Posted Friday, December 23, 2011 @ 08:57 AM  

http://www.supercub.org/forum/showthread.php?39737-Drift-HD170-My-review-from-a-pilots-perspective

As I understand it the trick to get rid of the irritating "wonky prop"-blur is to trick the camera into a lower light -situation so the "shutter time" (I know, it's not the correct phrase for a digital camera but works much the same) increases. You can do that with a filter that imitates the effect of sunglasses. I E-mailed GoPro, but they seemed unaware of the problem. I plan to make a filter on my own, I guess any foil of sunshade will do but maybe the spherical lens will make mounting difficult. I'll keep you posted on that.

But I think you need to hurry if you plan to make Santa's estimated take off slot....

Merry Christmas!!!

Posted Friday, December 23, 2011 @ 11:01 AM  

Bob, that link doesn't work. It seems to point to Serpentine Aerobatics but there's something broken with it. Even so I've watched some of your most recent clips and your prop blur is OK. Some of James's clips have the blades flying off so I was wondering how you'd managed that.

The GoPro site lists the following models: HD Hero 2 Professional @$299.99, HD Hero Original @ $199.99 and HD Hero 960 @ $149.99.
Amazon UK is advertising the HD Motorsports Hero 2 @ £258.00, the HD Motorsports Hero @ £154.00 and the HD Hero 960 @ £164.38. The Motorsports part of the name seems to determine which mounts come in the box.

The 960 has fewer output options but is in any case more expensive in the UK and, unusually in this overpriced island nation, the HD Motorsports Hero is priced at almost exactly the dollar price converted to GBP. Usually stuff from the states is priced at around 1 GBP = 1USD, so I'm tempted. It might be my Christmas present to myself even though I've certainly missed St Nick's departure slot.

Posted Friday, December 23, 2011 @ 07:57 PM  

Donald, the reason you couldn't get that link was that I typed up and uploaded my post while the clip was still uploading, and it had not finished by the time you tried to view it. It's up there now though. And yes, the propeller blades are flying off!

Since buying my GoPro Motorsports Hero (which is what I thought I would need) I actually swapped all its attachment gadgets for a headband and an ordinary camera mount, so maybe you should consider this when buying.

I do not trust suction cups either inside or outside my aeroplane, and I have found that over time adhesive mounts tend to be unreliable too. Maybe it's just my misplaced distrust, maybe it's the +6/-3g load factors, but I prefer to have the camera securely screwed in place with a standard mount (a quarter-inch Whitworth thread, I think -- I use short gutter bolts). I do have a name and address sticker on the camera itself too, as a precaution against it coming adrift.

I think the option I should have bought was the Naked Hero (ie just the camera and its transparent plastic box) with the standard photographic mount (around $10). I did use the headband for a while, and it was advantageous for simple formation flying, but it hits the canopy when I look up to fly our half-Cuban and Hamster Loops, so I had to stop using it.

I may try experimenting with it again soon, now I'm in Oz with the open cockpit available. Then folks learning aerobatics could see where I am looking during each manoeuvre, which should be beneficial to them (knowing where to look is half the skill).

One other think you might all like to be aware of... I am now told it is a goood idea to hold the GoPro's transparent box firmly closed before latching its over-centre clip. My clip flew to fragments the other day, luckily while I was closing it, and not in flight. My local retailer has lent me one of his as a temporary replacement over Christmas while waiting for the warranty replacement to come, and says it's not an unknown problem. Apparently, the box requires such pressure to close it that clips do occasionally break.

Have a great Christmas guys, whether or not Santa brings you a GoPro.

Yours, Bob

Posted Saturday, December 24, 2011 @ 12:57 PM  

I've used a 32g card in the camera and have always run out of battery before memory. The battery lasts about as long as my fuel. I've got a spare battery, but have never used it. I have an audio recorder and a patch cord for the headsets, so I could overlay cabin and/or conversation audio....but I tend to fly in areas where there's only chatter on the radio, rather than tower communications.

I've noticed that a shot from the side doesn't has a less pronounced effect. You can still see the blades warp backward at the tips--but they are well-formed. It mainly happens from shots through the prop, looking forward.

At slower rpm's (1,000-1,400), it the two bladed prop looks fairly well defined -- but looks like a 6 bladed prop.

The blades start to warp around 1,800-2,000 rpm. By 2,400+ you get the most distortion.

I reviewed samples of the hours of video I have and the effect does not seem to vary by light intensity as much as it varies by how close the camera is to the prop.

I have some shots from the horiz. stabilizer on rather dark cloudy days & bright days -- and the prop looks about the same (an enraged squid).

Yet, when I move the camera closer (e.g., inside the cockpit), the effect gets worse and the prop shows as horizontal lines rolling on the screen. Same rpm's, similar light intensity.

What I've read is that the newer breed of inexpensive cameras use a rolling shutter. The ones that don't tend to be more professional grade and are more likely to be in the $2k+ category and often require a wired recorder. (My information is likely dated...but that's what I found a year or two ago.)

