car that has crashed

You need to watch more “Days Of Thunder”… :D:p

No avoiding anything… just drive thru and PRAY hard. 👿

[merc-blue]

lol thats gonna cause some damage oh well ur car not mine

[leonli17]

lol….who said the car is his?:smiley2:

[trash]

Sorry, I’ve been away working and holidays guys.
I have several mini cameras both 1.2 and 2.4Ghz.
The best antennas are either 1/4 wavelength if you want them short or 5/8th of a wavelength if you don’t mind them being long. At close range it won’t make make difference.

for 1.2GHz 1/4 wavelength is 6cm long 5/8 is 15cm
for 2.4Ghz 1/4 wavelength is 3cm long 5/8 is 7.7cm

There are plenty of other options too.
For long distance you can build some simple 1.2GHz transmitters that really kick arse and fit into a small space. They will transmit 1/2km easily. If you can handle the extra space and power requirements, then a small amplifier can be put on them to run them over distances of several kilometres.
You can also build UHF transmitters or rip the guts out of a cheap $20 unit from the markets.
I have a design which is crystal locked for stability and I have used it on rockets and balloons. Last one I built got a one way trip to the Wollombi National park. No hope of retrieving it from in there. They also work over several kilometres even on low power, and are excellent for reception on any TV.

[betty.k]

excellent, thanks for that! i discovered my aerial was about 7.5cm, i’ll trim it down (easier than adding a 15cm one).:8ball:

[PandaBear]

Everybody given up on this?? blackeye:

[betty.k]

like hell!
all i need to operate is a 240v mains supply or a 12v battery to run the rx and a charger. i’ll be able to bring my camera and rx and i have an extension lead for the aerial. i also have the required leads.
so all we need really is a pole of sorts to mount the aerial on.:8ball:

[PandaBear]

I dropped by Coburg today… unfortunately the council has fixed the fence gate and the chain at the access road so cannot get in. 🙁

Not sure if I’ll have time to get some cars running by Sat… :dead:

But yeah, I can bring a broomstick and a 12V battery no worries. Have you got the VCR/monitor?

Maybe we can attach the cameras to other racers’ cars.

[betty.k]

only monitor i got is the green screen apple monitor. which is still good just no colour (well just 1 colour really!) i don’t have a camcorder though:8ball:

[PandaBear]

Are you able to bring that monitor along? 🙂

Might have to organise some 240V power… they’ll have a generator but it will be in the pits, not centre field (which is best place for RX to be).

[PandaBear]

Whoever’s coming, betty/Merc/ph2t etc… PM me your mobile number.

Especially you, betty… :blush:

Might have to arrange to get there ‘early’ to get the prime spot for setup.

[jamiekulhanek]

Hey all I’m coming to Melbourne on the 7th of march for one measley day….pitty I can’t meet up with y’all…..perhaps next time….

[trash]

Oh dear, I’m on my way to Vic too on Monday Morning. But I’ll be down there for 3 weeks.
I got to build some more digital television transmitters for SBS.
Hahaha …. Got to love the irony of that !
Not to mention all you kiddies down there that would just love to get your grubby little mits on all my TV transmitters and other assorted goodies, including TFT screens that are 1 x 1.5 inches. Oh, did somebody say Icom R3 ??? I’ll actually have that with me. If you have a TV transmitter, it can RX it.
I’ll be down Lorne and apollo bay area. I probably won’t be logging into the forum during that time, so email is the best way to harrass me. trash0@hotmail.com

Edited by – trash on 06 March 2005 22:46:47

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