bike_rider 0 Posted January 14, 2008 Thanks for the info. There is a growing trend for motorbikes to record their rides. I'm thinking about a camera setup for my bike. This isn't to record my mad skilz (puleez!), but to be there in case of an accident. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
erkme73 0 Posted January 14, 2008 I was there about 2 months ago on a business trip to visit BEC... The main strip (up by Johny Canoe's) wasn't bad, but boy, you head south of there, it got pretty interesting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scruit 0 Posted January 14, 2008 Thanks for the info. There is a growing trend for motorbikes to record their rides. I'm thinking about a camera setup for my bike. This isn't to record my mad skilz (puleez!), but to be there in case of an accident. That's my next project... DVR in the saddle bag. A friend of mine broke his shoulder when a cager brushed him off the freeway and never looked back... He's got his x-rays on the wall at the office. Pretty scary looking. He arm was immobilised for 6 or 8 weeks, which made it pretty tough for him to work (IT guy). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted January 14, 2008 BEC .. oh lawd .. what was that for .. mind the power has been okay lately .. normally they cant keep the power on though Yeah thats the rich side of the island .. ghetto mostly everywhere else .. Well I live on the East side of the island around some big expensive homes too but the west side is better IMO, less traffic, traffic is horrible here. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
erkme73 0 Posted January 14, 2008 Thanks for the info. There is a growing trend for motorbikes to record their rides. I'm thinking about a camera setup for my bike. This isn't to record my mad skilz (puleez!), but to be there in case of an accident. Have you looked at the helmet cams for sports applications? Even Sam's Club was selling them for <$100 if I recall right. They record 640x480 @ 30FPS and are completely water proof - the demos I saw showed underwater footage. They run on SD, and for a couple of gig will probably record more than any single ride. They're battery operated, and the rider must know to start the recording each time. But for that kind of money, clarity and frame rate, it beats having nothing. I strongly considered getting one for my road bike excursions (bicycle) - but most of that is done on paved non-vehicular roads, so traffic is usually not an issue. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
erkme73 0 Posted January 14, 2008 BEC .. oh lawd .. what was that for .. mind the power has been okay lately . It was quite an experience to see how they run their operation down there. Did you know that Johny Canoe's and the hotel they're located in have their own diesel generators to keep off of the BEC grid? They've been self-sustained for 20+ years. And at the kWh rate that BEC is charging, I don't blame them. I was there for a safety consult for their substation crew and management. Was only for one day. I stayed at the Orange Hill Hotel(?) or something like that. Nice view, but what a dump. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted January 14, 2008 Didn't know that, but they do let the Hotels here pretty much do anything they want .. that can be both good and bad .. many businesses and homes down here do have their own generators also, but we still have to use BEC anyway (by law) and yep they charge an arm and a leg. Safety is one of the last things my fellow country men tend to worry about, Im surprised they had you guys come and do a consult. And Orange Hill is considered a "nice" area .. thankfully they didn't put you up in one of the motels "over the hill", but then again you should have been staying at Crystal Palace at the least. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bike_rider 0 Posted January 14, 2008 Thanks for the info. There is a growing trend for motorbikes to record their rides. I'm thinking about a camera setup for my bike. This isn't to record my mad skilz (puleez!), but to be there in case of an accident. Have you looked at the helmet cams for sports applications? Even Sam's Club was selling them for <$100 if I recall right. They record 640x480 @ 30FPS and are completely water proof - the demos I saw showed underwater footage. They run on SD, and for a couple of gig will probably record more than any single ride. They're battery operated, and the rider must know to start the recording each time. But for that kind of money, clarity and frame rate, it beats having nothing. I strongly considered getting one for my road bike excursions (bicycle) - but most of that is done on paved non-vehicular roads, so traffic is usually not an issue. There are a couple of high end units that have good features like auto-looping that I'm looking at. Whatever I get will be semi-perm installed under the fairing. I don't like the idea of mounting anything on my helmets - moto or bicycle. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
