Camera?

[BigL]

Are there any avaliable onboard cameras that will fit into a BT-60 body tube? I know about the Astrocam but dont want to buy a whole new RTF kit, I just want the cone camera. If anyone is interested in selling me their Astrocam Cone, or whole rocket, hit me up. Any time I search for cameras they are all for high power rocketry, and I'm not there yet.

 

[havoc821]

If you are talking about disposable or your ordinary everyday cameras, you are going to find it hard to fit a camera in it. The smallest a disposable camera will fit in is a BT-80 body tube. You could probably find a wireless video camera for around a $100, but if your like me, thats allitle bit over my budget for the mean time. You can go check out my thread going around in the "Scratch Built" section of TRF and look for the "Eye in the Sky" thread. As soon as I get my camera mount rebuilt I will be glad to tell you how I did it. The electronics are a weee bit expensive, but they weren't for me because they came out of my old r/c airplane. (I also fly r/c planes, not only rockets) Let me know what you think. Hope this helps.

P.S. I know you said you are really up to high power yet (neither am I), but mid power isn't really different than low power other than the motors and you can't use elmers glue anymore. In order to lift a camera (other than the astrocam) you are going to at least need an Aerotech E, perferably F or G motors. Anyways, just my two cents.

 

[havoc821]

BTW, if you ever get an AstroCam, CHANGE the shock cord IMMEDIATLY before you launch it. My camera nosecone floated away because of the horrible Estes shock cords. Use sewing elastic instead. What happened to mine was about after 5 flights, my shock cord got burned all the way through and my nosecone and parachute drifted away. Don't let that happen to you.

 

[BigL]

Originally posted by havoc821
BTW, if you ever get an AstroCam, CHANGE the shock cord IMMEDIATLY before you launch it.

I have an Estes Designer's Special kit that came with a bunch of really thick shock cords. Can I replace it with one of those? How expensive is the Kevelar?

 

[crashinj]

Don't I know it, "Change the cheap horrilbe shock cord" on the Estes Camroc! Mine broke on its last launch only I was lucky and got the nose cone back. The bottom part, well, it now resides in the trash can. LOL Had to build a new one!

Crashin J

 

[havoc821]

The thicker ones would probably work. I also have an Estes Designer's Special. That is a great kit......built many rockets from it. I don't know about the kevlar price. I am still looking for some, but you can go to www.thrustaero.com and find some great rocketstuff there. It is flying_silverad's site. He has some great stuff there. I have never ordered anything from there but I have heard that he has good quality parts. One thing I do with my rockets is use kevlar along with the elastic shock cord so that if the shockcord burns through, the kevlar will still hold the rocket together.

I forgot to mention it earlier, but welcome to TRF!!!!

 

[BigL]

Thanks for the welcome guys! I just visited ThrustAero and I am interested in the Mylar chutes they are offering since I hate having to peel apart the melted Estes plastic ones. Is Mylar stronger than Nylon? Was the Rastrocam ever sold in stores or is it just a favorite mod of Astrocam owners? I am confused about the cone on the rear facing astrocam. Do you have to cut the tip of the Astrocam cone off and glue a coupler on, or do you just glue the coupler onto the tip of the nosecone? Is it possible to switch back so you can take from original angles? How easy is this project? I want to take shots of the ground with my fins in the pic but I am worried about damaging the cone.

 

[eugenefl]

Originally posted by BigL
Is Mylar stronger than Nylon?

Was the Rastrocam ever sold in stores or is it just a favorite mod of Astrocam owners? I am confused about the cone on the rear facing astrocam. Do you have to cut the tip of the Astrocam cone off and glue a coupler on, or do you just glue the coupler onto the tip of the nosecone? Is it possible to switch back so you can take from original angles? How easy is this project? I want to take shots of the ground with my fins in the pic but I am worried about damaging the cone.

I've never really gotten into mylar, but most will agree that it is more heat resistant and less prone to sticking that a plastic chute. As far as it being stronger than nylon, I would have to disagree. Nylon a tear or rip resistant whereas Mylar could easily tear of a run or cut was started. Mylar also tends to have a "memory" as opposed to plastic chutes. Basically, the previous folds are creased into the mylar creating a "memory". This helps because when the wind fills the canopy the chute unfurls in the same order it had before and opens quicker. Nylon doesn't have memory or won't stick. The material is soft enough to just inflate without much effort.

There was never a "rAstrocam" manufactured to the best of my knowledge. You are correct in that it is a favorite mod of rocketeers. Once the mod is done, it is pretty much permanent. Experimentation with different motors will yield different results. With a rAstrocam, a longer delay such as a C6-5 or C6-7 may give you a horizon shot. A short 3 second delay will give you a downward shot which is the objective of the rAstrocam. Here is a link on rocketreviews.com that pretty much outlines building/converting your Astrocam.

<a href="https://www.rocketreviews.com/reviews/scratch/rastrocam.html">rAstrocam Mod</a>

See attachment for a pic of mine. It has yielded me some interesting shots. I promise I'll post them online some day.

 

[eugenefl]

Here's an onboard shot that my rAstrocam took. I converted mine to a 2-stage rocket staging 18mm to 18mm. The 18mm booster is insufficient as seen in the picture. The camera clicked off a shot at about 75 feet yielding a great shot of the stage separation and a shot of grass and the tiny Porta-Pad II. I plan on adding 2 18mm permanently attached boosters to the 1st stage to give it more boost off the pad.