I am looking for a good video solution for next year. The Chase Cam PDR100 seems like a nice little unit - capturing analog video from any camera and converting it to digital and storing it on memory cards.

Anybody using one of these or something similar?

http://www.chasecam.com/recorders/pdr.htm


Modified by Flux at 3:36 PM 11/30/2006

 

I posted the same thread on "the other forum" and got some decent info and ideas but no one had actual hands on experience.

 

I can't say I've had any experience with that recorder, but I have their suction cup mount, and its top notch.

 

I've used the bullet cams but haven't tried out the PDR yet. Seems like a great product though and I'm planning on getting one in the future. I'm interested in the RS232 feature and am wondering if it can be used for datalogging(Hondata or similar) that way I wouldn't have to use a laptop.
-nino

 

I saw the chase cam unit at Honda R&D Civic si on the 25hrs enduro. I'll see if I can ask them. Or maybe one of them that lurk here can attest.

 

I have one, but just haven't had the chance to use it yet. I will be racing at VIR full next weekend and plan on using it. I'll let you know how it goes.

AJ

 

I have, and I happen to build them! This is James from ChaseCam. I am involved with product development, dealer and distributor accounts, product assembly and QC, and I probably shipped your package if you have ever bought any of our products :-)

The PDR100 is seriously better than we could have ever expected. We had on average 3 teams per class (including several new National Champions) at the SCCA Runoffs in Kansas, 36 teams at the Baja 1000, 8 or 9 Rally America teams, One Lap, NASA Nationals, Honda R&D in Torrance, two 24 Hours of Daytona teams, and even more impressive two top Formula One teams using the PDR100 for their video acquisition needs.

It is tough, light, user-friendly, and more importantly CHEAP. We designed the products in-house and in conjunction with another engineering team, and have everything manufactured in San Diego. This helps us keep our costs down and be intimate with each unit we build, allowing for excellent quality and great repair services.

We won two international New Product awards at the SEMA show in November, and are gearing up for the Performance Racing Industry tradeshow in Florida next week (we'll be out of the office).

If anyone has any questions, let me know....I won't try to push or sell the product, just provide accurate answers (straight from the Horse's Mouth).

Some answers--

RS232 can be used for data acq overlay, we are publicly releasing our own internal and external accellerometers with overlay onto the video at the PRI show.

As an MPEG-2 recorder, the video quality is worlds better than those cheapo and highly fragile MPEG4 recorders from China. The PDR100 records directly in MPG format to a Compact Flash Card for solid-state, vibration-free video files that you can even play back directly to a TV or monitor from the recorder, without requiring a computer. Audio is achieved via an excellent on-board mic with over 40 gain settings....engine too loud/quiet, too much wind noise/resonance-- just adjust the gain to dial it out. The ChaseCam bullet cameras also are powered directly off of the PDR via a single miniDIN connector (video + power +waterproof), no tangled wires or risk of electrical interference.

The video quality is good enough to be currently used by Discovery Channel TV, Outdoor Life Network TV, BBC TV, SPEED TV, and several other foreign automotive production companies. The Quality and Resolution is user-settable, from getting Broadcast/DVD-quality video all the way down to Security-level video (up to 50 hours on an 8gig CF card!!). You can typically get an entire weekend of trackday or qualifying and racing out of a 2gig or 4gig CF card, depending on the settings you choose.

You can also get Picture In Picture and Split Screen video processed directly onto one video file (no synching or post-editing required) from the SS1000. It does not record, but processes the camera video signals. Can also be used with you camcorder assuming you have an external A/V input (analog).

Haven't been on a Honda forum for a while, I used to be an original CRX-Forum.org member back in the day!!!

-James Wilson
http://www.ChaseCam.com
'97 Accord V6 (wife's DD)
'86 CRX Si (RIP)
'86 Civic Si (RIP)
'88 CRX DX + MPFI (RIP)
'88 Civic DX sedan (RIP)

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JamesWilson &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">This is James from ChaseCam.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

This part reminds of "This is Knightsport from the internet."

 

Great info there James. I am interested in video overly with my Race Technology DL-1 data logger. Any info on that? I want to use the logged data from its analog and digital inputs and accelerometers and have sound and video to go with it. I understand the Race Technology software does not input audio, which is a bit lame. Some people use other software applications, but I really want to see video with the speed, g and other charts, not just g values and speed as simple numbers on top of a video image.

 

Unfortunately the DL1 does not have a video input/output like the Competition Data Systems Commander II or other products with overlay software built in. Our system will directly overlay simple g-force graphs, but as there is no GPS system you will (as of Dec '06) need to overlay your other data acq in post-editing software like http://www.TrackVision.net

Here is a sample video of a friend of ours using old (2003) ChaseCam bullet cams and an old camcorder for the recorder, with his G2Xtreme/RacePak GPS-based data acquisition....pardon the poor quality, I blame the camcorder....he has data acq and very large video (800MB+) from the Redline Time Attack last week, but he's flying out to Mass. tomorrow morning http://www.cpdserver.com/chase...2.wmv

 

James, thanks for the good info. These really look like an excellent solution. What mount/cradle do you recommend from a rollbar to get good video?

 

The EZ Mounts are the best for rollbars/cages, they aren't pretty but dang effective with two mounting points (versus a single mounting point on the Collar mounts). I recommend the Cradles as an add-on always, they are super anti-vibration solutions for the bullet cameras. People also used to crank down the female mounting end onto their stud and actually snap the connectors off of the circuit board internally in the bullet cameras; the Cradle mounts correct that issue. We can always custom build a mount that may not be advertised, like the multi-articulating arm from the SM31 built into an EZ Mount, add a cradle and that is one versatile mount!

-James
ChaseCam.com