erkme73 0 Posted January 14, 2008 Then take a good look up "portable DVR" on eBay, and look for the one that looks like the pictured unit below. It's the one I use, and it loops constantly - recording only when it sees motion (or you can set it for constant). In case that doesn't show, it's the same one listed in the components picture of my first post in this thread. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikesus 0 Posted February 12, 2008 Then take a good look up "portable DVR" on eBay, and look for the one that looks like the pictured unit below. It's the one I use, and it loops constantly - recording only when it sees motion (or you can set it for constant). In case that doesn't show, it's the same one listed in the components picture of my first post in this thread. I just picked one of these up, how do you have it set? I.E. frame rate, cif, ETC? BTW if anyone is interested, it is made by SVAT Here is there webpage. http://www.svat.com/productDisplay.php?id=290&categoryNumber=3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ak357 0 Posted February 12, 2008 Then take a good look up "portable DVR" on eBay, and look for the one that looks like the pictured unit below. It's the one I use, and it loops constantly - recording only when it sees motion (or you can set it for constant). In case that doesn't show, it's the same one listed in the components picture of my first post in this thread. I just picked one of these up, how do you have it set? I.E. frame rate, cif, ETC? BTW if anyone is interested, it is made by SVAT Here is there webpage. http://www.svat.com/productDisplay.php?id=290&categoryNumber=3 it is not made by SVAT it's sold by SVAT Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikesus 0 Posted February 12, 2008 Here's the link for the overlay box: http://www.blackboxcamera.com/pic-osd/gpsboxplus.htm This is their standard offering. Since I didn't need to input additional characters and was only interested in speed, heading, sats and HDOP, they were able to squeeze the electronics with my custom program in a much smaller box (see above) - about the size of a dollar bill by 1" thick. It also reduced the price a bit. The guy's name is Simone, and he's very knowledgeable and friendly. I told him I would give him credit since their component was the missing piece of my puzzle. I just ordered one from Simon and requested the following Line 1 Time & Date (in MM/DD/YY format) Prefer Date on Left Time on Right Line 2 Lat & Lon Line 3 Speed (in MPH) & Heading This request was not a problem per Simon. So for a bit over $200 you can get a complete solution including active antenna. FYI - He does indicate that it takes an extra 5 -10 days for special requests. Here is an example video of what he offers. http://www.blackboxcamera.com/pic-osd/clips/display_example.wmv Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
erkme73 0 Posted February 12, 2008 If you intend on using this in court, you may want to consider having the horizontal dilution of precision included on the video. It takes up three, maybe four characters on the screen, and will validate that the signal is unobstructed and true. Simon is a good guy, and top notch on customer service. If I had more cars, he'd have more business from me. As for the settings, I have the recorder set to the highest resolution, highest frame rate, with audio turned on... 704 x 480, 12 FPS. Now, just so you know, the recordings are limited to about 2-3 MB per clip... which is about 3-6 seconds of video. I suppose it does this to allow for writing over the older clips. Unfortunately, the clips when played on a PC seem to have a single frame missing between them. On the player, you really don't notice this (except for the audio recording which seems to miss a syllable every 5 seconds or so. It's a little annoying if you were to watch a TV show or lecture, but from driving video documentation standpoint, it's hardly noticable. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikesus 0 Posted February 13, 2008 Don't necessarily intend on using it in court, but I looked at the video that you used in court and it didn't have hdop on it, so I am confused, why would it be required? In our day and age a digital readout is gospel ( I know it means squat) But that is what folks think. My dad used to work in metrology for a large auto maker, and he had a boss that told them they had to use the digital meters cuz they were more accurate, meanwhile they actually were less accurate than some of the analog stuff As to the 2-3 mb, is that because you have it set on motion or? And whats the largest memory card you can put in it? I was thinking about getting a 4gb but wasn't sure if it took sd only or could handle sdhc... If you intend on using this in court, you may want to consider having the horizontal dilution of precision included on the video. It takes up three, maybe four characters on the screen, and will validate that the signal is unobstructed and true. Simon is a good guy, and top notch on customer service. If I had more cars, he'd have more business from me. As for the settings, I have the recorder set to the highest resolution, highest frame rate, with audio turned on... 704 x 480, 12 FPS. Now, just so you know, the recordings are limited to about 2-3 MB per clip... which is about 3-6 seconds of video. I suppose it does this to allow for writing over the older clips. Unfortunately, the clips when played on a PC seem to have a single frame missing between them. On the player, you really don't notice this (except for the audio recording which seems to miss a syllable every 5 seconds or so. It's a little annoying if you were to watch a TV show or lecture, but from driving video documentation standpoint, it's hardly noticable. