Mounting Keychain Camera

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Here is very simple way to attach them that looks good and has stayed on through the use of a K454. A #6 screw will fit through the keyring hole in the back of the camera. You might have to drill the case of the camera out a little, but there are no electronics by that hole so no worries.

Drill a hole in the airframe. Put the screw through the hole from the inside out and secure it with a nut on the outside. If this is to be a permanent mount, you should epoxy into place. If it is temporary, use some of your wife's fingernail polish or a light threadlock to hold. Affix velcro aft of the screw and to the underside of the camera. Put the camera on the rocket with the remainder of the screw sticking through the keyring hole. Secure with another nut and use fingernail polish or mild threadlock to hold in place.

At this point, you can use electrical tape around the gap if you want to increase your aerodynamics. Otherwise, this will hold in place without any tape just fine. On a 4" rocket, if you secure this so the lens is about 3/4" away from the base of the rocket and angled out slightly (when you tighten the nut it should do this anyway), you will not catch any part of the rocket, and the camera is still out of the way of the heat from the motor.

Keychain Camera Mount.jpg

The camera was mounted that way for this video, flying with a K160.

[YOUTUBE]hh7sMBRcTzo[/YOUTUBE]
 
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EeebeeE said:
Here is very simple way to attach them that looks good and has stayed on through the use of a K454. A #6 screw will fit through the keyring hole in the back of the camera. You might have to drill the case of the camera out a little, but there are no electronics by that hole so no worries.

Drill a hole in the airframe. Put the screw through the hole from the inside out and secure it with a nut on the outside. If this is to be a permanent mount, you should epoxy into place. If it is temporary, use some of your wife's fingernail polish or a light threadlock to hold. Affix velcro aft of the screw and to the underside of the camera. Put the camera on the rocket with the remainder of the screw sticking through the keyring hole. Secure with another nut and use fingernail polish or mild threadlock to hold in place.

At this point, you can use electrical tape around the gap if you want to increase your aerodynamics. Otherwise, this will hold in place without any tape just fine. On a 4" rocket, if you secure this so the lens is about 3/4" away from the base of the rocket and angled out slightly (when you tighten the nut it should do this anyway), you will not catch any part of the rocket, and the camera is still out of the way of the heat from the motor.

View attachment 124397

The camera was mounted that way for this video, flying with a K160.

[YOUTUBE]hh7sMBRcTzo[/YOUTUBE]
Click to expand...

Nice, really keeps it simple but robust. One could probably just drill/tap/thread right into the fiberglass on bigger air frames.
 
On larger airframes you can glue a block of wood behind the airframe and use a brass threaded insert. If you try to tap the airframe wall only you will lose your camera after about 500 MPH.
 
Check out the vendor's section. Username Landru (3D Printer Guy) is selling 3D printed shrouds specifically for the 808 keychain camera that look very cool. He is selling them on Etsy (don't know much about that site) for $15.95 ea. for various size BTs. He doesn't take paypal so I was nervous about entering my credit card info there.

Contacted vendor, Andrew Diehl and he invoiced me via Paypal . . . Ordered two shrouds, 54mm and 98mm. Will post review when received.
 
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Received the camera shrouds in the mail today. I ordered the 54mm version and the 98mm version. First impression -they are perfect! Solidly built, nearly indestructible; 808 camera fits inside perfectly; shroud allows easy access to camera controls, in fact, when I slide camera into shroud it presses the on/off switch, placing the camera in stand-by mode; the shroud allows easy access to on/off and camera control buttons; two screws included to mount shroud on rocket and since shroud mounting surface is contoured, it fits snugly and can also be epoxied to rocket and possible use of two-sided tape might work; camera retention is simple, with the included screw that passes into the hole that the keychain ring is in, keeping the already snug camera from sliding out of the shroud.

You can't buy a better shroud that has been specifically designed for the 808 keychain camera.

Oh, the camera I used with the shroud was a cheap 808 720/480 keychain camera. I ordered the 808 #16 keychain camera on ebay but won't get it for another three weeks.

Just heard that the 808 #16 camera might be slightly larger than the one I used, so I will have to wait until I get the one on Ebay to be sure how well the shroud works. I do know the Ebay model has a lens that is on the outside of the body, while the one I used the lens is contained inside the body.
 
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^ i know for a fact the #16 is larger because i have a custom made shroud for the 808 and the #16 won't fit. Landru is going to make the #16 I believe.
 
accpool said:
^ i know for a fact the #16 is larger because i have a custom made shroud for the 808 and the #16 won't fit. Landru is going to make the #16 I believe.
Click to expand...

How much larger? Top to bottom, side to side, Front to back? Is it possible to take a dremel to the shroud to rout out the excess material to make it fit?
 
I don't have access until later today. But if memory serves is was much thicker top to bottom. the lens area might also be an issue. Will measure by tonight and post.
 
Here are some pictures to try and show how much thicker #16 camera is compared to the 808. The
#16 has a much less rounded housing. Unless the walls of the mount are thick I think you would run out of material before it would fit.

20140117_171313[1].jpg

20140117_171543[1].jpg

20140117_171849[1].jpg
 
Yes, my 808 #16 camera came in the mail today. It looks to be about 20% thicker than the 808 camera. I tried to force the #16 (not overly) into the shroud and no luck. Heaven forbid I did get it in, because I'd have to cut it out. Good thing Landru is busy designing a shroud for the #16 camera.


accpool said:
Here are some pictures to try and show how much thicker #16 camera is compared to the 808. The
#16 has a much less rounded housing. Unless the walls of the mount are thick I think you would run out of material before it would fit.
Click to expand...
 
Does your #16 look like the one i have? I was surprised when mine came and it was so much larger. I would have waited and just got the mount for the #16.
 
Where along the length of the airframe are most people mounting their cameras? More towards the nose cone or the fins? How about with dual deploy - on the fincan section or the payload section?

Let's say a 3" diameter rocket, fincan 44" long, payload 22" long (ie: Wildman 3" rockets) - where would you mount the camera/shroud?

s6
 
stealth6 said:
Where along the length of the airframe are most people mounting their cameras? More towards the nose cone or the fins? How about with dual deploy - on the fincan section or the payload section?

Let's say a 3" diameter rocket, fincan 44" long, payload 22" long (ie: Wildman 3" rockets) - where would you mount the camera/shroud?

s6
Click to expand...

I would mount it on the booster (lower) section, as that section stays in the same position on descent as it does ascent. You mount it on upper section and you'll have half your video looking at blue sky.

Yes Lance, my #16 looks like yours. I'm alright with having a good version (#16 808) and a cheap version (808). I'll send up the cheap version first and see how the video comes out.
 
I just use tape... it works great for my low and mid power rockets.
You might wand something more robust if your rocket is going super-sonic of is HP.

Julian
 
K'Tesh said:
I'm (mentally) designing one to externally resemble the Cineroc, but I haven't got the 808 #16 in my hands yet. It's coming in from Hong Kong now, and due around 4/16 or so.
Click to expand...

Yea, that's why I never order items shipped from China. Two+ years is just to long to wait! ;)
 
Right Wing Wacko said:
Yea, that's why I never order items shipped from China. Two+ years is just to long to wait! ;)
Click to expand...

I know that when I ordered my 808 #16 camera from China the expected delivery date was around 6 weeks, but I actually got the camera within 10 days.

Check with Landru, as he makes some awesome 3D printed mounts for this camera that look and function a whole lot better than tape.
 
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