The Evil Dr. Manchu's Avenging Projectile of Doom

Digital Video Camera Lauch Vehicle

This rocket (TEDMAPOD for short) was designed and built to be Brad's level one certification rocket. It was just a simple three-fins-and-a-nose-cone vehicle that was made with room to grow. It is 2.6 inches in diameter and about 7 feet tall, so it has ample room for an avionics bay, dual deployment, etc. But it just sat around while Brad was busy with more exotic projects.

Click HERE for the RockSim file on TEDMAPOD.

Then Brad got fired up about recording the view from the rocket using digital video, and purchased an Intel Play Digital Movie Creator on eBay. It's a toy, really, that allows you to record four minutes of video to a chip, or one minute of higher quality video. The video then gets downloaded directly into a computer. The movie quality isn't as good as more expensive cameras, but good enough to post on the Internet.

Note: Intel divested the entire 'Intel Play' product line and sold it to a company called Prime Entertainment. The video recorder products is now marketed under the name Digital Blue Digital Movie Creator. The products can still be found on eBay, or you can go to the Digital Blue website at www.playdigitalblue.com.

The attached drawing shows how I modified the payload section to house the camera, mirror, and Blacksky Altimeter. The pod on the side is bisected from another unused rocket I had collecting dust on a garage shelf. The section foreward of the camera holds the 48" main parachute, and the aft section holds the 36" drogue. Together they should return the camera gently back to earth.

There are holes in the airframe that allow access to the buttons that need to be pushed in order to operate the camera. There is a timer built into the device, so I wait by the pad until the LCO calls my name; then I arm the altimeter and start the camera timer. By the time the countdown is done the altimeter is calibrated and the camera is rolling. In the event of a misfire I can dump the recorded video and start over.

I had opted to use a split frame in the first flight; the upper part of the frame was a reflected view aft (toward the ground). The bottom half was intended to be a view of the horizon. It really didn't work as planned, so I intend to fix this and have the reflection take up the entire frame from now on.

Click HERE for a great sequence of still photos taken from the first flight of the camera-equipped TEDMAPOD on July 13, 2002. It documents a bone-jarring mid-air collision!

Click [HERE!] to view another freeze-frame chronology of a TEDMAPOD video flight taken December 14, 2002 -- this one picture-perfect.

Click [HERE!] to view the videos.