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cocacola 0 Posted February 13, 2008 Product sucks, there are better and cheaper recorders that cann record on SDHC!!! Use a 70 dollar 16 GB SDHC card and you can record up to a week! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
erkme73 0 Posted February 13, 2008 Don't necessarily intend on using it in court, but I looked at the video that you used in court and it didn't have hdop on it, so I am confused, why would it be required? I just got lucky that no one challenged the accuracy or signal strength. But, technically, you could have a prosecutor or judge who will not accept it without some reference to signal strength - or something that can prove it has an unobstructed view of the sky. Even though my video showed no obstructions, there was no telling where I had the antenna... As to the 2-3 mb, is that because you have it set on motion or? And whats the largest memory card you can put in it? I was thinking about getting a 4gb but wasn't sure if it took sd only or could handle sdhc... No, it breaks the video up into these segments whether it's motion activated or fully on (manual record). The OEM says 2GB is the limit, but I put a 4GB card in it, and it recognized it, and records using all of it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scruit 0 Posted February 13, 2008 Product sucks, there are better and cheaper recorders that cann record on SDHC!!!Use a 70 dollar 16 GB SDHC card and you can record up to a week! I must have missed the name of the better and cheaper product you were talking about... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
erkme73 0 Posted February 13, 2008 I was going to ignore that post... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikesus 0 Posted February 13, 2008 Product sucks, there are better and cheaper recorders that cann record on SDHC!!!Use a 70 dollar 16 GB SDHC card and you can record up to a week! I must have missed the name of the better and cheaper product you were talking about... Well I know when I see a post with spelling errors, I always take it as gospel And I kinda doubt you could get it cheaper than I did. Got the DVR, plus a exview camera and NiMH battery pack for $100. So where is it cheaper? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
erkme73 0 Posted February 13, 2008 Wow... I got raped! Send me a link to the supplier! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikesus 0 Posted February 13, 2008 As for the settings, I have the recorder set to the highest resolution, highest frame rate, with audio turned on... 704 x 480, 12 FPS. Wow. The video you posted looks better than 12FPS. Good deal! I might give it a try with my ECL596 (once I got the fogging to stop, its a decent camera!) That or maybe I'll keep the Sanyo and go all out with a box cam... Decisions, decisions. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted February 13, 2008 Send me a link to the supplier! Me too!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scruit 0 Posted February 13, 2008 Wow... I got raped! Send me a link to the supplier! Me too! I've been looking for a cheap portable DVR for my motorbike! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scruit 0 Posted February 13, 2008 There's a couple of 2-channel portable DVRs (8fps = 4fps per channel?) on ebay for under $100, but they look pretty cheap. When you consider my DVR record 4 channels in 30fps (CIF) per channel and cost <$400 new, then you can understand my objection to paying over $200 for a 1 channel 10fps device... 2 channels would be perfect for a bike - 1 cam on the fairing and one on the helmet... Helmet cam could be wireless, and a plug-in recharger on the bike. ie take your helmet off, attach it to the bike and plug in a charger connected to the bike's battery. How big a battery do you need for a Swann Microcam? Then you just put your helmet on, turn the DVR on and there you go... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikesus 0 Posted February 13, 2008 Wow... I got raped! Send me a link to the supplier! No supplier, it was used once, (prolly to catch the guy's wife ) He had a decent rating and no one was looking at it so I made him an offer... The cheapest I have seen it is about slightly under MSRP of $199 I do have a quad that I could put in the car that does a PIP type display, that could be interesting.... Hmmm... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
