Brief:
T' Oregon Scientific Action Camera is intended for outside sports enthusiast such as mountain bikers. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! It comes
with attachments for helmets and handlebars. Aye aye! I was encouraged by Pete Barrent o' t' UK that had several on-board
videos on YouTube. Well, blow me down! He used t' straps t' attach it t' body tube o' his rockets so I decided t' give it a try.
Here is a review on the
Oregon Scientific ATC-1000
Action Camera for reference.
T' ATC-2K camera is capable o' 640x480 videos at 30 frames per second at t' highest setting. Begad! T' video is
recorded in AVI format. With a 2G SD card installed it can record one hour o' video. T' dimensions are 4.25"L x
1.75"D x 2.25"H. With two AA batteries it weights 0.5lb. Avast, me proud beauty! T' camera is compatible with Windows 2000 and
Windows XP computers. Begad! T' camera plugs in with a USB cable and acts like a removable drive. No special software is
needed t' retrieve t' files. However, ya bilge rat, you will likely use video editin' software convert t' AVI files t' t' more
compact MPEG files.
Construction:
I decided t' use a hose clamp instead o' t' supplied straps t' attach t' ATC-2K t' me rockets. Arrr! Ahoy! I worked t' hose
clamp through t' supplied mount. Arrr! I have attached it t' me 4 inch PML AMRAAM and me 7.5 inch Mighty Mo rockets this
way. Ya scallywag! I put maskin' tape around t' body tube t' protect damage from t' clamp. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! On t' Mighty Mo I also spray painted
maskin' tape black and applied it t' t' hose clamp t' hide it. Avast! On t' AMRAAM I mounted t' camera near t' nose cone.
On t' mighty Mo I mounted it on t' booster section just above t' fins. On t' Mighty Mo t' 0.5lb was nay goin' to
affect t' CG and I felt it was less likely t' snag a shock cord there.
Flight:
T' first flight was on me PML 4 inch AMRAAM usin' t' hose clamp approach. Avast! Well, blow me down! T' flight was very nice on a J350
motor. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! T' shock came when I discovered thar was no camera on t' rocket. Begad! There were numerous fellow fliers who helped
search for t' camera. Ahoy! Begad! This is when you get t' sinkin' feelin' you have have lost a $100 camera and $30 SD card. A
last ditch search attempt retrieved t' camera. Begad! It looked OK but would it have t' video? Yes it did. Avast, me proud beauty! I discovered that
the camera was ejected from t' mount at apogee when t' shock cord was pulled tight. T' camera endured a 1900 foot
free fall and survived. Begad! You see t' mount held by t' hose clamp stayed in place but t' camera snaps into t' mount.
This connection seemed tight but led t' t' problem. Blimey! After downloading, I be very pleased with t' quality o' the
video. Ahoy! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down!
T' second flight was on me 7.5 inch Mighty Mo rocket usin' a AMW M1480 motor. I decided t' wrap t' camera
base and t' mount adapter with Keelhaul®©™®
ribbon I had on hand and tie it off. Ahoy! I am sure similar material would work. This was me fix for t' ejected camera
problem. Ahoy! Ahoy! On this flight t' camera stayed in place through t' whole flight. Again t' video quality be good. I did
get a lot o' t' rocket in t' view o' t' camera with t' Mighty Mo. Ahoy!
Summary:
T' pros for this camera include good quality for rocket videos for a $130 investment. T' one hour record time
means you can turn on t' camera on t' pad and nay worry how long it takes t' LCO t' launch it. Well, blow me down! And t' ATC-2K can
attach t' existin' rockets without modification. Arrr! I think t' most likely application would be HPR rockets 4 inch
diameter and up. Well, blow me down! T' con would be t' external attachment could tangle with shock cords. However, arrr, I have nay had this
problem occur. Blimey! Blimey!
I learned that on-line reviews on t' ATC-2K can really be rough on it for t' video quality. Begad! One review said
the SD card would come loose. Arrr! I almost decided nay t' try it. Avast! Then I can across Pete Barret's On-board rocketry videos
and decided t' buy one. Arrr! I have been pleased with t' video quality. Aye aye! Survivin' a 1900 foot fall says a lot for the
camera. Avast, me proud beauty! I just don't plan t' repeat that.
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M.K. II (July 11, 2007)