Very cool! Thanks. Yeah, I'll opt for the patch cable too. Didn't know they had that available.

I use a 4" hose clamp that is laced through the "belt" mount provided with the camera. The screw is mounted at the rear of the strut at a place that matches the curvature of the clamp screw saddle. I 'preformed' the clamp to the shape of the strut, and tightened it very lightly. The padding is simply the Home Depot blue flat irrigation hose you'll find on a 2" wide spool near the clear tubing- it's thin and works fine. Tree tape would also work (vinyl). No vibe whatsoever except when the prop is stalled during the first few seconds of takeoff roll. The cam location is approximately 1" away from the upper right strut fairing, mostly to allow you to see the display to rotate the camera lens to level the image. The prop artifact completely disappears at 30 fps except at idle on the ground. The fuel vent on the left side of the 182 prevents mounting on the left since any disturbance in the airflow near the vent can suck $5/gal fuel out of the bladders like it was being pumped, evenutally collapsing/wrinkling them.

I think I have about $4 into the arrangement, and an hour of time to purchase and install it. The camera slide/clicks on just like normal. I use a wrap of electrical tape around the 'click' interface to retain it just in case, and a thin piece of duct tape wrapped around the rear of the cam captures some twine that is clove-hitched to the strut as the last resort. It takes about 2 minutes to secure and align.

The one disadvantage is that you can't really change the field of view much- but I'm not interested in pointing it towards the cabin or anything- just straight ahead video.

As for software, I use an OLD laptop (700 MHz, 7-8 years old) with Corel, and it doesn't even stutter.

Thanks for the info. I was considering using one of those mounts, but didn't know how the plastic would handle the stress of a hose clamp on them. Could you post some pics of your set up please with varying views? Thanks.

Grassstrippilot wrote:didn't know how the plastic would handle the stress of a hose clamp on them.

These terrible pics are all I could grab in a dark hangar in the hurry I've been in for the past week. The ABS mount is adequate to take the loads. I used a Dremel tool to cut off the extra tail on the hose clamp.

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/MUNZQXENBaSo9Uo_O21E2NMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/838eDUOlmCzXPM2d_SfGh9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/4-rwfBjoe6dz1Ft9CGvq6NMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink

Hey Lesuther,

Thanks for posting those. After my last attempt a couple of days ago, I was sitting talking with my wife about that exact same kind of set up. Like I said before, my biggest concern was that the hose clamp might be too much pressure on that small strip of plastic between the slot for the strap/hose clamp and the edge. I was afraid that when you cinched down the hose clamp, it might bend/break that thin piece. A couple of questions for you: I think you are flying a 182, is that right? How much time have you put on it? Do you have any videos posted so I can see your results?

Thanks again for the pics and the detailed information. I have a trip to Furnace and Chicken Strip coming up next weekend if the weather cooperates. That will give me lots of flying time to try out some more configurations.

It's on the 182. I can dig up a vid at some point. There really isn't an issue with the ABS. The loops did not crack or discolor in the past few months, and there is always the little string that will catch it if the entire affair comes off.

I wanted an articulated mount but wanted to get it mounted to play with first, and haven't had the urge to try anything else yet. We'll see this summer when I get to bump around some more strips. I've never seen what I look like when I'm terrified.

Nice! Thanks again for all the info. I can't wait to get home so I can collect the items I need to give this a try. That's what I'm trying to do too...get it all sorted out before the spring/summer flying season. I'm hoping to have a couple of mounting locations/angles figured out for some variety. I was really happy with the suction mount from inside the cockpit. Once I get the ND filter thing figured out and get the comm patch cord, it should be some great footage.

I'll let you know how it goes. Yeah, I too have a tether on it...just in case! Thanks again!

Ok, so I tried this set up and it worked very well! I was happy with it. I only have one thing to fix, I think. I had the mount as far forward as I dared before the plastic mount would start to get more stress from the hose clamp curving under the strut. In that position, though, the wing ended up being curved in the upper corners of the video due to the fish-eye nature of the lens. Did you have that issue too? I remember reading that you can zoom out a bit, but the further you zoom, the less the quality of the video. Did you do this to get around this? I just don't think that what little I can bring the camera out would be far enough.

