Here's another video I took at the NMRA Pacific Coast Division meeting. The DiceCam is PERFECT for show layouts. Just make sure the module owner is ok with you setting the lighter than air DiceCam on their module.
watch?v=GJ4YRTE3NYk&feature=youtu.be
I'm hoping the few dropped frames are due to the extreme contrast, causing the camera to second guess the exposure. Also, my IR Cut filters should arrive tomorrow! :D (I'm so excited!.. I just can't hide it!)
-Mark
www.MarkWatson3D.com
Mark,
Excellent points, & food for thought! Thanks!
Those are N SCALE!?!?!?!? Whoa, Dude, you rule!Especially the RPD PT versions, simply awesome!NICE!
ChadLRyanMark, Hey, what are the two first box cars? JailBoxes? Those are cool!
Thanks Chad. Those are Ventilated Boxcars (Also called Combination Boxcars). The tan one is scratch built by hand and is specifically modeled after Virginia and Truckee #1005. "...with its open and/or closed style of doors and windows, proved superior very early to transporting not only merchandise, but perishable supplies and livestock."
The two gray Vent-Boxcars are my CG N scale 3D printed versions which will be lettered for Central Pacific. You read that right, 3D printed in N scale. Here's a few photos to show the awesome level of detail:
(Sorry this one's kinda dark)
Ok, back on topic of camera cars... Why permanently mount the camera to the car at all? With a permanent installation, you wont be able to move the DiceCam around to various locations to achieve different shots and angles. Additionally, with just a flat car (or gondola in the case of my video posted above), you can press the buttons THEN place it in position. Mine rode the N scale train without shaking or falling off. :)
Also, most editing programs (even many of the free ones) should have the ability to rotate the footage 180 degrees should you want the mounting screw in the down position with the buttons on the top half. Recording upside down wont change the image quality.
Just my 2 cents though. :)
TW;
Yeah, I hear that, it makes it harder to mount to the top of of an @K forend for 'action shots' against water filled milk jugs... Ooooppsie... what was I thinking & saying???
The upside down mount does work for car mirrors & the bottoms of RC things, but fuel residue also goes that way unless you fly inverted.. ha hah..
I'm hoping my glue dries on my switch ladder track & in the mean time will re-arrange a place to set it, as this was a project that did not have a location selected & was leaning up against a wall for a while.
Anyway, I'll share some videos when I have a chance to try this out.
So far in my testing, this is far from stellar in performance & focus, but for the price paid it is still quite entertaining & acceptable 'to me'.
& no I have not attached it to my Cat's collar for a Kitty Cam, but asked my sister if I could bring it for her Black Lab's collar. She said sure, but only if I expect 'Cali' to eat it, as she eats all the LED light danglies on her collar..
Chad:
I like that mounting, too. I'm going to try something similar--have a spare HEAVY Central Valley 6-wheel passenger truck from years ago, that still rolls like a champ. Think I'll see what I can do with it.
I wish those controls were located in a different place, myself. Like the TOP of the camera, instead of where they are. It makes it darn difficult to turn on and off, especially with my thick fingers, LOL!
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
Thanks!The only issues I have is that; -Mounted this way the buttons are hard to hit, even an SD loki would have a pilot grab iron in the way.-I meant to use an .060" or thicker sheet of brass for the deck, I have a thin temporary one on there.
The car has a half Oz of lead between the wheels, & being short should 'track' like it is on rails! (puns intended, hee hee!). Although I wanted the camera set back to have the lens closer to the center of the pivit point of the truck, when I put the thicker plate on, I will probably move the camera closer to the center of the car so I can hit the buttons better. With the camera mounted on it the 'truckee' it is plenty heavy & should be pretty docile on the rails, I do file my soldered joints, so it should be pretty smooth. If anything else, it could be used as a tool to look for track problems! (Just another thought).
I like your camera car, thats really sweet. I might try that.
Looking forward to seeing your video.
