Cheap But sweet

[bmd123]

I need a video camera for a trex 450 that is cheap but decent. Anyone have any suggestions?

[RaptorRob]

I have a tiny little "spy cam" so to speak. I got it from ebay for about 50 bucks.. Runs off a 9v battery. The battery weighs more than the camera. It transmits to a little RX that can also run of a 9v batt or mains power. It connects via rca to any source being a t.v or in my case my laptop with a video in card. I took it out to the field and had a go.. Not bad but not great. What did I expect from a 50 buck camera... Exactly what I got.. Still I don't think the REX likes to carry anymore weight than it has to. Keep your flying simple.. :idea:

[vetterick]

I tried one of the tiny cameras with the 9V battery, didn't work for me only because it was 2.4 gig, it drove the DX6 reciever crazy, :shock: so much for Spektrums claim of no glitches.

I think it would work well with another radio.

I just strapped a $150.00 ebay digi. camcorder to my 600 and am getting very good results.

Rick

[daniel reese]

Ive got the $50 mini wireless on my 450- its 1.2gHz, NTSC. I got NTSC since the frame rate was higher bu the resolution was lower than the PAL version. PAL Its a trade between the two. I went with higher frame rate since I knew the slight vibration of the heli would play hell with image quality anyway. I get smooth, glitchfree video out to about 100' or so. I used the included metal mounting bracket to attach it to the left side and secured the 9v battery to the bottom of the heli, just under the rotormast. The camera doesnt affect CG of the bird and the battery is already centered. I cant tell its even on there. If you were especially weight conscious, you could put in a regulartor and tap it into the main battery. I power the camera's rx with an old 11.1v lipo with GREAT results. The image is actually cleaner on battery power than when on AC.

Additionally, I got one of those CVS disposable cameras for $30, (hacked it for reuse) and rubber banded that beneath the skids to record video. The image resolution isnt GREAT but it IS clear enough to see exactly what you're looking at. The camera is a bit higher thanthe available clearance beneath the skids- I used 3" styrofoam balls on carbon fiber rods to get the additional ground clearance. The overall weight of this system is a bit heavy but the rex doesnt have any trouble slining it around agressively. I still get 6-8minute flight times and on a calm day and when the Rex aint shaking too badly, i can get some AMAZING video at altitude.

Lately I have been running BOTH cameras on the rex with no problems at all unless I come down from altitude too fast. If I dump too much pitch to get down, it takes ALOT to stop the descent. Other than that, climb rate, turn and bank ability, Fast forward flight and hovering are pretty much unaffected.

Ive got a TRex 600 and a friend noticed that the 600s skids were tall enough to straddle the CVS camera (and my HP 727 digital still/video)) and weighed less than the outrigger system Im using now. Im going to try mounting my spare T600 skids to my 450 and putting my camera under that...we'll see.

I also recently ordered a "Helmet Cam" for $90.00 that will record 2gig of video, is waterproof and runs on 2 AA bats. Its about 1" diameter and 4" long. It weighs about half what the CVS camera does and takes a fraction of the space. The video quality is comparable with a $200 handheld! With that camera, I wont need the outriggers so the weight will come down even more.

[bigdumbdane]

I also recently ordered a "Helmet Cam" for $90.00 that will record 2gig of video, is waterproof and runs on 2 AA bats. Its about 1" diameter and 4" long. It weighs about half what the CVS camera does and takes a fraction of the space. The video quality is comparable with a $200 handheld! With that camera, I wont need the outriggers so the weight will come down even more.

Got a link?

[daniel reese]

It was on Ebay....trying to remember the name of it....
Here it is!
http://www2.oregonscientific.com/shop/product.asp?cid=6&scid=14&pid=709
Thats the retail price, you can find it cheaper on EBay

[bullaculla]

Go to rangevideo.com
you can still get 900mhz tx/rx and high quality board cameras from their site.
Also I believe 1.2ghz is a banned freq.

[bigdumbdane]

It was on Ebay....trying to remember the name of it....
Here it is!
http://www2.oregonscientific.com/shop/product.asp?cid=6&scid=14&pid=709
Thats the retail price, you can find it cheaper on EBay

Looks cool - let us know when you post a video with it!

[daniel reese]

Here's video of the Oregon Scientific helmet cam on a Trex 600
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4713583205370232240