Comment by Chris Card on March 13, 2012 at 8:06pm

The slip ring doesn't (shouldn't have to) bear the the weight of the pod, it should just sit within an existing bushing or bearing.

Also if the rotation is is not continuous, the wire bundle could come through the bushing and be slightly coiled in a twist inside the pod so the rotation would not stress the conductors.  This method may have service-life issues if delicate wire is used though.

Some car steering wheels have a 6 turn commutator the uses a flat ribbon cable the slides in a cartridge that is disc shaped stuffing box .  A flat wire that is like the flexible circuit board material (laminated copper foil) may work here.

Comment by james sowell on March 13, 2012 at 11:35pm

what about store bought pan & tilt with somthing like a ping pong ball, 180 servo that whould leave us 3,950$ if u want retact Im shure someone can add that later maybe a micro servo, wire and a hinge all Im thinking is start out simple then u can add on

 

  

Comment by Joseph on March 14, 2012 at 6:15am

http://www.servocity.com/html/spt200_pan___tilt_system.html

I am thinking of adding this to the underbelly of my plane . I don't need it to retract since I have landing gear on my plane. I will add a 180-180 rotation servo to the pan and a normal rotation on the tilt. This will allow me to have a 360 deg view of the lower horizon to the ground. 

It looks of high quality and should last a while. The next trick for me is getting the ardu pilot to pan and tilt it with out going thru the R/C receiver. Any thoughts on this. My plan is to use a logitech joystick to control the pan and tilt of the cam only.I would want to have it to use 2 buttons as well to stow (point to the tail) to protect the lens for take off, and Pilot View (look straight forward) for in route as well as rotation with the movement of the stick when i need to look at the ground targets. can someone produce a detailed video of how to accomplish this?

Thanks

Comment by james sowell on March 14, 2012 at 7:50am

I have the logitech 3d I have flight modes and controls working I was wanting to use tophat switch on top to control camera but I cant find any thing on setup for that switch is yours working? 

Comment by Joseph on March 14, 2012 at 9:02am

I think it makes sense. As long as the guy building it understands. 

Neat idea... I Like it

Comment by James F. on March 14, 2012 at 9:16am

I don't think I follow on some parts of the design. What pivots the ball about the horizontal axis? I see how the vertical axis works and I can see how the retract mech. could work...

What is the wedge for? Where does the second servo go?

Comment by Jeb Bailey on March 14, 2012 at 9:40am

Just got one of THESE.  Haven't tested it yet though.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

Comment by Rick Stewart on March 14, 2012 at 12:02pm

@Jeb Bailey, those are the reason I decided to use a block camera, my issue was those were too expensive for the relatively low performance.  I have found cameras like those that cost half the price and do Auto Focus with 36x zoom.  Those do have an IR Cut function which is handy to have.  I would love to hear how that works out for you.  Cheers,

Rick

Comment by Rick Stewart on March 14, 2012 at 10:50pm

I have decided to start working on my own prototype using these.  http://www.microrax.com/

I should be able to keep the weight down, and have more of a linear movement, with a smaller foot print.

I am planning to raise and lower the unit with a 360 degree servo connected to a rack, with a micro server on the camera for tilt, and a geared 360 degree servo for pan.  I will keep you all updated.  Cheers,

Rick

Comment by Andrew Adams on March 15, 2012 at 12:08pm

@Jeb Bailey Have you tested that camera out yet? I'm interested to know how it performs.

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