RunCam 2 premature shutoff

[Buckeye]

Every flight with my first RunCam 2 seemingly introduced some new problem:

• Corrupt video file (VLC did eventually read it, where other players would not)
• loss of video, but not audio (probably ejection shock to the lens attachment cable)
• Premature shut off (within 30 seconds of recording)

I am now on my second RunCam 2, and its first flight also stopped recording and shut off prematurely. The rocket was descending nicely on main parachute and the recording suddenly stopped at exactly 17:00 minutes. I don't think this is a coincidence. Plenty of space on the SD card. This post from @Rocket dreamer on the RunCam Split also indicates shut off at 17 minutes. This must be a "feature" of the RunCam line.

I suspect this is battery problem or heating issue. It was sunny and hot (90 deg F) and the rocket was sitting in the sun for quite a while.

I like the RunCam functionality and ease of use, but the performance sucks for rocketry. I am surprised that it is getting so much love in the forum of late.

 

[Budro0]

I think a lot of guys went for them with the 4k option (myself included). I really only use mine in 1080/120, and have hit most of these issues - especially overheating. I have not seen the 17 min shutoff, but that wouldn't surprise me.

I think most of my issues have been overheating related. I never had issues with it launching in the winter. Tbf my worst day with the runcam, I also had issues with my phone and main camera overheating. But I could get them in the shade to cool off.

 

[mtnmanak]

I have a couple Runcam 2 4k cameras and this shutoff problem is repeatable in all the ones I have purchased.

I got my first camera, bought the exact SD card they recommend, formatted it the way they recommend, etc and tested it at home via the WiFi connection and the button. I took a bunch of videos about 10 seconds long and they all came out fine. I tried them at a launch and launched 4 rockets with the camera. I got home and checked my videos and they all cut out at about 15 seconds. After checking the Amazon comments, I found out this is a known issue and there is a workaround: start recording, stop recording, then immediately start recording again. I found this workaround did "solve" the issue, but I lost a whole day of recordings.

I contacted Runcam customer service and they flatly refused to replace the camera and basically told me this was my problem, not theirs. Since I can get the camera to work, I guess it will be okay, but I don't really "trust" it now. This problem happens regardless of how I start the recording process - button and WiFi and I have tried both the Android and Apple apps. It is repeatable every time. I have also tried 3 different batteries, all fully charged.

The video is good, but I think that when a product basically fails its core function (in this case, recording video does not work by simply hitting the "record" button), there is a serious issue.

 

[Love RC]

Mine just started shutting down at 30-60 seconds. It's basically useless. I also have the recommended card.

 

[OverTheTop]

I have had trouble with other cameras shutting down whilst the rocket was on the pad. Heating of the airframe was the cause. Next time I try video I will be setting up something to shade the rocket before takeoff.

 

[wsume99]

My RunCam 2 4k has ventilation holes on the the sides of the case. I made my own mount for the camera. The first one fully surrounded the camera and I had it shutoff prematurely. I destroyed that mount after one flight due to the chute hanging and it coming in ballistic. Thankfully the camera survived. The second version of my mount included cutouts on the sides to allow airflow through the vents on the side of the RunCam. I've only flown it a few times since but I have not had any other shutdown events. I did fly it mainly in the fall when the temps were in the 70s so maybe that was the difference but most mounts I've seen for sale block the vents which certainly cannot help the overheating problem.

 

[Handeman]

There was an issue with RunCam 2 4k shutting off after start up, but from what I understand, new firmware that started being used a few months ago has fixed that.
Have you installed the latest firmware?

 

[jkovac]

There was an issue with RunCam 2 4k shutting off after start up, but from what I understand, new firmware that started being used a few months ago has fixed that.
Have you installed the latest firmware?

You’re right about the firmware. When I got my RC24K I had to do the start/stop/start again sequence noted in posts above. I installed the new firmware last week, and now it keeps running when started (battery fail in about an hour).

 

[Banzai88]

Firmware 1.2.4. cured most of the incidents of crashing, the current version is 1.2.6, and I've not heard of anyone having crashing issues with it.

 

[jd2cylman]

Is there good instructions on downloading and installing the new firmware?

 

[mtnmanak]

Is there good instructions on downloading and installing the new firmware?

https://www.runcam.com/download/runcam24k
You can either download the update to an SD card and install or do it from the app.

 

[jd2cylman]

Thanks

 

[Banzai88]

https://www.runcam.com/download/runcam24k
You can either download the update to an SD card and install or do it from the app.

I always do the download, unzip, and transfer it to the card OUTSIDE of the camera, then install the card on the camera, turn camera on, and wait for the orange light to stop and the camera to go off. From there, I start up the camera, hook up the phone app to the camera, and verify firmware installed by checking the version.

The camera will erase the firmware file from the card and install the necessary folder, nothing else to do but enjoy.

There are a variety of videos showing how, just check here: https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf...UQCBWEQ0pQJegQIDBAB&biw=1536&bih=714&dpr=1.25

 

[KyleMurdock]

I have a RunCam 2 4k. My first 2 flights with it were great. Now it seems that it quits recording when there is a shock - on 4 flights video cut out when the body tube hit the ground (under main chute) and once when the charge blew at apogee. Each time, I found the camera powered off.

