My latest spy pen camera

[AllDigital]

We destroy a lot of rocket cameras, so I'm always looking for a cheaper option that has descent HD capture and a low profile.

My latest hack is this "Spy Pen" camera from Amazon for $36. It has a 64GB sd card built-in, 280 min of battery life, and a USB-C port to download and charge. It is 1080p HD at 30fps, so nothing to post on your YouTube channel, but it provides solid engineering camera captures.

We hacked it up and built a nice 3D printed sleeve for it with the bottom screw from the pen glued into the sleeve, so it just pushes into the sleeve and screws in from the outside. The protruding tip is about the same size as a launch lug with a nice rounded top (shown below in a 4" rocket). You can keep the bottom part of the pen to sign autographs at the range.

-Mike

https://a.co/d/aVqFkfu

 

[Finicky]

We destroy a lot of rocket cameras

....... ditto ..........

 

[kjhambrick]

Very Kool, @AllDigital !

What is the approx diameter and the length of the camera-end of the pen after you hacked it up ?

Thank you for the heads-up !

-- kjh

 

[sr205347d]

Have you flown it yet?

Care to share your STL file?

 

[AllDigital]

What is the approx diameter and the length of the camera-end of the pen after you hacked it up ?

it is 3.75" long and .5" in diameter

Have you flown it yet?

Care to share your STL file?

Yes. I've flown it 4-5 times. I don't have any good video posted, but here is a link to a flight a few weeks ago (at the :35 mark)
https://x.com/Pad33space/status/1870934293977170364

The 4" mount STL is attached. This fits inside a standard 4" fiberglass coupler.

Also, when I buy cheap cameras I usually take them apart and add my own remote on/off wire. In this case, I removed the pen top on/off button and soldered in tiny leads for remote on/off. The leads could allow you to do it manually at the pad or in our case with a custom flight computer, but having the on/off be on the tip could both be convenient or a risk of turning off too easily.

-Mike