motorized security camera base
RocknV
Posts: 7
Hi,
I'm relatively new to the forum and never worked with a Stamp.· I'm thinking about using a Prop-1 to control a motorized camera base.· I want it to pan the camera x degrees, pause for so many seconds, then pan and pause again, doing this continuously in a ~270 degree arc (i.e. it will pan back and forth, with pauses every so often).·
The camera with weatherproof housing weighs a few lbs - is there a robotic piece, like a wheel kit turned horizontal,·that parallax sells that I can use to work with a servo to make the base?· I was thinking of using a servo to drive the rotation, but I don't think a direct mount of a plate on the servo will be able to bear the weight.
I'm new at this type of project, so please excuse the basic question.
I'm relatively new to the forum and never worked with a Stamp.· I'm thinking about using a Prop-1 to control a motorized camera base.· I want it to pan the camera x degrees, pause for so many seconds, then pan and pause again, doing this continuously in a ~270 degree arc (i.e. it will pan back and forth, with pauses every so often).·
The camera with weatherproof housing weighs a few lbs - is there a robotic piece, like a wheel kit turned horizontal,·that parallax sells that I can use to work with a servo to make the base?· I was thinking of using a servo to drive the rotation, but I don't think a direct mount of a plate on the servo will be able to bear the weight.
I'm new at this type of project, so please excuse the basic question.
Comments
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Chris Savage
Parallax Tech Support
csavage@parallax.com
The only issue involved is driving the motor, which would require another circuit, or a prebuilt unit that can be controlled by a stamp. There have been numerous discussions on stepper control, a search of posts would show lots of info. Once you have the hardware, making a program to run it would be fairly simple. I have seen many people wanting to use servos for camera movement, and personally, i find your average servo motor totally useless for the application. Even with prosumer cams that use servos for zoom and focus, they are jumpy, hard to control and have a hard time finding their position. If anyone wanted to use an industrial type servo with encoder capability, then the cost would be a major drawback. The Prop1 isn't what you want for control, unless you need the I / O capabilities it provides for other uses. A BS2 would be more than you would require for something like this. A "compatible" stepper motor could direct drive the camera on a base, the motor just has to be over- rated for the weight or torque.
kelvin
Keep an eye on the rating of your stepper....if you need to step down your gearing (meaning, I think, that your stepper drives a large gear connected to a smaller gear on your camera) you may need an even higher rated stepper.
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Steve
"Inside each and every one of us is our one, true authentic swing. Something we was born with. Something that's ours and ours alone. Something that can't be learned... something that's got to be remembered."
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Steve
"Inside each and every one of us is our one, true authentic swing. Something we was born with. Something that's ours and ours alone. Something that can't be learned... something that's got to be remembered."