Fubar-One

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I would imagine you could get em online. I know pretty little about laptop puters other than I am too much of a klutz to own one.
They use some kind of plug in setup for peripherals, dont they?

My Sony has a digital (firewire) I/O, S-Video hookup (never hooked anything to it) and an AV connection. The AV connection switches itself depending on whether the camcorder is in VTR playback or record mode. My father and I just hook our camcorders together at the field and record back and forth without manually switching anything other than pushing the REC and PLAY buttons on our respective Sony camcorders. Neither one has separate In/Outs for the analog AV.
I would bet that your Sony is the same way.
Mine is a digital but his is a Hi-8.

charleyh

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Thanks Fubar,

Mine is a Sony digital 8. And if both yours work maybe mine will too. I need to investigate further I guess.

Thanks again,

Fubar-One

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What model #?
Mine is a DCR-TRV120. I forget what model my Dad's is but its a Hi-8 and that sucker is a good 10 years old.
Yeah, if you got a Sony digital 8, Im sure you can use the same AV for both input and output.
Lemme know!

charleyh

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Mine is a DCR-TRV130. Very close to yours actually.

Knowing that I am definately going to dig a little deeper.

Thanks,

Fubar-One

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Yeah, its gonna work fine.
Cool!

charleyh

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Maybe you could help. They may set up the same. How do you change yours to inputs.

I just went through the menu and did not see it.

What do I need to look for?

Fubar-One

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Actually, I dont change anything. Its all automatic. My analog connection uses a 4 conductor mini stereo type plug on the camcorder with Video/Right audio/Left audio RCA connectors on the other end which is what you would hook up to the TV to view the video. Try connecting that to a video source such as your VCR, flip the recording selector to VTR then hit the record button on the VTR panel on top of the camcorder. You should be in business.
In my Menu I have a VTR section that shows "AV->DV OUT" along with "Hi Fi sound", "TBC", "DNR", "Audio mix", and "PB mode" (set to Auto tho the other choice is "Hi8/8"). "AV->DV OUT" is selected to off.
All I know is that the DV I/O works on the puter and the Analog AV I/O works at the field and I dont have to go into the menu to switch anything so maybe those are the settings you nee. I havent seen any sign of my manual in years tho I might have a PDF of it someplace on the HD.
Other than that, when in VTR mode, Play switches the AV to output, REC switches it to input. Actually, its REC and the blank button next to it together.

Fubar-One

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I downloaded the PDF manual for your camcorder and near as I can tell you can ONLY record to the camcorder thru the digital input. It says this on page 75 or the page that shows how to record from a tape. I wonder why a higher model numbered camcorder would be limited in that way.
I hate to say it, but it looks like you are outta luck as far as this camcorder goes. Just doesnt make sense.

charleyh

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I emailed Sony and here is what I got back
"The DCR-TRV130 Camcorder does not have an AV input. Consequently, it cannot record from other AV source."

Oh well.

I may have to look at trading or getting a new one. I sure don't want to carry a vcr and tv to go record flights.

Thanks for all your help. I'll let you know what happens.

Fubar-One

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That stinks!
I think Fry's Electronics had a Hi-8 camcorder for sale last week for about $250. Rotten that you cant use what you already have tho!

charleyh

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Yea it does suck. I hate to buy a second camera just for this purpose when I already have a so called "top of the line model".

Maybe I can find a good used one just for this on ebay or something.

Oh well. We'll see.

charleyh

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Fubar,

Where on Sony's web site did you download the manual? I found a couple of cheap used sony's but I want to make sure that I can hook into them.

Thanks,

Fubar-One

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Start from here:
Sony Support
They list various Sony camcorders and such on this page and you can follow the links to the manuals. Going thru Digital 8 led me to manuals for both our camcorders. They might have em for what you are looking for too. They listed a LOT of digital ones.

elevator_up

Fubar - I hope I'm not totally embarrassing myself with this question because I missed a fundamental, but I thought the camera was connected to the transmitter which goes into the plane. and the receiver stays on the ground and picks up the signal from camera transmitter on the plane ?

If this is correct why does your picture above show what appears to be the receiver, with the big black antenna, in the plane ? or have you found a way to use the receiver antenna in the transmitter ?

Also, my camcorder does not have "A/V IN" either, so my approach is to use my microsoft webcam (about $20, if still sold) which has AUX A/V IN for the receiver, then connect to my laptop and record directly to my harddrive. Has anyone tried this successfully before ?

Last question ( for today at least ) for the 9V transmitter battery, I see you use a Duracell. I'm not sure what the mah of a duracell is but I have a couple Nimh 9V rechargbles at 150 mah each. Do you think 2 of them in parallel would suffice or equal a Duracell ?

Thanks
Mike

elevator_up

Fubar - After reading through many posts in this forum, I think it must be official somewhere - you have now become a resident video Guru. Great work and effort with video for us all to learn from, Thanks.

So after reading many posts here, I know that I must get one of these camera's. My assessment is that you favour the 800 mw unit from ebay (from spylinker) for inexpensive video from a plane. I saw in one of your posts you indicated that your paid 25 dollars for camera and $35 shipping. Yesterday I saw, what I thought was the same unit, from same person for 22.85 and a few dollar for shipping bringing the shipped price to $25 total. Are these the same units you received ? I assume you did not feel the insurance for $6 was necessary ?

