I'm thinking about buying an Astrocam but I don't like the thought off strapping it to the outside of a rocket. Has anybody ever built a rocket with partially inboard camera mount? I was thinking maybe the front of the camera would fit in a recess in the body and the back of the camera would tilt out a little bit. Maybe this doesn't point the camera the right way. Maybe I need to design a fairing to go over the camera and connect to the rocket.
astrocam vehicle?
- Thread starter bjphoenix
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Scott_650
Well-Known Member
3D printing vendor Inverted Pursuits makes some nifty cam shrouds https://inverted-pursuits-lab.square.site/.
jgarbus
Well-Known Member
If your referring to the Astrocam kit with the external USB camera, dot over think it, the design actually works fine. You will spend more time messing with getting the camera recording than anything else
These are KEWL !
https://boyceaerospacehobbies.com/c...cam-replica-nose-cone-kit-with-estes-astrocam
Cineroc Astrocam Replica Nose Cone Kit with Estes Astrocam
Kabulrocks
Well-Known Member
That’s exactly what I was looking for- thanks for posting! A camera equipped Omega is on my want to build list.
I've used the Estes Universal AstroCam HD Rocket Camera and Holder a few times and did not have any problems with it.
I strapped it on to my Super Big Bertha and my Nike Smoke Pro Series as launch vehicles and didn't have any problem with it detaching or anything like that.
Got two really great videos out of three flights (didn't get it to activate on the first flight--my fault) and will be flying it again in this strap-on mode next time I can get to my launch site.
The slower liftoff profile of the Super Big Bertha produced the better of the two videos and I plan to use the Der Big Max as a launch vehicle next time I try for more videos. F-sized engines (BP, not composite).
So, I guess to answer the original concern here---Strapping on works ok. But if you're worried about it falling off, just get the AstroCam rocket from Estes as the camera is built-in. About a ten dollar difference.
I strapped it on to my Super Big Bertha and my Nike Smoke Pro Series as launch vehicles and didn't have any problem with it detaching or anything like that.
Got two really great videos out of three flights (didn't get it to activate on the first flight--my fault) and will be flying it again in this strap-on mode next time I can get to my launch site.
The slower liftoff profile of the Super Big Bertha produced the better of the two videos and I plan to use the Der Big Max as a launch vehicle next time I try for more videos. F-sized engines (BP, not composite).
So, I guess to answer the original concern here---Strapping on works ok. But if you're worried about it falling off, just get the AstroCam rocket from Estes as the camera is built-in. About a ten dollar difference.
GlenP
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I have thought about modifying one of these boost gliders to fit a keychain camera facing forwards in a pilot view orientation somehow.
http://modelrocketbuilding.blogspot.com/2016/05/centuri-x-24-bug-build-part-1-printed.html?m=1
http://modelrocketbuilding.blogspot.com/2016/05/centuri-x-24-bug-build-part-1-printed.html?m=1
I decided I would charge and test out my Astrocam around the house. While charging it I found 4 video files on the memory card, all of activities around the factory where the cameras are made or packaged. Obviously I can't understand what they are saying. In a few quick pans you can see boxes of bright red parachutes with white shroud lines, maybe nylon parachutes instead of thin plastic.
Once I charged the battery I turned the camera on and walked outside with it. It seemed to work well but isn't very high resolution. I guess you can't expect much at that price.
For some reason Windows viewer complained about some of the files and wouldn't play them but would play others. VLC Media Player played everything.
Once I charged the battery I turned the camera on and walked outside with it. It seemed to work well but isn't very high resolution. I guess you can't expect much at that price.
For some reason Windows viewer complained about some of the files and wouldn't play them but would play others. VLC Media Player played everything.
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I flew the camera twice today and netted one good video. The first launch I spotted where the rocket landed and let it set there while I was taking still photos of the next few launches. Then I remembered that while it was setting in the field the camera was still running so I hustled out there to retrieve it. That launch netted over 1TB of video but at the very front of it was a pretty good launch. The second launch the camera shut off right at the time of launch, the video recorded the countdown and then stopped. It's fun to play with so I'll keep trying. I don't know very much about video editing and I had found a fairly simple freeware program to use, I need to check on my old computer to see what that was and install it on my new computer.
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