Any AstroCam Launchers Here?

shop deals on amazon
Onebadhawk
the model rocket show
The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Rolling shutter, yeeeeaaaahhhhh.....

vlcsnap-00003.jpg

Those aren't curves - that's a straight-sided hanger and parking lot.

The other problem I had was with the poor quality (very soft) body tube.
 
I've not heard the term "rolling shutter". What does it mean with regard to the current Astrocam? Thanks.
 
Zonie said:
No, not really, unless you act like a tool...
Click to expand...
I guarantee he acted like a tool at a club launch or two and they treated him that way. Judging by what I’ve seen in Facebook Rocketry groups, I can guarantee no club would want him and his ego.
 
Let he who has never acted like a tool at some point cast the first stone. It’s easy enough to ignore someone who virtually rubs you the wrong way here. I think he’s wrong about clubs but homey really really really doesn’t want to fly with a club. I say good luck, stay safe, enjoy the Astrocam. :)
 
Arsenal78 said:
I guarantee he acted like a tool at a club launch or two and they treated him that way. Judging by what I’ve seen in Facebook Rocketry groups, I can guarantee no club would want him and his ego.
Click to expand...
I’m not going to make snap judgements about the OP, even though I was wondering if this was indeed the case. I just don’t know enough to judge.

DART and many other sections fly low-and mid-power exclusively, and a bulk of our flyers show up with stock Estes kits or RTF rockets. I have never heard of anyone having an issue with these kinds of people out on the flying field.

The Internet is a different matter, but I’d think it’s more common to dump on kids and new BARs on a semi-anonymous global forum like this one than a local organization’s FaceBook page.

I can, however, see a first-timer or rocketeer returning after a long absence getting in a huff about the safety rules and high level of organization on a club range. In that case, I think it’s a good thing those people fly alone. In many places, the atmosphere just isn’t as permissive or forgiving as it once was and the club has to protect itself and its attendees. It’s better to have an accident reflect poorly on a solo flyer and have a club suffer only collateral PR damage than for something terrible to happen at a club range and for the club to see its own name in the newspaper.
 
Last edited:
Tramper Al said:
I've not heard the term "rolling shutter". What does it mean with regard to the current Astrocam? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Well, in simple terms, it does weird things with objects that move rapidly in the shot.

9A085CF0-1233-4ADF-8F12-7DB1C0FC23CB.gif

It’s a result of the camera making a progressive scan of the frame instead of an all-at-once snapshot. It doesn’t require such sophisticated electronics but sometimes the results are strange.
 
smstachwick said:
Well, in simple terms, it does weird things with objects that move rapidly in the shot.

It’s a result of the camera making a progressive scan of the frame instead of an all-at-once snapshot. It doesn’t require such sophisticated electronics but sometimes the results are strange.
Click to expand...
FWIW, it was "a thing" back in the days of film cameras also. Many still cameras used a slit shutter that moved across the film focal plane instead of one that acted more "globally" as part of the lens.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focal-plane_shutter

The result was that objects moving perpendicular to the slit were tilted when compared with a non-focal plane shutter. Objects moving in the same direction as the slit were stretched or squashed.

In the past, most all 35mm SLR cameras with interchangeable lenses (film and digital), use vertically travelling horizontal slit shutters. It's becoming less popular in digital cameras which are switching to electronic scanning/averaging.

I don't know if rolling/slit shutters were ever popular in film movie cameras.
 
smstachwick said:
I’m not going to make snap judgements about the OP, even though I was wondering if this was indeed the case. I just don’t know enough to judge.

DART and many other sections fly low-and mid-power exclusively, and a bulk of our flyers show up with stock Estes kits or RTF rockets. I have never heard of anyone having an issue with these kinds of people out on the flying field.

The Internet is a different matter, but I’d think it’s more common to dump on kids and new BARs on a semi-anonymous global forum like this one than a local organization’s FaceBook page.

