Saw an add in the N scale mags for a TV camera for N and Z scale trains. I ordered one in January. Took 4 months to arrive. Very easy to use. I want to tell you I a going to have fun with this thing. The camera itself is about 5/8 inches wide The whole assembly will fit inside a dummy engine whether it is a hood unit or a switcher. It will fit incide a caboose or even a container. Operates off of track power and needs 4.5 volts. also has a small rechargeable battery which can operate the camera for up to 15 minutes. I hope to use regular batteries so it would not be dependant on track power. Probably would have to be battery powered for DCC users anyway. This is a color camera that sends a signal to a receiver that is connected to a TV or a VCR. The adds are in both N Scale magazines. Tunnels will cause a loss of signal and so will dirty track [battery should preclude this] All in all I am very impressed. Like I said I am going to have fun with this.
There are some great possiblities with these cameras, here are a few stills from one that I tried on my layout. There are three more shots in my Rail Images album, page three. [ 22. May 2004, 23:10: Message edited by: J WIDMAR ]
I downloaded an mpeg clip from one of these cameras which was used on an N-trak layout. Let me tell you, it was cool to see the layout from that perspective!!! Russ
This opens a whole new opportunity for modellers I'm sure interested as well. Does the camera already come installed in a car ? Is the camera and receiver expensive? It would be a great way to show your layout online.
I have two train cameras. 1. TC-9 from RF Systemlabs www.ghz-link.com which was on sale for $120 for the camera and receiver, according to their ad in MR the cost now is $98.50 for the camera and $65 for the receiver. You still need a TV and/or a VCR. This unit is small enough to use on a Z-Scale layout and can be configured to get power from the rails(>4.5v). Also has a 1.2 volt battery good for about 15 minutes. I mounted mine in a Bachmann shorty passenger car with electrical pickup provided by trucks from a RR tender. Track must be very clean if track power is used. Camera came preset to one of four channels and receiver switches must be set to proper channel for reception. 2. Super-Cam from www.super-cam.com. This one has a 4" color LCD screen and receiver integrated and is battery powered. The camera( which I think came from RF Systemlabs) has an internal supercap battery and is good for about 1 hour. Just right size for mounting on an N-Scale flat car but probably too large for Z-Scale. Camera can be powered by external batteries. Even with internal/external camera power, the track must be reasonably clean. Cost $250. I like both but lean toward the super-cam. THe Super-Cam monitor/receiver can display input from four different cameras - switch selectable or by scanning all four channels. It will NOT display the TC-9 camera output although both operate on 2.4 ghz. Sigh!! regards Al [ 22. May 2004, 00:45: Message edited by: alhoop ]
I have the TC9 also. You are right apout the track has to be super clean. I was toying with the idea of using a 9 volt battery instead of track power. The instructions say it will handle up to 35 volts. Have you tried this yet? I sent an Email to RF Systems inquiring about it. Will post their reply when I receive it.
There is a on-line store call Computer Geeks which has the camera I bought; http://www.compgeeks.com/details.asp?invtid=203C-50MW-N Check out there price, I think you will be surprised. Inkaneer, I used a program called Windows Movie Maker to edit out the interference and to add steam sounds to my video. In the process you can stop the video wherever you wish and click the take a picture and send it to your photo file, very easy and pretty cool.
i bought one thru ebay from a seller in hongkong.... camera cost $0.99 plus $28 shipping. pretty good quality although without sound.
I have the TC9 also. You are right apout the track has to be super clean. I was toying with the idea of using a 9 volt battery instead of track power. The instructions say it will handle up to 35 volts. Have you tried this yet? I sent an Email to RF Systems inquiring about it. Will post their reply when I receive it. [/QB][/QUOTE] Here is the reply I received. A 9 volt battery can be used but do not connect it to the system through the white battery connector. Use the two wire leads for track power to connect a 9 volt battery. Two 1.5 batteries can be connected by using the white battery connector.battery.
Inkaneer, I'm glad you started this thread. I recently downloaded a video clip shot from a train cam passing a N scale bullet train, I asked myself "how the heck did he mount a camera on an N scale train?"...now I know!
Yikes! My poker chip set I bought last year cost me .99, and shipping was $42 bucks.. I think battery power would be best--unless you have perfectly clean track, and a bulletproof track power pickup system, you're going to have contact issues. Tunnels on 12"=1' scale railroads cause remote control issues as well.. Got repeaters?
I use one from http://www.wirelessmicrocolorcam.com/, having seen the dealer at a number of shows. I hacked mine up so the battery attached directly to the back of the camera, as seen at http://www.ufp.org/~bicknell/traincam/. I do love the view of the layout, and eagerly await better cameras and transmitters. Everyone should get one, except you start to see all sorts of flaws you'd never have seen otherwise. Track isn't straight, track nails don't look right, the inside of tunnels is all wrong, the back side of buildings are no good, etc etc etc.
