This has been discussed before but was wanting to know if anyone has some updates on new technology to capture live feed video to a PC via wifi. Most use RC connectors to TVs. We have a laptop for the layout and wanted to capture some live running from a modified car on the front end running around the track.
Thanks for the help
Richard
I have a pair of Q8 Mini Cameras. Their small size works well in a HO locomotive. Their video is very good considering the tiny lens. Their specs say an hour of record but the best I’ve been able to do is 45 minutes to a charge.
I built a camera car using a Q7 Mini Cam that can be rotated 180° using a Blue Tooth servo. I started out with a MD81 mini cam but after 5 duds I went with the Q7, the first two of those were duds too. The third works very good. The Q7 has WiFi and the Q8 is record only.
https://melvineperry.blogspot.com/2017/07/april-2017-wireless-camera-car.html
Mel
Depending on the size of your clearances; you might be able to fit a smaller GoPro camera (such as the GoPro Hero) onto a ‘camera car’ and shove it in front of the train. HO is a bit of a tight squeeze for GoPro; but not impossible.
Geez, Mel, are you a former agent for the CIA or an undercover cop? That’s quite the gadget, Inspector.
I was going to ask where one could be bought, but also clicked your link, and there’s obviously more to it than I’m likely capable of doing.
Wayne
For over 40 years I worked in Public Safety Communications so, YES I was!
It really wasn’t hard to build, the hardest was finding a camera that worked. I really liked the MD81 features but I finally gave up getting one that worked as advertised. Some the software wouldn’t work, some the WiFi was terrible and none even came close to their advertised battery life.
The Q7 was a bit better in things working but the first two I received wouldn’t even turn on.
If they would turn on the recorded video was
The OP is asking about live-streaming via Bluetooth or OTA. To this end I’m not aware of any devices small enough for HO.
IMG_7956_fix by Edmund, on Flickr
IMG_7954_fix by Edmund, on Flickr
The SQ-8, as do many other cameras, require a micro-SD card, then uploading to a PC or other device. Its video quality is mediocre, at best:
cube_cam1 by Edmund, on Flickr
Several years ago I picked up this Contour Roam model and the resulting video image is much better.
Good Luck, Ed
I agree. I got one 2 years ago, did a few spins around the layout, set on the desk, and there it remains.
Mike.
I like to fly model aircraft via First Person Veiw. You know, the guys who wear boxes on their faces as they fly.
Here is what I have used in the past that I think will work pretty well on a layout.
First up is the good old GoPro camera. Here is a GoPro Session 4, it is a smallish camera that does 1080p at 60 frames a second. It is high def and you can stream through your phone to YouTube if you are pretty close. Anything beyond 20 - 30 feet, the picture starts to get icky.
I use the following for my FPV gear. This camera (Caddx Turtle v2) is also high def and is really really good. I use a “fixing” lense on it, so it won’t have the fish eye effect when looking at things close up. If you are way up in the air, you want to see a wide view, so the fish eye is best, but when doing stuff close to the ground, you want everything WYSIWYG. (what you see is what you get)
The camera plugs into this… the video transmitter that transmits the video feed out to the world. I have been 1.5 miles away from my plane before and it still gets great reception. RF can and does interfere with the signal, but I fly over farm ground where there isn’t a lot of that…
This is what makes it all come together for live streaming… this is a video receiver that connects to your laptop/computer via USB. It sends it to a program like VLC which I can watch on a monitor instead of the goggles. There are lots of ways to get video to stream on Youtube or twitch and google is your best friend for that…
I have a bunch of ideas in my head about streaming videos from my Budd car which I will ta
Here’s a pic of my HOn3 camera car.
Most of that bulk is the battery power. The camera and its transmitter are integrated into the smaller package at the left end of the car. It’s the thing with the tiny antenna sticking up. The whole thing is strapped to a Blackstone HOn3 flatcar.
The camera is basically a drone FPV cam package. It transmits on the standard group of drone video freqs at 5.8 GHz. I use a eachine LCD5802D LCD Screen/DVR combo to receive, record, and display the video.
I hadn’t even thought about my camera car until this post hit and It kinda got me going again. I checked it and it worked first try after sitting for over a year. The batteries still had enough charge to check it out and it works pretty good.
I decided to give it another go, I ordered a tablet (to replace the stolen one in 2017) for my control panel (viewfinder) and after looking at several reviews on YouTube I ordered a Quelima Q13 camera to replace the Q7.
The Q13 specs look a lot like the Q8 but has onboard WiFi like the Q7. I think I figured out why I had so many dud cameras, the Q13 is manufactured by Quelima, the Q7s and MD80 cameras I bought said Unbranded or Clone. I’m hoping that makes a big difference. All the reviews of the real Q13 looked pretty good.
They somewhat miss advertise the Q7 to Q13 as 12mp, the 12mp is for JPG mode the AVI or video mode is 3mp.
My Arthritis is somewhat under control so maybe I can finish wiring my control panel and get my camera car up and running taking a video of my layout.
I see where Trix offers a European diesel with a camera mounted in the nose. Supposed to transmit via wifi. The Amherst club at the West Springfield Mass. train show has a camera loco running on their modular layout. Camera lens is small enought to fit in a GP-35 HO scale headlight housing. I’ll have to ask again this year when I go what they are using. — Ken
While the SQ-8 series cams aren’t live, they do offer some interesting possibilities for experimenting. Here’s a few pics illustrating the successful pinhole mod I made (before I [#oops] tried to improve it…)
The black disc (with the pinhole) drops into the back of the lens housing. This version worked pretty well, but with no way to manually adjust the exposure, pics tended to be somewhat dim, although you can see the potential.
I tie it to the front of the train with a rubberband… I had to grind down the top and bottom of the camera to clear the subway tunnels and the third rail.
ROARING
Roco sells a camera equipped engine, which is controlled via their z21 DCC station und literally puts you into the driver´s seat - see here
I have a Roco camera locomotive with a built-in camera. The camera films in HD 720 quality. Which it sends to a PC, tablet or Roco app via built-in WiFi. Where you can watch it live or save it. The range of the WLAN signal is max. 12-15 meters. The biggest drawback is that she only films WITHOUT sound!
At the link below you can see a film made with the Roco camera locomotive. Unfortunately, YouTube deleted all of the music on the film.
Film link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtgGquS1pl8&feature=youtu.be
(You may have to log in / log in to YouTube to watch the film.)
I also have a small camera with a height of 2.3 cm and on Micro SD Kart in HD 720 quality. This with sound. The microphone is very sensitive and picks up any noise. This camera can be easily mounted on a 50 'gondola. Accu run time is good for 30 min. Movie recording. You can also take pictures with this camera. Which I don’t need and use. Because you have to do this Manuel by pressing a button on the camera. What is difficult when driving …
Camera: Raptor 7203.HD. With it is various accessories for different mounting options. There are now successor cameras and be
The video is set to “private” so only you can view it. Change the setting to “public” if you want anyone else to view it.
Just made a camera car using a GoPro and posted a short video on YouTube. It still needs tweeked and needs to shed some weight but is a good start. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWd5LHtFi4o
Hello Ulrich,
So now the videos are watching.
Hello Ulrich, now both films / videos can be watched. Have a nice weekend.
