Neuros Technology Forums

Hi,

I've seen a few posts about running the MPEG4 as a recorder in a car. I run a TR7V8 in the UK, which has a normal camcorder currently. I'm happy with it in the most part. It's a bit tricky to start up as it's just behind my left shoulder, but the quality is superb. I write the final footage to DVD.

I've seen many posts about the quality, but not seen any decent footage as of yet. I'm concerned that I'm going to get blurry and choppy images.

Has anyone got a video that I could burn to DVD and test the quality for myself?

I've seen the system setup here http://www.miata.tv/vidproj/vidproj/In-Car%20Video%20System.html and that's pretty much exactly how I would like mine to be.

The other option is to get a new camera that allows video in, via a bullet cam and then I can have it mounted in a better position to start it. Ideally I would like a rear view tho.

I'm based in the UK so if anyone has any suggestions I'm more than happy to entertain them. If it works well then there will be about 4 of us that will go this route. I'm pretty much the guinea pig here.

BTW I did see the post about the warranty, and that really doesn't interest me. If it works well I'll take the risk that it might break. I'll just stay out of the tyre barriers ;-)

Thanks

Mike...

I am based in Cambridge and have been investigating the R2 since July. My initial application was on a catamaran at Grafham Water as well as recording the antics of Cambridge cyclists from  my car. The first problem was to find a way of controlling the R2 remotely but not via the IR control. The package had to be housed in a watertight container so "wired" control to start/stop recording was vital. I developed an alternate control system that recreated the IR commands and could be triggered from a simple switch / contact closure etc. Details of the system are on www.microft.co.uk but it has not yet been turned into a packaged unit.

Another issue is that of using a suitable power supply for both R2 and the bullet camera. The R2 requires a stable 5V (or 6V) DC at around 500mA when recording. This also needs to be well isolated from the car supply. My bullet camera is a 520 line submersible unit with IR illumination that cuts in automatically at low light levels. This needs a stable 12V DC at around 600mA.

As this project is still under development (R2 failed, changed vehicle etc) I do not have video to post but I have recorded test clips from my DVD player/Sky box plus the bullet camera in the garden (boring) and the results are impressive. However the final results are of course based on the quality of the input signal.

Your camcorder will give you 720x576 pixel resolution which you will not be able to get from a bullet cam unless you spend a lot of money. A good quality 520 or 480 line camera will be more than adequate, the subject matter adds to the overall experience so quality is not as important if cash is limited. Many bullet cameras have interchangeable lenses so you are not limited to a single "view".

When my R2 failed I looked around for a camcorder with AV inputs but the price was way above the cost of the R2 + bullet cam plus you are limited to 1 hour recording time. The R2 needs about 1Gb/hour at highest quality setting. 8Gb cards are available (and have been tested) and I now see that 12Gb & 16Gb CF cards are on the market. However the £520 price tag may be a bit steep..

If you want a second camera then you will need another R2. www.sendit.com advertise the R2 for £99 and their customer support is excellent. Also try www.rfconcepts.co.uk for suitable bullet cams. www.maplin.co.uk also sell a wide variety of small security cameras which are small and remarkably good quality. Other people have posted information regarding external battery packs that may be of interest.

Thanks for the quick reply.

I have to run a voltage regulator for the ECU to smooth the voltage spikes, so I could run it on that side for power. I think I read somewhere that Maplin do a voltage convertor, down to 5v.

I'm happy to pay circa £300 for a single camera setup if it works well. The rear view is a nice to have.

I've looked on the RFConcepts site but I'm not sure which lens would be right, but I'll dig into that. There are a few DV Cameras on Ebay that would do the job, but I do like the idea of the MPeg4. After all I went down the Megasquirt ECU rather than a named off-the-shelf system.

I'll keep digging. Thanks, Mike...

i have never seen such in Germany, i think i have to travel to England (http://www.fitforeurope.com/great-britain/england/) to check this out ;)

The R2 can certainly be installed in a race car.
Will Powered (forum member) has done it with 2 R2 recorders, one for front, the other for rear.
One remote can start both recorders recording at the same time.

The main issue with the R2 in a mobile situation is the video quality from the source camera.
Typically the user makes the mistake of running the R2 and the video camera off seperate battery supplies.
The problem with this will be poorer quality video.

This problem is quite easy to fix, run both the R2 and the bullet cams off the same supply. A 5V switching regulator
and sheilded video cables will easily produce D1 resolution as seen on the R2 website (sample video)

The R2 AV connectors should also be replaced with BNC cables. The factory jacks are low grade and exhibit poor connections resulting in noise/loss of quality

A good compact 12V battery (metal hydride) that are fairly common in the CCTV security industry are perfect for
this type of application.

If you want professional quality video, spend the time making a professional system. Don't settle for less.

A remote for the R2 can easily be "hacked" to produce a good quality on/off, and record switch. The front face of the
remote simply peels off from the botton right where the keychain hole is. This exposes the PCB. Conductive pads similiar
to those used in hospital ER's can be cut in half and put on either side of the carbon pads. Two wire leads are then
connected to this pad. Any type of switch can be soldered to the other end. Whaala! you have an ON/OFF switch.
Do the same to the record pad. Whaala! you have a Record switch.
The Ir from the remote can be routed through a TOSLINK cable to the front of the recorders. You now have a cabled
remote for the recorders. By installing a TOSLINK adaptor in front of the Ir LED and another one at the recorder
end, you can simply plug the TOSLINK cable in at each end.

Have fun!!!

"Typically the user makes the mistake of running the R2 and the video camera off seperate battery supplies.
The problem with this will be poorer quality video."

Why ?

I suspected the problem due to the difference in the ground potentials.

My kit has a Sony Exview camera with a seperate 12V supply. I hooked up to the R2 with its own 7.2 v supply, with a
5v switching regulator.

The video qualitywas  produced with banding, and noise interference from the 5v switching regulator.  I scoped the
interference to coincide with the switching of the regulator.

I changed to a single supply with the same 5v regulator and sheilded cables. I elminated the problem completely.

I took your statement to mean seperate batteries for the camera and R2. This arrangement virtually guarantees the removal of ground loops and cable based interference. Connecting the camera and R2 to a single battery and maintaining a single earth connection to both units will also work.  Earth loop problems can arise if more than one supply is used and the ground connections are on different parts of the chassis or on long leads.

I've been following this discussion in hopes of finding out how to eliminate the same "banding"  problem that Ex-Navy describes. 

I have a 12 volt lithium battery that I use to power a 12 volt video camera and a Medusa BEC that provides the 5 volt power to a Neuros MPEG-4 recorder.   I've tried placing  capacitors (ranging from .1 to 220 microfarad) across the 5 volt output of the BEC, as well as placing a ferrite choke core (not sure of inductance) aroud these leads.  No effect.

Curiously, the banding interference goes away when I disconnect the Neuros recorder from the BEC and instead connect it to its AC adapter (5v DC output).   (see the two attachments) Doesn't this suggest that the EMI interference from the BEC chopper is not radiated, but conducted?  And thus doesn't this suggest that shielded cables wouldn't solve the problem?

I am tempted to connect a seperate 5v battery supply for the Neuros recorder and throw out the BEC, but I want to avoid the ground loop problems that are described in the discussions.

Just asking for advice before I sink more money into this project!

Thanks in advance.