Michael
CEO- Mile-HI-RailroadPrototype: D&RGW Moffat Line 1989
Thanks for the suggestions, & excellent video too! Disabling those IR's really helped!Mark, Hey, what are the two first box cars? JailBoxes? Those are cool!
I had run out of trackage on my switch ladder plate project last year, but I had found some track & a couple swithes I got since starting that project, & the glue is drying right now! Hopefully soon I will have a video for your viewing pleasure!
I played with the TIME.TXT file & got it working.It is dynamic & if you choose 'Y' it will put it (display it) on the video in the bottom 1/4 screen.I set it to the correct time & dropped it on the camera with an 'N' & it removed the overlay in the shots.I am glad I did that cuz I use "Sort by Date" in windows & now the files are in the right place when looking through the directorys.
Again, thanks for the help tips & great ideas, you guys are great! Thanks!!!
Thanks for the great tips guys, I appreciate it!
Here's my 'truckee' platform I whipped up for mine. I also realized that almost all my limited sound units are 6 axle, but I have this nice sounding one in a B-B arrangement for my tight switches. Although I may not get to it this weekend :-(
narrow gauge nuclear An IR filter might be just the ticket to solve the track lighting, (incandescent), issue. I hope to hear from others if they obtain the filter and use it.
An IR filter might be just the ticket to solve the track lighting, (incandescent), issue. I hope to hear from others if they obtain the filter and use it.
I found this last night and ordered 2. http://www.m12lenses.com/IR-Cut-Filters-s/59.htm
According to others who have used the filters for IR/Color webcams, they work great. I'll share my results upon arrival. :)
This little camera is rather packed, but with care a tiny, on off switch could be placed into the cube device to turn on and off the IR LEDs. Better still, I am considering scratch building a "camera car" and totally disassembling the camera and mounting the guts in a new and novel way to suit my needs.
This camera was designed as a security camera for sure, but found a real good home in the RC flying model world. It can be used in model railroading as well, but only with some modification.
As for a time stamp... I have not and will not activate or use this function so anyone interested in this is on their own.
Richard
If I can't fix it, I can fix it so it can't be fixed
Mark, did you know there is a Dino loose on your layout
Nice Video!!!!!!!
Darren (BLHS & CRRM Lifetime Member)
Delaware and Hudson Virtual Museum (DHVM), Railroad Adventures (RRAdventures)
My Blog
Thanks Tom,
I used Adobe Premiere Pro to edit the video. Pro is a bit expensive, but they have a Express version for under 100. Which program do you use? (My quick skim didn't see one mentioned). (Let me see if I can get the same results in Movie Maker.)
When I rendered the edit, I used Apple's H.264 codec (The same used on Blu-Ray). I set a target bit rate at 4mbps with a 6mbps cap. The original video was recorded at around 16mpbs. This resulted in a 40mb file and it took about 10 -15 minutes to upload.
Another thing that slightly helps is to get as much lighting as you can. It takes slightly more bit space to record black than white on every frame. Add that up for 1000's of frames and you got a few megabytes. Also, when the image is brighter there is less video noise caused by the sensor.
Mark:
Holy cow, talk about CLARITY!! If I didn't know it was the Dice, I'd swear that you used a more expensive camera to get those shots. Great video! Love the dinosaur. Is that your answer to our Sasquatch, LOL?
Seriously, what program did you use to load it into the computer and then onto YouTube? I can't get anywhere near the clarity you did, and I'm modeling twice as big (HO).
Here's my second DiceCam video, first with the IR LEDs disabled. This is my N scale "Ultimate" 4-4-0.
watch?v=TIJbPKklfuw
Richard,
Thanks for the how-to on disabling the LEDs! I did the surgery and now no more ugly lavender. :)
Chad, yes, i think a micro switch can very easily be installed. There is quite a gap between the board and battery for wiring. I hope to install a switch to as I would like to use the motion detection, which is pretty sweet!.
