dashboard mounts and related

[Eric Flescher]

I saw somewhere that there is a a tube like extension which comes up from the top of the dash to swivel and use for a camcorder while chasing. I am looking for something cheap so I can keep both my hands on the wheels

any ideas are welcome

 

[Joey Ketcham]

Likewise, I need a way to mount a cam on my dash as well, seems like the things that are out there are expensive.

 

[David Drummond]

I think your talking about a RAM Mount Eric.
http://www.ram-mount.com/camera_mount/camera_mounts.htmhttp://www.ram-mount.com/

More specifically....what I use with a tripod head on top.
http://www.rammount.com/ramwebcompthumb/ram101d.JPG

 

[Shawn Scovel]

camera mount.

I can give an idea of what i did, may help and it may not. I basically built mine at home, and depending on the dash you have, this may work for you. I took a piece of 6"X12"X1/4" diamond plate aluminum (just what i had laying around), Went to craigs list, asked for a free tripod. Picked that up. Took the tripod head off the actual legs, and put a bolt through that and through the center/back end of the plate aluminum. Then went to Walmart, bought 3 1" suction cups and 2 rubber "chair feet." Bent the front of the plate about 1.5" back to the degree on the winshild using a vice and my hands. Drilled 3 holes in that flap for the suction cups, and JB welded the chair feet on the other end so when it rests on the dash, it dont tear it up. it took some craftsmanship, but not much. It cost about $8 to make and is surprisingly sturdy... I think it's because it's fairly wide, about twice the width of the camera (half the width on each side) and i tried to keep the center of gravity as low as possible... Hope this helps, I'll post some pics if i can find them when i get home.

-Shawn

 

[John Diel]

I'm seriously considering one of these little buggers.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Sony-PTZ-Pan-Ti...yZ107938QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

That would mount right on the dash and shouldn't have any trouble shooting through the windshield. Pan/Tilt/Zoon are controlled via PC (Laptop). Video capture would be direct to computer.

I've seen these and similar cameras in action and they really have decent quality. I don't know about the Low Light, but they are rated at 0.1 Lux. They are not IR.

 

[Eric Flescher]

David and all

Many thanks for the info. The ram mound looks like a great one . The only thing is screwing it into dashboard . But that's okay.

The http://cgi.ebay.com/Sony-PTZ-Pan-Ti...yZ107938QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
is way too much for my needs.

Dave that looks interesting. Can you post a pic of what you built?

Meanwhile I have another idea. I bought a bought a gizmo last year (forgot the name while I am typing this - it is out in the car trunk that is basicly a mounted swivel head that is perfect with suction cup on bottom. I used on my car and did so to shoot a nice picture with my camera of the great Comet McNaught that was in the sky in January. I already had another on my tripod so I used this with my other camera.

The only thing is that the suction cup does not "stick" to the dash. Any ideas of something I could put down so that is could apply and stick to the suction?

Thanks for the ideas

 

[Paul Stofer]

Has anyone ever tried either one of these products?

http://www.mountguys.com/product_p/rap-279b-202a.htm

http://www.mountguys.com/product_p/ram-b-166-c1.htm

 

[Jason Foster]

another old thread brought to life

Paul. The first one (with the rubber feet) is definitely out. Without a physical connection to the dash, that think is going to move, or fall. The second one is better, but I tend to not use items with only one suction cup, or single arm. Vibration is your enemy. The long the arm mount, the more oscillation is transmitted from the road through the mount. You want the shortest mounting solution possible, and try to go for things that have multiple mounting points (suction on windshield and brackets or fastens to the floor).

I prefer to use Stickypods. There were a vendor at the chaser conference a few years ago. I know of a few chasers that used these and were quite happy.

I built my own using plumbing pipe, but it got really heavy to pull out and lash down in a quick moment, so I'm likely to purchase a few of these myself. My mount was for outside use, but they are very useful as a dash mount as well.

 

[D. Hayes]

Thanks for that sticky pods link. I was trying to figure out a way to make my own mount but it was getting a little too expensive. So I went with the sticky pod police dash cam mount. Should work out good for my older digital 8.

 

[P. Thomas]

I'll be getting one of these in a few weeks. I think they are pretty cool and they're multi-functional.


http://cgi.ebay.com/Laptop-Computer...16346QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

 

[David Wolfson]

P. Thomas, I've had one of those and used it last season on the road in compact cars. It's reasonably steady out of the box and easy to adapt to different vehicles. It doesn't interfere too much with a front-seat passenger, and both occupants can use it by simply slewing the head.

However I made 2 1/2 mods. The first was to drill a hole through the head and central tube and insert a pin to constrain the head from slewing that the "slew button" didn't prevent on my mount. The second was to gin up a steady mount from plastic and galvanized fittings that clamps on which can be altered for different vehicles by using different fittings. By constraining the mount's longitudinal motion against the dash and applying a little back tension, almost all the vibration from moving and turning is damped. Without the added constraint you find yourself wanting to steady it on rough roads and sharp turns.

The 1/2 mod is to elevate the right front corner of my laptop 1/4" or so with a stick-on bumper. The lip of the tray otherwise blocks my mike and headphone jacks. This is only a problem for jacks or controls on the front of the computer.

Anyone who wants more details on the mods, feel free to PM me.

 

[Phil Kurimski]

I'll be getting one of these in a few weeks. I think they are pretty cool and they're multi-functional.


http://cgi.ebay.com/Laptop-Computer...16346QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

I made the mistake of ordering this last year thinking I was smart in saving money:

http://cgi.ebay.com/7YEARS-ON-EBAY-...yZ116346QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

It is basically made of pipes and it moves around a lot in a moving car. I almost lost my laptop a number of times because the pipes jiggle loose and the mount will swing wildly. Whenever I had to pull off the interstate I had to make sure to have one hand on this baby or risk losing the laptop or injury. Looking back I wish I would have bucked up for the model you got.

 

[Chris White]

I mentioned this a couple times in a couple forums but, what I did was I bought 3 .44 cent L-brackets at the hardware store and screwed them into the center of my dash in a row simulating a 'window' for a 'window mount' pan tilt head. (I will post a pic when I get a chance so you can see what I am taking about). Yes I have 6 small screw holes on the top edge of my dash but, if I remove it, I stick a small piece of velcro over the hole's (but, have no intention of doing so).

Disclaimer: The car is 11 years old, 120k miles, I received an comprehensive insurance cash settlement for about the value of the car when a tree trunk dented the front hood (tiny corner) and they found a few un-noticeable hail dents from the same storm (4am I was sleeping).

Anywho, I will try and post a pic so this makes some sense visually, I remove the mount when I am not chasing but, the L brackets remain. The L-brackets also make a good mount for your GPS mouse right under the windshield. Pan Tilt window mount's are also in-expensive and it's nice because if I pull over and something is behind and left of the car for instance I can move the mount to the drivers side window (and vise versa for passenger side).

 

[J Kinkaid]

You get what you pay for ... I would go with Jotto you will not regret buying one .

 

[D. Hayes]

I looked at my truck version on Jotto and it's $85 more than the Ram mount. I bought the Ram and I think it's better built. Plus they have all sort of accessories. So IMO, if you got the money for a Jotto get a Ram.