{"id":325,"date":"2009-05-04T02:06:56","date_gmt":"2009-05-03T15:06:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/?page_id=325"},"modified":"2010-07-01T00:08:32","modified_gmt":"2010-06-30T14:08:32","slug":"mfc","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/projects\/mfc\/","title":{"rendered":"mFC &#8211; Madox Floating Camera"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><a href=\"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/cimg2374.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-363\" title=\"cimg2374\" src=\"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/cimg2374-400x300.jpg\" alt=\"cimg2374\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/cimg2374-400x300.jpg 400w, http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/cimg2374-1024x768.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/cimg2374.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 85vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/h2>\n<h2>Name<\/h2>\n<p>The name is a backronym really &#8211; &#8216;mFC&#8217; sounded cool and figured it could mean Madox F@$@!%-up Contraption&#8230;or Madox Floating Camera.<\/p>\n<h2>Background \/ History<\/h2>\n<p>A work colleague who builds and competes with 1\/144 scale model warships in the Australian Battle Group invited me to spectate at one of their nationals.\u00a0 Not having the patience to build a model ship, but not wanting to just turn up there empty handed twiddling my thumbs watching people play I figured maybe I can get something into the water too.<\/p>\n<p>The idea was for a tele-operated floating camera that will film the model warships as they shoot each another to smithereens&#8230; only problem was the lack of time with the event looming in less than a month and work\/personal commitments.<\/p>\n<p>I usually design custom circuits\/PCBs for my projects (one reason why some seem to stall for eternity).\u00a0 This time I figured I&#8217;ll learn from all my casual reading of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hackaday.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Hack-A-Day<\/a> and use commercial off the shelf products for this thing!<\/p>\n<h2>COTS Components<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a onclick=\"javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('\/outbound\/article\/http:\/\/www.asus.com\/product.aspx?P_ID=cOWUB0XOSysr4sBM');\" href=\"http:\/\/www.asus.com\/product.aspx?P_ID=cOWUB0XOSysr4sBM\" target=\"_blank\">Asus WL-520GU Wireless Router<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a onclick=\"javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('\/outbound\/article\/http:\/\/www.denkovi.com\/Catalog\/USBRelayBoards12V\/USBRelayBoard8Channel12V\/description.htm');\" href=\"http:\/\/www.denkovi.com\/Catalog\/USBRelayBoards12V\/USBRelayBoard8Channel12V\/description.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Denkovi USB 8 Channel Relay Board<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a onclick=\"javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('\/outbound\/article\/http:\/\/www.avtech.com.tw\/english\/cctv_overview.aspx?ID=AVI201');\" href=\"http:\/\/www.avtech.com.tw\/english\/cctv_overview.aspx?ID=AVI201\" target=\"_blank\">AV-Tech AVI202 IP Camera(aka TP Link TL-SC3000?)<br \/>\n<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a onclick=\"javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('\/outbound\/article\/http:\/\/www.johnson-pump.com\/JPMarine\/products\/bilge\/cart_uc.html');\" href=\"http:\/\/www.johnson-pump.com\/JPMarine\/products\/bilge\/cart_uc.html\" target=\"_blank\">Johnson L450 Cartridge Bilge Pump<\/a><\/li>\n<li>12V 7Ah SLA Battery<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: line-through;\">6V 3.2Ah SLA Battery <\/span>6AA NiMH Batteries<\/li>\n<li>$8AUD Waterproof Case from the discount store <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-smiley\" src=\"..\/wp-includes\/images\/smilies\/icon_smile.gif\" alt=\":)\" \/><\/li>\n<li>2 \u00d7 Stationary Trays<\/li>\n<li>Cable Ties<\/li>\n<li>Wire<\/li>\n<li>Foam Blocks<\/li>\n<li>Terminal Strips<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Duct Tape<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Concept of Execution<\/h2>\n<p>The WL-520GU will host an interface webpage to allow remote control via a laptop\/portable device connected via WiFi.\u00a0 A CGI script will feed commands received via the web interface onto the relay board to control the thruster pumps.<\/p>\n<p>The laptop\/portable device will also be recording the live MPEG4 stream from the IP Camera from the WiFi.<\/p>\n<h2>Build<\/h2>\n<p>Build was a bit rushed, it was the 4th June&#8230; the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ausbg.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">AusBG<\/a> event was only 2 days away and I haven&#8217;t really started.\u00a0 Lucky it was all intended to be MacGyver&#8217;ed together anyway so 2 days should be plenty.<\/p>\n<p>Too lazy to document properly the MacGyver Floating Cam (Name change?) so here&#8217;s an abbreviated process (warning : might not be in any sensible order since there was really almost no thought put into the process) :-<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Buy the stuff&#8230;yup&#8230;<\/li>\n<li>Compile\/Install OpenWRT with libusb &amp; libftdi onto the router.<\/li>\n<li>Confirm the relay board works with the router by manually running commands.<\/li>\n<li>Prepare a simple SSH script and Web GUI interface to drive the relay board.<\/li>\n<li>Beg someone (Richard K) to drill some holes in the lid of the waterproof case for me.<\/li>\n<li>Each of the bilge pumps were &#8216;roughly&#8217; aligned and cable tied to the stationary trays.<\/li>\n<li>Foam blocks were cut to fit the stationary trays<\/li>\n<li>Pass through the pump wires through the lid of the water proof case.<\/li>\n<li>Cut some wire and strip the ends, wire up the contraption using screw terminals and the Wago terminal strips.\u00a0 WTF I have a wiring diagram here&#8230;6V SLA is now 6AA NiMH batteries.\n<p><figure id=\"attachment_388\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-388\" style=\"width: 450px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/mfc.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-388\" title=\"mfc\" src=\"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/mfc-450x145.png\" alt=\"MFC Wiring Diagram?\" width=\"450\" height=\"145\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/mfc-450x145.png 450w, http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/mfc-1024x331.png 1024w, http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/mfc.png 1298w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 85vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-388\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">MFC Wiring Diagram?<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n<li>Duct tape, lots of duct tape.\u00a0\u00a0 Painfully attach the stationary tray with bilge pumps by oneself to the waterproof case&#8230; use duct tape&#8230;lots of duct tape&#8230;even more duct tape&#8230;and more duct tape&#8230;such that the whole thing turns &#8216;black&#8217; \ud83d\ude42<\/li>\n<li>Try pack everything into the case&#8230;and pray that it fits&#8230;(it didn&#8217;t look like it would at first)&#8230;try harder&#8230;.bend the wires&#8230;try harder&#8230;it&#8217;ll fit&#8230;IT FITS.