I can, however, see a first-timer or rocketeer returning after a long absence getting in a huff about the safety rules and high level of organization on a club range. In that case, I think it’s a good thing those people fly alone. In many places, the atmosphere just isn’t as permissive or forgiving as it once was and the club has to protect itself and its attendees. It’s better to have an accident reflect poorly on a solo flyer and have a club suffer only collateral PR damage than for something terrible to happen at a club range and for the club to see its own name in the newspaper.
Click to expand...
Has nothing to do with the "rules". A rocketeer who does not choose to be in a club is not a renegade. I follow the safety code. Nor do these "clubs" dictate the rules. I want to fly my own rockets. Why would I go to a club launch to fly, only to have a club President hit the launch button?
 
smstachwick said:
Well, in simple terms, it does weird things with objects that move rapidly in the shot.

View attachment 498313

It’s a result of the camera making a progressive scan of the frame instead of an all-at-once snapshot. It doesn’t require such sophisticated electronics but sometimes the results are strange.
Click to expand...
Gives horizons on the AstroCam a curvature of the Earth look.
 
I have an issue with my astrocam. Since a friend had similar results, it may be part of the design. We both had flights that only shot about 30 seconds of runtime. Movies of our feet. My rocket did sit on the pad too long, but I expected it to run for at least a few minutes before the battery discharged.

Later I tested the camera at home The camera will not hold a charge for a long time. I ran the camera on a fresh charge and it ran for 40 minutes as specified. After charging overnight. I removed the camera and waited two hours to turn on the camera; it ran for 10 minutes. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

I expect that there is something that is discharging the camera at a slow rate when it is turned off. To mitigate this I am going to keep the camera on my truck charger until shortly before launch.

The flight on a C6-5 was great. It went high and spent a good amount of time under canopy. I am looking forward to seeing the astrocam viewpoint on the next flight.
 
ArthurAstroCam said:
Gives horizons on the AstroCam a curvature of the Earth look.
Click to expand...
That's not caused by the rolling shutter. That's perspective distortion caused by the wide-angle lens. It's not due to a flaw or defect in the lens, it's just what happens when you use a very wide angle lens to capture an image. It would happen with any sort of shutter.
 
Grant_Edwards said:
That's not caused by the rolling shutter. That's perspective distortion caused by the wide-angle lens. It's not due to a flaw or defect in the lens, it's just what happens when you use a very wide angle lens to capture an image. It would happen with any sort of shutter.
Click to expand...
No. A rolling shutter can cause what some refer to a "jello" distortion.
 
Joekeyo said:
I have an issue with my astrocam. Since a friend had similar results, it may be part of the design. We both had flights that only shot about 30 seconds of runtime. Movies of our feet. My rocket did sit on the pad too long, but I expected it to run for at least a few minutes before the battery discharged.

Later I tested the camera at home The camera will not hold a charge for a long time. I ran the camera on a fresh charge and it ran for 40 minutes as specified. After charging overnight. I removed the camera and waited two hours to turn on the camera; it ran for 10 minutes. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

I expect that there is something that is discharging the camera at a slow rate when it is turned off. To mitigate this I am going to keep the camera on my truck charger until shortly before launch.

The flight on a C6-5 was great. It went high and spent a good amount of time under canopy. I am looking forward to seeing the astrocam viewpoint on the next flight.
Click to expand...
Best thing to do is to charge as soon as possible before launch. My understanding is that the camera has 45 minutes of life left after charge. And that it can be overcharged- there is no prevention mechanism for this.

I carry one of those portable battery packs used to charge a phone, and charge the camera on the launch site, not the night before. Those blue LED's are an absolute nightmare to read out in the field, so I take the camera out of the nosecone, and cup it with my hands to make them easier to read. As much as I love Estes and what they make and design, this is a very poor setup.
 
ArthurAstroCam said:
From what I have experienced so far, club members and HP launchers tend to look down on an Estes hobbyist.
Click to expand...