For me, the issue with the prop was not great enough to justify the expense for the professional grade. The prop effects are disappointing. But it's possible that some of the higher end cameras are available now at lower cost with self-contained memory. I just didn't want to run wires to the camera where they could scratch the paint or get caught in control surfaces. I think some of the pro units have wireless connections--but that made them larger & added to the expense.

Posted Sunday, December 25, 2011 @ 07:39 AM  

I bought my GoPro in Australia, so I have no idea whether it's U.S. or 'British' standard, but I would guess the former.

Here is my forward mount on the cabrio top (just a hole drilled into the aluminium).

Yours, Bob

[Edit by Bob Grimstead on Sunday, December 25, 2011 @ 07:42 AM]

Posted Saturday, December 31, 2011 @ 09:10 AM  

Could it be that the "wonky prop effect" is something to do with the YouTube file compression software and not the way the images are digitized in the camera?

Nice flight in the Cub! It helps to know the local area like you do when the viz is so poor. It looks like you are not ice sailing in Sweden yet - just like nobody is skiing here on the East Coast of the US. It has been unseasonably warm (and wet) this year.

All the best for the New Year. Lets hope for more flying and less wrenching.

Posted Saturday, December 31, 2011 @ 10:49 PM  

Sorry Dave, but that odd propeller effect has nothing to do with YouTube's compression, it's already there on the raw footage.
And, having read the Wikipedia explanation (always to be treated with suspicion, but in this case plausible) I now understand why I get that odd, Jello/jelly-wobble effect too.

As to the weird worldwide weather, Perth has had its wettest winter for years, last year's (2011) average temperature was a full degree higher than normal, and it was cloudy and cool for Christmas -- we often see very little cloud and no rain from October to April.

This evening I'll be flying my annual display before the fireworks show over the river almost outside our own front door.
The forecast is 20012KT 9999 SCT045 T30. Or, in plain language
Humid and partly cloudy. Light SE winds tending moderate to fresh SW in the afternoon. Max 30.
This is pretty much ideal for me, because the wind is right along my display line and the temperature's not too high, but particularly because that cloud is very useful for pointing towards in my upward manoeuvres (and a rare 'luxury' here in summer).

Happy New Year and all the best for 2012 to you all.

Yours, Bob

Posted Sunday, January 1, 2012 @ 12:13 PM  

Well, the sea breeze (Fremantle Doctor) came, although the cloud dissipated, but the display went pretty well I thought.

One of many golf-related Christmas presents I got was a little cycle bulb horn, which I fitted to the DV window, so that I could tootle at the crowd as I flew my waving run. Unfortunately, although the idea might have been sound (or not!), the mounting wasn't, so it flew out of the window when I tried using it. But that gave me the idea of waving out of the window, which works, so I might do that more in the future.

See: http://youtu.be/197icIB_i_o

Yours, Bob

Posted Sunday, January 1, 2012 @ 10:44 PM  

And Richard Bach said always to fly up-sun of spectators if you were going to be low, then all they can see is a silhouette, and they can't read your registration.

So when we fly down to the south coast of Western Australia for a scenic lunch we fly inland and high. Coming back, we wait until late in the afternoon and fly offshore and low, where any spectators would be squinting into the sun.

Yours, Bob

Posted Monday, January 2, 2012 @ 11:25 PM  

Yes, the light was low, making the flying a little more difficult, but that prop effect certainly doesn't seem to be so bad. Sorry about the canopy reflections. I've taken off the coaming to give the instruments better lighting at that time of the evening, but the reflections do look bad. Maybe I'll make a little shade for the sequence card at least.

I would love to do the display with the open-top, and I plan to do that for my Australia Day show -- same venue, same sequence but at 8:30 am. Yes, it's a bit more draggy, but also it causes a tiny bit of wing-wobble at low speeds inverted (reverse half-Cuban etc), so I'll have to practise a bit more first. Also I will fly my waving run lower and further out from the shore. It was very hard to judge height over the water in that light, so I was at 200 feet rather than the optimum fifty.

And the engine is still the same good old, reliable, 1,300-hour, 43yo Rectimo 1400!
Here's my sequence with planned start and top-out heights, as submitted to CASA. Sorry, but the register has gone a bit odd, but I'm sure those who are interested can follow it.

