This RC truck (Hummer) comes with a video camera mounted in the windshield that transmits a video signal back to the Tx. There is a small color video screen on the Tx.
Think of the possibilites. Buy this truck, rip it apart and use the various components to do the following:
mount the camera on the top of the mast looking down at your sails to monitro sail shape while you are sailing.
install a GPS reciever on the boat and then train the video camera to look at the GPS to get speed and heading information.
Install the camera at deak level. Use the other servo gear from the truck to move the camera around to take movies of the sailing action from onboard the boat. Use this to help you spot mark roundings, or record others fouling you.
$400 is a bit pricey for such a toy, but my guess is that this is the first of several similar toys offered by Nikko and others. More than likely someone will offer the underlying technology without the truck so that you can buy the camera and transmitter/reciever as a package deal. The reciever will operate like a normal reciever so you can plug in the rest of your electronics to that…
Plus, when you think about it, for $400 you are getting a camera, a video screen an RC transmitter and reciever and several servos. It’s not that bad a price when you think about it in those terms…
Damn Will: you just cost me $275-I ordered one!
Years ago I put together a company putting video cameras on rc helicopters and patented a flying system for out of sight ranges-it was huge fun. Back then I dreamed of the day this would be reality-it is so cool!
You can get miniature video cameras and transmitters from Super Circuits and other companies that advertise regularly in RCM. My sailmaker and I were just talking yesterday about putting a camera and transmitter on the boat to sail with for fun and specifically to use to video the sails. Now this thing has really cool security applications almost just as it is if it has a couple hundred feet of range; I’ve wanted to fool around with this but just haven’t made the time to put asystem together:1) The Dog house-- you build a small well protected “garage” for this thing or even a dedicated small door from the house. When you hear a noise outside you wake up the beast and go out and take a look; hopefully there will be some interface to hook up to a vcr.
2) roof spy: put the thing on your roof and drive around!
Boy I’m a kid again!
Note that there are “glasses” available-video glasses that allow you to look easily at transmitted video in sunlight and a lot of inexpensive camera’s transmitter’s ect. Check out: www.supercircuits.com
Doug Lord microsail.com monofoiler.com
High Technology Sailing/Racing[:-grumpy]
I emailed Alan Wolf, who has been actively experimenting with on board TV, to ask if he happened to have a link to his current camera supplier.
Here is the system he selected. The camera is very small indeed.
Alan remarked that this system does not have the advantage of a built in monitor. He uses instead a K-mart monitor secured to the TV receiver with VelCro.