How to control RED from 3 miles away?

[Matt Mascheri]

Hi all,

I was wondering how / if there is a way to control a RED from three miles away. I may have an opportunity to film a Atlas V rocket launch up close. The RED would be in a protective bunker, but I would have to be about 3 miles away at the viewing site. The camera would be set up a few hours before hand, and I don't want to run the risk of missing that launch by just letting the camera record.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Matt

 

[Vigen Vartanov]

Press record Button and RUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

 

[Matt Mascheri]

Hahahha... That is one of the plans but, with launches you never know if there is going to be a delay. And the 320 gig drive only gets you about 2 hours or so. I can just see it, just as the disk runs out of room, and the camera shuts off, the darn thing lifts off. I don't think the client would be that happy...

 

[Vigen Vartanov]

I thing that you can make some triger that can be run on clock . Check this chart , i get it once on reduser .
Bigger problem that you will have is that you must leave camera on inside box.
1. Problem - Cooling system
2. Problem : Battery live , you need to use DC adapter.

 

[Vigen Vartanov]

Hahahha... That is one of the plans but, with launches you never know if there is going to be a delay. And the 320 gig drive only gets you about 2 hours or so. I can just see it, just as the disk runs out of room, and the camera shuts off, the darn thing lifts off. I don't think the client would be that happy...

Sow ask client to push Record Button and RUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

 

[martinnoweck]

wow, this can only happen on reduser:
i want to film a rocket launch - voila, here is the chart ;-)

 

[Vigen Vartanov]

Also solution put monkey inside box And monkey will push button .

 

[Vigen Vartanov]

wow, this can only happen on reduser:
i want to film a rocket launch - voila, here is the chart ;-)

Yes it is ReduSer.

Information about Chart :
1. I did not check it
2. Do not do it without specialist

Also i thing that is time to send camera in open space. If you have some contacts in NASA just ask them to put camera in Rocket It will be funny . Your RedOne will be first camera in Open Space. And then you can sale it on Ebay . Or Red Can pay money for it .
Thing about it .

 

[Matt Mascheri]

Hey Vigen,

Cooling and power shouldn't be a problem.

Wow, now that is an idea... I like the idea of running a trigger on a clock, I'm just not sure if I would have access to the launch clock.

Hmm....making the client puch the record button and run... I like it, they just better make it out of there so I can get paid.

I don't like monkeys, so that won't work either.

Matt

 

[ericyoung]

I wonder if launch sound/vibrations may cause drive to skip? May want an Element Technica isolation mount?

 

[michael zaletel]

You'll want to monitor somehow from a distance as well.

-shooter

 

[Tom Visser]

Your solution will somehow be related to the GPIO ports on the aux power connection. If you send a contact closure on the GPI port, the camera can be configured to start recording. The GPO port will be the "tally" or tell you the status of the camera... presumably closed while recording. With this, you could hook up the camera to a set of relays, how you control those relays is another story.

An unlikely scenario is where you lay down telephone wire and create a closed loop analog phone line, which would allow you to have a handset / keypad, and control an automation friendly device on the other side, something that would normally allow a homeowner to close garage doors, start fans or HVAC equipment, etc... from their phone. I doubt you can or will want to run wire, though.

That means wireless control... If you had a computer with EDGE/3G network access, your could theoretically remote into that machine and control an attached contract closure device via USB, RS232, etc...

You could do something simple like place a cell phone near a sound detector, so that sending an SMS would cause an audible chime, thus starting / the recording feature (better make sure no one else calls the phone!). I would hook up the GPO port to a circuit that would run a strobe, placed on top of the bunker, so you have a visual reference that the camera is recording. (also make sure that the sensor is a 1shot device, so that it won't send another pulse when it hears something else loud, like say... a rocket engine and doesn't respond to false starts like from the PA)

In any event, you will want plan B in case anything you set up doesn't go quite as planned.

**EDIT** maybe you could send an email out to the RED developer team. They might be able to get you a custom firmware with "rocket mode". I.E. detect strong flash of light, start recording (with a couple minutes of pre-record enabled, of course)

 

[Antti Pirskanen]

There are a lot of summer houses here in Finland and many people install a burglar alarm / remotely controlled relay to enable them to turn on an electric sauna via a cell phone text message while they are driving to the summer house (which are often hours away from their city homes). See for example http://www.ondico.se/files/prodblad/15030_PB_EN_0706.pdf and http://www.microdata.fi/pdf/Legato/LEGATO_GSM-alarm.pdf

The good thing about this solution is that it is enough that the text message goes through. Sometimes Edge/3G connections drop out at the most unfortunate moments, but text messaging is quite reliable at least over here.

