"TaxiCam" - a camera for the video adapter

[Eric_Greenwell]

I've temporarily mounted a small "bullet" camera under my touring motorglider (Phoenix U15), just ahead of the landing gear. It displays the image on the Dynon SkyView monitor, using the Dynon video adapter. It's nice to see ahead of the plane while taxiing (the Phoenix is a tail dragger), and I think it will be a help for maneuvering into thermals (that's the glider part of "motorglider"), because I'll be able to see where the dust devil is below me.

The camera is the "BOSCH SECURITY VIDEO VTC-206F03-4 Indoor/Outdoor Mini Camera" that I bought on Amazon for $72. I tried a few car "backup cameras", which are attractive because they are $15-$30, also waterproof, but smaller and lighter; however, all had at least one issue: poor image quality, too wide a view, color washed out in sunlight, reversed image (standard for backup cameras - a couple units had a setting to change that), or guide lines on the image. The Bosch unit avoids all those issues, but it is a bit harder to mount.

 

[jdubner]

Very nice!  I couldn't understand why anyone would use precious space on a $4k screen to display video but now I get it (dust devil spotter).  Probably many other good uses too.

Could you explain the "striped lines" in both video images?  (At first glance I thought the bottom one was an actual dust devil.)

--
Joe

 

[cessnadriver850]

Looks like the propeller going by to me.

 

[Eric_Greenwell]

Looks like the propeller going by to me.

That's what it is! It looks like the video output is "interlaced" instead of "progressive", so it takes two frames to make a complete image. The propeller moves between frames, so it's not there when the next frame is taken - thus the stripes.

 

[n97kd]

Very cool, Im' considering putting a camera on the belly of my Glasair III hoping to capture the landing gear as a backup gear indication.

 

[SuperCub]

I did mount a cam in an access panel below the right wing of my RV-7 - didn´t work. For this I bought a new, compatible screen and the video adapter. After sending back the video adapter I learned that there is an issue with firmware 11 and the PAL video format. So waiting impatiently for firmware 12. I might have a look at this Bosch cam, the image is looking good.

 

[rfinch]

The quality is impressive.

I hope someone can answer some questions.

• Reading the web page (http://dynonavionics.com/docs/SkyView_Video-Input.html) for Dynon's video adapter, I get the impression that a digital video signal supplied to a USB port would be accepted by Skyview without a need for the adapter. True?
• Is there a way of recording the video signal in the Skyview for after-flight download?
• Can intercom and radio audio be added to the video signal? Assume Dynon products for both.
• As for the Bosch camera, its data sheet (http://resource.boschsecurity.com/documents/Data_sheet_enUS_1989482635.pdf) implies there's no in-operation adjustment required or allowed; powered on it adjusts itself as needed. Is this true?

Sorry for the questions, during my long build I've alway wanted a permanently mounted camera in a wing leading edge (with optical glass cover), outside of the propeller arc, that I could monitor and record inside the cockpit. The Go-Pros didn't seem to do that, your setup is the first I've seen that seems to be close to what I want. 

 

[dynonsupport]

There is no standard for digital video on USB, so you'll have a hard time creating the signal we need. You need a device that looks exactly like the device we use so the same driver will know how to communicate with it. The device we use to capture video is not made by us so even we don't know 100% of the specs of the USB data needed to make it work, we are just able to integrate a driver.

So ultimately, no. You must use our video adapter.

SkyView does not record the video. That was not part of the design goal for this feature. The real goal of this feature was a camera for the pilot to use to operate the aircraft in real time, like a taxi camera. Video is very data intensive and having SkyView keep up with everything else it does while saving video to a USB memory stick is not easy.

Audio is not processed in any way.

 

[Eric_Greenwell]

Is there a way of recording the video signal in the Skyview for after-flight download?
Can intercom and radio audio be added to the video signal? Assume Dynon products for both.
As for the Bosch camera, its data sheet (http://resource.boschsecurity.com/documents/Data_sheet_enUS_1989482635.pdf) implies there's no in-operation adjustment required or allowed; powered on it adjusts itself as needed. Is this true?

SkyView won't do it, but you can buy small DVRs (check on Amazon!) intended for the kind of recording you want. They are small, cheap, record on SD cards, and operate from 12 volts, apparently intended for race cars, etc. Audio can be recorded at the same time, using an external source.

Connect one of these to your camera (use splitter at the input to the video adapter), run the audio to it from your intercom system, and you have your recording AND real-time display from the camera on your Skyview. I may try this in the future - I'd really like to have recordings of takeoffs and landings for analysis of my piloting, and for other uses.

Yes, the Bosch camera I use is self-adjusting, no adjustments provided. The photos show some more eye candy from my "CowlCam".

Note that SkyView 12 was just announced, and a new feature lets you flip the image left/right, up/down, which will make it easier to use small, cheap and readily available car "backup" cameras, or to point a camera to the rear (for towing?) and see the image as you would in a rear view mirror.

 

[rfinch]

SkyView won't do it, but you can buy small DVRs (check on Amazon!) intended for the kind of recording you want. They are small, cheap, record on SD cards, and operate from 12 volts, apparently intended for race cars, etc. Audio can be recorded at the same time, using an external source.

Excellent; thanks very much for the follow up.

I won't do this but I can imagine an infrared or other night operation camera...?

 

[vlittle]

Thanks, Eric for the camera recommendation.  I am mounting one on the port side nostril of my HRII.

For Dynon:   It would be desirable to have a digital zoom for this camera.  It's a fairly wide angle so I get a lot of the cowl intake in the picture.   Some sort of digital zoom (1.25...2 x ) would help crop this out and give me a larger more useful view for taxiing.

It's simple in concept, but the real-time processing requirements may be prohibitive... or not.

Vern

 

[Eric_Greenwell]

It's a fairly wide angle so I get a lot of the cowl intake in the picture.

There are similar cameras with a narrower field-of-view (FOV). The Bosch I used has about a 90 degree FOV with it's 3.6 mm lens. If you can find a similar camera with a 7.2 mm lens, you'd have about 45 deg. FOV. Some places offer cameras with a choice of lenses; one I recall had a zoom lens. A 2X tele-converter lens taped on the front would have the same effect, and you can probably find, say, a 1.5X tele-converter lens.

Let us know if you find a narrower FOV camera, or teleconverters that work on the Bosch.

 

[vlittle]

Thanks, Eric

I found a perfect location using an existing screw that positions my camera just so, so the 90 degree field works fine. Looking forward to taxiing around with my head down!

For Dynon:
I wish there was a one button push to toggle the camera display on and off. The two-step is OK but not ideal. Even an external switch would be appreciated.

Vern

 

[purlee]

Another option, although I am not sure you can view it on a Skyview Video Adapter, is a device called the Eagle 360, from a company called Airborne Sensor.

This is a low profile pod which attaches to the belly of the aircraft and mounts up to 5 Go-Pro cameras. (Fwd, Back, Left, Right & vertically down).

They apparently have a number of approvals for certified aircraft as well as the LSA/Homebuilt/Experimental market.

I have flown in a friends WT9 Dynamic, with a pod fitted. No reduction in aircraft performance, very well streamlined, and the video results are awesome.

The cameras can simply be turned on before you leave, or controlled in-flight by the standard Go-Pro remote.

If you are into airborne photography, they are well worth a look, but like everything else about our hobby, they ain't cheap!