mkepler954 What wireless onboard cameras do you recommend. My old one died on me which is probably good because it blacked out going thru tunnels. I bought a Morse typeS receiver several years ago but I can't find the camera. Please help!
What wireless onboard cameras do you recommend. My old one died on me which is probably good because it blacked out going thru tunnels. I bought a Morse typeS receiver several years ago but I can't find the camera. Please help!
I’m sorry for commandeering your post, have any of the posts been helpful?If your looking for real time only Mike’s system is probably the best way to go.I used a system that transmitted direct to a TV (analog) on channel 3 or 4 for many years with the camera mounted in a Dummy PA pushed by a couple of PBs in a 11 car passenger consist.Then I went to a newer version with a similar NTSC system using 2.4ghz transmitter to a 2.4ghz receiver with NTSC video out in a dummy E7A pushed by a couple of E7Bs, again a 11 car Southern Pacific Daylight Passenger consist.
The system is powered by two lithium 4 volt 4200ma batteries in series for 8 volt operation, one on top of the other. This system is wireless on 2.4ghz powered by the Lithium batteries. The two yellow relays on the left are controled from a DCC decoder, they control the power to the camera and the six super bright LEDs mounted on top of the camera on the right. The system would operate for a several hours on a charge.
I went with battery power because I didn't have any luck using track power, the slight wheel or motor arcing glitched the video. I even tried paralleling the wheels to all the E7s.Door open camera working, door closed normal operation headlight on.
It’s kinda hard to see the six super bright LEDs behind the window glass with them off but on there is more than enough light for the camera in tunnels with them on.Both the older camera in the PA and the newer one in the E7 worked great until I junked my old analog TVs (NTSC). I went with the mini camcorders after the TVs were gone.Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
ROBERT PETRICKI purchased an SQ11 and a 32GB mini chip card from Amazing-dot-com-slash-prime yesterday. Total cost about $25 including free shipping. Should be here Friday or Saturday, depending on how you count 2-day delivery. The general plan is to rig up s
Robert, can you post some video when you're finished?
York1 John
York1 ROBERT PETRICK I purchased an SQ11 and a 32GB mini chip card from Amazing-dot-com-slash-prime yesterday. Total cost about $25 including free shipping. Should be here Friday or Saturday, depending on how you count 2-day delivery. The general plan is to rig up s Robert, can you post some video when you're finished?
ROBERT PETRICK I purchased an SQ11 and a 32GB mini chip card from Amazing-dot-com-slash-prime yesterday. Total cost about $25 including free shipping. Should be here Friday or Saturday, depending on how you count 2-day delivery. The general plan is to rig up s
I dunno. Maybe. I've never made videos before, I've never uploaded videos before, and I've never posted videos before. But . . . assuming I can, then I will. I generally don't let little problems like that get in the way.
Camera is still not yet here. It appears that Amazon doesn't know how to count up to two. No worries.
Robert
LINK to SNSR Blog
I think y'all have lost your OP.
Rich
Alton Junction
I ordered a camera today with a Radio AV receiver. I'm hoping ot will work in tunnels. What I really wanted was Morse TC-9 microwave camera to match my Morse receiver but none could be found.
Keep us posted, I’m very interested in how it goes.Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
I had to isolate the camera from rail power to get rid of the glitching.Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
One little thing to watch is that some switching power supplies, of the type that might be used to do voltage-to-voltage conversion or keep LiPO batteries float-charged correctly may emit RF interference that might couple to nearby sound decoders. Shielding methods do exist but it may be better to anticipate this than troubleshoot it after the fact.