Umm Kayyy...Well I got mine today, & perhaps made another person interested in it. I had no Idea that my Dad had ordered some RC Heli Parts & upon Delivery he was impressed with the speed of the order, so he checked it out (was gonna show him anyway) & thought that it was a pretty cool little thing. [Although not what he ordered!] - (he was there when I flew an RC Chopper with a wireless one (like MicroMark sells) a couple years ago. (& Yes, I tipped it over, cuz I watched the TV & not the Heli)!!!Anyway, I have two questions for our new DICE experts!
Has anyone played with the Time.txt file? - Is that a static file or is the camera actually clocked? (always the same time)?
This one is for NarrowGaugeNuclear (or any other EET's) - Is there room inside to mount a SMT slide switch like the Ngineering one? ( I can pix one).http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/514-N320010 I would like to be able to manually toggle the IR LEDs, to preserve all the original functionality. I can machine a slot & a bed mortise to fit the switch into, but do not know if there is room for that in the 'sandwich' of the assembly.
On the older cameras the lens was threaded, but this one looks like it has adheasive to the nose of the case, so I think that there may not be a tunable Depth of Field on this particular unit.However, I have not opened mine up & looked inside. I want to charge it & see if it works before 'butter fingering' something on it.. ha hah..
I will post a pic of my "Truckee" camera mount truck, & it's pusher, & also lay the remaining trailing tracks on my switch ladder (ran about 4 flex tracks short of a full ladder), but back in stock now!
Thanks & Stay Tuned!
Well, you guys are a persuasive bunch. Mine arrived today and I got some time to play around with it. :)
Unfortunately, I only have Tungsten/Halogen lights, so I've also got the purple tree problem.
From what was said in an earlier post, apparently this is because Tungsten/Halogen emits IR light. However what I don't understand is, why are colors under daylight normal? The Sun also emits huge amounts of IR.
In any case, I'm searching for a cheap IR cut filter in hopes that I can build an attachment which will allow the use of my bright halogens with true color. That should work, right?
IMO, the night vision sucks. The motion detection however is freaking awesome...unless it's dark, then it's limited by the terrible night vision.
I do believe I caught a few video frames of the illusive Sasquatch while filming on the Paradox Uravan and Placerville (th' PUP). I have heard reports of his being sighted between Placerville and Nucla and then most recently near Naturita. I think the continuous bell ringing and whistle sounding scares him up if he is near the tracks.
Brent:
That's we Bigfoots following our trains, LOL! I'm sort of like Alfred Hitchcock, I like to make 'cameo' appearances in all of my movies, I guess. What you DIDN'T see was one of my cats in a tunnel (a little outdoor 'stray' I rescued). Didn't know she was there until she came out of the access area in the side looking really ticked off. Evidently she's 'adopted' that portion of the layout as a nap-spot.
Michael:
You'll have to pull the brake equipment and wheel off of one end of that flatcar (like you didn't know that already, LOL!). But the little camera perches up there quite nicely. I used doubled electrical tape. But I really like the improved POV using it. Now I've got to work on the focus aspect. This 'on-board' camera thingy is a whole new set of tricks, isn't it? BTW, the last video I took was about 11 minutes long. I'm going to try some shorter videos today as soon as the wind dies down and I can open the garage. See if the resolution is improved at about 5-6 minutes.
Richard:
That turned out pretty darned good, especially the focus. I like the fact that you off-set the camera in the gondola, it gives a much wider POV. And that's one gorgeous little locomotive you've got. The whistle didn't bother me a bit--the last time I was on a tourist line, I swear that the engineer whistled for every fence-post along the line. I grinned a lot, LOL!
Great video's guys. Noticeable improvements being made. Now are my eyes playing tricks on me or do I see Bigfoot dashing in and out of those frames in those high mountain passes?
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
After much effort, I have succeeded in sharing my first short finished video on you tube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry--EFKvgbU&feature=youtu.be
Other than the amateurish nature of the effort and totally unfinished layout, you will note that 1. All colors are perfect, (disabled the IR LEDS and use only fluorescent lighting.) 2. The focus is rather good for a 20:1 compression, especially good as close as the engine. The lack of contrast was due to the need to boost the brightness in the editor as my lighting intensity is not optimized yet.
