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2.4GHz Wireless Video from Model Rocket

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the expendable dept.

ExidyBoy writes "While the Gates Brothers fly entire camcorders in their rockets to record onboard footage, a cheaper alternative is to use off-the-shelf 2.4GHz wireless video senders. The Aussie RocketCam site has Windows Media and QuickTime clips of the spectacular results that can be obtained."

11 of 120 comments (clear)

  1. Cool, but nothing new by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    While this is kinda cool, it is nothing new. Putting a cam in a rocket is the next best thing to being in the rocket itself.

    The thing that I would like to see is for them to have some degree of control over the rocket. Unfortunately (here in the US), and RC rocket is classified as a "missile" and is a big no-no.

    It's also good to see this hobby being kept alive,

  2. I toyed with this idea once... by TWX · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ... with my cheap X-10 camera, but batteries, rather than the camera, seemed to be the problem. It wouldn't have been terribly hard to launch them, it just would have been difficult to recover the rocket intact with all of that weight.

    A radio controlled car ended up being a much better, and more fun choice. It's probably good that this technology didn't exist at a feasible price point for me when I was in junior high school, for I'd likely have gotten into a lot of trouble...

    --
    Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
    1. Re:I toyed with this idea once... by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 4, Interesting
      You just need more horsepower and a bigger parachute. Decades ago when I was a jr. highschool punk, I built a rocket that was powered by a cluster of 6 Estes "D" engines; it was 7 feet tall and weighed several pounds. It probably could have hoisted a small camcorder. It made a flawless gentle landing with a 48-inch parachute sewn out of plastic garbage bags.

      OTOH, you're probably wise to not put expensive equipment in a rocket, given that I probably crashed more rockets than I recovered back in those days.

    2. Re:I toyed with this idea once... by TWX · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Getting the rocket up wouldn't have been a problem. I once launched a rocket with an Aerotech Cobra series G engine. That sucker could be heard all of the way up until it fired its ejection charge. My problem, probably a lot like yours, was the reliability of the landing and recovery. Several pieces of rockets are sitting my rocket box, where one half wasn't found, and some rockets that became about four inches shorter are in there too...

      --
      Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
  3. So what? by aardvarkjoe · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It's not like any of us are going to be able to see these videos. Maybe slashdot should have an option to block stories that link to useless multimedia (until Taco extracts his head from his rear and sets up a /. bittorrent server.)

    --

    How can we continue to believe in a just universe and freedom to eat crackers if we have no ale?
  4. I used to have... by Illbay · · Score: 3, Interesting

    one of these when I was about 13.

    --
    Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
  5. I've done similar by GigsVT · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I launched a tethered balloon with a 450Mhz transmitter to transmit video. The 450Mhz stuff is better in some ways, it's less directional, and you can receive it on a regular VCR or TV card tuner.

    Some Pictures

    --
    I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
  6. Re:BitTorrent to the rescue! by Jaeger · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Say, how does bittorent scale thru a slashdotting?

    The short answer is that we're about to find out. :) The advantage of BitTorrent is that everyone who downloads automatically uploads as well, turning the Slashdot effect back on itself, at least in theory. The only real concern would be the tracking server, since it's the only non-redundant piece of the network. So far, twenty minutes into the experiment, my tracker isn't breaking a sweat.

  7. What's wrong "standards" for video? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Why Quicktime or WMV?

    What's wrong with MPEG 1, 2 or 4???

    Hell, have we all embraced Microsoft and Apple now?

  8. Similar USA Site W/ Pics: Vidroc by cmholm · · Score: 3, Interesting
    I've flown an X10-based rocket using the description and photos at the Vidroc website. Hanging my ass on the line for no good reason, the maiden flight was during a school science fair. I got in a hurry and forgot to feed the video into a VCR, but the parents and kids watching the live feed of the rocket-eye view on a monitor in a nearby classroom said it looked great.

    The X10 hardware turns out to be pretty rugged, as I found out when the carrier rocket took a 200' death plunge into a nearby field. All of the wire leads broke, but they resolder easily, and the short bit of harder to fix coax was fine.

    --
    Luke, help me take this mask off ... Just for once, let me butterfly kiss you with my own eyes.
  9. Great Quality Footage... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Want to see some nice rocket footage? Check out this video clip (http://www.vahpr.com/Ts/ts2_onboard1.mpg)complete with Mach speed ratings, from one of Experimental Rocketry's biggest groups in the hobby - MDRA (http://www.mdrocketry.org)