Anyway, just curious if you had this happen and how you fixed it. Overall, I was very happy with it. It took one goof with the angle of the lens, but then I got it working great. Too bad that first goof was my first time into Chicken Strip. Now I need to see if I can rotate the video with my editing software. Matt, can you rotate videos in Magix?

Hmm. I don't have the wing in view...but I did deform the front of the plastic loop a bit. It seems fine- I've looked at it a few times and there is no damage.

Sometimes the position changes slightly between flights to include a smidgen of the prop at the left side. It isn't really visible at cruise though, and on the couple of flights I've had where that happened, I just told my vid editor (Corel) to crop off that 5% of the width prior to rendering.

One item I dislike about Corel is the sped up video motion rendering. The stop motion option seems to work much better.

Grassstrippilot wrote:Ok, so I tried this set up and it worked very well! I was happy with it. I only have one thing to fix, I think. I had the mount as far forward as I dared before the plastic mount would start to get more stress from the hose clamp curving under the strut. In that position, though, the wing ended up being curved in the upper corners of the video due to the fish-eye nature of the lens. Did you have that issue too? I remember reading that you can zoom out a bit, but the further you zoom, the less the quality of the video. Did you do this to get around this? I just don't think that what little I can bring the camera out would be far enough.

Anyway, just curious if you had this happen and how you fixed it. Overall, I was very happy with it. It took one goof with the angle of the lens, but then I got it working great. Too bad that first goof was my first time into Chicken Strip. Now I need to see if I can rotate the video with my editing software. Matt, can you rotate videos in Magix?

Yes, you can rotate the video with Magix under size/position. Depending on the angle, you may have to crop some out.

Sweet! I didn't realize I could crop it. I'll try to fix it with where it is positioned, but if I can't, it is good to know I can crop it. Now I just need time to work on it!

Thanks guys!

I like the bicycle handlebar mount the best of the all the mounts that come with the HD170. It's the strongest of them and it fits perfectly on a 1" outer diameter PVC pipe that can be bungeed to the wing strut securely. The quick connect adapter that attaches to the 1/4-20 threaded camera hole is used on all the mounts. Make sure the small bolt in the base of the adapter is tight before each flight. I'd suggest putting some medium thread locker compound on the threads. If it loosens in flight you might lose the camera. It's also a good idea to add a plastic tie wrap with a safety cord around the camera body in case the mount fails.

Just for Fun, and more with Bill Tracy soon.

Matt does Magix allow you to rotate at specified angles in degrees?
~Brendan

Another great video Pokette!

crazedpilot wrote:Matt does Magix allow you to rotate at specified angles in degrees?
~Brendan

Yes, you can rotate all 360° as well as flip and invert.

Thought I would share the results of my attempt to improve the wing strut mount for my HD170 Stealth. I was worried about the very small screw that holds the 1/4x20 threaded stud screwed into the camera to the plastic bicycle mount that comes with the camera. Even though it's the strongest of all the plastic mounts that comes with the camera, it's not strong enough for my taste. I was able to find some much stronger RAM composite parts. Total cost about $28, but better than $180 to replace the camera after it flies off the strut. The RAM parts are: RAP-B-366U mini plate camera mount, RAP-B-200-1U plastic arm with ball and button socket, RAP-276U PVC pipe socket with button, RAP-PP-1112 black 12-inch long PVC pipe. I'm going to cut about 2" off the end of the PVC pipe to make it more compact. The adjustment knob on the RAP-B-200-1U
lets me position the camera angle in any direction. Medium strength thread locker and a rubber washer between the RAP-B-366U and the camera body results in a really strong base, but you need to be committed to using the camera this way afterward since unscrewing the composite ball mount from the camera might turn the threaded insert in the camera body. I'm ok with that since my other mounts use RAM components.

Your install photo hear makes it look like the video could be 'bouncy' with the camera suspended that far forward
on an arm. Have you had any issues with shake or vibration with it suspended like this? I love the versatility of it...

~CRAZEDpilot

I haven't had any unusual shake or bounce issues because the bungee and foam cushion keep the pipe very tight against the strut. The bungee is thick and strong. I'm going to cut about 2" off the back end of the PVC pipe and move the foam collar forward to make the pipe shorter. There's no need for a 12" pipe due to the additional length of the end cap and clamp components. That will reduce the lever arm length, too, and might reduce some of the vibration that I always get at high power settings with my 4-cylinder engine.