Onboard Camera?

[XRaVeNX]

Last year, we had a camera mounted on our robot. The camera was wireless and would send live video to a recieving station. The station can then record the video and it was all nice and cool.

This year, I wish to do that again. Problem is that we can't use the same camera because it uses 900mhz.... and we are not allowed to use anything on 900mhz cuz it messes up the controls.

I've looked into buying a new wireless camera but the problem is that most that are above 900mhz frequency are very expensive. We are also running a little low on funds....
So I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas on how to get a camera on the robot.

I can think of 2 solutions:
1) Buy a new camera or change the existing camera to use a different frequency... mind you that would be VERY hard....

2) Mount a camera on the robot that records. It doesn't send anything. Problem is that it most likely would be a camcorder. And if I did that, there is a possibility that it would be smashed to pieces during the competition.....

So... any suggestions would be appreciated...
Thanks in advance!

[Wetzel]

Originally posted by XRaVeNX

1) Buy a new camera or change the existing camera to use a different frequency... mind you that would be VERY hard....

2) Mount a camera on the robot that records. It doesn't send anything. Problem is that it most likely would be a camcorder. And if I did that, there is a possibility that it would be smashed to pieces during the competition.....

Wouldn't the other camera run the same risk of being smashed to bits?
Anyways, I doubt that you will have much luck in changing the freq that the camera transmits at, and it prolly violates FCC rules to do so.
Wish we had spare weight....

[RebAl]

can you buy a diffrent transmitter like 2.4 ghz

[Greg McCoy]

If you have any knowledgeable Amateur Radio operators on your team, it is possible to use Amateur TV to do it. I'm not sure what frequencies are allocated for ATV, but I know that you can do it on 6 Meters (50 MHz) and 70 cm (420 Mhz). If you use a 420 MHz system, you can use a cable ready TV with a antenna to view it without any additional gear on the receiving side, because some of the high cable channels use those frequenices. Depending on if you want color or black and white, you can probably set up a B & W system for about $100. The American Radio Relay League has more information on this. (www.arrl.org)

Remember though, an FCC licensed ham must be present during the operation of the transmitter. Identificaton rules still apply also (you must identify your call sign every 10 minutes on the air). I would but a small card with the call sign in the view of the camera on the robot. Good Luck...

Im sure you have all seen the pop-up for the x-10 wireless camera...has anyone tried that??

[Nate Smith]

Originally posted by D.J. Fluck
Im sure you have all seen the pop-up for the x-10 wireless camera...has anyone tried that??

I actually know someone who has one of these, and it's my understanding that they run in the 900Mhz band, so as far as a robo-cam goes, they're out...

[Greg McCoy]

I thought so too, but on their website it says that the XCam2 operates in the 2.4 GHz range. They are advertising 100' range, but I've used them before and reception can be kinda bad. It also appears that they are priced around $70-$120, so you better not have very many other add-on electrionics or you will be over the limit.

If you decide to use an XCam, you will have to either make it part of the "custom circuit" and run it off of a 20 Amp breaker, or off of one of their battery packs. If you run it off of the robot's main power supply it shouldn't be very hard to make a small voltage regulator to get the six volts you need to run it. Good Luck...

[Wetzel]

Originally posted by Greg McCoy
.... It also appears that they are priced around $70-$120, so you better not have very many other add-on electrionics or you will be over the limit.
...

Doesn't non-functional decorations not count towards the limit on the custom box?

[Nate Smith]

Originally posted by Wetzel


Don't non-functional decorations not count towards the limit on the custom box?

Definitely...any sort of camera would be deemed non-functional, as they've ruled that you can't have a monitor showing what the camera sees in the driver station, therefore it would not count against any material or cost limitations...however, it would still have to fit within weight...

[dlavery]

We have one of the X-10 cameras, and they work well for this type of application. They transmit in the 2.4GHz range, and do not cause problems with the competition frequencies. You can find them for under $90. The basic package includes the camera, transmitter, receiver, NTSC interface to connect to your TV, and power supplies (the camera and transmitter run off 12v dc, so it is very easy to tap power from your robot's power system).

We used the camera quite a bit during post-season on our robot last year. It is a lot of fun to drive the robot around using only "robo-vision" when the robot is beyond your direct line of sight. I had our robot cruising around the neighborhood on July 4, and was able to get a good signal up to 300 feet away (I increased the size of the receiver antenna). It was quite a sight as the robot drove down the street with lights flashing as fireworks went off overhead, while the drivers hid around the corner in my garage!

-dave

[XRaVeNX]

sweet... thanks guys...
nice... those x10 cameras have 2.4 ghz frequencies? never knew that...

so... guessing it is 90 bucks US.... so what is that Canadian? 150?

that's pretty steep... considering we are completely dry of money...

[Greg McCoy]

Oops, sorry for the inaccurate info

[RebAl]

x10 2.4 ghz camera here
It is $ 80 and comes with a free remote pan thingie, 2 days left.

[Wetzel]

Originally posted by RebAl
x10 2.4 ghz camera here
It is $ 80 and comes with a free remote pan thingie, 2 days left.

Does that mean we get to see a new add in two days?

[Greg McCoy]

Haha, really. They seem to be obsessed with pop-up ads.