“From what you’ve experienced” yet you have admitted to NEVER having attended a club launch. It’s amazing the amount of judgement you pass on groups you have never met, events you’ve never attended, and negativity you assume exists yet present it as “experience.” With an ASSumptive and negative attitude and outlook like that, its not surprising that you have a social anxiety disorder brought on by yourself.
 
TheTank said:
“From what you’ve experienced” yet you have admitted to NEVER having attended a club launch. It’s amazing the amount of judgement you pass on groups you have never met, events you’ve never attended, and negativity you assume exists yet present it as “experience.” With an ASSumptive and negative attitude and outlook like that, its not surprising that you have a social anxiety disorder brought on by yourself.
Click to expand...
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1078069588922549/permalink/5069902716405863/

Apparently -after- announcing his experience while simultaneously admitting no opportunity for the experience, he started a poll to see what the situation was really like at club launches.


And it's been deleted. Thank goodness.
 
Last edited:
ArthurAstroCam said:
No. A rolling shutter can cause what some refer to a "jello" distortion.
Click to expand...
Yes, we've already discussed the distortion caused by a rolling shutter. That is not what gives the horizon a curved look. The curved horizon is due to the short focal length of the lens causing perspective distortion.
 
Since this is about Astrocams... Here is a video using a 3D printed nose to hold the camera oriented horizontally rather than vertically as in the stock kit. This rocket is BT-55 (I wanted it heavier and bigger for a reason) Motor is a C11-5. Just a basic flight nothing special, but it shows an odd flaw in the camera. It skipped frames a couple times.

 
beeblebrox said:
Since this is about Astrocams... Here is a video using a 3D printed nose to hold the camera oriented horizontally rather than vertically as in the stock kit. This rocket is BT-55 (I wanted it heavier and bigger for a reason) Motor is a C11-5. Just a basic flight nothing special, but it shows an odd flaw in the camera. It skipped frames a couple times.

Click to expand...


I had an AC cam that was not keeping a charge. I called Estes and she said to mail it to them so they can check it out. Two weeks later, she mailed me a new cam. The old cam had small text in the lower left and the new cam had larger text like can be seen in your video. The cam eventually landed on a roof and is probably dead by now.

I have noticed horizontal lines in the flame at takeoff. Not a big deal and only happens about half the time, likely due to sun position and motor.

1641403821442.png
 
ArthurAstroCam said:
Has nothing to do with the "rules". A rocketeer who does not choose to be in a club is not a renegade. I follow the safety code. Nor do these "clubs" dictate the rules. I want to fly my own rockets. Why would I go to a club launch to fly, only to have a club President hit the launch button?
Click to expand...
That’s good. Always be safe.

For what it’s worth, DART has a centralized launch control with the LCO double-checking range and sky, but the flyer pushes the button. Tripoli San Diego did this as well when I flew low-power with them in October. ROC typically had the LCO hit the button when I flew with them in November but there were a few fliers who did it themselves. I don’t know if that was typical for them or if it was just the result of trying to get a bunch of stuff in the air quickly.

The way I saw it, delegating the button push has a few advantages:
  • It’s easier to get video or pictures while not distracted by the countdown and launch procedure.
  • I could visit my camp and grab a snack or some water, or spend some time getting the next rocket to fly if I knew I’d have a few minutes before I went. That would have been a little more difficult to get away with if the LCO had to look around and call up individual flyers to the console.
  • I volunteered to LCO for about two hours at ROCstock and got to be part of dozens of flights, maybe over 100. Many of these were rockets I otherwise would not be allowed to fly because of my uncertified status. Clubs tend to be looking for volunteers to run the range on a pretty regular basis, it’s not usually hard to get a chance at the button if one really wants it.
  • Making use of club equipment means that I don’t have to lug around my own, and I also know it’s going to be more powerful and reliable than anything I can buy from Estes or Quest, and I’m not confident enough with electrical equipment to attempt making my own (yet). Traveling light is desirable when I’m trying to get everything packed away neatly into a mid-sized pickup truck.
Now, if these things aren’t particularly important to you, that’s fine. We’ve all got our own priorities. I just think would be foolish to entirely write off this kind of thing without considering all there is to be offered.