Sorry 'bout that.
This little camera is OK in my book, for the dollar spent.
Faux pas in operation... bell rings at speed and whistle sounded too much. This was more for my friends than the MRs present here. Forgive?
Tom I have that same exact depressed center flat as you! I'm going to try that with mine.
I can see your colors are a lot better, so the tape works pretty good. I'll try that as well.
How long are the videos you are recording? I would say anything longer than 5-6 minutes and you should be fine with keeping the high quality res and still being able to upload it to youtube.
Ken:
No, I'm still DC. The sound you heard from the cab-forward is just the bare sound that BLI gives on DC operation. I do have an under the layout Soundtraxx Heritage Steam system supported by 3 fairly large speakers that I use often with my other locomotives. It can be programmed for either simple or articulated chuff and has a ton of sound accessories (air pumps, brake, all the goodies that you DCC people can CV in).
As I said before, I think part of the focus problem is that this camera is designed for model airplanes, where the focus is pretty infinite, and of course on a model railroad, the focus is far more 'finite'. But a lot of that focus problem seems to appear when I reduce the KB for uploading onto Youtube. Right now I'm still experimenting with AVI to see how little reduction I can get by with for uploading and still retain good focus. I'm not sure that I can really do it with this little pinhole camera, though. I'm still going to look for a small, better quality camera that I can mount on a flatcar. So far, even the smallest Sony circular I've seen is a little too big, but when I was at BestBuy, the salesperson there said that I should try a specialized electronics store, that BestBuy was more 'mainstream'. He suggested a local electronics dealer here in Sacramento that I'm going to head over to in the next couple of days.
'I still seem to have some focus problems, but I'm beginning to think it's the process of reducing the KB for downloading and not so much the camera. The original download is well-focused, but the KB is astonishing. I'm going to have to experiment with a download program that reduces the KB but still maintains the original quality."
Tom, I am starting to wonder the same thing. When the camera is showing the out doors it still looks looks blurred. Have you just shot a video of the outside, not in the garage and see what it looks like?
I know with being a man that asking for instructions is hard! (I know because I am one my self) Have you tried to contact the manufacturer and see what software they used?
Did you go all DCC on us? Just wondering because it seems have some sound engines on the layout?
Ken
I hate Rust
narrow gauge nuclear I forgot to include a small fact which might not make a lot of difference to many here. The big battery hog inside that little camera is the energy consumed by the four LEDs. Richard
I forgot to include a small fact which might not make a lot of difference to many here. The big battery hog inside that little camera is the energy consumed by the four LEDs.
Good to know that, Richard. So far I've been able to get about 15 minutes out of the Dice before I have to re-charge it.
I was able to mount the camera on the end of a Walthers articulated depressed-center flatcar, and it seemed to improve the POV of the camera. Here's how I mounted it.
I also taped over the LED's and took a video, and it seemed to improve the quality of the lighting a little bit. At least I don't have THAT many purple trees, anymore. I AVI'd it at a little higher resolution, which took more time to upload onto Youtube, but I think it turned out a little better.
http://youtu.be/6Ogd2Q0uTzI
I still seem to have some focus problems, but I'm beginning to think it's the process of reducing the KB for downloading and not so much the camera. The original download is well-focused, but the KB is astonishing. I'm going to have to experiment with a download program that reduces the KB but still maintains the original quality.
Hey, like I said, I'm a "Newbie" at this. Just have to experiment.
I forgot to include a small fact which might not make a lot of difference to many here. The big battery hog inside that little camera is the energy consumed by the four LEDs. If you electrically disable them, then the battery charge life goes up. This is important in that most layouts are not illuminated to a level over the entire run. This keeps the LEDs on for most of the run. For some here that are handy with small tools and electronics, this fact might make it worthwhile to disable the LEDs.
Good luck to all with these little cameras.
Well, well, seems I have to turn off my floods, LOL! Luckily, I've got flourescent lighting in the garage, so I'll experiment today. I'm going to temporarily disable the LED's with electrical tape and see if that makes a difference (thank you, Richard for the instructions on permanently disabling them, BTW! ).
