Mini Spy Cam Recommendations

[jereising]

I bought one of those Hi Def 1" cube cams, battery and memory chip on board with the idea of doing a cab ride on the Sub...

I got it to work, after a fashion.  But could not get it to do what I wanted, which was to turn it on and record images to the chip until the chip was full or the battery died.  It wanted to be on my WiFi and smart phone and their cloud (extra charge, of course).

It wanted a smart phone, and yes I read the instructions, which of course were in Chinglish.

And I have a smart phone, and installed the software, which of course did not match what the manual showed.

Bottom line, couldn't get it to work  in this simple manner.  I even emailed their tech support (never heard back...).

Never even placed it on the car I built for it.  It is now on it's way back to Amazon.

So.  Any suggestions?  I'll go as much as $100 but would rather stay closer to $50 (the one I had was $40) - this is pretty much a one time thing, I don't see any long term advantages to it.

All suggestions appreciated, and many thanks.

(Originally posted to the Photography board but only one response, so I figured to try it here...)

[alhoop]

Jim:
If you want a cab ride(lo-res) get one of those cigar lighter cameras off the Bay - tape it to
a flat car and go -plays back on your computer. The cube camera I have chops the video in 250k chunks.
If you want hires and color you can get a wifi camera to ride on that flat car and record from an offline monitor.
Al

Added:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/HD1080P-Mini-Security-Camera-Lighter-USB-DV-DVR-Video-Recorder-Night-Camcorder/123822158768?hash=item1cd46033b0:g:cV0AAOSwGM5dG5J7

[Maletrain]

...
If you want hires and color you can get a wifi camera to ride on that flat car and record from an offline monitor.
 ...

Links to "wifi camera to ride on that flat car"?

[C855B]

...If you want hires and color you can get a wifi camera to ride on that flat car and record from an offline monitor.

That's what Jim is asking, Al - can you recommend one? Or even know of one? Hi-res - 720p minimum - and WiFi in a 1"x1" profile have proven elusive to date.

[alhoop]

Here is what I have used:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/SecurityMan-SM-809T-2-4GHz-Mini-Wireless-Color-Camera/173627298719?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Requires 8 VDC. I used a 3.7V battery and a step up converter to get the 8 volts.
Both the battery and converter fit on an N_Scale flat car. Picture is available if needed . One word of caution using the converters - set the output before connecting to the camera.

 picture of the receiver with provisions for recording :
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-4G-Wireless-Palm-Monitor-Portable-DVR-Rec-SD-DVR-4-Channels-Receiver-2-5-LCD-/124350614016?hash=item1cf3dfca00
Al

[C855B]

Thanks. That one is 640x480, slightly better than NTSC resolution (320 lines).

However that page had a link to this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-USB-IP-Camera-Wireless-WiFi-IP-Security-Camcorder-HD1080P-Hidden-Cam-Indoor/233009922607

Cheap enough to throw away if I can't make it work.

BTW - Your link to the eBay listing included tracking information traceable to you. When posting eBay links, be sure to slice off everything after the listing number, starting with the '?'. Here's your link without the tracking:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SecurityMan-SM-809T-2-4GHz-Mini-Wireless-Color-Camera/173627298719

[jereising]

Thanks, Guys.  More food for thought.

Given my luck with the last one I think I prefer Amazon - they don't hassle you about returns...

The 1080 (labeled 4K but I'd doubt that..) could be interesting...

[carlso]

I hope this isn't considered hi-jacking but here goes. It is camera related.

Several years ago I gad a camera set that finally pooped out and now I can't find a comparable unit. There was a man that sold these and he was developing a newer hi-tech camera, but he passed and I guess the company died with him.

It was a camera that had a rechargeable battery and a transmitter and antenna  in one piece, It would fit on an 86' flat car. Then it had a small receiver that wired into a TV and received live images. It worked quite well for the technology of late 1990's.

Does anyone know of such a set up? I have googled and searched many times, to no avail.

Be well,
Carl

[peteski]

I hope this isn't considered hi-jacking but here goes. It is camera related.

Several years ago I gad a camera set that finally pooped out and now I can't find a comparable unit. There was a man that sold these and he was developing a newer hi-tech camera, but he passed and I guess the company died with him.

It was a camera that had a rechargeable battery and a transmitter and antenna  in one piece, It would fit on an 86' flat car. Then it had a small receiver that wired into a TV and received live images. It worked quite well for the technology of late 1990's.

Does anyone know of such a set up? I have googled and searched many times, to no avail.

We have discussed live video feed several times on TRW.

One fairly recent post which includes the camera I used Which sounds very similar to what you describe is https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=48620.msg645435#msg645435



And an older, longer thread: https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=28477.0

And probably the latest train camera related thread : https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=50762

[drgw0579]

Peteski, I was never able to get a response from RFSystemlab.  But then I needed more range than they advertise anyway, so I'm sticking with my Raspberry Pi Zero.  One thing I've added is a stay alive circuit so that Raspberrian doesn't reboot when dirty track is encountered. 

Bill Kepner

[peteski]

Peteski, I was never able to get a response from RFSystemlab.  But then I needed more range than they advertise anyway, so I'm sticking with my Raspberry Pi Zero.  One thing I've added is a stay alive circuit so that Raspberrian doesn't reboot when dirty track is encountered. 

Bill Kepner

Thanks for the update Bill. Good thing I still have couple more I purchased for future projects.

[Santa Fe Guy]

 Jim I purchased a Replay XD 1080 Mini some years ago.
It does everything you have asked for. They are mostly used by action groups on helmets etc.
It fits nicely on an N Scale Flat car It is HD and has a micro chip for recording.
It has a 120d field of view.
It can be charged with normal house voltage (ours is 240V) using a USB cable into a mobile phone transformer.
They are not cheap but do a great job in colour and videoing time is excellent.
Once I download the files I work on them in Cyberlink Director Zone
Web address is :- www.replayxd.com
Take a look it might fit yourv needs.
Rod.

[NtheBasement]

Do you need CD card storage or wifi?  With CD running down the battery will not work as the file will not be saved at the end of the recording with a dead battery.  Anyway, here is an example, low quality IMO and not sure it fits the bill:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DWX1NQF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[jereising]

Info is most helpful.
Rod, it would appear they're gone now...
Kevin, that was one I was considering...
I'm beginning to think you either get a good one or a bad one, and it can go either way.

[Santa Fe Guy]

That's a shame Jim. I have found mine to be very good. Might be able to pick one up on Ebay perhaps.
Rod.