Keychain cam.

[UPscaler]

you don't need a card reader to do it. You just plug the camera into the computer. Make a .txt. file called tag with the time and date.

 

[mv1371]

you don't need a card reader to do it. You just plug the camera into the computer. Make a .txt. file called tag with the time and date.

It took me a while, but I fixed it. :clap:

 

[JDcluster]

You don't need a card reader! The key chain cam will act as a storage device.
There is a post on here or RP about a website that someone has done extensive testing & has found a way to correct the time stamp.


JD

O.K. I have it working now. I am unable to change the date stamp because I don't have a SD card reader for my computer.

 

[davalf]

Has anyone mounted these other then taping it to the side? If so pics and details please.

Dave

 

[Pantherjon]

I recently received and used my keychain cam. However, I use Windows XP and have Windows Movie Maker software. I can view the .AVI file but Movie Maker won't let me edit it. Can anyone suggest free and simple to use video editing software?

I use Video Edit Master available for FREE here..The interface is a little clunky, but workable to do simple editing, cutting out segments, adding segments..That is how I made the video of all the launches in the 'Events/Local Regional Events' sub forum..

 

[rockosrocket]

Has anyone mounted these other then taping it to the side? If so pics and details please.

Dave

Yes. I have mounted it inside a BSD 38 Special EB next to the altimeter. It points out horizontally to a mirror looking down. I use twist ties to strap it to a cardboard electronics panel modified for correct video angle.
I just launched it today and I will upload the video and some pictures soon. It was this rockets maiden flight and first dual deployment test with a G80 to make sure it flies true for my Level 1 cert. 923' and near perfect flight. Slight tanglement in the drouge and main shock cords but still passable I think.

 

[rockosrocket]

Modified for dual deployment BSD 38 Special with G80T. Test flight for level 1 certification.
The mirror could have been a little cleaner......

[YOUTUBE]Jb7UdWF6FqI[/YOUTUBE]

This picture shows my shotty craftsmanship and how I jerry rigged it in there!

Hopefully they will see past the mess I made on the paint.

 

[RoyAtl]

I recently received and used my keychain cam. However, I use Windows XP and have Windows Movie Maker software. I can view the .AVI file but Movie Maker won't let me edit it. Can anyone suggest free and simple to use video editing software?

It won't work with XP, but I'm using Windows 7 and Windows Live Movie Maker (a separate download) does a great job with .AVI files. I just created a short file where the sources were one of the first .AVI files made in 1994, a high-def file made last year, and a gum cam file.

https://www.soarrocketry.org/images/testingaviedit.wmv

It also nicely handles the .MOV files from my Kodak Zi8:
[YOUTUBE]YcbWSQuP-9Y[/YOUTUBE]

 

[rockosrocket]

Another barely successful flight with the keychain cam. I found "Tuck" tape no longer strong enough for securing the camera to the body tube on flights approaching 600mph. The loud sound is the tape over the gap between the edge of the camera and the body tube flapping and then fraying and ripping off :eyepop:. With the high speed apogee deployment I was lucky I decided to go no 'chute.
Anyways its a dual deployment 2 stager I call Pinacle 2.

[YOUTUBE]XXZ8dgrZZJM[/YOUTUBE]

 

[TZ250]

This is my first try at using the keychain camera. It works well. Obviously, I haven't fixed the date. I'll do that later.

This was taken today on a Apogee Aspire with a D12. When I got home, UPS delivered my Wildman Dark Star Lite kit that I'll build for L1.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYZyg3WFyxc

 

[atlcdp]

I purchased 3 of these key chain cameras from a far eastern sleer on ebay. Thet cost $7.50 a piece with shipping. I teste on yesterday on my daugthers Estes Big Daddy. Videos are at mms://andynuthouse.com/big_daddy_launch/ and mms://andysnuthouse.com/big_daddy_chuff/. Not much for altitiutde, 350' measured on my Altimeter One, but the video is great.

Well worth the money for a low cost video system.

FYI: andysnuthouse.com is a server I host. MMS is the prefix to tap into a Windows Streaming Server video stream.

 

[scsager]

FYI: andysnuthouse.com is a server I host. MMS is the prefix to tap into a Windows Streaming Server video stream.

Could not get your links to work...

 

[KennB]

https://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2010/07/05/swanns_latest_security_device_has_that_sinister_vibe/

This was in the 05 July Boston Globe. $100 sounds a lot more expensive than most of what I've seen at the launches.

 

[Mikus]

https://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2010/07/05/swanns_latest_security_device_has_that_sinister_vibe/

This was in the 05 July Boston Globe. $100 sounds a lot more expensive than most of what I've seen at the launches.

LOL! Anybody paying $100 for that is getting severely ripped-off. :2:

 

[BEC]

Yeah, looks like that guy in Boston is looking to make a real profit. The specs are standard #3 camera stuff except for the implication that the date stamp is optional.

Sure is tempting to register just to post a link to eBay sellers, the Chuck Lohr site and maybe a thread or two on a forum.

 

[luke strawwalker]

There was a thread around here somewhere about a couple months ago where some guy bought one from some outfit here in the States selling an "encrypted" version of the same old #3 camera for like almost $300 IIRC...

Wonder if he ever got his money back??

Later! OL JR

 

[McKailas Dad]

Well, I guess I'm next in line....I ordered a couple today Darn peer pressure!