And guess what I found in one of my rolling-stock drawers--a Walthers articulated depressed center flatcar! Forgot I even had the darned thing (hey, I'm over 70, I'm allowed, LOL!). And that little Dice will mount very comfortably on one of the articulated ends of the car, so the next video I take today will utilize it. It's kinda/sorta the same thing that BillR used on his Southern Pacific video in case anyone watched it. (Brent kindly downloaded the link)
I'm getting a lot of great information from you guys on how to use this little camera. And as a novice at this whole thing, I thank you all very much.
Now to head out to the garage for some more movie-making.
narrow gauge nuclear Another discovery!! This camera can't be used in tungsten lighting! This is especially true with the naked filament, reflector type track lighting or you will have gross color shifting! (green trees are white or gray). Tungsten puts out intense IR! I had installed a simple 4 track lighting halogen type reflector over the small finished part of my layout for photography. This was horrid on video playback!!!! Fortunately, the entire attic room is lit only by fluorescent lighting. Turning off the tungsten track lamps and going with only fluorescent lighting was perfect! All colors were perfect. So kill all tungsten lighting and kill the LEDS either with the "stop-gap" electrical tap or total electrical disabling and you will have a nice camera system.
Another discovery!! This camera can't be used in tungsten lighting! This is especially true with the naked filament, reflector type track lighting or you will have gross color shifting! (green trees are white or gray). Tungsten puts out intense IR! I had installed a simple 4 track lighting halogen type reflector over the small finished part of my layout for photography. This was horrid on video playback!!!! Fortunately, the entire attic room is lit only by fluorescent lighting.
Turning off the tungsten track lamps and going with only fluorescent lighting was perfect! All colors were perfect. So kill all tungsten lighting and kill the LEDS either with the "stop-gap" electrical tap or total electrical disabling and you will have a nice camera system.
Thanks Richard for confirming the lighting issue. I did not get to play around with the camera last to test that same theory.
All with these camera's.....I spent about 3 hours monkeying around with my camera last night and have some data to pass on.
The black electrical tape works great, but I still got some leakage! (The tape will work OK but here is the ultimate solution) I am an electronics engineer and electronic hobbyist so I have little fear.
I took out the four screws with a fine phillips and, with some difficulty, opened the case. (the difficulty comes in their tripod thread mount lip and the molding of the case half around it.) Just force the shell halves apart with a screw driver blade by twisting it. All came apart OK with no breakage. The camera will really fall into two halves held together by a flat ribbon cable to the camra chip.
Locate the board with the camera, and the LEDS. There is a small black, rectangular surface mount transistor that is obvious near the edge of the back of this board. This is the 4 LED driver transistor. Surface mount transitors have three leads. Two of them are on one side and the collector lead is on the other. The collector lead is the one single visible lead showing in the middle of this small rectangle. It is tiny, but with a very sharp, pointed pair of diagonal cutters or rail nippers, it can be simply cut. Once cut, using a tiny blade screw driver, just pry it up slightly away from the board and the remnant board connection you just cut. A dab of model airplane glue between then will insulate in a manner that even if they do touch in future, no contact is made.
Now, carefully refit and seal up the case and put the screws back. You have now permanently disabled the IR LEDS. Give your camera a quick recording test in a darker area against a white piece of paper and you should only see a dim white field on playback and not a lavender field.
Now to the focus issue. I found I didn't care about close focus and using three HOn3 cars behind the K-27 engine, on playback, the engine and all forward of it was in clear focus. I placed two high side gondolas after the engine and then a flat car. I mounted the camera with tape, (temporary), as far back on the flat car that I could and ran the train. I was very happy with the result. By offsetting the camera slightly I got some great turn shots of my K-27 valve gear and sides of the gondolas. COOL!
Unfortunately I can't supply the niffty movie files, but I did take a photo picture of my computer screen on playback showing the colors being right. Note* the images are much better that shown here in reality, as a picture taken of a computer screen is a definite downgrade.