Michael Lank

Count me in.

Count me in.

Count me in please.

Count me in too!

Count me in.

Count me in please.

I'm in!

And me!

I use an inline charger, that is plugged in between the charger and the battery.  This makes it very easy to balance the battery with every charge.

I'm in!

Yes please!

Hi Paul, The clips on the mounting bracket are too weak for something intended to be used on model planes! Excuse me asking the obvious, but have you charged up the battery?  What you are describing does happen when the battery is low.

Hi Tim, I have posted it for you on the FCO forum. Out of interest, what gauge wire did you use? 50 mins from a AAA is excellent. One thing to bear in mind is that you are putting a heater near to a Lipo battery - could cause a fire risk, especially if the insulation tape melts and the wire shorts.  I wonder if heat shrink would be safer? I had better success with keeping the camera warm, and covering it in insulation. Someone I know has bought the FCO Rapid Rush SD card and says he has had better results with it than his previous SD card.. though it also coincides with warmer weather here!

The reasons/excuses are rubbish, and if true are an admission that the cam is not suitable for the purpose they are selling it.  On their own website they say 'in sport the FlyCamOne2 records the "Radical Moves" of the Skater, Boarder and biker. ' (my translation from German).

I have just received a reply from ACME regarding the problems with my camera, the problem recordings that I had were whilst attached to my bicycle helmet 'I guess you faulty recordings on the cd were caused by vibrations from your bike, maybe the sd-card lost contact and the file was destroyed.   I guess the first movie was damaged because of the wind, maybe with the wind it was colder than your mentioned 10-11 °C.' This is worrying as the vibration on a bicycle helmet will be less than on a model plane, and it was not a windy day and the wind speed far less than the speed of a model plane. So, ACME seem to be saying that this cam is only to be used where there is no or little vibration, when the wind is low and the temperature high.   Fit for purpose? 

Chris, I have not had dealings with Robotbirds, but I have had problems with my FlyCamOne. The first time I emailed ACME for help, I got a response saying that I would receive a reply, but didn't. More recently I have had different problems with the camera. I emailed ACME again, this time I got a very prompt reply asking me to send the cam back to them in Germany for repair, which I have now done. If Robotbirds are not being helpful it may be worth contacting ACME. Legally it is Robotbirds' responsibilty to sort it out. If they do not you could tell them that you will contact Trading Standards, and if that does not help then contact Trading Standards (at your local Council) and ask them to get involved. Alternatively you could make a claim through the Small Claims Court or via https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/csmco/index.jsp Under the Sale of Goods Act you are entitled to claim a refund for goods that are faulty from the outset.

Not from China, but I have bought a couple of batteries from http://www.flypo.co.uk/ very reasonably priced, but not as cheap as £5,  and to date I have found the batteries very good.

Jason, The interface arrived today, very promptly, thank you!  I look forward to using it.

Royden, Paint Shop Pro is for editing still photos, whereas Windows Media Player WMP is for viewing videosand listening to audio (a player not, for editing) and Windows Movie Maker is used for editing videos, including rotation.

My camera was working better before I installed the firmware update - don't know if the current problems are related to that or not. I am pleased to hear that the company reads this forum, it would be nice if they would respond to some of the problems raised. I emailed the company on 3 January, and besides two emails saying that someone will get in touch with me I have not had a response. A product designed for use outdoors is not much use if it only works in the summer months. People have been attributing the problems to cold, winter temperatures. Today was the warmest day that I have used the camera, and had worse problems. It may be that people have been attributing problems to temperature because it is winter; however it may be that the problems are inherent in the camera, and will not be remedied by warmer weather. It would be nice to hear from some Antipodean users! I have been using a 1GB SD Ultra II since getting the camera.

Hello Bob, I shot 5 videos today, of these three have got severe problems and are unusable. In the first one it is fine for about 3 minutes (out of 12), then there are flashes of colour on the whole frame, then it loses colour, except for odd bits of purple or green in random places. Two videos are unreadable. In total there are 10 minutes of footage without fault on using the whole battery and 400MB! Temperature today is about 10-11C, so not related to the cold. This camera is a very poor performer and bad value for money.

Tim & Jarius, Thank you both for getting me thinking about this and clarify my thinking.  If wind chill was a factor when a model plane lands it would be too cold to touch comfortably, which of course it isn't and similarly a car's body would be painful to touch after a motorway run, which it isn't. So, the FlyCamOne will  cool down when flying (assuming it was warmer than ambient), but only to the ambient temperature of the air.  As it is on the outside of the plane and the plastic case is fairly thin the internal componentry will cool down to ambient temperature in a fairly short space of time, within a couple of minutes perhaps. If temperature is the factor that is causing the FCO2 to malfunction this means that it is not working at its claimed operating temp down to 0C.

Tim, Why do you think fans are used to cool electronic components, such as in the power supply of your computer? Have you ever been in a stationary car in traffic on a hot day and noticed the temperature gauge rise, but once you get moving at speed the temperature decreased? Air movement cools all objects, not only humans!

I don't know if Jason would be willing for a fee, but you could ask him to wire in a regulator with the interface. Yes, there is a change from the old to the new manual, which could be tough on people who are unaware of the update. I understand that the internal battery is charged from an external power supply.

Hi Bob, A voltage regulator is very cheap, and easy to fit.  A voltage regulator such as this. Costs the equivalent of about $2 and needs just two capacitors.