$5 Camera Vibration Damper

[PaulG]

In July I got a steal of a deal on Ion Air Pro cameras at $45 ea.  I also purchased a suction cup mount, but when I tried it on the front above the headlight on the screen, it vibrated so bad the picture was very distorted depending on the revs.  (In the process I found I was missing the two front fairing bolts and bushings - which doesn't help!)  I knew there was a way around it and after several weeks ruminating a solution, I scrounged at work and found some aluminum rod (and some PVC rod that I did not use) that was very flexible.  At the dollar store I found these travel packs of plastic jars for personal hygiene products.  Finally I had a jar of boiling chips that I had been carting around for 30 yrs.  These are porous ceramic chips that were used in lab experiments to absorb the shock while boiling liquids.



The theory behind it was a container with boiling chips will be attached (somehow) to the camera mount via the aluminum rod.  The vibrations should travel through the rod to the container and the chips should rattle around and absorb the shock.

So first step was how to attach the aluminim rod to the bottle and camera.  Using a screwdriver handle as a mandrel, I bent the rod in a spiral a few turns to form a sleeve for the bottle.



To attach the rod to the mount I was considering drilling a hole in it and then epoxying, as it would be better to have a more direct contact with the mount, but I didn't want to risk any f-ups.  Plus the mount is actually used upside down.  Once I drilled and glued it could not be used for anything else.  I decided to use this non-compressible packing foam from work which is very dense and quite workable.  I cut it into a slight wedge shape and used a drill bit to make a hole for the rod.



After some squeezing and stretching the bottle slid into the sleeve with a tight fit.  I was considering taping it, but for testing purposes I left it alone.  It fits so well I eventually left it that way.




The next step was mounting, test riding, and tweeking the rod and water level.  The rod has to be secure enough to transmit the vibration, while there can't be too much water (if any), or the chips won't rattle around enough to absorb the shock.  My initial thought was to use lead shot, but that was banned a long time ago.





Initially results were not that encouraging.  I eventually dumped out most of the water, just leaving enough for the chips to sit in .  The aluminum rod had some final adjustments.  After about four test runs I think I got it working OK - suprisingly.  It's ugly - it's goofy - people stare at me  - but it works!   

The final results can be observed in the South Eastern Ontario Rally trip report in the videos I will be posting.

[FJmonkey]

Natural frequency... Find it and you can calm (stabilize) the image, or use it to bring down buildings. Good MacGyver post.