Wireless video camera

[jdbostrom]

Just recently I made a change in my drive train that ended up giving me about a foot of extra space in my Gato. Of course right after making the change I started trying to think of ways to fill it up, ie torpedoes, video camera, etc. I decided that a wireless video camera was the best route (for now ). The camera I am looking at (from Micro Mark)comes with a built in microphone, but I want to instead use a hydrophone located way up in the bow. Here is my question: How do I build a circuit that will take the sound from the hydrophone (a mic made out of a piezo disk in this case) back to the camera mic? In other words,
what I want is simply a circuit with a microphone at one end and a speaker at the other (and maybe an amplifier in between).

Second question: how do I maximize the operational depth of this camera? It seems like most of these cameras only operate on the surface, but in a search of the forums I found a post saying that someone had managed to get down to 18 inches. Can anyone fill me in on this?

Thanks,
Jonathan



Edited By JDBostrom on 1124751340

[mylo]

I can't help but...

man, if

I can't help but...

man, if you get that hydrophone / cam thing figured out...too cool.

Mylo

[Guest]

The wireless color video camera

The wireless color video camera in the sail of my L.A. will only transmit if the top of the antenna is above the surface of the water. I can read an underwater sign 40ft. away in the swimming pool. Lake water is usually too cloudy for a clear picture.

[jdbostrom]

Okay, I havefigured out how

Okay, I havefigured out how to make the hydrophone, amplifier, etc. So that's not a question anymore.

But now I am wondering if there is a way to lengthen the camera's antenna so it can stick further above the water.

Thanks very much,
Jonathan

[tmsmalley]

Jon -
Be sure to check

Jon -
Be sure to check out this thread

Merriman Video WTC

There is a lot of good info about rigging up UW video. It shows his video WTC as well as the camera and transmitter.

I'd say forget about broadcasting video signals from underwater with the equipment available to modelers today. Just doesn't have enough oomph to punch through much more than a few inches of water.

If you really want to see stuff clearly more than a few inches underwater, build a ROV that is hard wired to the video monitor.



Edited By TMSmalley on 1124807346

[bob the builder]

Check this out]Underwater Video Camera

Check this out]Underwater Video Camera Project[/url].

In my experience, seeing what's going on above the water is allright, but what I really want to see is what's underneath. My MKII system will be a micro DVD camcorder that records everything that goes on while the sub is underway. It will be encased in a waterproof case and be controlled via remote. Once back ashore, I'll simply download the info to my computer and enjoy.

MKIII will have a transmitter wired into the camcorder for video feed back ashore.

In regards to lengthening your antenna, there are complete instructions available from Dave for the process to do this. You'll need to source some small coaxial cable. A good string can also be found here]RCGroups forums: Wireless Video Camera[/url]

Hope this helps.

[Guest]

Bob,

How about using a solid

Bob,

How about using a solid state camera like the Nisis range.

Not quite a picture sharp as the DVD option, but possibly good enough, and quite a bit less bulk.

Andy

[jdbostrom]

Well I don't have my

Well I don't have my heart set operating the camera very far under water. However I would like to be able to go under a few inches.

As of right now, this is my plan. Please let me know what you think of it]planning[/i] on building a small watertight box attached to the bottom of the deck, right under the deck gun. Then I will rig up a sort of periscope inside the deck gun. The deck gun/camera combonation will then be able to rotate about 315 degrees. Besides this I am also working on the hydrophone setup I mentioned earlier.

Jonathan

Bob- Where can you get the instructions you mentioned? I know there was a short description on how Dave did the antenna on the link you posted, but it didn't seem very complete..... at least not complete enough for me .

[bob the builder]

Andy,


I was actually talking about

Andy,


I was actually talking about a camera such as this one]DigiLife DDV7000[/b]

Specifications
Digital Video
MPEG4 Technology
Advanced digital video camcorder with remarkable MPEG4 technology to enhance image quality and recording time.
High Image Quality - DVD Quality
Full Resolution VGA ( 640×480)
Frame rate - 30fps
Enhanced video recording time
20 Min. @ VGA 30 fps for 256 MB memory card
40 Min. @ QVGA 30 fps for 256 MB memory card No Recording Interruption / Real time video recording
Remote Control]DMeriman@aol.com[/email]. He might offer the instructions to you, however you must understand that he's also trying to market his watertight housings. The idea is that you get the info when you buy the housing. Don't get uppidy if he's reluctant to just distribute the information freely. He might, but he might not.

Hope this helps.


Bob

[Guest]

Bob,

That's the type of camera

Bob,

That's the type of camera I was referring to.

Not as good quality as DVD, but not bad at all.

Andy

[raalst]

I read somewhere that some

[color=#000000]I read somewhere that some guy (how's that for a solid reference? ) made tags to track salmon.

basic notions ]

[jdbostrom]

Well I am finally starting

Well I am finally starting the project. Or should I say the tangible project. I guess the computer version counts for something. Any way, so far I have got most of my parts, and those that I don't have should be here by the beginning of next week.

I have already modified the camera itself which would have been a piece of cake except for one problem. In Dave Merriman's instructions he says that the white wire is not attached to anything inside the Swann camera. I got a different camera, but I figured that they would be the same deal as far as the wiring went. Big mistake. When I tried to pull out the supposedly non-essential white wire, it came out with a snap. After pulling it free from the camera I noticed a spot of broken solder on the end of the wire. Obviously the wire was meant to be in there. My only option then was to open the camera up and try to find where the wire had broken off from. Finally, after pulling out the tiny circuit boards inside, I found a small spot that looked abnormally rough. I decided to take a chance and I ever-so-carefully soldered the wire to that spot. With much trepidation I plugged the camera in. Much to my delight (and relief) it worked perfectly. I think I'll be a little more carefull next time....



Here is the opened-up camera. Even though I was worried sick that I had ruined the thing, I still had to take a picture.

The next project was to build a watertight container for the camera. It obviously had to be as small as possible to be able to fit into a deck gun that wouldn't look too absurdly large. I eventually came up with a WTC made out of those little containers used to store round cut-off disks for rotary tools (aka Dremels). The camera fits perfectly inside the container and it was extremely simple to make a little WTC out of it.



Next I have to build a case that looks something like a deck gun to house the WTC.

Jonathan