RandyI gave your idea a shot with goodies on hand, a 1⅜” x 2¼” DC to DC Buck Converter, too big to fit on a HO flat car. Rails to a 1 amp bridge direct to the converter, I set the converter to 5 volts and it works great on my bench test track (48”).I just set the camera (SQ13) with the 3 amp Buck Converter on a flat car for the test. The flat car has Mel Kadee coupler pocket wheel wipers, no glitching in the video.I powered the rails with my Prodigy Advance and pushed the flat car back and fourth with an Athearn SD40 with a MRC 1730 decoder. I ordered a smaller DC to DC converter, .83”W x 1.7”L x .55”H.https://www.ebay.com/itm/1x-10x-LM2596S-DC-DC-3A-Buck-Adjustable-Step-down-Power-Supply-Converter-Module/332711109230?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item4d7720a26e:g:5ckAAOSwSzpbPvut&enc=AQAFAAACcBaobrjLl8XobRIiIML1V4Imu%2Fn%2BzU5L90Z278x5ickkCrLl8erj3ATP5raQxjc%2F%2ByFxfkeA3X6IR9DoRNkoJB8p3g07s1rw1wHHBmHZ%2F6Y3frEned6KwEvXDhjegskG%2FUHu5oh6xZX%2Fc3qh62uzAMOxtALFUzaOokC0ixAuLdxGijDgtvzfpBMGRSSCiSCr0ssuwR0y5rHtH5Zt%2FIrBNBz5CLolxz6dHDTDBv6LdEppSXA1mgqS0rHmEqS4UVCaVQVnTUF%2BWYsSe7IVVZ6VUvjq1JAjFPZG1z18Lnbl9m0wq3x5kSHyVaIBrquRoPwQSBUXDz9qoRlv9e9ut8RJoWgJeM4YSOn1Wwi3kbY761bRHWYKJbwfpwtSe%2FpqiVRaEP7aIdbIuwLWVaIphDHP7AG7kMWb8Cbupx2YUwb%2BXo7qPcmRaXvvo8RR2n%2FnUyRRUdyltheSJ3%2FZihaakJ%2Ba8E40HwVwyri5AAm3HXyTWQl8RVOoGBFYp1XYBburjv8bnqf0v11KnVHGINMzahy5viivWMwoVweQhWRKkQfPezUe5XIFo51UOnpx%2BgVbgRxYyWfhEJiLhBVZZ7JGS9bltcBYSRTzllkyVltppz5wd8gholJVfh6SdY6NFYZ1boQmm7Omn8ib2GWgDvrd%2B7syRshRch5KJ%2Fa5mg7hPDzg%2FO9b%2F1mDB%2FwuQwGpIppKyOfXPyRT7jaTleSIfThqwkKTniFxYQmIeqDoss53ltNwfYDf%2BMeHK3mk%2FgV0495nngoUUBTtyAL%2FRSRDoigYoqab1dEoYcvKrFcCDHm7nf%2BlsGQL%2Ffu%2Fpn%2F2yrTyZeD5JFf96g%3D%3D&checksum=332711109230176b39d7ff3543c8aabf9c3d196f7b2bI don’t know yet if I’m going to redo my working camera car using the new converter, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”, and it does work very good as is.Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
My camera has an RF link to a TV input device on channel 3 or 4. I liked it because I could watch the output in real time on a big TV. But, I seldom did. These days, I would go with a camera that records rather than transmits the video. It would need to be easily accessible to get the memory card out of the camera and into your computer to viewing. It would not have real-time capability.
I also had dropouts on my camera, which picked up track power and was designed for DCC. I still had dropouts, so I tried an on-board battery instead. I realized that the problem wasn't power, but intermittent loss of the RF signal transmitting the image.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
MisterBeasleyThese days, I would go with a camera that records rather than transmits the video. It would need to be easily accessible to get the memory card out of the camera and into your computer to viewing.
It's worth noting that my Eachine DVR/LCD provides a slot for a TF card to record, as well as doing live video. The recorded video is usuall better quality than that taken over the air.
