MARRS train-cam at Timonium last month

[Zox]

First time I've posted something to YouTube:

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It's two laps around our N-scale setup at the Zane show.

The audio's pretty bad--should I keep it, or let YouTube replace it with music?

[up1950s]

That track following arrangement works terrific . Thinking a  high mounted headlight might help . Thanks for sharing the train cam , I think they are the most fun to watch .

[inkaneer]

I have seen these miniature "spy" cameras at shows. I purchased a camera that is similar but a lot smaller.  I usually mount it on a Walthers intermodal well car.  The camera is small enough to fit inside a dummy E unit or a PA. An F unit or a FA would probably work also for the camera. However, it is the battery that is a problem.  The camera requires 4.5 volts minimum and I usually use a 9 volt battery with it.  The battery will fit inside the well car but is too high for the E unit.  The camera can operate off of track power but the high current draw results in bullet train speeds.  I run analog DC.   DCC users should not have this problem as the camera will take up to 36 volts. The guys in the club don't like it when I run it because it shows up all the flaws in the track be it wavy straight track or jogs or just poor ballasting.  There are some problems with interference which may be related to the flourescent lighting.

[Allentown Hump]

Someone needs to straighten out the track work. I thought I felt lunch coming back up a few times there!!! 

[Zox]

I have seen these miniature "spy" cameras at shows. I purchased a camera that is similar but a lot smaller.

Do you have a link or an address for this camera? I'm always interested in possible improvements.

...I usually use a 9 volt battery with it.  The battery will fit inside the well car but is too high for the E unit.

Sounds like my first attempt, right after buying the camera :



The latest edition is a bit neater, although I still need to fix some of the cosmetic details with the new 2.4GHz camera:



It almost fits the Plate C restrictions.

There are some problems with interference which may be related to the flourescent lighting.

I have more interference problems with the 2.4GHz camera than I did with the older 900MHz camera. I think it's largely because of the proliferation of wireless devices that use that (unlicensed) band, including Wi-Fi routers. I've got a new, supposedly "interference-free" 900MHz camera on order from Amazon; we'll see how it works out.

[DKS]

I'm finishing up my fourth generation of railcam. The first was built back in 2003 using one of the early "spycams". It was assembled on a Micro-Trains chassis. The trick I used was to mount the camera on a gimbal, so it could be rotated side to side as well as tilted up and down. This allowed for some interesting views.



The second generation was the same as the first, except that the chassis was scratchbuilt so that the battery could sit as low as possible to allow the camera to pass through tunnels not made to clear double-stacks. Both first and second generation cameras suffered badly from interference problems as well as overall poor image quality.



The third generation was installed in a Dimi-Trains snow plow so that the camera was hidden (the plow blades served as the "focus ring"). I abandoned this version for three reasons: first, it was based on the same camera model as before, so it was suffering from interference problems; second, locking the camera into a fixed position did not allow for creative shots. And third, since the videos I was shooting were recorded for later post-production, there was no real need to go to such trouble to hide the camera; it wasn't being used as a "fun gadget" at shows.



The fourth and current generation railcam is based on the new 2.4GHz camera. It is also powered by the rail (for use on DCC layouts only). The camera is mounted on a gimbal on one of three permanently "MUed" Kato caboose frames (24-wheel pickup) wired through a battery eliminator. Initial tests are fairly encouraging: much less interference, though not interference-free, and noticeably better image quality (plus sound!). Also much improved is the receiver, which no longer requires careful tuning; it has a four-channel digital tuner that locks onto the signal perfectly.

[up1950s]

Wow , ingenious use of a rotary , and high tech power feed .

[DKS]

Thanks, Richie!

BTW, the ads are sure picking up on the topic of conversation this time!

[inkaneer]

I have seen these miniature "spy" cameras at shows. I purchased a camera that is similar but a lot smaller.

Do you have a link or an address for this camera? I'm always interested in possible improvements.

...I usually use a 9 volt battery with it.  The battery will fit inside the well car but is too high for the E unit.

Sounds like my first attempt, right after buying the camera :



Here is the camera I use.  It is not in stock at this vendor.  But it tels you about the camera.    I ordered mine direct from RF systems Lab in Japan for a lot less.  They used to advertise in MR couple of years ago.  Don't know if they still do.    They also make endoscopic capsule cameras for the medical field.  If you ever want to see what your digestive system looks like from beginning to end  they have a product for you!http://www.dcctrain.com/shop/item.asp?itemid=4216