Friday, August 1, 2008

Wireless camera mounted on a Tyco F7 dummy...


I had a blast with this while it lasted. I bought a color camera and mounted it to the front truck of a Tyco F7. With a slight downward tilt, I got a fantastic view down the track with a very realistic panning action to the side as it approached curves. Sadly, I found they do not like having their polarity crossed and the camera succumbed to the dread "Magic Blue Smoke" that, until then, had only been the bane of my motors and DCC decoders.
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I made a simple tray out of sheet aluminum and epoxied it to the truck after filing about a 7 degree bevel to it. The camera was held in place and easily adjusted further by using poster gum to hold it in place. The 9v battery fit very snug in between the screw posts to the fuel tank.

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I cut a "smiley" into the nose of the F unit but, looking back, a simple widening of the door on the nose would have been enough. The antennae was fished through a hole drilled just ahead of the horns on the roof. I installed a 3mm super bright LED in the headlight to light the way through tunnels and passes that was quite effective. I have video somewhere that I'll post in the future.


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