Re: Are you tired of wasting time?
What you are looking for already exists. It really depends how much you want to spend and/or how handy your are in electronics.
To start off, one would need to find a video transmitter kit that will be used to transmit video from your target to your shooting location. To start off, the best frequency to go with would be 2.4ghz. which works best line of site. The newer 5.8ghz. would work just as well but may be more expensive. These units can be found very easily on the internet and depending on how powerful they are will determine how expensive. When hoping to go 1k or more you will need at least a .5 watt/500milliwatt transmitter. We use a 1 watt unit and easily get 1 mile with ours. Now when looking for these units, they will probably be sold with omni-directional antennas. You will want to purchase DIRECTIONAL antennas, flat panel type, with at least 15DB gain.
These can easily be found for a round $100. Just make sure they have the ability to connect from the transmitter to the antenna with the correct connector. Usually SMA or F type is most common. You will want to purchase one for each transmitter and one for your receiver. A cable of at least 6 feet between the antenna and the transmitter and/or receiver will work best.
Now on the receiver side you will want to purchase a 4 channel receiver with a selector switch. This will give you the opportunity to use more than one transmitter, usually up to 4 and maybe even 8, depending on the system you purchase.
The good news is that on the receiver side, you only need one antenna since most units frequencies will be spread out far enough not to cause bleed over from the other channels.
Next we will discuss picking out a camera for your system. The most obvious choice would be a color camera since most shooting will take place in the daytime, but if you wanted to use it at night you could get a day/night camera that is color in the daytime and black&white at night. You could also get a unit that uses infrared lights to enhance a low light or no light environment. Some specs to look for when picking out a camera would be:
1) 12volt. As a matter of fact everything in the system you are building should be 12volt so everything is powered by one battery system which I will explain later.
2) Auto iris lens. This will allow the lens to automatically adjust to the amount of light the lens allows into the camera so the image won't appear whited out or too dark. Now some cameras use electronic shutters that have fixed lenses but these are inferior to auto iris lenses.
3) Varifocal lens. Just like your rifle scopes, this allows you to zoom in and out of your target, so you can adjust the image to fit what you want in the monitor. These can be manual or automatic depending on what you want to spend.
4) The lines of resolution should be at least 420 lines, the higher the number the better. Don't waste your money above 520. You wont get the benefit without upgrading the rest of you're system and monitor.
The next thing we will cover is a monitor for the unit. The size of the monitor and what powers it will depend on the location you shoot at. Will you have power at your shooting location? If not, the bigger the monitor the more power it will take to run it. We use a 9 inch tv/monitor that runs on batteries and is also 12volt. We purchased it at OFFICE DEPOT for less than a $100 and works very well and is easily transportable if you shoot in an out of the way place. It is very important that whatever size/type monitor you purchase that it has an RCA video input to be connected to your receiver.
To power the system, we use 12 volt batteries for everything. Each location will need a 12 volt power source. There are several different types to use and money well spent now will save you in the long run. The least desirable would be the use of batteries. D or C size batteries will provide more than enough power and will need to be set up in series to make them 12 volt. 8 batteries (D or C) will be connected positive to negative like you see in a flash light. Since each battery is 1.5 volts, 8 in series will equal 12 volts. If you felt the need to do it this way at least get rechargeable.
The next option would be to purchase a 12volt battery pack in nicad or nickel metal hydride. These can be found in many locations on the web. You will want at least a 5 amp hour or bigger unit for each transmitter, and at least a 10 amp hour unit for the receiver/monitor side.
The most desirable, and the one we use, would be 12volt lead acid type battery. We use a 20 amp hour battery that is rechargeable, and we placed it in a small pelican case with a 12 volt cigarette lighter plug. This way the unit has a handle and is weather resistant when left at the target location. The case has the female end, and the equipment is all connected to a male end plug so all we do is plug it in, and the camera, transmitter, automatically turns on when plugged in.
Some other accessories to consider would be a housing for your camera/transmitter unit. These can be purchased where most cameras are purchased and are usually about 12 inches long and cylindrical and open up like a clam-shell. Since we shoot in South Florida, rain can happen at any time and this will definitely protect your equipment from the elements.
Another important thing to consider would be a tripod to set your equipment up on. All tripods use a 1/4 - 20 connector and all cameras use that universal connection also. This allows you to set up the camera where you want at the ideal height and position to your target. We use a tripod at the transmitter/camera side and face the antenna back to where we shoot and face and adjust the camera towards our target. Then we have an antenna on a tripod at the receiver end and face it towards the transmitter/camera.
If there is enough interest, I could draw up plans for this and show photos of our equipment and how it is set up. The system could be obtained for a reasonable amount of money and will definitely spoil you when you are shooting at 1k and farther and see actual bullet strikes.
While it can definitely cause some bad habits, I easily shoot out from 1k to a mile, and after firing, look up and actually see our steel plates being stuck and swinging a few seconds after firing. Let me know.
