Camera Car

[RR_Mel]

This has been a project with a lot of learning curves to over come.  The MD81S camera has a lot of good reviews on YouTube, that was a tough learn the hard way.

 

The SG90 servos have a lot of problems too.  They advertise 180° movement, out of 20 servos three have about 120° the rest are in the vicinity of 95°.  Four have minimal noise two operate smoothly and most of them have high idle current the rest work but not like what I expected.  I hand picked the servo for smooth operation first then least noise.  I found out I can reduce the noise and high idle current by lubing them with a combination of white grease and a drop of Nanolube.

 

There are several mods on YouTube to get a true 180° rotation from a SG90.  I tried several servos and found out that the rotation gets flaky on the return motion at its far end of travel.  I didn’t keep any of the mods, I removed the mods and returned them back to factory.

 

 

I have a working SQ8 Camcorder that works OK on the pan mount but without the Wi-Fi there isn’t any viewfinder.  The delivery date for the Q7 camera is May 4^th to May 24^th.  The flatcar and electronics are ready to go.  I haven’t bought a tablet for the view finder yet, I’m waiting to see if I can get an operational camera.

 

This is a drawing of my proposed camera control if I ever get a working camera.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951

 

My Model Railroad   

http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/

 

Bakersfield, California

 

I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.

[7j43k]

Very classy install, Mel.

 

Ed

[Railphotog]

Impressive bunch of electronics!  I suppose you dismissed the GoPro and their clones for your project as being too wide.  I got one the clones with built in WiFi, have it mounted on the end of a flatcar at an angle (on a swivel) so I will clear trackside obstructions.  I can watch it on a tablet or smartphone. Fairly simple, just haven't had the time to try it out on our club modular layout.

 

[mbinsewi]

Now for an extremely intelligent response to your electrical engineering skill......WOW Mel, that is looking fantastic!   Too bad about the 3 different tries for the camera.  I would be furious   But they are way over there, and your here, and I know how frustrating it is to try and make phone calls to a "customer service" type problem.  Your lucky if you can understand the person.

Mike.

[RR_Mel]

I’ve run into a snag on my camera car project.  I originally ordered a MD81S Wi-Fi/Camcorder, well after waiting for the slow boat from China it didn’t work when I received it.  After a bit of time going through eBay Resolution I ordered a second camera and again a long wait.  Another DOA camera, after a second process going through the eBay Resolution I ordered a third camera.  The third was also DOA, at this point I was ready to give up on having the Wi-Fi feed to my control panel for a remote viewfinder.

 

I can’t say that I would recommend the MD81S camera after three out of three didn't work out of the box.

 

I decided to give it another try, I have a Q7 Wi-Fi/Camera on the way.

 

The rest of the camera car is looking pretty good.  The Arduino Nano is programmed and working.  I selected the best servo from my stash of 20 and it is installed and working.  I decided to go with two AA size Lithium-ion 1200mah batteries for power and built a interface board/Nano shield with a 5 volt regulator for the Nano and servo.  The electronics on the car draws close to 50ma from the 1200ma batteries at idle, the servo draws about 70ma when actived.

 

The drawing below is my video camera car plan. 

The Q7 Wi-Fi Camcorder is mounted on a swivel driven by a SG90 servo controlled by a Arduino Nano via Bluetooth.

 

 

The Nano is powered up and the red activity LEDs are neat to see, they give the car a bit of a high tech look.

 

I'll up date my progress when the Q7 arrives.

 

 

 Mel

 

Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951

 

My Model Railroad   

http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/

 

Bakersfield, California

 

I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.