A link was posted on another thread for a servocity.com SPT-200 Pan/Tilt system using RC-type servos. $49. I though heck yeah. With the new GoPro Hero2 HD wifi remote/streaming coming out in Feb, you will be able to not just use your smart phone as a viewfinder, but remotely start/stop recording.

So, I ordered. I wanted to make sure that the pan/tilt would stay where it was last pointed when releasing the joystick. Servocity has a servo driver that allows positioning using two small POTS, but I wanted to try a joystick. invenscience.com has a $34 joystick controller with built in standard servo plugs, and better - the unit is powered by a barrel plug with a usb at the other end (I put USB ports in my panel).

You have to use servos with the POT wired outside the unit, or in "continuous" rotation. Also called open loop. Again, this way, when you release the joystick, the camera will stay where you have it pointed.

Here is a video I did at home after putting the kit together and just powering from my computer. Sorry, low light, and I was just holding the pan/tilt system.

It works great. The speed of movement is too fast really, and I think it will be hard to precisely position in flight, but we'll see if its a factor.

I have a fiberglass "clamshell" strut mount I made for a different reason, that I will modify to hold the unit. It will clamp anywhere along any of my wing struts. A servo wire extension will be run inside the strut to the cockpit.

One other benefit with the current Drift camera that some of you may appreciate who have Drifts - you can spin the camera around in pan to make sure the dang thing actually started recording (little red light) when you hit the remote! Mine sometimes does not go on.

Will report more when actually flight testing:

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Very cool.

Very cool! I saw that they may be coming out with simple 360 degree video camera's too. That would be slick, too.

It is a really cool idea, but you may find it to be a little impracticable in actual use. Airflow and harmonic vibration will cause annoying vibrations on anything that is not built like a battleship turret. I have been using a couple of versions of the Contour camera, the GPS and the Plus. I never found a need to turn them on and off, as I can get around 4 hours of video on one card. I just use an external LiPo battery pack. I have an old military O-1G, with 4 bomb racks. So I made Bomb Rack Cam. I started with a Sony broadcast DXC-950 on an adaptor to mount to the bomb shackles. Worked very well, but was large. I could control zoom functions, exposure and such from the cockpit. However, the lens was physically large, and would get bugs on it after flying a while.

So I made an adaptor for the contour that mounted on the struts, it is tiny. Well with the Plus, you get too much leading edge and prop in the view (the prop make absolutely nauseating lines). So I modified the Sony adaptor for the contour. I started out with a rather long extension of square tubing reinforced with angle. Even with lots of metal, it would start to vibrate if I had any G's being pulled of got up to high airspeed. So I cut it down, progressively, until I got no more vibration (at least not during mild accelerations). I still get a tiny bit of prop at the edge, but it is not distracting. The Contour has low frontal area, so it makes for a clean installation. So it may work, but I found things need to be really beefy to not have vibrations and aerodynamic wag. It would be cool if it does work.

Very cool dogpilot. I haven't even been able to test mine yet - got the mount mound, but the tilt servo just doesn't have enough torque and once the airstream hits it, it will just give. So going to try a high torque model (about 3.5x the current).

I have found though that at my speeds, using RAM mounts (which aren't really that heavy duty) in 720p/60fps, the vibration (aerodynamic or otherwise) is pretty manageable. This is differnt structure, but its pretty robust, and my mount clamshells to the lift strut and encases the bottom servo completely, and has 4 cap head screws to secure then entire assembly.

Here is a pic of the mount. We'll see if it works. Probably won't get to it for a while.



This is how the mount...uh...er...mounts...before I modified the top have to encase the servo and provide a mounting block for the unit.



More recent video of the unit moving while on the strut (in the hangar of course). I have some other tweeking to do as well...work in progress.

Does this look like it'd have a little drag involved? Saw this at KCCB today
http://www.backcountrypilot.org/gallery ... G_0250.JPG

Looks like a bit of drag with this one

Wow! Now that is some hardware!