DIY Helmet Cam

[Kantspel]

All the talk about mounting a camera vs mounting a lipstick thingy to a helmet got me curious
enough to try and make a full camera mount. I'm making good progress and have snapped a few photos
along the way.

http://tinyurl.com/25axh

I had some carbon fiber lying around and had never really worked with the stuff so choose it as my
medium. I'm sure it would work just as well with the fiberglass auto repair kit stuff if you didn't
have any cf and epoxy.

My methods are extrememly ad hoc and rough so it doesn't look so hot but I'm happy with it and
that's all that matters. If anyone shows interest I can add some explinations to the photos.

In the last pic of me you can just make out my little yellow "shop vac" doing vacuum bagging
duties while the part sits in a box heated by a light bulb. My wife took the pic to document the
strange behavior she stumbled upon. She heard the vacuum running for about 30 min and *knew* i
wasn't cleaning.

So, I've finished the first (outside) half and I'm plugging away at the inside half and a
mounting system.

If someone knows of a less flashy site to post photos on I'd be open to move it.

 

[Westie]

kantspel wrote:
> My wife took the pic to document the strange behavior she stumbled upon. She heard the vacuum
> running for about 30 min and *knew* i wasn't cleaning.

Thanks for the entertainment. That's the funniest thing that I've seen in ages. I don't know if you
realise how funny it all looks if it's the first time you've seen it. What a strange pink lump....
Having said that, it may provide enough protection. How are you going to mount the whole thing to
the helmet? Just bolt a bracket through?
--
Westie (Replace 'invalid' with 'yahoo' when replying.)

 

[Chris Phillipo]

In article <Y0W%[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> All the talk about mounting a camera vs mounting a lipstick thingy to a helmet got me curious
> enough to try and make a full camera mount. I'm making good progress and have snapped a few photos
> along the way.
>
> http://tinyurl.com/25axh
>
> I had some carbon fiber lying around and had never really worked with the stuff so choose it as my
> medium. I'm sure it would work just as well with the fiberglass auto repair kit stuff if you
> didn't have any cf and epoxy.
>
> My methods are extrememly ad hoc and rough so it doesn't look so hot but I'm happy with it and
> that's all that matters. If anyone shows interest I can add some explinations to the photos.
>
> In the last pic of me you can just make out my little yellow "shop vac" doing vacuum bagging
> duties while the part sits in a box heated by a light bulb. My wife took the pic to document the
> strange behavior she stumbled upon. She heard the vacuum running for about 30 min and *knew* i
> wasn't cleaning.
>
> So, I've finished the first (outside) half and I'm plugging away at the inside half and a
> mounting system.
>
> If someone knows of a less flashy site to post photos on I'd be open to move it.
>

I did mine with fiberglass and it looks a whole lot worse than yours. I had to it a bit once it
hardened so the shop still has a thin layer of epoxy dust over everything. I incorporated a stiff
piece of plastic into mine so I would have something to drill later for the mounting bolts. Now that
it's all done it's ugly as hell even witht he red paint job and I'm thinking about doing it again in
carbon fiber or at least a woven fiberglass, not the free floating mess I had lying around. By the
way there's a giant cat about to eat your camera.
--
_________________________
Chris Phillipo - Cape Breton, Nova Scotia http://www.ramsays-online.com

 

[Slacker]

Chris Phillipo wrote:
>
> By the way there's a giant cat about to eat your camera.

I thought that was a California mountain lion.
--
Slacker

 

[Kantspel]

Westie wrote:
> kantspel wrote:
>
>>My wife took the pic to document the strange behavior she stumbled upon. She heard the vacuum
>>running for about 30 min and *knew* i wasn't cleaning.
>
>
> Thanks for the entertainment. That's the funniest thing that I've seen in ages. I don't know if
> you realise how funny it all looks if it's the first time you've seen it. What a strange pink
> lump.... Having said that, it may provide enough protection. How are you going to mount the whole
> thing to the helmet? Just bolt a bracket through?

I'm not exactly sure how i'm going to mount it yet. I'm trying to think of a way to do it without
having to drill the helmet. I did some testing with velcro straps that was pretty promising.

None of it seems all that funny to me, there's some serious thinking going on...do you smell
something burning?

 

[Bill Porter]

On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 05:52:56 GMT, kantspel <[email protected]> wrote:

>All the talk about mounting a camera vs mounting a lipstick thingy to a helmet got me curious
>enough to try and make a full camera mount. I'm making good progress and have snapped a few photos
>along the way.
>
>http://tinyurl.com/25axh
>
>I had some carbon fiber lying around and had never really worked with the stuff so choose it as my
>medium. I'm sure it would work just as well with the fiberglass auto repair kit stuff if you didn't
>have any cf and epoxy.
>
>My methods are extrememly ad hoc and rough so it doesn't look so hot but I'm happy with it and
>that's all that matters. If anyone shows interest I can add some explinations to the photos.
>
>In the last pic of me you can just make out my little yellow "shop vac" doing vacuum bagging duties
>while the part sits in a box heated by a light bulb. My wife took the pic to document the strange
>behavior she stumbled upon. She heard the vacuum running for about 30 min and *knew* i wasn't
>cleaning.
>
>So, I've finished the first (outside) half and I'm plugging away at the inside half and a
>mounting system.
>
>If someone knows of a less flashy site to post photos on I'd be open to move it.

I had entertained the idea of doing some custom carbon for my mount but I decided I did not have the
time or patience to go that route. Buying one was easier for me, but it would be cool to have your
own custom setup.

Bill Porter www.mountainbikebill.com

 

[Kantspel]

>
> I had entertained the idea of doing some custom carbon for my mount but I decided I did not have
> the time or patience to go that route. Buying one was easier for me, but it would be cool to have
> your own custom setup.
>
> Bill Porter www.mountainbikebill.com
>

It really didn't take that long to do the first half. i probably spent about 2-3 hours on it. Once I
have the second half worked out in my head it will probably go quicker now that I've practiced the
fabrication. I'm hoping to spend less than 10 hours total and spend little or no money. If I had to
buy everyting it would probably run $100, just a tad less than the better made ones that you can
buy. Fiber glass would be cheaper but we all know that carbon is faster.

 

[Kantspel]

Slacker wrote:

> Chris Phillipo wrote:
>
>> By the way there's a giant cat about to eat your camera.
>
>
> I thought that was a California mountain lion.
> --
> Slacker
>
>
It's actually a Midwestern Fat Ass. Boo is pretty helpful on projects, she works on any loose wires
or strings and makes sure that nothing I'm reading blows away.

 

[Krusty]

"kantspel" <[email protected]> wrote
> I did some testing with velcro straps that was pretty promising.

Kiss that camera goodbye. lol...

 

[Kantspel]

While waiting for foam to dry I figued I'd put this stuff on a site (my first shot at this
web stuff).

http://practicallynowhere.tk/