FUN

It all started back in 1986 when I was 12 years old. My dad had a Ferguson
Camcorder which was the old style that took the large tapes. I had a video
sender which is a small box that has video and audio inputs at the back and it
transmits on UHF. You normally use it to send video films from one room
to another without wires. The video sender will work from just one 9 volt
battery and I soon found that it would work connected to my dad's camera.
I was soon walking around the house sending live pictures back to the TV.

This was when the idea of "Cam Cars" started.

Back then I called it my "Garden Trotter" (see picture below).

It was made up from 2 old BMX wheels welded on the back driven by two 540
motors with elastic bands. On the front end was a converted Sand Scorcher front end
with all the radio gear. The camcorder ran on its own battery, the video sender from
a pp9 and the 540 motors from 3 X 8.4V packs wired in parallel. It worked well on the
way down the garden but did not have the power to come back again as it was too heavy.

Ten years later my dad then had a Sony camcorder, about 4 times smaller,
and after a further 2 years, when it was not so much of a new toy to him,
he let me use it for another attempt and they are now called Cam Cars.

I experimented with just the camcorder in a plastic box strapped to the top of
a Schumacher Top Cat with the lens poking through the front with no video
sender on board just to see if the picture would be clear at 30 miles per hour.
I ran it up and down the road and then onto the gravel drive for a slide.
When I watched this high-speed video on the playback on my TV I was
totally addicted and knew that under radio control, live with the
video sender, this would beat any playstation game on Earth.

I installed the video sender on the back with a bit of tape, tuned in my TV and in
came a picture of a front bodypost, a plastic bumper and a very large-looking pair
of shoes. The anticipation was killing me and I carried it out for a blast. I took
it slow at first as driving a radio-controlled car live from your armchair is
something to get used to. But after about 10 seconds I was flat out, sliding the
back end all round my gravel drive - Paris Dakar eat your heart out! The range
was very limited as I could only go halfway up my drive before the interference
ruined the picture. So, I tried to think of ways to get more range so perhaps
I could drive round my block with maybe a pair of cars with my friend. This would
be an achievement and there would be a lot of fun with confusing people walking
their dogs and cyclists wondering where these cars were coming from or where they
were going.

I am now looking at microwave transmitters with a mile range and mini
security CCTV cameras that will all fit under the bodyshell of a Porcshe 959
or maybe a Bruiser. The benefit with a microwave transmitter is that they
have no need to carry a tape or any other of the functions that a camcorder
has - just a small box for the transmitter and a camera the size of a
2 pence piece. There is also a sound module you can use to get all
the feedback of flying stones and the scream of a technigold motor.

The price of this equipment is £700 so I have not been able to afford it yet,
but when I do I will upload this space ...

- Cam Cars -