mobius lens thru switchband, pointed down

[jkovac]

Has anyone mounted a Mobius (or similar camera) lens thru the switchband of their AV bay, and also managed to get the lens pointed downward? I'm trying to do that on a 54mm rocket with a 1" wide switchband.

 

[dixontj93060]

Get out the Trig book.

 

[scsager]

Has anyone mounted a Mobius (or similar camera) lens thru the switchband of their AV bay, and also managed to get the lens pointed downward? I'm trying to do that on a 54mm rocket with a 1" wide switchband.

Been planning to do this for some time now. I have acquired a couple of Mobius cameras, and the lens extension cable, and an extra lens or two.

Hoping for a large reduction in drag and turbulence by mounting only the lens on the outside of the rocket, and using a much smaller and more aerodynamic shroud.

 

[dixontj93060]

You will still have the issue of turning the camera on before flight. May I suggest: https://additive-aerospace.myshopify.com/collections/video-camera-shrouds/products/mobius-shroud.

 

[jkovac]

Thanks for the replies. I have been using the Additive Aerospace/Laudru shrouds but I am now wanting to reduce the drag by having just the lens outside the airframe, as someone mentioned above. I might try ordering a variety of plastic nose cones and seeing if I can cut one to form a shroud for the lens. The lens shroud would also have to hold the lens so it doesn't move or vibrate during flight.

 

[WoShuGui]

The pointing down with small shroud thing I have not done, but I have used an internal side view setup that could perhaps be adapted. It basically involves mounting the cabled lens on a piece of G10 that is taped to the inside of the coupler. To start up the Mobius, I put it in a mode that starts the camera when external power is applied to the USB port. Then I have a break away cable through a vent hole that I temporarily plug in a charger pack to start up the camera. Pull the cable out through the vent hole and the camera is running ready to go. Yes, you don't get to see the blinking light that confirms the camera is running, but with a little practice at home the method is pretty reliable at the pad.

 

[K'Tesh]

Have you thought about making a periscope for it? Making first surface mirrors isn't difficult, and you can keep the camera completely inside the AV bay.

 

[watermelonman]

I have been doing camera holes through both avbay and airframe for some time now. It requires some degree of precision, but not too bad. Also since the material to peer through is effectively thicker, making it more difficult to get a full frame of view outside the rocket. Still, it gives me decent footage and hardly impacts performance.
Example -
[video=vimeo;169519155]https://vimeo.com/169519155[/video]

 

[Ravenex]

I have done this on both of my high power rockets. I made forms for creating a FG/CF aerodynamic shroud for the camera lens, the form is also used to help glass the shroud to the tube. This ends up with an extremely strong setup, my first rocket came in ballistic and buried the camera 4ft down and there was zero damage to the shroud or camera. The first rocket was a little more complex, it was a 54mm with ttw canards that the camera had to fit around. There are some small holes drilled for access to the camera buttons and light which works but can be a pain. The camera was also rotated 90 degrees from the typical orientation and tilted away from the rocket slightly, this allowed me to use the wide angle to capture the airframe and flame at the very bottom of the frame while still seeing all the way to the horizon. The result can be seen here:

https://www.rocketryforum.com/showt...Faster!-quot-Build-Thread&p=780015#post780015

My second rocket is a 4" rocket with the camera mounted near the nose. This build had a lot more room to have a much simpler bolt in sled and the camera is powered off of my av bay with a tiny 5v regulator through the UBS port. By setting up the camera to turn on when it receives external power and start recording on power up (available on the authentic 808 cameras) I can be sure that as long as my av bay is beeping my camera is recording. By powering it externally this also solve the problem of the junky batteries, on one of my early flights of my first rocket I failed to get a recording because a bad battery only had enough power to record the first 5 minutes waiting on the pad. The results of that camera setup can be seen here:

 

[Ravenex]

On another note I have considered making these parts available for sale if there is enough interest.

 

[jkovac]

On another note I have considered making these parts available for sale if there is enough interest.

There would definitely be interest from me, although I don't expect you'd have them available immediately, and I'm planning to fly the 3rd weekend in October. It seems like a pretty simple thing, but when you start trying to figure it out, it turns out that it's not so simple after all, at least for a non-engineer like me. The lens shroud has to be no longer than one inch, but also has to fit the lens, and the lens has to be fixed in place so it doesn't wobble.

 

[scsager]

I have done this on both of my high power rockets. I made forms for creating a FG/CF aerodynamic shroud for the camera lens, the form is also used to help glass the shroud to the tube. This ends up with an extremely strong setup, my first rocket came in ballistic and buried the camera 4ft down and there was zero damage to the shroud or camera. The first rocket was a little more complex, it was a 54mm with ttw canards that the camera had to fit around. There are some small holes drilled for access to the camera buttons and light which works but can be a pain. The camera was also rotated 90 degrees from the typical orientation and tilted away from the rocket slightly, this allowed me to use the wide angle to capture the airframe and flame at the very bottom of the frame while still seeing all the way to the horizon. The result can be seen here:

https://www.rocketryforum.com/showt...Faster!-quot-Build-Thread&p=780015#post780015

My second rocket is a 4" rocket with the camera mounted near the nose. This build had a lot more room to have a much simpler bolt in sled and the camera is powered off of my av bay with a tiny 5v regulator through the UBS port. By setting up the camera to turn on when it receives external power and start recording on power up (available on the authentic 808 cameras) I can be sure that as long as my av bay is beeping my camera is recording. By powering it externally this also solve the problem of the junky batteries, on one of my early flights of my first rocket I failed to get a recording because a bad battery only had enough power to record the first 5 minutes waiting on the pad. The results of that camera setup can be seen here:

View attachment 301050View attachment 301051View attachment 301052View attachment 301053

Awesome - some really creative solutions!