The combo camera/transmitter I use also has selectable power. Running around and underneath a layout, yep, the video will sometimes cut-out at the lower powers, but using them is best unless they prove inadequatehen use only the power needed. It's designed for drone use so there's more than enough power at the higher settings to reach a mile or more.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
The problem with direct RF is that the micro-arcing you get between the wheelsn and track, wheensl and pickups, and the motoor commutator and brushges all consipre to insert broadband interference in the RF signal - scratchy looking picture, dropouts, etc. Even on non-so-inexpensive drones with live broadcast cameras, you get interference from the motors and drive electronics, and most of those are brushless motors. The suppression circuitry you need to cancel this out tends to interfere with DCC control signals, and motor BEMF (remember those capacitors on Bachmann motors, which cause issues with BEMF and PWM drive, even when it's not from a DCC decoder?). Recorded locally and then transferred will pretty much ALWAYS result in a cleaner video.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Three flatcars trying out for the coveted position of SQ11 camera car.
All candidates allow the car with camera (0.9"x0.9"x0.9") to pass through the bridge portal.The obvious choice is to use the staked(less) flat car, but I'm leaning towards the open gondola because the camera sits a little higher and 'hangs ten' all the way over the front gunwale. This allows the wide-angle lens (140 degrees) to get a better picture without the lower half of the image showing the floorboards of the car.
Plus, the plan is to mount the camera on a form-fit 'load' for the gondola. This would allow me to simply remove both camera and stable base when not in use (or when doing movie download or editing).
Here's the clip that comes with the camera. The crossbuck bowtie sort of thing is connected to a spring-loaded tie clip with a very small screw. The plan is to fabricate a rectangular mass that fits fairly close, but not too snug, in the gondola. I want the base to have a fairly heavy weight to provide some motional stability to the camera.
Note: Yes, I realize this N scale stuff does not exactly match the thread title or directly answer the OP's question, and I apologize if I may have hijacked the thread (though I wouldn't be the only one), but several knowledgable members have posted information and advice here that seems to me to be useful and entirely appropriate.
rrinkerRecorded locally and then transferred will pretty much ALWAYS result in a cleaner video.
Certainly, a lot of the budget cameras provide less than wholly appealing output. Many drones are built with little thought about RF issues. But there's a trend towards Hi-Def, even with the liive feeds. The hardware is getting better, smaller, and with lower power consumption. A $30 camera today is an amazing thing vs a $30 camera from 5 years back.
But that's the low end of the scale. At the higher end, DJI and others are making some fine stuff that displays minimal if eny issues. I don't play much with that (I already have a hobby, model railroading), but unless one needs hi-def for recording or other need, the imaging from a live TV signal is pretty darn good these days in most cases. 3
Mike who is DJI ? --------- Ken
KemacPrr Mike who is DJI ? --------- Ken
https://store.dji.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhZbtrYOd6gIVCr3ACh2V_Q5cEAAYASAAEgIEiPD_BwEMel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
Wow I didn't realize how deep this well was! I bought the Akaso 4k from Amazon and attached to a flatcar with a rubber band. I can push it, or pull it. Can't pan, but I don't care. Use IsmartDV app on my iPad to control it. Edit the video on the computer. Upload to YouTube. Not a lot of time & effort invested. Probably not the quality you guys are getting, but I'm good with it.
I've made a coupla videos with the SQ11. Nothing earth shaking, just to get a feel and see what's what. Don't know yet how to edit them or upload them or post them for access on this forum. The MVI files are very large: about 500MB for a four-minute movie.
By comparison to cab videos I've seen online . . . the images are dark and grainy and pretty much out-of-focus. Close-in objects are the most out-of-focus. Trackage is oddly distorted and snaky. According to the button pushing schema described in the (translated) instructions, I should be in high-res 1080P mode. Colors are not sharp and vibrant.
The layout room is well-lit (to the naked eye) with 5000K daylight LEDs. The camera shows a fairly even illumination for most of the movie. Going into a tunnel, it gets dark for a second or two, then adjusts to where the inside tunnel lining is discernable, then blindingly white on exit, then a second or two before getting back to ambient toom lighting.
Can anyone post a suggested workflow explaining setup, lighting, action, and whatnot? Or, should we start another thread? I'm all set to piddle around and explore the possibilities, and I'll start by searching this forum (and other fora as well) for related threads. I'm only about $14 into this aspect of the hobby, but I am curious to see how things go.
Thanks.
