Camcorder Rocket. Need Advice

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I have a question about the mirrir also...

Since the lens is offset, did you have to componsate any? Basically what I was thinking, is you would have to angle the mirror left and right, along with up and down, is that true?

Is there a chance you could post some pics of your camera and lens setup?

Thanks
 
Heres a picture. The black thing tucked in to the left of the camera board is the battery pack. I switched it to use AAAs in order to save weight. The sparkly blue thing is a usb B female connector. I tried a few lighter alternatives but had problems so I came back to having that permanently soldered on there. You may want to use a mini-USB if you can find one. The mirror is angled at 45 degrees and tilted to the right slightly to compensate for the camera being offset on the left.
 
Originally posted by sucka
Heres a picture. The black thing tucked in to the left of the camera board is the battery pack. I switched it to use AAAs in order to save weight. The sparkly blue thing is a usb B female connector. I tried a few lighter alternatives but had problems so I came back to having that permanently soldered on there. You may want to use a mini-USB if you can find one. The mirror is angled at 45 degrees and tilted to the right slightly to compensate for the camera being offset on the left.
Click to expand...

Thank you sir...I was wondering if the mirror had to be tilted to compensate for the lens being off center.:D
 
Originally posted by zog43editor
With your current motor mount, I think the F21-6 would be what you're gonna see the best results with. It's the same size as the E9 you flew on this weekend. The F20's are 29mm and would require some major surgery.

kj
Click to expand...

Well, since the F21's are OOP, the F24 is a nice motor. For lightweight rockets, the F12 is nice too, but the F24-6 would be my choice for this.
 
Dangit !

Those links work - I finally got it right !!

Yeeeeehaaaawwwww.....

:D :D :D

Me happy now !
 
roadkill those are nice videos. My camera seems to have more Frames per Second but yours seems to take clearer pictures.

cjl...I have noticed teh F21-6 is out of stock in alot of places but I cant seem to find any F24s either. The two online stores I have used in the past are hobbylinc and ehobbies. Are there any other big names that I should be looking at?
 
www.wildmanrocketry.com has them. You have to have the 24/40 motor case though... expensive case, but less expensive motors. It eventually pays off. Also, the motors only come in three packs.

I now want to mount an Aiptek 1.3 pencam in the nose cone a scratch built 3" SAAB after seeing danc's page. I hope to have this rocket done by June to fly at Southern Thunder. Sounds like an awesome project!
 
Here are a couple frames from a recent launch with the aiptek.
It was a bit hazy when I launched.

air1.jpg

air2.jpg
 
If I can't get my hands on an Octave Multipod 5 in 1, then the Aiptek 1.3 pencam will be my choice.

Thanks.
Kyle.
 
those are awesome pictures. Does your aiptec do 640x480 then?
 
Originally posted by sucka
those are awesome pictures. Does your aiptec do 640x480 then?
Click to expand...

Yes it does, it actually takes pictures at 624 by 480. Not sure why it doesn't do an even 640 but 'whatever'. Works quite well. Launched it many times now. Records about a minute of video at 640 and more at 320 by 240 of course. You can get them quite cheaply from aiptek depending on the current sales.
 
Originally posted by sucka
I have noticed teh F21-6 is out of stock in alot of places but I cant seem to find any F24s either. The two online stores I have used in the past are hobbylinc and ehobbies. Are there any other big names that I should be looking at?
Click to expand...

Look in the local hobby stores. HobbyTown USA in Frederick tends to have a good stock. If that fails, Hobby Works in Laurel had 6 or 7 packs on the shelf this week.

kj
 
Sucka. - I've been looking for info on where to solder the wire for a remote power and record on the CVS cam and can't find it anywhere. Can you link me to the info?
 
Hmmm.... not quite sure where I found that info. Here is a picture that explains where to solder though. The contacts are tiny but are located on either side of the buttons. Once you get your wires soldered to the buttons and then soldered to a button switch (radio shack) on the other end, test that they work, then put some epoxy down over top to secure them in place. If that doesnt make sense then let me know and I will try to supply more info.
 
Thanks for the quick reply! I had seen that somewhere and also can't remember where and with 4 contacts to choose from, the odds are better for me now. Guess I'll grind a sharp point on one of my irons to get in there.

Thanks again!
 
So did you leave the switches on and solder to the connection points, bypassing the switch itself???
 
