[htaprs] VC-H1

[F. Kevin Feeney]

Scott Miller wrote:
> I've never actually used a VC-H1 myself, but I've read about their quirks.
They definitely are quirky. Handy though.
>   I was worried about the lack of a mechanism to see what you're 
> taking a picture of, but apparently the VC-H1 didn't let you do that 
> either.
Actually, it does. You can press the button on the side and get a 
realtime view of the camera's output on the screen. Press the button 
again and it captures it to temporary  memory for sending.
>
> I know the camera was removable - was it easy to remote, like if you 
> wanted to put it on your dashboard, separate from the rest of the unit?
It plugs in with a 3.5 mm stereo plug, so I suppose an extender cord 
with a suitable jack and plug such as used for audio extensions would 
work, though I haven't tried that. The stock camera seems to be 
optimized for shooting head and shoulders shots of nearby folks. It's 
not very good at showing things more distant from the camera such as 
storm damage or area views. For public service events, I usually plug my 
digital camera into the unit using the NTSC output of the digicam, 
normally used to play pictures out to a tv monitor, to feed the VC-H1. 
That allows me to use the better optics of a real camera, including a 
good zoom lens for framing the shots. I can either grab the image using 
the VC-H1's memory, or more often I shoot the image on the digicam, and 
then send it later from the digicam's review function. That allows me to 
shoot multiple pics as the event is happening, then send them shortly 
afterwards when I have time to pay attention to shot selection and 
choosing which images are suitable for sending.

To tell the truth, I very rarely use the VC-H1's stock camera. I'm much 
more interested in a device that allows me to use the output of other 
digital cameras and video devices I have on hand - generally having NTSC 
outputs. Their optics are always vastly superior and more flexible, and 
often I am using them as part of my documentation process of the event 
anyhow. It's hard to pick a small, inexpensive, camera for dedicated use 
that has the flexibility to meet the various needs of SSTV users, 
particularly for public service events.

One use I put mine to is to take the feed from the nose camera on my 
ultralight airplane and do an automated picture grab every 3 minutes, or 
when I force a grab,  and send it. I use it with my D7 so every 3 
minutes the system transmits a view of what the airplane is seeing, and 
then the D7 stamps it with a trailing APRS packet with time and 
coordinates, altitude and speed. (I do this on a non-APRS frequency for 
obvious reasons. Usually a local simplex frequency where friends are 
monitoring.) I'd love to have a system that gave me more flexibility to 
set up systems of this type.

73 de Kevin, WB2EMS

>
> Scott
> N1VG