Thanks Again
Mike

PS - guess my last post was not my last for the day, but I'm excited about getting into this due to your shared experiences Thanks again

Fubar-One

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No embarassment!
Lets see...
The system in the picture above is a half watt 900mhz Supercircuits system ($350) and not the Spylinker system. The tx for this system uses an antenna very much like the Spylinker rx antenna. The black box you are looking at next to/behind the antenna is actually a hi res 460 line CCD camera which is mounted on a servo to allow me to pan the view, forward, rear, and all points in between. If you look at the picture again, you can just make out the lens in the middle of the box face. Both of my Spylinker systems are using the tx as it came in the mail with that wire antenna. The only mods I have done to one of them was rewiring to remove the RCA connectors. Also moved the voltage regulator in the camera lead closer to the camera. Gives me more options for mounting that way.

As for the webcam AV aux hookup, I havent heard of that being used. I know some people on this forum have used video capture cards on their laptops with good results. I guess you can just try it and let the rest of us know how it works. I figure it will either work or it wont.

I have no idea if two Nimh cells in parallel will equal or surpass a Duracell. I was unable to find ANY info on the mAh rating of the Duracells anywhere either. Once again, I nominate YOU to run that experiment and relay the data results to the rest of us!
I would but I am sans nimh 9v batteries.

elevator_up

Dan,
Thanks for the clarification. I'm looking forward to getting into video. When you get a chance I'd appreciate if you can look back to may last post and share your thoughts about your camera preference and suggestion.

Once I get video going, I'll post back my recording learnings and video clip from the sky. I'll look into the battery with the battery group for any additional info also. Thanks again. Mike

Fubar-One

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Hey Mike, Im gettin a fat head here!
Just glad to be able to share what little Ive learned with this aspect of the hobby.
Yes, his prices seem to have come down a bit and are fluctuating between 23 and 25 bucks, especially the shipping which was down to $25 last time I looked. Wonder if thats due to an increase of business from this forum! I also wonder if I can get a discount.... Yeah, right.
Anyway, these look to be the same ones my father and I bought so I will recommend them based on my own experiences with both the seller and the merchandise. My father just bought HIS second system from Spylinker, by the way.
I dont remember if I did the $6 insurance the first time but I know I didnt the second time. It has to be signed for anyway plus I know the guy delivers. In fact, they neglected to include an rx antenna for a system that another member of this forum purchased and, after he emailed them of that mistake, they sent him one which he received in two weeks of his email.
The main things I like about this system are:

Range. Pretty much beats anything else Ive seen, either in person or on the internet for ANY price.

Price. I paid about $100 + shipping for the first system I bought which was one of those integral camera/tx setups. The range was wothless and the picture bit the big one.

Weight. It weighs very little for what it does and the whole thing runs off a 9v battery. Great for my slope glider which is what I was interested in airborne video for in the first place. I wanted something light enough for my Super Scooter to carry with plenty of range and still be able to participate in full slope combat.

The only change I would and will make to this system will be the addition of a CCD camera such as the Panasonic CX-161 that BlackWidowAV.com sells. The only problem there is that it draws more current than a Duracell battery can deliver at 250mAh.
I have ways around that tho as I have a very large battery in the glider to begin with so I can probably swap that out for two standard sized rx batterys, one for the plane and one for the camera. Something to check in the future.
Well, gotta bail, Ren and Stimpy are on!

charleyh

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Fubar,

I am thinking of getting rid of all the RCA jacks on my rig like you did. Is the voltage regulator in the red lead on the camera side?

Also, on the video (yellow) lead did you just use the center conductor out of it or did you use the shield also?

I have a extra 4 pin deans as well as a 3 pin. You used a 4 pin but it seems to me it could be done with a 3 pin. Let me know.

Do you think it would hurt anything to just cut of the little mic? It really bugs me just hanging there useless.

After much thought and convincing of my fiance I decided I need to buy a new camera. Actually it was mostly convincing her not me. I'm going to buy a new Sony trv350 which has everything I need and also can be plugged into a usb port and used as webcam. You can hook it up to the computer and the little wireless and put it on live if you wanted.

Anyway, let me know about the connector swap.

Thanks,

reznikvova-RCU

Dont do that. Just get a receiver that is audio capable.

Fubar-One

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The voltage regulator is inside that molded rubber "bead" leading to the camera. I removed mine with a single edge razor blade. If you take the wiring connections apart you will find it pretty much all uses a common ground.
I used a 4 pin Deans but only connected to 3 pins. One common ground, one video and one power. The fourth pin is free. The voltage regulator is a small PC board in that rubber bead. It is also conveniently marked as far as connections, showing your video, audio, 9v positive in, 5v positive out, and ground.
I didnt remove the mic because I wasnt sure how the camera itself is wired and was too chicken to cut the sucker off.
Buck buck buck!

RC-Archer

I found my voltage regulator attached directly to the RCA plug. It was inside the stress relief off the back of the plug and soldered directly to the plug. I too ended up replacing the rca plug with a jst (red bec) plugs.

egor

Hey fella's just to be nosey. no one posted an item # is this the one your talking about

Item # 3038351253 on e-bay

egor

Fubar-One

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Yup!
Thats one of em.

egor

thanks for the info been considering something like this in an lt-40 or something similar kind of a floater for when the airfield is surronded by soybeans or corn and someone goes in and you can't see. kind of like a seeing eye dog to lead the way..

might be easier than trying to keep visual on landmarks for triangulation.

egor