Acton camera mount

[Princeton_Man]

Made my own. Made use of otherwise useless rod holder. 1 1/2" PVC pipe with a 1 1/2 wood dowel insert. Drilled & epoxied a 1/4x20 bolt into a clean out cap for the tripod mount. I installed a screw eye near the top for a camera lanyard (just in case).

[Lipripper]

That should work and love your windshield 

[Bigwrench]

That will work great !

[Princeton_Man]

360 degree coverage.

[Bigwrench]

Better bring mine also and mount it in back.  There's gonna be so much action on that boat at Guntersville we need 2 cameras !!

[Donald Garner]

Looks great 

[Smallie_Stalker]

Looking good Jim. 

Those of us who live vicariously through you guys expect a lot of footage from Guntersville now. 

[Lipripper]

Better bring mine also and mount it in back. There's gonna be so much action on that boat at Guntersville we need 2 cameras !!

Yelp don't want to miss all them bloopers.

[Princeton_Man]

Better bring mine also and mount it in back.  There's gonna be so much action on that boat at Guntersville we need 2 cameras !!

No doubt in my mind! 

Yelp don't want to miss all them bloopers.

I'm thinking we might be able to sell the bloopers to the Bill Dance television network! 

[Lipripper]

I'm thinking we might be able to sell the bloopers to the Bill Dance television network! 

Would love to see that.

[dgoss76]

Made my own. Made use of otherwise useless rod holder. PVC pipe with a wood dowel insert. Epoxied a 1/4x20 bolt into a clean out cap for the tripod mount.

I've thought about getting a camera. What camera do you suggest? I fish some super clear lakes and wanted to have a camera I could stick underwater also.

[Princeton_Man]

I've thought about getting a camera. What camera do you suggest? I fish some super clear lakes and wanted to have a camera I could stick underwater also.

Based on what you're wanting, probably the GoPro Hero Session or the Hero 3 or 4 with the water tight case.

I bought the Garmin Virb you see in the picture because I wanted the GPS and sensor data options. I can include the navigation data, PIP maps/location, speed, temp, g-force, etc in the videos. There there are additional sensors available for aviation (no, I don't fly), engine data like rpm/temp. The camera is water resistant and there is a dive case available for it as well.

Eventually I'd like to get a Hero also. -Jim

[Pferox]

I looked at the Virb in earnest myself, and actually liked it over the Gopro for the exact reasons you picked it, Jim.

Never did get one though, kind of put it on the back burner.  I read in reviews a while back somewhere about software problems, have you run into any of that?

[Princeton_Man]

After some additional thought, I've decided I have a engineering improvement to make. The wood dowel is poplar and runs up the entire length of the PVC. If I were to encounter a low limb on the water or forget to remove it and catch garage door, it would no doubt destroy the console.

I'm going to add a break away of some sort for that oh oh moment. I'm thinking maybe a spring for the 102" steel CB antenna or a break away mount like those on a VHF marine antenna.

[Princeton_Man]

I looked at the Virb in earnest myself, and actually liked it over the Gopro for the exact reasons you picked it, Jim.

Never did get one though, kind of put it on the back burner.  I read in reviews a while back somewhere about software problems, have you run into any of that?

Nope, been problem free. Haven't created any videos to amount to anything but I've been playing with it for a couple of months. Running the software on Mac OSX 10.10.5 and Win 7.

[Pferox]

Then tether the top part so it doesn't go away too far.  The spring is a good idea if the base will hold in the holder, otherwise it might "flip and fly" out quite some distance.  Would that spring act as a vibration point when filming?  Hmmmm, now you got me thinking......

How about some thin wall tubing instead of PVC?  Granted it would self destruct, but would save the console.  OR ... how about one of those telescopic poles they use for painting and such?  It would give you added dimension to your shots ..... get one long enough and it would look like you are filming from a drone.   

[Princeton_Man]

Then tether the top part so it doesn't go away too far.  The spring is a good idea if the base will hold in the holder, otherwise it might "flip and fly" out quite some distance.  Would that spring act as a vibration point when filming?  Hmmmm, now you got me thinking......

How about some thin wall tubing instead of PVC?  Granted it would self destruct, but would save the console.  OR ... how about one of those telescopic poles they use for painting and such?  It would give you added dimension to your shots ..... get one long enough and it would look like you are filming from a drone.   

There's 8" of the 1 1/2" poplar dowel in the rod holder and I added a wrap to it to make a snug fit, I don't think it would catapult out but I'm liking the idea of a break away joint like the folding antenna mount. That might even save the camera in some instances and I could fold it down rather than remove it.

A spring could reduce shock and vibration but the camera's image stability is so good I'm not sure it would be noticed. 

[Mike Cork]

How'd you attach this to the boat?

[Bud Kennedy]

Hell Mike he is from West Virginia.  You gotta know that Duct Tape is involved.   

[Lipripper]

Hell Mike he is from West Virginia.  You gotta know that Duct Tape is involved.   

Ya Mike I just shipped him a big order 

[Princeton_Man]

How'd you attach this to the boat?

Stratos for some dumb reason put two flush mounted vertical rod holders in the front starboard of the console. They're 8" deep and 1 9/16 diameter. The 1 1/2" dowel fits nicely. I was going to put a thumb screw at the base of the PVC to loosen and telescope up but didn't. I did put a screw eye near the top for a lanyard on the camera. The screw eye is the only thing fastening the PVC to the wood dowel so I still have the option to modify it to be able to telescope up about 30 inches.

Hell Mike he is from West Virginia.  You gotta know that Duct Tape is involved.   

I was going to Bud, but ended up using some grip tape on the 8" of dowel to snug it up in the holder.

I intend on pulling it and dropping it in a locker or behind the seats for traveling.

[Mike Cork]

Well that turned out to be a very handy dumb reason

[Princeton_Man]

I've seen commercially available mounts that work the same way using the seat post. I'll probably get around to rigging up one for that too.

[Polaris425]

I just ordered a camera to take with us next weekend as well... I might have to copy-cat your handmade selfie stick. lol

[Bigwrench]

Can you post a picture of your base mounting setup Jim ? Might help those who haven't seen the Stratos design