Yeah, I tried the 3.5-to-2.5 adapter route. It works, but you're right, it's not pretty: 'sticks out too far. I also tried a 2.5mm plug to dual RCA female adapter. 'Nice idea, but it was poorly built (unreliable contacts), and I haven't found another source. I suppose I could use the iPod cables, but the MoBoProp only outputs monaural sound, so a three-channel jack seems like kind of a waste. An adapter board with a 2mm header is another option I've thought about. It's important, I think, that the mass and bulk of the plug not exceed the mechanical load-bearing capacity of the socket it plugs into — especially if the plug can get bumped.
Connectors have always been and, I fear, shall always be the bane of my existence!
If you can't find those get the ipod leads and some heatshrink caps, it would be a very easy job to snip off the unwanted RCA and cap the lead with the heatshrink.
Much better than actually making cables that's for sure!
Darn, I thought PropCAM had arrived when I saw this thread hit the top again :-(
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Cheers,
Simon
www.norfolkhelicopterclub.co.uk
You'll always have as many take-offs as landings, the trick is to be sure you can take-off again ;-) BTW: I type as I'm thinking, so please don't take any offense at my writing style
I don't mean to get simonl's hopes up again but I would like to get an update on this project. Is there anything we can do to help you move this forward?
Inielsen said...
Is there anything we can do to help you move this forward?
Badgering, cajoling, shaming, and other guilt-inducing measures used to work with me, but age has dulled their effectiveness somewhat. No one has tried bribery yet, so I can't speak to its potential for success. (An all-expense-paid month in Baja or Hawaii would be a tempting offer but would likely be counterproductive.) The spur that prods most deeply has to be the $15,000 worth of sensors I bought for the project — not to mention, of course, the joy it will bring to so many users!
Anyway, I haven't forgotten, but thanks just the same for the reminder!
Simon
www.norfolkhelicopterclub.co.uk
You'll always have as many take-offs as landings, the trick is to be sure you can take-off again ;-) BTW: I type as I'm thinking, so please don't take any offense at my writing style
@ I like pi: I've been following this thread from the start (gees - 17th June 2006!) and I don't remember any mention of price.
Phil's got competition now (from Cliff Biffle) so I guess he'll be wanting some return on his large investment.
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Cheers,
Simon
www.norfolkhelicopterclub.co.uk
You'll always have as many take-offs as landings, the trick is to be sure you can take-off again ;-) BTW: I type as I'm thinking, so please don't take any offense at my writing style
No price has been established yet for the PropCAM.
There is some progress being made on a board to host the PropCAM, thus making a complete system. Hopefully, I'll be able to provide some details in the coming days or weeks.
Would this cammera be good for mounting on robots and watching on a tv screen or oled? If it doesn't get too pricy I will probably get one and try to mount it to a robot and, possibly, send it by air to another prop that will display it on an oled or something.
With the host board, you will be able to see the video output in real time via a wired NTSC baseband connection. The PropCAM's display method is incompatible with the Propeller's broadcast video capability, however, due to the lowpass filtering required by the DUTY mode grayscale. So you would need a separate transmitter to modulate and broadcast the baseband video wirelessly. An alternative to sending active video over the air would be to send just the grayscale data captured by the PropCAM and reconstruct the display at the receiving end. Bear in mind, though, that you will need a high-speed data connection (~1.5Mbaud) to pull this off in real time at 30fps.
I'm not sure if it is fast enough, but it is what I was thinking when I said put it on air to another prop. I will be getting my PE kit sometime soon, so, as you can see I have no experience with the propeller yet, just the basic stamp.
If all you want to do it watch it then just get a wireless camera, there are many available. The propcam comes in to its own when you want to process the images live and do something with the information.
It would be nice if I could save the images and process them later (like posting pics of the robot in action). Plus, when you buy cameras they usually need to be connected to a tv, and I want it to be portable.
* a wireless colour camera (2.4GHz)
* a wireless receiver - that has TV output
* a 7" flat-screen TV (cost me about £80)
I sometimes record to my laptop using a Dazzle DV USB device (sorry, I'm at work and can't remember the exact details).
As for the PropCAM - I don't think it's really intended for that purpose; it's a grey-scale device that will allow local (Propeller) processing.
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Cheers,
Simon
www.norfolkhelicopterclub.co.uk
You'll always have as many take-offs as landings, the trick is to be sure you can take-off again ;-) BTW: I type as I'm thinking, so please don't take any offense at my writing style
Get a video recorder that has the ability to use a memory card. They're battery operated, have their own screens, and can do image capture in a form directly usable by image processing programs. You can hold them in your hand. They're just not cheap.
You can hold it in your hand, but you can't send the signal wirelessly. I want to send it from my robot to the screen, which won't necessarily have an outlet near it. It looks like the propcam can do it, if not slowly, but is there a better way to do it?