I've tried various things - padding between the battery and access panel in case the battery was getting jarred. Padding between the camera and the mount. Nothing has helped. It's on firmware v1.2.6.

Any ideas/advice before I give up and move to a different camera?

 

[mtnmanak]

I have a RunCam 2 4k. My first 2 flights with it were great. Now it seems that it quits recording when there is a shock - on 4 flights video cut out when the body tube hit the ground (under main chute) and once when the charge blew at apogee. Each time, I found the camera powered off.

I've tried various things - padding between the battery and access panel in case the battery was getting jarred. Padding between the camera and the mount. Nothing has helped. It's on firmware v1.2.6.

Any ideas/advice before I give up and move to a different camera?

I have found the batteries on the Runcam 2 4k to be stupidly finnicky and prone to damage/error. I have had to ditch at least 4 of them now (I own 5 x RC 2 4k cameras) and I have bought a bunch of them as spares. Eventually, they just don't connect well anymore (this is apart from the charging/holding a charge issues). My recommendation is to get another battery on Amazon and give it a shot.

At the end of the day, the camera itself in the Runcam 2 4k is awesome, but the whole package is crappy and cheap. They took a great camera and packaged it in a system that is the cheapest they could make it. The problem is, if there is a better alternative out there, I haven't found it. I would gladly pay more for a camera system that had just a little better engineering. For now, I just do my best to work around the RC issues.

 

[Buckeye]

I have a RunCam 2 4k. My first 2 flights with it were great. Now it seems that it quits recording when there is a shock - on 4 flights video cut out when the body tube hit the ground (under main chute) and once when the charge blew at apogee. Each time, I found the camera powered off.

I've tried various things - padding between the battery and access panel in case the battery was getting jarred. Padding between the camera and the mount. Nothing has helped. It's on firmware v1.2.6.

Any ideas/advice before I give up and move to a different camera?

Yep, I had the same "shock" issues.

Frankly, I am bored with flight video and rarely do it anymore. After a few times, the footage all starts to look alike. Plus, most of my flights have annoying spin. I did editing, synced altimeter/gps data using Dashware, and so on. Lotsa work. If I visit a cool, new launch site, I'll bust out the camera.

The stabilizing cameras like Insta360 look interesting.

 

[Pinetree]

Speaking as a guy who's watched a fair amount of flight videos on YouTube, I concur.

They all start to look the same after a while.

 

[mtnmanak]

I haven't posted an onboard flight video in well over a year now, but I do still like to have onboard cameras for as many flights as I have the patience to set them up. I like to have one pointed up and one pointed down. Even if I never post the videos, I find them very valuable in forensically analyzing my flights. I have uncovered many issues in my flights that the onboard cameras caught, but I could never have seen from the ground.

For example, I have an 8" AGM-33 Pike that was deploying the main parachute quite a bit higher than I set in the flight computers, especially on big motors like an N2200. I thought I had electronics issues. After looking through my onboard videos, I realized the nosecone shear pins (4-40) were breaking at launch due to a small amount of slop in the nosecone coupler/BT junction and the nosecone wouldn't separate at apogee, but it would slowly work its way out as the payload bay/nosecone assembly tumbled in the wind under drogue and separate before the main parachute ejection charge. With this knowledge in hand, I switched to 6-32 shear pins and have not had an issue since.

Another thing I love about onboard cameras is being able to watch the drogue/main deployments - I have had tangles during launches and was able to see where/why they happened and make corrections for future flights.

Point is, there are good uses for video besides posting your latest flight on YouTube

 

[KyleMurdock]

I have found the batteries on the Runcam 2 4k to be stupidly finnicky and prone to damage/error. I have had to ditch at least 4 of them now (I own 5 x RC 2 4k cameras) and I have bought a bunch of them as spares. Eventually, they just don't connect well anymore (this is apart from the charging/holding a charge issues). My recommendation is to get another battery on Amazon and give it a shot.

At the end of the day, the camera itself in the Runcam 2 4k is awesome, but the whole package is crappy and cheap. They took a great camera and packaged it in a system that is the cheapest they could make it. The problem is, if there is a better alternative out there, I haven't found it. I would gladly pay more for a camera system that had just a little better engineering. For now, I just do my best to work around the RC issues.

I see what you mean about the batteries being finicky. I see I can get it to disconnect just by pushing the battery a little further into the case sometimes. I just ordered a new battery, so I'll try that out.

 

[Joshua Smith]

Yep, I had the same "shock" issues.

Frankly, I am bored with flight video and rarely do it anymore. After a few times, the footage all starts to look alike. Plus, most of my flights have annoying spin. I did editing, synced altimeter/gps data using Dashware, and so on. Lotsa work. If I visit a cool, new launch site, I'll bust out the camera.

The stabilizing cameras like Insta360 look interesting.

You should attempt to build a spin can. It's a pretty interesting challenge.