They were ordered from for-easy-life

The email reciept said 3-4 weeks, now I, as well many of you have, get to play 'the Waiting Game'. Tic-toc-tic-toc.....

 

[MattieShoes]

[YOUTUBE]GDJwhpBozfs[/YOUTUBE]

My dad's Madcow Cricket on an H123 at last month's launch, from both the ground and the rocket. The kid going "Whoa, that was awesome" cracks me up

at 2:10, another guy looking for a rocket passes below. at 2:19, it passes over a rocket... Hopefully not the rocket the guy was looking for, because I think he walked too far. Just about the only cement within a mile of the launch site is a small 3 foot wide drainage ditch... Naturally, that's exactly where it landed. No real damage other than some scratched up paint.

 

[mack]

Well, I guess I'm next in line....I ordered a couple today Darn peer pressure!

They were ordered from for-easy-life

The email reciept said 3-4 weeks, now I, as well many of you have, get to play 'the Waiting Game'. Tic-toc-tic-toc.....

I just received two from For-easy-life yesterday and it took about a week. I haven't been able to try them out yet.

Mack

edit: I looked at the shipping confirmation and it was sent 7/14/2010 and received 7/22/2010. Pretty quick!

 

[georgegassaway]

See this thread in the Rocket Boosted Glider forum:

https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?t=13472

Jonathan Dill & I put his Keychain cam onto my R/C Rocket Glider last Saturday.

And on top of that, a strange weather phenomenon was coming thru. Video link and more pics on that thread.

- George Gassaway

 

[georgegassaway]

I’m wondering what micro SD cards work, and do not work, with these?

I am considering this one on eBay for example:

https://cgi.ebay.com/New-SanDisk-8G...gital_Camera_Memory_Cards&hash=item41516a419e

Does the SanDisk micro SDHC card work?

Is there some better deal for an 8 gig card that is good enough quality to work with the keychain cams?

I am looking to get an 8 gig card, but time is sort of short so I can’t run the risk of waiting for one from HongKong to show up too late.

- George Gassaway

 

[slogfilet]

Mine died on me after a few weeks... battery still tests fine, but it won't power up. Anyone else have any failures?

I haven't head too many quality issues, so I'll probably just get another one (or two.)

 

[georgegassaway]

Mine died on me after a few weeks... battery still tests fine, but it won't power up. Anyone else have any failures?

I ordered two over a week ago, and one cheap 2 gig card. It will be awhile before they get here.

Anyway, a message from the seller said do not charge them for more than 3 hours.

So, if anyone has left theirs on charge for really long periods of time and had problems later, possibly you’re killing the battery from overcharging. Well you said the battery "tests fine", so maybe not. Still, I wanted to mention that warning about 3 hour charge at most.

- George Gassaway

 

[McKailas Dad]

Of what I understand, the 8 gig is waaaay overkill, a 2 gig is plenty. I think the battery will die even before you even fill a 2 gig. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe a higher memory capacity card will improve video quality.

I can get the SanDisk micro 2 gig at Walmart for around $10-12. Although I haven't heard the best reviews on SanDisk in general, I could borrow the one out of my wifes phone to see how it works when I get my camera.

On that note, what brands, and gig size, are people using?

 

[slogfilet]

I am looking to get an 8 gig card, but time is sort of short so I can’t run the risk of waiting for one from HongKong to show up too late. - George Gassaway

Depending on which model you end up with, it may not be able to write a file size larger than 4GB (evidently that's the limit of the .avi format?)

However, I've read that some models overcome this by simply starting a new file once it reaches that size. It's just kinda hard to tell which one you'll get sometimes.

Though with an 8GB card, you could have plenty of space left over for other files, so it might not be all bad.

 

[Sandy H.]

Of what I understand, the 8 gig is waaaay overkill, a 2 gig is plenty. I think the battery will die even before you even fill a 2 gig.

My 2gb card fills up in around 15 minutes. The battery seems to last closer to an hour. I now use an 8gb card, but have not recorded more than 4gb in one shot, so I don't know how it handles that.

Sandy.

 

[georgegassaway]

Reason I am thinking of 8 Gig, is that I probably will not have a laptop at the field to download files to it flight-by-flight, like a lot of people do. So, I’d get a lot of individual flights onto the 8 Gig card, then download at home later.

Indeed charge-wise at the field (to re-top it off), I have tried to find some cheap way to use some kind of battery hooked up to a USB cable. I have found lots of 110 Volt AC items that can charge USB devices, but I’ve not yet found the dumb-simple battery based version of the same thing.

- George Gassaway

 

[luke strawwalker]

From what I've gathered on the RC Groups forum discussion about these, the CLASS of the card is more important than the capacity... though of course the capacity allows more files on the card or longer recordings...

The higher the class number, the faster the card will write and the fewer dropped frames and 'lurches' there will be in the finished vid, in other words, the better the quality.

Some are using Class 6 cards, but they haven't been shown to be definitively better than class 4, at least that seems to be the consensus.

Of course, higher class rating cards cost slightly more than standard class 2 cards, as well... but they're not HORRIBLY more expensive...

Later! OL JR

 

[daveyfire]

Still, I wanted to mention that warning about 3 hour charge at most.

I left one plugged in to my computer overnight and it quit working the next time I tried to use it. On power-up, the LED would illuminate and the casing would get quite warm, but after repeated button-pushing nothing would happen. The battery would then die after a while and the LED would go out again. So yea... overcharging definitely kills 'em :blush:

 

[Rex R]

what size/type battery do they use?