You can connect the video recorder's video input to the wireless video receiver's output.
The PropCAM is a limited device that's designed around the limited video input capabilities (and very limited directly addressable memory) of the Propeller. In any event, the PropCAM is not available. You have to decide if you want to wait for a device that may not be what you want in the end and certainly is designed for a different purpose (on-chip processing of images) or if you want to use existing available technology that may be more expensive than using something like a PropCAM, but you can get now and you can tell what you will get for sure.
Other options include using something like the CMUcam with its existing serial interface. Again, this is a stable, existing product, well documented. Again, it's only part of the solution. It has the camera and a processor and produces digital images. You still need some way to get the image from the robot to you and put it on a screen. If you have a PC at your end, that's pretty easy. It's just some programming. You might be able to use the existing wireless link (if it's fast enough).
Okay, I'll try it, but I still think I might get the PropCAM later, but for a different perpose. Does anyone know if the cmu cam provides very good pictures?
Comments
Connectors have always been and, I fear, shall always be the bane of my existence!
-Phil
www.rpelectronics.com/Default.asp?Main=/English/OnlineCat.asp?Menu=/English/Content/Categories/CatM_28.asp%26Detail=/English/Content/Items/211-225.asp
Yup, that's what I was looking for, all right. Now I need to find the Chinese factory that makes them...
Thanks for the lead!
-Phil
Much better than actually making cables that's for sure!
Graham
Sheon
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Cheers,
Simon
www.norfolkhelicopterclub.co.uk
You'll always have as many take-offs as landings, the trick is to be sure you can take-off again ;-)
BTW: I type as I'm thinking, so please don't take any offense at my writing style
I don't mean to get simonl's hopes up again but I would like to get an update on this project. Is there anything we can do to help you move this forward?
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BioProp: Robotics - Powered by Bioloids and controlled by the Propeller
Anyway, I haven't forgotten, but thanks just the same for the reminder!
-Phil
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Cheers,
Simon
www.norfolkhelicopterclub.co.uk
You'll always have as many take-offs as landings, the trick is to be sure you can take-off again ;-)
BTW: I type as I'm thinking, so please don't take any offense at my writing style
Do you think is time for an update?
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The Pi Guy
Phil's got competition now (from Cliff Biffle) so I guess he'll be wanting some return on his large investment.
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Cheers,
Simon
www.norfolkhelicopterclub.co.uk
You'll always have as many take-offs as landings, the trick is to be sure you can take-off again ;-)
BTW: I type as I'm thinking, so please don't take any offense at my writing style
There is some progress being made on a board to host the PropCAM, thus making a complete system. Hopefully, I'll be able to provide some details in the coming days or weeks.
-Phil
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The Pi Guy
-Phil
http://www.parallax.com/Store/Accessories/Communication/tabid/161/CategoryID/36/List/0/Level/a/ProductID/440/Default.aspx?SortField=ProductName%2cProductName
I'm not sure if it is fast enough, but it is what I was thinking when I said put it on air to another prop. I will be getting my PE kit sometime soon, so, as you can see I have no experience with the propeller yet, just the basic stamp.
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The Pi Guy
-Phil
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The Pi Guy
Graham
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The Pi Guy
If you use a laptop you could get a little TV card which is something I have done in the past to monitor CNC machines. They allow you to save images.
Just giving some other options that would not become a massive project in themselves.
Graham
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The Pi Guy
* a wireless colour camera (2.4GHz)
* a wireless receiver - that has TV output
* a 7" flat-screen TV (cost me about £80)
I sometimes record to my laptop using a Dazzle DV USB device (sorry, I'm at work and can't remember the exact details).
As for the PropCAM - I don't think it's really intended for that purpose; it's a grey-scale device that will allow local (Propeller) processing.
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Cheers,
Simon
www.norfolkhelicopterclub.co.uk
You'll always have as many take-offs as landings, the trick is to be sure you can take-off again ;-)
BTW: I type as I'm thinking, so please don't take any offense at my writing style
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The Pi Guy
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The Pi Guy
The PropCAM is a limited device that's designed around the limited video input capabilities (and very limited directly addressable memory) of the Propeller. In any event, the PropCAM is not available. You have to decide if you want to wait for a device that may not be what you want in the end and certainly is designed for a different purpose (on-chip processing of images) or if you want to use existing available technology that may be more expensive than using something like a PropCAM, but you can get now and you can tell what you will get for sure.
Other options include using something like the CMUcam with its existing serial interface. Again, this is a stable, existing product, well documented. Again, it's only part of the solution. It has the camera and a processor and produces digital images. You still need some way to get the image from the robot to you and put it on a screen. If you have a PC at your end, that's pretty easy. It's just some programming. You might be able to use the existing wireless link (if it's fast enough).
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The Pi Guy