I know so many of you have been enjoying summer and sailing. My life has been busy and we just NOW launched Luna.
So nice to see her floating. A few SNAFUs at launch. My partner in rigging managed to remove the SAFETY bold on the rudders. So....we launched and then attempted to lower the rudders. Went down 90 degrees. Oh no. Now what? We still had steering from the motor/steering connection. Got her in the slip and we went to work on fixing the rudder situation. Fortunately a low floating dock made fixing the rudder pin/pivot bolt a moderately easy fix.
So nice to be on the lake.
Okay....so my new spreader mount PT camera has been installed. I like it. Gives me a great view of the lake and the marina madness.
Okay....so now have to endure 4th of July madness...then I can join you all in some sailing and pictures.
This weekend I have plans to try running an HDMI cable from my bow mounted GoPro back to the big TV that hangs where the fun house mirror originally was. It's viewable from the helm so I'm hoping that whether at the helm or sitting down below while on autopilot I'll have a good live view of what's in front. Not sure why I haven't tried that before
Do you view your spreader mount camera while under way on a phone or on some other display? Or do you use it to view remotely when you're away from the boat?
Great idea to pump the video to the TV. You could add another mast top or spreaders to see OVER things.
The main reason for my camera is to see weather conditions before I head up to the lake (90 minutes away) and check on the boat after a T-storm blows through.
It's a pan-and-tilt camera and I can remotely control to see the lake or how busy things are at the marina. It was mostly an experiment for fun.
It only streams to the phone app right now. There is no other video output. I have it connected to a smartphone hot spot.
The spreader mount is new this year. Last year I had it mounted behind the cockpit under my solar panel. I suppose I could use the altitude to see over the breakwater at the marina to see any traffic in the way.
The thing is small and works amazingly well for the price ($40).
Russ wrote: ↑Wed Jun 26, 2024 2:49 pm
I’m liking the pan/tilt camera on the spreader. It gives me great views.
My work laptop doesn't let me view content from postimg.cc, so I had to pull out my phone to see the view you were touting. I thought for certain that you were using it to gawk at bikini-clad ladies on neighboring boats especially after your last post about the "cool boat wrap"
But alas. Just boats. What kind of cables did you have to run up your mast for your camera? Or is it wireless and solar powered or something?
Last edited by LordElsinore on Wed Jun 26, 2024 6:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Also, I think you tried posting an Amazon link to your camera in your earlier message but it just comes through as an Amazon link with no link or other info when I view it on either device. Would love to check out your camera if you can try the link again
It's a WiFi only camera powered by USB. I ran 5v power wire up the mast to the spreader and a mini USB connector to the camera which is IP64 rated.
Down below in the boat is an old cell phone on my $15/mo wireless plan as the WiFi hotspot.
Then I have a 4channel 12v WiFi enabled remote switch that via an app I can turn on/off any of the 4 channels.
One channel is for the camera so I can shut it off. That channel provides 12v power to a 5v USB adapter that powers the camera.
Another channel is for the 12v cooler so I can turn it on before I head up to the lake and have it cold when get there.
All done mostly for fun and the ability to check on the boat after one of our nast T-Storms runs through (we are 90 minutes away). Also let's me see weather conditions.
Last year it caught weirdos on my finger pier fishing and tossing their garbage in my boat.
Powered by 5-36v and connects to WiFi (on my cell phone hotspot I leave on the boat).
It can be powered by USB or directly connected to 12 volts as I have done.
Each of the 4 relays can be configured for latching (stays on) or temporary (button press)
So I'm using 3 of the 4 switches.
1) Camera - Switch to 12v-5v USB power adapter that powers the camera
2) Cooler. I can turn on the cooler before I head to the boat.
3) Battery monitor. This device when powered on will connect to the WiFi (phone) and send voltage status to my phone's app. https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-0 ... 077BMTTT4
If my house battery voltage is looking low, I can shut stuff off remotely.
The Cell phone (Android - the iPhone didn't work well) has a remote control app that I can remote into the phone, connect Bluetooth to my solar charge controller and also monitor house voltage and charging.
LordElsinore wrote: ↑Tue Jun 25, 2024 7:24 pm
This weekend I have plans to try running an HDMI cable from my bow mounted GoPro back to the big TV that hangs where the fun house mirror originally was. It's viewable from the helm so I'm hoping that whether at the helm or sitting down below while on autopilot I'll have a good live view of what's in front. Not sure why I haven't tried that before
OK, I tried it out and it works pretty great. GoPro is mounted on the bow pulpit. HDMI cable temporarily run down through the hatch and through the cabin. Live view looks great on the wall mounted TV, and it's viewable from the helm as well
Russ, thanks for sharing the info about that 12v remote switch! That is pretty cool. I do a lot of remotely-accessible ZWave stuff at our cabin for heaters and things but taking it to the load for DC loads is next level!
. 
Praise the lord 