I better get going... got several rockets in my head that need to be turned into reality, and MWP14 will be here before you know it.

 

[jkovac]

Have you thought about making a periscope for it? Making first surface mirrors isn't difficult, and you can keep the camera completely inside the AV bay.

Thanks for the reply. Do you know of any threads or any other source of info for building and using mirrors/periscopes to do this? I found one thread on here from 2006 but it's mostly about where to buy the mirrors.

 

[dhbarr]

Thanks for the reply. Do you know of any threads or any other source of info for building and using mirrors/periscopes to do this? I found one thread on here from 2006 but it's mostly about where to buy the mirrors.

I did some looking on this before. Widest body of knowledge was for 'phone periscope mirror' , e.g. https://www.google.com/search?q=phone+periscope+mirror

 

[KenRico]

I have been doing camera holes through both avbay and airframe for some time now. It requires some degree of precision, but not too bad. Also since the material to peer through is effectively thicker, making it more difficult to get a full frame of view outside the rocket. Still, it gives me decent footage and hardly impacts performance.
Example -
[video=vimeo;169519155]https://vimeo.com/169519155[/video]

How high did your Punisher go on the L935 ? I have both waiting in the wings !

Also since the Mobius can run 'start with power' through the USB , with a little voltage step down you should be able to wire to a eGGtimer WiFi switch and that will tell you when its on through your phone or tablet with no beeps or flashes to look for .

Kenny

 

[mpitfield]

I have been doing camera holes through both avbay and airframe for some time now. It requires some degree of precision, but not too bad. Also since the material to peer through is effectively thicker, making it more difficult to get a full frame of view outside the rocket. Still, it gives me decent footage and hardly impacts performance.
Example -
[video=vimeo;169519155]https://vimeo.com/169519155[/video]

Nice, what alt did you get? I also watched your Nike Smoke drag race, man did that thing take off the pad fast, a tiny bit of fin flutter on that one...what motor was that, Vmax?

 

[ksaves2]

That rocket seems to be a nice camera platform. Make sure you take good care of it for long life. Kurt

 

[spyfly]

I'm about to build an AV bay this winter with a mobius camera and using the extension cable for the lens so I can have it looking out sideways in a 54mm MD rocket.
My biggest issue is finding a flexible way to secure the now loose lens in a way so I can remove it.

Any good ideas on how to secure a CCD?

Thanks

 

[dhbarr]

CCD on a ribbon cable, right? If it doesn't already have a heatsink on the back, double-sided thermal tape should work nicely.

 

[spyfly]

Yep it's on a ribbon cable, but It terminates at the back of the lens, right where some tape would have been perfect to attach it.

 

[dhbarr]

Hmm, know anyone w/ a 3d printer?

 

[spyfly]

Yes a 3D printed cradle would be perfect! Do you know any companies that does affordable 3D printing if I supply the file?

 

[dhbarr]

Wouldn't be surprised to find a member here willing to help you out if you provide the model.

 

[djkingsley]

I have a 3d printer and am willing to collaborate with anyone to come up with a solution. I have a mobuis camera with an extension cable. I have been planning on removing the camera electronics from the case and integrating the board on my av bay sled and printing a mount for the CCD/lens that attaches to the switch band.

 

[grandcross]

Have you thought about making a periscope for it? Making first surface mirrors isn't difficult, and you can keep the camera completely inside the AV bay.

I have actually tried this. The field of view of the Mobius camera is actually wider than you'd expect, making the required mirror larger than you'd expect. The result is an external piece that is at least as large as the mobius shroud, and as mentioned in an earlier post, aligning the camera with the external viewport can be tricky.

I have all the pieces to try putting only the lens in an external piece, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

 

[Pat_B]

I'll have to look for photos, but I built a nice periscope setup using a first surface mirror I bought at American Science and Surplus for under $2.

 

[dshmel]

I took one of my Mobius (first edition, they now have the Mobius 2) cameras apart and used the extension cable to mount the camera inside the switch band. The camera points down at a 45 degree angle and only has a very small projection outside the airframe. You get a different field of view, more horizon in the frame and less downward aerial view. Not really sure I like it. Here are a couple of stills. First one is split second after take-off and the other is at apogee.

I used the 1080p setting in "narrow" mode.

 

[NateLowrie]

I have a 3d printer and am willing to collaborate with anyone to come up with a solution. I have a mobuis camera with an extension cable. I have been planning on removing the camera electronics from the case and integrating the board on my av bay sled and printing a mount for the CCD/lens that attaches to the switch band.

I am doing roughly the same thing for my Level 3 but not on the switch band. I have a 3D Printer as well. If you want to work on this, PM me and we can start design.

 

[blackwing94]

Could you use and Eggfinder wifi switch to power on the camera before launch?

 

[KenRico]

Voltage through the mini usb has to be 5v..so would have to be kicked down

Kenny