Model railroad enginerding
Sep. 21st, 2019 08:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
psipsyIn a previous post, I mentioned that I was trying to mount a small video camera on a model train car. I've had varying degrees of success, and my camera of choice made it possible in the first place.
Specifically, the camera is a Sony Action Camera. I picked that because the dimensions lend themselves well to HO scale, especially the width. An HO scale car can be as wide as 1.4", but the Sony will fit easily in under an inch. It's also only 3" long, so it can fit in all but the shortest cars. The lens is also center to the camera, so it doesn't have to sit offset. The height of the Sony is the only dimension that could be an issue, and only if I don't pay attention to it.
The Sony also works with my phone via an app, so I can start and stop recording without touching (and thus disturbing) the camera, and also see through the lens, to give me an idea of how well it's positioned.
As other action cameras go, the physical size becomes a problem. A GoPro was considered but it's completely out because it's too wide and the lens is offset, so it would end up sticking out too far in one direction or the other.
Things I've used/tried:
-Using a short hopper car. This worked as a proof of concept. However the hopper made the camera sit too high. It's fine if running slowly on a layout with no bridges or tunnels, or if I want that "riding behind the engine" POV.
-Using a gondola with a custom spacer-frame. The gondola needed to be short due to stability, and the shortest I could find was about 40' scale feet. Longer cars don't work as well because when it's too close to one end, it's prone to derailing, and when too close to the center, the overhang makes it tend to tip over. The top of the camera sits slightly higher than the rest of the train; lower than in the hopper, at least. Since my theoretical layout would accomodate for double-stack container cars, the height might not be an issue at this point. Surely I can do better anyway!
-Using an intermodal well car for containers with a custom spacer-frame. The center of gravity is much better, and the camera's top edge is flush with standard freight cars. However, the car itself is too long and I start running into the same issues with the longer gondolas.
-Using a low center flat car. This was an ebay gamble. It was cheap enough, and the item is exactly as advertised, but the low-center portion was too short for the camera to fit.
What's next? I'm going to make something specifically for this purpose, something that's just long enough for the camera, short enough to be stable, and low enough that the camera can clear tunnel entrances and bridges. I think I know how to make this happen.
As a bonus, I'm looking at mounting a couple LEDs on the front to work as headlights. Those will be battery powered instead of rail-powered due to the variable output of the throttle controller. The purpose of this feature is to provide some kind of lighting when going through tunnels, which I plan to include on my layout.
There are two different materials I have available to work with: styrene, and brass. Styrene has the advantage of being easy to work with, and glues easily enough. Brass isn't as easy to work as styrene but it does have the advantage of having more weight and being more rigid for the same thickness, which would stabilize the car when the camera is mounted, and when it comes to connecting brass parts to each other, it is easy to solder.
Something like chipboard would be great for an initial prototype. Something to size it up, flesh it out, and otherwise make sure everything fits.
As much as I could just stick with the well car and put counter-weights on the empty end, and that would work, the nature of the well car becomes a limiting factor. That is, it can't go on some of the tighter radius tracks. To be fair, my future layout won't have anything tighter than 22" radius (or almost 4' for a full circle), but I would like something that can go on other layouts if desired.
Also, and just as important, it's about the making of things and the learning and the doing.
Specifically, the camera is a Sony Action Camera. I picked that because the dimensions lend themselves well to HO scale, especially the width. An HO scale car can be as wide as 1.4", but the Sony will fit easily in under an inch. It's also only 3" long, so it can fit in all but the shortest cars. The lens is also center to the camera, so it doesn't have to sit offset. The height of the Sony is the only dimension that could be an issue, and only if I don't pay attention to it.
The Sony also works with my phone via an app, so I can start and stop recording without touching (and thus disturbing) the camera, and also see through the lens, to give me an idea of how well it's positioned.
As other action cameras go, the physical size becomes a problem. A GoPro was considered but it's completely out because it's too wide and the lens is offset, so it would end up sticking out too far in one direction or the other.
Things I've used/tried:
-Using a short hopper car. This worked as a proof of concept. However the hopper made the camera sit too high. It's fine if running slowly on a layout with no bridges or tunnels, or if I want that "riding behind the engine" POV.
-Using a gondola with a custom spacer-frame. The gondola needed to be short due to stability, and the shortest I could find was about 40' scale feet. Longer cars don't work as well because when it's too close to one end, it's prone to derailing, and when too close to the center, the overhang makes it tend to tip over. The top of the camera sits slightly higher than the rest of the train; lower than in the hopper, at least. Since my theoretical layout would accomodate for double-stack container cars, the height might not be an issue at this point. Surely I can do better anyway!
-Using an intermodal well car for containers with a custom spacer-frame. The center of gravity is much better, and the camera's top edge is flush with standard freight cars. However, the car itself is too long and I start running into the same issues with the longer gondolas.
-Using a low center flat car. This was an ebay gamble. It was cheap enough, and the item is exactly as advertised, but the low-center portion was too short for the camera to fit.
What's next? I'm going to make something specifically for this purpose, something that's just long enough for the camera, short enough to be stable, and low enough that the camera can clear tunnel entrances and bridges. I think I know how to make this happen.
As a bonus, I'm looking at mounting a couple LEDs on the front to work as headlights. Those will be battery powered instead of rail-powered due to the variable output of the throttle controller. The purpose of this feature is to provide some kind of lighting when going through tunnels, which I plan to include on my layout.
There are two different materials I have available to work with: styrene, and brass. Styrene has the advantage of being easy to work with, and glues easily enough. Brass isn't as easy to work as styrene but it does have the advantage of having more weight and being more rigid for the same thickness, which would stabilize the car when the camera is mounted, and when it comes to connecting brass parts to each other, it is easy to solder.
Something like chipboard would be great for an initial prototype. Something to size it up, flesh it out, and otherwise make sure everything fits.
As much as I could just stick with the well car and put counter-weights on the empty end, and that would work, the nature of the well car becomes a limiting factor. That is, it can't go on some of the tighter radius tracks. To be fair, my future layout won't have anything tighter than 22" radius (or almost 4' for a full circle), but I would like something that can go on other layouts if desired.
Also, and just as important, it's about the making of things and the learning and the doing.