One other question, did you power it through the battery connection or through the USB connection?
 
Roadkill,

I got both a Aiptek Pencam SD and the DV3100

hands down the3100 beats the Pencam, everytime , PLUS you have sound.


Yes a little big and heavier, but worth the weight and maybe not for Low Power rockets, mid to high instead

Great stuff you got there, keep up the great work, come on up to Orangeburg ,SC sometime

I love the LandShark, knock knock mailman! GRrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
hahahahahahaha :)can you say Up scale to 38 or 54 mm ( call it Great White land shark)

and as far as the Soccer Hooligans, I can drop a 12 foot, 50LB rocket on them with a 20 foot chute, some people have no humor and you have the proof of that.
 
RalliArt- yes you leave the built in switches on there and solder on your own. Both switches should still function.

Randym- I powered through the battery connection. There is the little 4 prong outlet where battery "board" connects to the main board. I ran my power straight into that outlet and then hot glued over to secure it in place. To save weight I bought a little battery holder from radio shack and switched to 2 AAAs.
 
Thanks WolfStar,

Somewhere in the back of my mind 'TigerShark' with twin 24mm mounts and lite ply fins is slowly taking shape.... After that, perhaps even bigger one. The only prob is that there are very limited launch opportunities for H power and up in my area, so I try to stay with G and below 3.3lbs...

I surfed your site and you got some really cool stuff, those LED's are a real killer.... If I ever cobble together something weird for a night launch, I'll be ordering those really quick....
 
Will someone who has one of the CVS camcorders please tell me if it looks like the actual camera portion could be removed and repositioned or does it look like it is stuck there pretty firmly? I am getting the camera later this week and would like to figure out how to mount it in my own rocket which is a bit smaller (it's going to require a modified payload bay, that's for sure). A picture or two from the side would be nice.
Thanks,
Reed
 
the camera is very firmly attached to the mainboard. You could check on www.camerahacking.com to see if anyone else has tried to remove it although I would be surprised. That site is THE source for CVS camcorder info.
 
Yeah, I've asked but have gotten no replies.
Reed

EDIT: They have said that it probably wouldn't work. Pooh.
 
I would like to remove the camera board also. It will come off if you remove the three screws around the lens. That's the easy part.

I looked for the connectors to make an extension cable. And of course, no one knows how long that could be anyway. Guess that's the hard part.

Maybe Pure Digital should start selling these :)

If anyone can figure it out, I'm sure many others would be interested in the info.
 
FYI... I have flown the rocket several times since my last post and have uploaded several more videos (https://www.mikevandre.com/rocket). The last video on there is using an F21-6.

My co-workers have gotten interested in my camera rocket and they are actually the ones that bought the F motors for me. They said "We want to see it go higher." I said, "Well... pay for these and your wish is granted." Surprisingly they said Ok. I also talked 5 of my coworkers into building their own kits. After they were all built we went out during lunch and launched them all. They are all now hooked and round 2 is next week.

The F motor was alot of fun and I cant resist but want to move onto G motors now. I am planning a new rocket that can handle 29 mm reloads and take my camera up higher.
 
Very cool vids! :)

Do you think it would be possible to change the angle of the mirror so that less rocket can be seen? :)
 
Well done, sucka. And very nice job getting your buds to pay for the motors! Spending other people's money, mmmm.

One comment: I noticed quite a bit of relative motion between the payload section and the booster on motor burnout. I think you are flirting with drag separation there. Is the coupler loose?
 
I dont have a payload section per say. The camera is located inside the nose-cone. Are you saying that my nosecone might be too loose?
 
Originally posted by sucka
I dont have a payload section per say. The camera is located inside the nose-cone. Are you saying that my nosecone might be too loose?
Click to expand...

Yes, that is what I am saying.

Look in the video of the F21 flight. At the moment the motor burns out, the fins seem to move within the frame. This indicates relative motion between the camera and the fins. The drag force on the fins and the forward momentum of the nose section are working against each other trying to separate the two pieces during coast phase. This is not what you want.

When your rocket is fully prepped for launch, hold it vertically by the nose cone and give it a wiggle. The two pieces' relative motion should be barely noticeable. The booster should not fall off of the nose cone!

I'm curious to know the result of this test. If the nose cone is not loose, then I am at a loss to explain the relative motion in the video.
 

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