New Camera Arrived!

BillyBonz · #1 12-18-2002, 10:08 PM

My new camera has arrived and so far it rocks. The picture is clear, range is great and the price is right. There is one down side to this setup. It does not tune to a UHF channel so you have to use a separate receiver. That isn't all bad since it operates at 1.2 Ghz so it has some punch to it. Now all I have to do is get 4 cameras to work with no interference.

Purple Penguin · #2 12-18-2002, 10:16 PM

I'm interested in how you mount this camera on your rovers.

could you possibly explain how you do it or even better, Post a picture?

please!

EDIT: I'm also interested in how much it cost you...

BillyBonz · #3 12-18-2002, 11:15 PM

The camera and transmitter are one unit and they are shaped exactly the same as the Plantraco camera. It will fit perfect in a rover camera body. About the only thing that really needs to be changed is the 9v battery connector. It's really a bit on the large side. This is just a matter of removing the connector and soldering a 9v battery connector in it's place. Camera cost is about $50.

For my test I used three CR123s in a plastic tube and mounted it on the rover with some 2 faced tape. It's a cannoncam. Not sure I like it but it's a start.

Purple Penguin · #4 12-18-2002, 11:20 PM

so to run 4 different cameras, you have to have 4 recievers right?

do the recievers come in different frequencys or something? or can you adjust the reciever to accept the camera you want?

BillyBonz · #5 12-18-2002, 11:25 PM

Here is the monitor I'm using. It's a 5 1\2 inch LCD module. It has audio and NTSC video input on it so you can run just about anything through it, video games, vcr\dvd or the camera receiver. It has 224,000 pixels and sells for about $100.

DavidDeLaurier · #6 12-19-2002, 07:23 PM

Billy, can you post where you got the monitor and the camera? I really would like to get them so please post links if you have them. This would be a huge help because a 50 dollar camera is way better than a 120 dollar one! The monitor is great too!

BillyBonz · #7 12-19-2002, 08:18 PM

Oh yeah, didn't even think about links. The monitors are available at http://www.partsexpress.com These guys are the best. I have bought from them for years and they have some of the best prices on stuff that is hard to find.

The camera was purchased from http://www.spylinker.com and I don't know that running 4 cameras with this hardware is possible. The guy sez 2 is no problem but that remains to be seen. I can say for a single camera solution, this will work well.

BillyBonz · #8 12-19-2002, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Purple Penguin
so to run 4 different cameras, you have to have 4 recievers right?

Yes, each camera has it's own receiver. They come as a set. The frequency is the issue right now. They tell me they can be modified so that there will be enuff band separation that there will be no interference between the 4 cameras. I'm still waiting to hear back from them. There is a huge language barrier to deal with but I believe they understand my request. At this point I have my fingers crossed.

Racemonster505 · #9 12-19-2002, 11:35 PM

whats the model # for the camera you got? im so want a rover
does anyone know how much weight a rover can hold? it would be neat to put the cam on a pivot systemdo you got to buy the reciver too? does it come with the camera?

BillyBonz · #10 12-20-2002, 12:55 AM

The camera model I have is a Model Number 203C-50mw. It includes the camera\transmitter and the receiver. They sell for $59 on the website I believe. The only thing I really had to do was dump that power connector as you can see in the photo.

I can't say how much weight a rover can handle but they have loads of torque. If you look at the pic of the cannon cam, that is 3 CR123 cells plus the camera and the rover didn't even know it was there.

BillyBonz · #11 12-20-2002, 12:58 AM

This is the receiver and it is included in the $59 price. You can find them cheaper on eBay too. Check the ID spylinker.

Racemonster505 · #12 12-20-2002, 10:32 PM

thx for the info

damn im sooo torn combat Q or a rover on what to get does the batt change boost power to the camera or just longer life?

BillyBonz · #13 12-22-2002, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BillyBonz
the only thing that really needs to be changed is the 9v battery connector. It's really a bit on the large side. This is just a matter of removing the connector and soldering a 9v battery connector in it's place.

Update on that connector. The plug on the end of the camera has a small PCB molded into the plug. The camera will not operate without it. I do have it removed, however it is a royal pain in the butt to get out. If I would have known it was going to be this much hassle I would have left it as is.

Dentman · #14 01-12-2003, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by BillyBonz
Oh yeah, didn't even think about links. The monitors are available at http://www.partsexpress.com These guys are the best. I have bought from them for years and they have some of the best prices on stuff that is hard to find.

The camera was purchased from http://www.spylinker.com and I don't know that running 4 cameras with this hardware is possible. The guy sez 2 is no problem but that remains to be seen. I can say for a single camera solution, this will work well.

Hi Billy!
Many thanx for the links! Got my 2 cameras from spylinker yesterday! Pretty cool!

Don´t know excactly how to fix the camera on my rover, yet. Maybe there´s a solution without disassambling the plug.

The cannon-cam looks very good! How long do your 123-batteries last? And how do you remove them?

BillyBonz · #15 01-12-2003, 10:21 PM

Dentman,

The cameras will fit perfect into the camera bodies from Plantraco. The bodies are cheap but the shipping is $10 since the company is in Canada. I was thinking about buying a bunch of bodies and reselling them. The bodies are $2 per so 20 would cost $40 plus $10 for shipping. That is $2.50 each plus $3.85 for any package under 1 lbs to reship them to anywhere in the 48 states. Since most of you wouldn't need more than a couple bodies and they are light, the shipping would be the same for one or 10 bodies. I'm not interested in making any money off the deal...I just need a few bodies for myself. If you are interested drop me an email at billybonz@hiwaypirates.com or post a reply here. Say TinyRC, you wouldn't be interested in taking this project on would ya? I need 8 bodies just for me.

The cannon-cam battery housing works kinda like a flashlite. The batts just side into the tube. I never ran the batts dead with that setup but I did run it for 3 hours nonstop and they still had plenty of juice left. If you used the Plantraco body I think the camera would fit in it without modding the plug, which I strongly would avoid. Then you could stick with the 9v batt and save a few $$.