I pull the SD card and plug it into a USB adapter then download the video as an AVI file in Windows. The AVI files are huge, the higher the resolution the larger the files. I’m not into video editing, I have Adobe Illustrator but I haven’t tried it.I worked with video for years but had someone that new how to use the software, I was always the equipment guy not production.Normal room lighting has always worked OK for both the SQ8 and SQ13, no noticeable grain. The onboard IR light works OK too but at the loss of color.My LED lighting works good in tunnels, better than the onboard IR lighting.Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
RockCity Wow I didn't realize how deep this well was! I bought the Akaso 4k from Amazon and attached to a flatcar with a rubber band. I can push it, or pull it. Can't pan, but I don't care. Use IsmartDV app on my iPad to control it. Edit the video on the computer. Upload to YouTube. Not a lot of time & effort invested. Probably not the quality you guys are getting, but I'm good with it.
I really like what I see of the AKASO EK7000 . . . . but the size worries me. It looks like it will barely clear my straight on tunnel portals, I have two portals on 32” radius and I had to position the track carefully to pass 85’ passenger cars.I worked up a scale drawing of the AKASO camera on a Bachmann flat car in a Pre-Size tunnel portal.I have 5 Pre-Size HO single track tunnel portals. Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
anyone familiar with the cameras from a phone that might fit in the nose of loco, electronics in the B unit?
greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading
GregThere are a bunch of micro wireless pin hole cameras that will easily fit in the front of an A unit diesel. Most of the cameras are very small (⅜” cube) and have a 6” to 8” ribbon cable to the transmitter.I have an older camera that is about ¾”cube. It has a 2.4ghz transmitter that is powered from a 9 volt battery. The matching receiver has NTCS video out. It worked very good for many years.With a bit of chopping I think a SQ8 to SQ23 could be worked into a A unit diesel.The SQ8 is on the nose of a Athearn BB frame.
Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
The problem with a phone camera is that it needs a whole lot of extra parts to actually generate a usable image - in a phone, most of that is integrated in the main SOC. More and more custom image processing is being done to extract quality images from such a tiny sensor - it's much the same as film, the larger the starting point, the finer the details and the more you can enlarge it without losing said details.
rrinkerThe problem with a phone camera is that it needs a whole lot of extra parts to actually generate a usable image - in a phone, most of that is integrated in the main SOC
is a smartphone camera different than a common web cam?
i don't think it's so much the size of the electronics as the size of the camera, the lens.
if cameras have a standard interface, can you use the electronics from a $20 webcam put in the B unit with the small smartphone camera in the nose?
the advantage of a wireless webcam over a baby monitor is you don't need to be w/in RF range. the remote operator of a loco can view the webcam in the nose of the loco he operates remotely to see signals
i wonder if we would be having this discussion if it weren't for the virus
RR_Mel I thought I would mention the camera lighting in tunnels. The SQ7 through the SQ13 have very good low light level video. I have a camera pusher E7 that I installed 6 super bright LEDs recessed in the front windshield that I control the on/off by DCC decoder and with them on the video is brighter than daylight. The normal LED headlight is more than enough light for the cameras to see the tunnel walls, track and ties.I made a battery cover for my camera car because the VOF (view of field) sees the top of the on board batteries. I use portion a F7 cab as a battery cover and installed a 3MM Super bright Warm White LED in the headlight and it has plenty of light for the SQ cameras. The video looks like looking out the window over the F7 hood. Kinda blows it though when I pan the camera. Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
I thought I would mention the camera lighting in tunnels. The SQ7 through the SQ13 have very good low light level video. I have a camera pusher E7 that I installed 6 super bright LEDs recessed in the front windshield that I control the on/off by DCC decoder and with them on the video is brighter than daylight. The normal LED headlight is more than enough light for the cameras to see the tunnel walls, track and ties.I made a battery cover for my camera car because the VOF (view of field) sees the top of the on board batteries. I use portion a F7 cab as a battery cover and installed a 3MM Super bright Warm White LED in the headlight and it has plenty of light for the SQ cameras. The video looks like looking out the window over the F7 hood. Kinda blows it though when I pan the camera. Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
Hey Mel-
I'm thinking something like this might help with the overall darkness and gloom of my videos.
