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This is Tyler's new digital video rocket from
Estes. We got it just in time for Mudrock 05 where it flew twice and got
pretty cool video from both flights. The kit comes pretty well
assembled. All you have to do is glue the main body together and attach
the nosecone, chute and shock cord. We replaced the cord with Kevlar and
used a Kevlar chute protector to avoid wadding on the Playa. We also
chose the optional chute connection to the nosecone tip so the camera
views the ground when under chute. |
On it's second flight, the Oracle had an
early delay on the D12-3 motor and put a pretty big zipper in the front
of the body tube and lost a fin on landing. We're going to fiberglass
the front of the tube and hope to be back up for the July launch at
Robertson park. |
While the detail is pretty
good, the .avi video files are a very large 70Mb for each 30 second
flight. We've compressed them and changed to .wmv format to get them
down to 2Mb or less. Video data is retained in volatile
memory and will be lost if the camera is powered down before the data is
downloaded to a PC via the supplied USB cable. We are aware of some
forum discussions describing data loss possibly caused by battery
contact bounce, so keep the AAA battery fresh and the contacts clean and
tight. Some users have suggested stiffening the contacts with folded up
pieces of Aluminum foil.
| Oracle video clips .wmv downloads are all
less than 2 Megs. Oracle 6/05
Mudrock1
Oracle 06/05 Mudock2
Oracle 07/05 Livermore1
Oracle 07/05 Livermore2
Oracle 06/06 Livermore
Oracle 06/06 Mudrock
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Flying the Oracle at
organized launches is going to require some special handling by the LCO.
The Oracle does not have a "launch detect" circuit. You power
up the camera and press a start switch 15 seconds before the video
recorder starts. We worked this out at Mudrock by deploying a helper out
at the pad. When ready, the helper pressed the Start button and began a
15 second countdown as he left to a safe distance. When the helper
reached "6", the LCO picked up the countdown with "5, 4,
3, 2, 1" and launched. This arrangement caught the complete launch
and recovery on both flights. |