<\/li>\n<li>Put in water for some testing<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2>Software<\/h2>\n<p>Rush build and just simple laziness means I didn&#8217;t bother much in terms of software and I probably suffered for it.<\/p>\n<p>In writing this&#8230;in hindsight I&#8217;m too embarassed to show it \ud83d\ude42\u00a0 I&#8217;ll post it if anyone asks&#8230;but maybe just some photos for now&#8230;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_390\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-390\" style=\"width: 450px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/cimg2376.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-390\" title=\"cimg2376\" src=\"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/cimg2376-450x243.jpg\" alt=\"GUI and live video test.\" width=\"450\" height=\"243\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/cimg2376-450x243.jpg 450w, http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/cimg2376-1024x554.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/cimg2376.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 85vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-390\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">GUI and live video test.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_367\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-367\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/snc00055.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-367\" title=\"snc00055\" src=\"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/snc00055-400x300.jpg\" alt=\"GUI test on Samsung WinMo mobile using Opera (Not zoomed properly)\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/snc00055-400x300.jpg 400w, http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/snc00055-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 85vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-367\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">GUI test on Samsung WinMo mobile using Opera (Not zoomed properly)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Tests<\/h2>\n<p>I didn&#8217;t want this thing to fail spectacularly in front of so many people so its almost compulsory I do some tests&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Bath tub test 1 &#8211; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/2009\/05\/24\/mfc-madox-floating-camera-part-1\/\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/2009\/05\/24\/mfc-madox-floating-camera-part-1\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Bath tub test 2 &#8211; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/2009\/06\/05\/mfc-madox-floating-camera-part-2\/\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/2009\/06\/05\/mfc-madox-floating-camera-part-2\/<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Moment(s) of truth<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Moment 1\u00a0 &#8211; Yay it floats<\/li>\n<li>Moment 2 &#8211; Crap it&#8217;s not balanced&#8230;forward lisps to the right&#8230;right lisps backwards&#8230;.left lisps (forgot)&#8230; but backwards works!<\/li>\n<li>Moment 3 &#8211; Well at least the connection and the camera works&#8230;lets start recording&#8230;\n<ul>\n<li>Works well enough on my laptop<\/li>\n<li>Works not so good on my friend&#8217;s laptop, drops connection every time i kneel down (the laptop is heavy)<\/li>\n<li>Works horribly on a WinMo phone&#8230;can&#8217;t seem to press the buttons on Opera and IE just looks horrible.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Moment 4 &#8211; Argh the videos came out horribly \ud83d\ude1b<a href=\"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/DSC01081.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-505\" title=\"DSC01081\" src=\"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/DSC01081-450x299.jpg\" alt=\"DSC01081\" width=\"450\" height=\"299\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/DSC01081-450x299.jpg 450w, http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/DSC01081-1024x680.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 85vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Sample video :-<\/p>\n<p><object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"425\" height=\"350\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/8y_jWjezh1o\" \/><embed type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"425\" height=\"350\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/8y_jWjezh1o\"><\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n<p><object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"425\" height=\"350\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/rs-Sae1nW4c\" \/><embed type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"425\" height=\"350\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/rs-Sae1nW4c\"><\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n<p>More videos here :- <a href=\"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/2009\/06\/06\/australian-battle-group-national-battle-meet-6-june-2009\/\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/2009\/06\/06\/australian-battle-group-national-battle-meet-6-june-2009\/<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Afterthoughts<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The model warships are maneouverable enough to avoid the camera, don&#8217;t worry so much about getting in the way.<\/li>\n<li>Need way more speed to catch up to the action.<\/li>\n<li>Need speed control for better maneouverability, hard on\/off motor control = near impossible to control.<\/li>\n<li>Need a streamlined hull(s).\u00a0 Moving a square block in water = neart impossible to control.<\/li>\n<li>Need a better control method&#8230; bought some playstation controllers for anything in the future \ud83d\ude42<\/li>\n<li>Need a new laptop battery&#8230; \ud83d\ude1b<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Edit :- As requested by some people&#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/mfc.zip\">Messy Source Code Package<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/WebRelay.zip\">WebRelay<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Name The name is a backronym really &#8211; &#8216;mFC&#8217; sounded cool and figured it could mean Madox F@$@!%-up Contraption&#8230;or Madox Floating Camera. Background \/ History A work colleague who builds and competes with 1\/144 scale model warships in the Australian Battle Group invited me to spectate at one of their nationals.\u00a0 Not having the patience &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/projects\/mfc\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;mFC &#8211; Madox Floating Camera&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":323,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-325","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=325"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/325\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":337,"href":"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/325\/revisions\/337"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}