Did you mount the additional headlights on the pusher engine behind the camera car? Does the light from all six LEDs shine through the front cab windows? Does that cause any mysterious shadows or anything? Were these LED headlights in addition to the F7 headlight? Do the LEDs require some sort of shaped nozzle port to direct and focus the light to shine down the track? Do your AA batteries power the headlights, or are they receiving power picked up from the tracks?
I'm thinking along the lines of fabricating a flatcar with some low-level ditch lights and some high-level raccoon hunting lights. Do you have any recommendations how to fabricate such a thing? The flat car itself is simple enough. Just a flat piece of styrene with bosses fore-and-aft to attach the trucks with screws or bolsters. I will need the type of trucks to pick up power from the tracks if I go that route. Any advice? Or, I think I have enough room for two or possibly three AA batteries or AAA batteries behind the camera. Any advice on that kind of power arrangement?
EDIT TO ADD a photo to show that a rechargeable 9V battery easily fits in the bottom of an N scale double-stack well car. In this scenario, the camera would sit far forward against the ladder handrails.
Hey Mel-I'm thinking something like this might help with the overall darkness and gloom of my videos.Did you mount the additional headlights on the pusher engine behind the camera car? Does the light from all six LEDs shine through the front cab windows?
EDIT:
I don't have any lighting on my camera car. The window lighting is in a E7 with a pinhole camera onboard. Sorry I have several camera cars and camera locomotives.
Yes.
Does that cause any mysterious shadows or anything?
No shadows.
Were these LED headlights in addition to the F7 headlight?
Yes, I added three 3mm super bright LEDs behind each window, total of 6 LEDs. I paralleled them each with it’s own resistor. I made a housing to not only hold them but also to block the light from the cab and side windows.
Do the LEDs require some sort of shaped nozzle port to direct and focus the light to shine down the track?
The LEDs are recessed in the housing about an ⅛”.
Do your AA batteries power the headlights, or are they receiving power picked up from the tracks?
I use two Lithium AA size batteries (total 8 volts in series) for my onboard 5 volt electronics and a 5 volt regulator from 8 to 5 volts.
I'm thinking along the lines of fabricating a flatcar with some low-level ditch lights and some high-level raccoon hunting lights. Do you have any recommendations how to fabricate such a thing?
I would make them easily removable.
The flat car itself is simple enough. Just a flat piece of styrene with bosses fore-and-aft to attach the trucks with screws or bolsters. I will need the type of trucks to pick up power from the tracks if I go that route.
I would use a commercially made flat car, no sense making things harder.
Any advice? Or, I think I have enough room for two or possibly three AA batteries or AAA batteries behind the camera. Any advice on that kind of power arrangement?
I really like Randy’s idea of using a DC to DC converter to get your 5 volts. Unless you plan on using your camera car a lot I would just operate on charging the batteries and not ues track power. I have an onboard charger to keep the two Lithium cells charged because I sometimes use my camera car all day long just dinking around.
For an hour or so of use you could use the onboard camera battery and just use a single Lithium 1000ma battery for lighting. I single 4 volt Lithium 1000ma battery will run the LED lighting a long time and you wouldn’t need an onboard charger or a 5 volt regulator. Just resistors in series with the LEDs and a switch to turn them off. Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
small camera and wifi electronics TTGO t-camera (stumbled on this looking at another ttgo board)
RR_Mel Keep us posted, I’m very interested in how it goes.Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
I just received a Microcam Wireless Surveillance Camera Kit w/ Receiver & Mini Wireless Camera bought on eBay. I decided to go with a 9V battery rather than track power to maintain a clear, uninterrupted picture on the TV. A trial run thru a dark tunnel with only a loco headlight worked perfectly. The camera's antenna was able to pass thru 8' long tunnels with no problem. I will install it on a dummy diesel with a bright LED bulb. I'm a happy camper and thanks to all of you for your ideas!