You can also get 3G based security cameras for less than $300 or so. You could set-up one of these to your monitor at the site just to confirm that the camera is actually recording.

 

[Lewis-M Soucy]

With a candle, a piece of thread, a rock and an origo... Candle burns, burns and breaks the thread, rock attached to thread falls, hits origo... Gotta burn a few candles to gets the right lenght/time before it reaches the thread...

 

[PaulClements]

Also solution put monkey inside box And monkey will push button .

The combination of gramatical error and animal cruelty made this an especially enjoyable line to read... Classic! :tongue:

Paul

 

[Karl Gustav H.]

Hi all,

I was wondering how / if there is a way to control a RED from three miles away. I may have an opportunity to film a Delta5 rocket launch up close. The RED would be in a protective bunker, but I would have to be about 3 miles away at the viewing site. The camera would be set up a few hours before hand, and I don't want to run the risk of missing that launch by just letting the camera record.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Matt

Are you filming at Canaveral or Vandenberg, CA?

Kennedy may well be quite wet and salty, so a splashbag may not be a bad idea, depending on the state of the bunker you are setting up in. Vandenberg should be a little better.

Again, the condition and strength of the bunker will determine whether you can safely use Red-Drives or need to go to CF cards. If you have the funds, a very nice email to RED seeing if you can get an early Red-Ram / do a field test of the SSD setup may be in order!

Anything wireless will likely be prohibited, especially as you (as no doubt you know) are dealing with the Air Force, not NASA. GPIO, perhaps with repeaters to ensure signal strength may be the most viable option.

btw: Delta 5 doesn't exist, its either Atlas V or Delta 4 (or Delta 2 for that matter). Atlas V will go up notably quicker than Delta 4, and Delta will look far cooler, especially with the hydrogen fireballs on engine start. They shoot half way up the body!

I forgot to ask if you are planning on using a fixed mount or some kind of pan/tilt mo-co head?

 

[Matt Mascheri]

Karlgustav and all,

Opps, yep it is a Atlas V, my bad. I'm still in the process of getting all the details on which bunker we will be at. The launch is at Pad41 (Canaveral). The client is dealing with NASA / Ames right now, but I agree that wireless might be out of the question.

The launch is scheduled right now for late April, but that may change. I'll post more info about the shoot and location as they become available.

I wouldn't mind trying out the RED-RAM drive, but I'm not sure that 120 gig will cut it for the overall amount of shooting that may be planned. And at 4,500 bucks ouch.

The GPIO option seems to be the best overall choice, but I just cannot see running repeaters and cables all the way out there.

Thanks for the ideas, if anyone has some more, I'd be glad to read them!

Matt

 

[Filipo]

Rent a helicopter

 

[ericyoung]

You'll want to monitor somehow from a distance as well.

-shooter

...You can also get 3G based security cameras for less than $300 or so. You could set-up one of these to your monitor at the site just to confirm that the camera is actually recording.

Umm, the camera framing's drooped, there's a pigeon in front of the lens...and oh shit, it's not recording. Quick someone go and sort it out!

...Ah, Houston we have a problem :bye2: :whistling:

 

[Karl Gustav H.]

Karlgustav and all,

Opps, yep it is a Atlas V, my bad. I'm still in the process of getting all the details on which bunker we will be at. The launch is at Pad41 (Canaveral). The client is dealing with NASA / Ames right now, but I agree that wireless might be out of the question.

The launch is scheduled right now for late April, but that may change. I'll post more info about the shoot and location as they become available.

I wouldn't mind trying out the RED-RAM drive, but I'm not sure that 120 gig will cut it for the overall amount of shooting that may be planned. And at 4,500 bucks ouch.

The GPIO option seems to be the best overall choice, but I just cannot see running repeaters and cables all the way out there.

Thanks for the ideas, if anyone has some more, I'd be glad to read them!

Matt

Ah, the LRO launch, sweet!

It should be one of the slower Atlas V launches, which is good for you. The AF comment was due to the fact that the facilities are technically under their control, not NASA.

Not to teach a grandmother to suck eggs, here is a youtube of a A-V launch in the same setup; should give you an idea of the speed if you want to track it uphill. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=jfic0N7h00c For reference, this shows the fastest A-V ascent! http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ReH5UshnE8o

You may find that there is some kind of remote hardware already in place; whether it is useable is another matter.