Happy flying and dreaming to all fellow Fournicators.
Yours, Bob

Manoeuvres Height Feet Speed kts Notes
START Entry Exit Entry Top
1 Loop 1500 1300 140 40
2 ¼ up VR, c-d humpty, ¼ down VR1300 1200 120 40
3 Half Cuban 1200 1100 120 40
4 Avalanche 1100 1000 110 60 Kick speed
5 Reverse Half Cuban 1000 900 110 40
6 Four-point Hesitation Roll right 900 800 110 ---
7 Barrel roll into wind 800 800 110 50
8 Full clover leaf (rolling upwards, right) 800 800 110 50
9 Avalanche 800 700 110 60 Kick speed
10 ¼ up left VR left stall turn ¼ down left VR 700 600 110 45Kick speed
11 Half-flick reversal 600 600 110 50 Kick speed
12 Slow (or ballistic) Roll 600 500 110 ---
13 Stall Turn right or wingover 500 500 100 40 Kick speed
14 Quarter clover on to B axis 500 500 100 50
15 Stall Turn right 500 500 100 40 Kick speed
16 Quarter clover on to A axis 500 500 100 50
17 Loops 500 500 100
18 Waving run 50 50 90
19 Depart 50 50 80

[Edit by Bob Grimstead on Tuesday, January 24, 2012 @ 09:28 PM]

Posted Wednesday, January 25, 2012 @ 11:39 AM  

It would just be 3 long thin wires, (unshielded is fine) to the tail/camera, with the cockpit end having the push button and ON indicator LED.

Parts list:
1 Connector for back of camera
1 Mini LED
1 Resistor
1 Momentary ON switch
1 - 3 conductor cable to the length required

I have all that is required except a long 3 conductor cable.

I think those cheap thin telephone extension cords would work as they have 3 or 4 conductors if I recall correctly.

[Edit by jb92563 on Wednesday, January 25, 2012 @ 11:42 AM]

Posted Thursday, January 26, 2012 @ 11:16 AM  

I'll take a look at mine tonight, but I think a bit of dremel work and it should be good to go.

I suppose I could modify mine and ship it along with the other stuff and then you mail me your back cover.

That way you have no down time.

I'll get started and probably finish your remote tommorow.

The key of course to all this working is that your goPro has the instant on recording. It has the mode where you power it on and it will immediately start recording.

Can you confirm that?

Quote:

GoPro HD - CHOOSING ONE BUTTON MODE ON / OFF “One Button Mode On” forces the camera to automatically begin recording video or photos once the camera is turned on, depending on which default power up mode the camera is set to (see next instructions). In “One Button Mode On” the camera is either “on and recording”, or powered off. This simplifies camera operation when loaning the camera to friends or when you know you only want to shoot in one mode. The shutter button is disabled in “One Button Mode” and will not start or stop the recording while the camera is on. Symbol on LCD Screen Function onF = (default setting) One Button Mode Off onO = One Button Mode On To turn “One Button Mode” ‘ON’: 1) Enter the SET MENU and notice that One Button Mode OFF (onF) option is the first setting available. Press the shutter button to toggle the screen to say onO (One Button Mode On). 2) With onO (One Button Mode On) showing on the screen, press the POWER/MODE button to save whichever setting is showing on the screen and continue to the next feature option. 3) Turn your camera off and then on again and the camera will begin recording in whatever the default power on setting and resolution is set to. 4) Press and hold the power button for 3 seconds to stop recording and turn the camera off To turn “One Button Mode” ‘OFF’: 1) Turn the camera on 2) While the camera is on (and recording), press and hold the shutter button for 3 seconds. Let go. 3) The camera’s SET menu will appear 4) Press the shutter button to enter the SET menu 5) When onO (One Button Mode On) appears, press the shutter button to toggle the setting to onF (One Button Mode Off) 6) Turn the camera off 7) When you turn the camera on again the One Button Mode feature will be turned off

Posted Monday, January 30, 2012 @ 02:42 AM  

Send me your mailing address and I'll put it in the mail tomorrow. jb92563@yahoo.com.

I'll take some pictures/video and post them to this email tomorrow.

Its about 24' long since I had to join 2 12' phone extensions together.

Its one continuous piece and the end will not fit through a 3/8" tube. The push button end is about 3/4" at its widest point.

If you like I can put some tiny connectors on the push button end so you can get it through a small hole,
or you can just cut the cable and solder it back after you have threaded it through.

Posted Monday, February 20, 2012 @ 06:58 AM  

I have fitted Ray's remote button for my FinCam GoPro.
Thank you very much Ray.

I needed nearly all of its length. There's probably just three feet left in a small coil under the fin fillet.

With a bit of fiddling, I got the button though the 12mm aluminum tubing I've used as a conduit.
I need to warn our American friends that six feet of half-inch tube will probably not quite be long enough. Two metres of 12mm tube is fine. It's secured at both ends and to one of the lateral members to prevent it flapping about and restricting the controls (which is why I used conduit rather than just running a loose wire through the rear fuselage, of course).

Go Pro recommend the waterproof back for filming at speeds above 100mph, so that's the one I Dremmelled

I cut a small, half inch(yes, Imperial measure) hole in the rear bulkhead for the conduit. You need to be sure it's off-center because there's a vertical wood block on its front face, and of course you don't want to cut through that for structural reasons.

That's it really. Now I just need some clouds and a spare hour to go and get some footage!

Yours, Bob