As far as club safety goes, there are grey areas and judgement calls that sometimes have to be made. I took my Hi-Flier XL to a DART launch, my first in 2 years in fact, and the RSO informed me that my launch lug was too far to the aft end for safe flight. That’s not a rule that’s written in the safety code but rather a judgement from experience, and I think it’s good practice nonetheless. Somebody had warned me that that might happen when I was writing up the build thread for it. Still, I was pretty bummed about the RSO judgement but I knew better than to argue. Thankfully another member, another forum member incidentally, was kind enough to provide a second launch lug for me to glue on just forward of the CG and I got to fly it. I can very easily see how that could have turned into a problem.
 
smstachwick said:
That’s good. Always be safe.

For what it’s worth, DART has a centralized launch control with the LCO double-checking range and sky, but the flyer pushes the button. Tripoli San Diego did this as well when I flew low-power with them in October. ROC typically had the LCO hit the button when I flew with them in November but there were a few fliers who did it themselves. I don’t know if that was typical for them or if it was just the result of trying to get a bunch of stuff in the air quickly.

The way I saw it, delegating the button push has a few advantages:
  • It’s easier to get video or pictures while not distracted by the countdown and launch procedure.
  • I could visit my camp and grab a snack or some water, or spend some time getting the next rocket to fly if I knew I’d have a few minutes before I went. That would have been a little more difficult to get away with if the LCO had to look around and call up individual flyers to the console.
  • I volunteered to LCO for about two hours at ROCstock and got to be part of dozens of flights, maybe over 100. Many of these were rockets I otherwise would not be allowed to fly because of my uncertified status. Clubs tend to be looking for volunteers to run the range on a pretty regular basis, it’s not usually hard to get a chance at the button if one really wants it.
  • Making use of club equipment means that I don’t have to lug around my own, and I also know it’s going to be more powerful and reliable than anything I can buy from Estes or Quest, and I’m not confident enough with electrical equipment to attempt making my own (yet). Traveling light is desirable when I’m trying to get everything packed away neatly into a mid-sized pickup truck.
Now, if these things aren’t particularly important to you, that’s fine. We’ve all got our own priorities. I just think would be foolish to entirely write off this kind of thing without considering all there is to be offered.

As far as club safety goes, there are grey areas and judgement calls that sometimes have to be made. I took my Hi-Flier XL to a DART launch, my first in 2 years in fact, and the RSO informed me that my launch lug was too far to the aft end for safe flight. That’s not a rule that’s written in the safety code but rather a judgement from experience, and I think it’s good practice nonetheless. Somebody had warned me that that might happen when I was writing up the build thread for it. Still, I was pretty bummed about the RSO judgement but I knew better than to argue. Thankfully another member, another forum member incidentally, was kind enough to provide a second launch lug for me to glue on just forward of the CG and I got to fly it. I can very easily see how that could have turned into a problem.
Click to expand...
I hate to be a nudge here, but I bought the rocket so I could launch it, so my son could launch it. Not for a range officer, a complete stranger, to launch it for me.
 
And not a single person has suggested that you shouldn't do it. You've just been offered opportunities to do so in additional ways, but immediately responded with an attitude to the suggestion.
 
CalebJ said:
And not a single person has suggested that you shouldn't do it. You've just been offered opportunities to do so in additional ways, but immediately responded with an attitude to the suggestion.
Click to expand...
Just underscoring the amount of control and power these clubs seem to wield.
 

Similar threads

I
Hello!
Replies
4
Views
350
prfesser
prfesser
D
AstroCam 3-Way Drag Races!
Replies
15
Views
1K
BABAR
B
D
Estes AstroCam Lens Issue
Replies
2
Views
475
DirkTheDaring
D
T
BT56 in the 2023 Estes catalog
Replies
2
Views
687
cls
C
G
SCREAMIN MIMI!
Replies
8
Views
369
GusGrissom
G

Latest posts

Back
Top