First vid from my Oracle...

[Vanel]

After doing a little web research, I ordered an Estes Oracle from A2Z Hobbies last week, and it arrived 2 days later, in time for the 1st SERA launch yesterday.

A friend took some pics of the other birds launched in the early part of the day (I had to leave around 1 and unfortunately couldn't make it back) - I'll post them later. My thanks to Dallas and the other folks for hosting this launch! I'll be back for others, as my folks live in the Chattanooga area

My last two flights involved the Oracle on D12-3's - I screwed up the first vid when I turned off the camera after recovering the rocket, forgetting that I needed to download the video into the laptop first The second flight went great, and the video transferred to the laptop with no problems.

Here are some frames from the 33 sec movie:

 

[Vanel]

Here are some more frames:

The full movie - converted to WMV format - may be found here.

Only criticisms so far are the need for the laptop at the launch site and the lack of sound. Other than that, it's a pretty neat system!

Next up will be launches on a Semroc Goliath, so that I can compare it to my BoosterVision camera (which I will be launching for the 1st time soon).

 

[nomopbo]

I didn't have very high hopes for the Oracle, but that is pretty cool. Not a bad stepping stone into video after all...

 

[Bowhunter]

That was better that I thought it would be but it would of been better if it had sound. It is neat

 

[GL-P]

Looks pretty good for estes. I'm shocked!

 

[jflis]

John Cronin launched his atop his Deuce's Wild! the other day with great results. As soon as I find the tools to let me convert it to a smaller size I will post it...

 

[RevKeith]

Better than I expected. Nice video. Almost makes me want one!

 

[Vanel]

Originally posted by jflis
John Cronin launched his atop his Deuce's Wild! the other day with great results. As soon as I find the tools to let me convert it to a smaller size I will post it...

Jim,

I was searching for a cheap tool to convert that honking 80 Mbyte file into something smaller, when I discovered that the MovieMaker app that comes with Windows XP would do the job nicely. Just load the movie in and save it to WMV format.

Even lets you step through frame-by-frame and capture those you like.

A free Microsoft applet that actually works... Ain't life amazing sometimes?

 

[Rocketcrab]

I don't mean to sound like a mockingbird, but I agree - a nice surprise from Estes! The color was great too. Nice job.

 

[Rob Fisher]

-Now I want one!!!

 

[Stefan_Jones]

FYIage:

There is a Yahoo group for Oracle owners. There's some discussion there on alternate boosters and fun stuff like stereo video.

 

[Initiator001]

Originally posted by Bowhunter
That was better that I thought it would be but it would of been better if it had sound. It is neat

The only 'sound' I ever recall from watching Cineroc movies was
that made by the reels and belts of my old Super 8mm projector!

 

[Bowhunter]

Mod it to a 29mm and lauch it on one of those G20's nice long burn

 

[protogen]

what is the name of that yahoo group?

 

[powderburner]

I have not seen one of these up close yet. Is there anyplace on the front of the camera housing to add an anchor/attachment point, so the camera would face the ground during descent? (seems kinda silly to me to take pictures of sky when you could be getting more shots of the ground)

 

[Stefan_Jones]

Originally posted by powderburner
Is there anyplace on the front of the camera housing to add an anchor/attachment point, so the camera would face the ground during descent?

Yes, the very tip of the Oracle camera has an attachment point for a cord, plus a little channel in the shoulder so the cord can run into the body tube without pinching.

It works pretty well, too.

I highly recommend:

TYING the cord to the front lug. I used a snap swivel, and on the second flight the wire bent and parachute cut loose. No serious damage because I flew on a soft dirt field.

Put a barrel swivel between the parachute and the attachment cord. This will let the parachute spin freely while the camara stays (relatively) steady.

If you join the Yahoo! group for the Oracle, you can see the video taken during the almost-death-plunge!

Stefan

 

[richalex2010]

Originally posted by protogen
what is the name of that yahoo group?

EstesOracle

 

[rbeckey]

I just did a search for the yahoo group EstesOracle without result.

 

[richalex2010]

Here it is.

 

[billspad]

Originally posted by jflis
John Cronin launched his atop his Deuce's Wild! the other day with great results. As soon as I find the tools to let me convert it to a smaller size I will post it...

Try this:

https://www.virtualdub.org/

 

[protogen]

thanx rich

question about the nosecone

do you think i could open it without much trouble i want to replace the stock camera with a Pencam SD 1.3 i have heard that estes used a previous version of this camera so the circut board mounts should be clsoe

 

[richalex2010]

You could try a payload section (seperate) and put the 2 together for dual video...

My $0.02

-Jake Alexander

 

[bcanino]

Originally posted by rbeckey
I just did a search for the yahoo group EstesOracle without result.

Try this link

https://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/EstesOracle/

 

[bcanino]

Originally posted by Vanel
Jim,

I was searching for a cheap tool to convert that honking 80 Mbyte file into something smaller, when I discovered that the MovieMaker app that comes with Windows XP would do the job nicely. Just load the movie in and save it to WMV format.

Even lets you step through frame-by-frame and capture those you like.

A free Microsoft applet that actually works... Ain't life amazing sometimes?

If you not running XP and are running W2K, you can download Windows Media Encoder 9 Series from:

https://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/9series/encoder/default.aspx

 

[n3tjm]

or e-mail me the file and I will make it smaller for you ^^