Estes Magician with camera...

[ewomack]

I am in the process of building an Estes Magician and I have seen a few videos (one on this very forum) of Magicians with a camera in the payload. One video mentions an "808" camera. Does that refer to the 808 Keychain camera? The other videos don't mention the camera model that they used, but all of them had pretty decent resolution.

This link discusses using a keychain camera in an Estes "Reflector" (a model apparently no longer made) and it gives instructions on how to disassemble the camera so it fits into the payload bay. I'm guessing that one needs to do this to get a keychain camera to fit into the Magician's payload? Unless smaller cameras have since come along? What have others done to get cameras into a Magician? I'd like to experiment with that.

 

[Nytrunner]

You can just tape it to the side.

A D12 and e12 are punchy enough to get it flying

 

[Scott_650]

Ditto to attaching your keychain camera to the outside - I use blue masking tape. The Magician wouldn’t be my first choice since it’s a good idea to keep the cam as far forward as you can and the smaller diameter forward section may limit the camera’s view. But as stable as the Magician is and, as stated earlier, since it flies on fairly big motors taping your camera lower on the bigger tube shouldn’t be a problem.

 

[BABAR]

You can just tape it to the side.

A D12 and e12 are punchy enough to get it flying

Yup. I use electrical tape as it is easier to get a bit of tension. I also put on a lanyard around the keychain attachment hold (take the chain off, obviously), and run a loop around the rocket for security, but I have never had the tape fail, so that is probably overkill.

Bring a laptop with a micro card reader (either built on or a USB adapter) with you to the launch, that way you can watch your video right after the flight, and make adjustments (or make sure it worked!) and fly it again same day.

 

[ewomack]

The simplicity of ideas is sometimes astonishing.

Is the $7 model good enough? I've seen some for $40 or more. I guess I can spend $7 and find out.

 

[Scott_650]

The simplicity of ideas is sometimes astonishing.

Is the $7 model good enough? I've seen some for $40 or more. I guess I can spend $7 and find out.

Now that’s a whole ‘nother discussion! There are myriad of these 808 cameras for sale all over. There’s a guy named Chuck Lohr with a website about them -
https://www.chucklohr.com/808/ - that has more info than you could imagine about these little gizmos. Try it out with the low buck one you found and if this is something you really like you can buy a better rated camera.

 

[mbeels]

Is the $7 model good enough? I've seen some for $40 or more. I guess I can spend $7 and find out.

I bought a $7 one, and the battery doesn't hold a charge long enough to start recording, walk away, and hit the launch button.

 

[Nytrunner]

The simplicity of ideas is sometimes astonishing.

Is the $7 model good enough? I've seen some for $40 or more. I guess I can spend $7 and find out.

This is a case of "get what you pay for". The quality and life of the cheap ones are....cheap

I have 2 5-8 dollar 808s that I've never used. I bought a $32 (at the time) that shoots HD with a wide angle lens. For me, the extra cost was worth it.

Check out these, and make sure to get a micro SD card with it (needs to be in for the camera to run)
https://www.amazon.com/MATECam-Keychain-Camera-Activated-Portable/dp/B01E5HDUXW
https://www.amazon.com/Keychain-Camera-Degree-Activated-Portable/dp/B06XY7VJL6


(Tape works on the big ones too )

 

[ewomack]

Yes, I think avoiding the single digit cost cameras may serve as a sound life philosophy. I will ratchet up that scale a bit. Thanks for the links!

Very nice video, by the way!

 

[ewomack]

One more question on this topic - will NAR or Tripoli sponsored launches allow cameras taped to the sides of rockets? I'm just checking so I don't show up with something that's not allowed.

 

[Nytrunner]

Yep

As long as it doesnt destabilize the rocket.

 

[ewomack]

Well, it worked...

 

[mbeels]

Nice! Boy, that was suspenseful. Highway? Trees? Highway? Trees????

 

[neil_w]

It looks like that launch site is really scarily close to a big highway. Suspense indeed.

 

[ewomack]

I was told that the club previously had a great site, but they lost it, so this was their home for now. The other side of the field had rows of new home development and I had to chase another rocket down over there.

I was worried about the Magician because it flew up and right over the freeway- I thought it was a goner, but luckily it drifted back about 50 yards away from the launch site.

That site probably won’t be tenable for too much longer. Someone else’s rocket landed on top of one of the new and occupied homes. I guess we’ll see.

 

[BABAR]

Nice! Boy, that was suspenseful. Highway? Trees? Highway? Trees????

I was thinking exactly the same thing!

Boy you have those fins on just about perfect, what about one quarter rotation the whole upward flight?

Really nice flight and very nice video for your first try actually for any try.

Congratulations

 

[BABAR]

I was told that the club previously had a great site, but they lost it, so this was their home for now. The other side of the field had rows of new home development and I had to chase another rocket down over there.

I was worried about the Magician because it flew up and right over the freeway- I thought it was a goner, but luckily it drifted back about 50 yards away from the launch site.

That site probably won’t be tenable for too much longer. Someone else’s rocket landed on top of one of the new and occupied homes. I guess we’ll see.

Yeah I know finding places to launch is tough but this one really could cause problems. Rocket landing at a Busy road like that could potentially cause an accident.

 

[gna]

Hey, wait a second...I know that launch site...It's used for soccer and rugby, and is owned by the VFW. I've seen that video elsewhere, too.

The field is large, over 1,100 feet by 1,200 feet. We also have an E limit normally. The field to the north has beans, and the field to the west was also farmed until recently, when it was developed.

The breeze was stiff from the east, which is where the road was, so the rocket weather cocked over the road but blew back onto the field. The rocket that landed on a roof blew all the way across the field and into the new development to the west. It's not very often a rocket drifts out of the launch area.

The concern I have is that the entire area will be developed, and the site owners will give in and sell the land.