Playing with a camcorder, videos, and all that!

Previously I used my digital camera in 'movie mode' to make the occasional videos, but the image quality of these videos wasn't so good. Noting that technology has moved on a bit, last month I decided to invest in a cheap second hand camcorder, after looking around on ebay.
It took a while looking at specifications and prices, before I found the type of camcorder functions that I wanted, at the right price! It looked like camcorders made after 2008 had the right resolution and picture quality, with also some useful filming functions. Sony were way too expensive, even obsolete technology ones. Panasonic looked good, but were also too expensive for my purposes, so I decided on JVC, as they were a good compromise on image quality and price. The Everio series looked promising, and eventually I got a used GZ-MG465BEK for £49.

The JVC was quite easy to use, also being one of the last models in the range to have an integral Hard Disk Drive, with the option to use Micro SD cards. It's small and light, and can fit in the palm of your hand.

So after a bit of playing around, here's one of my early video efforts:

    
I also caught up with making a couple of videos of my folding electric bike at last, only three years later after I had finished the bike project!

Here's the folding electric bike videos:         Part 1.

 
                                                                      And Part 2.

The bike videos are for a 250 watt motor, 36v lithium ion battery powered, aluminium alloy framed electric bike. For the three years I have had the bike, it has run very well, covering several hundred miles now without any problems.
I must remember to make a video eventually about how to charge up the lithium ion battery packs used with the bike!

Back again, after some time......

I've been too busy for most of this year to waste time on my blog! But now winter is almost upon us, I have a little more time to waste this weekend!

At the beginning of this year, I was busy in a cold and damp garage working on my latest project, a 1970 mobylette that I had rescued from a back garden in Eastbourne. It cost very little as a non-runner, but 'cost' me a lot of time (six months) to get it up and running and back on the road again.
I nick named it "Little Monster" and it certainly lived up to it's name at times!

Here's a link to the "resurrection" work for those that have a masochistic tendency!!
old clunker av89 resurrection I hope?!! 

And this is the "Little Monster" now finished!

The reason why I got a Mobylette, was that it was my first two wheeled motorised experience, and it was a hired moby in Spain in 1980. Previous to that, I had never heard of Mobylettes.
In those days, no restrictions, no helmets, no insurance, no MOT test, and no sense required!!! I think it was either an AV50 or '92 I rode for a week - going for a 70 mile round trip one day, dressed just in a t shirt and shorts, with some sunglasses and sandals!
I was really impressed with the performance with these little mobys - a lot quicker than other more modern 50cc mopeds around, with almost a performance like a small motorbike. I also learnt to go flat out down hill at nearly 50 mph, to get enough momentum on the road to go up hill without slowing down too much! on the hilly Spanish roads, that were mainly empty in those days, apart from the odd old man/farmer with an over laden donkey, or a few other locals 'buzzing by' on other 2 strokes.
The moby I was on was also very good off road when I gave it a hard time on some of the local dirt tracks - all in all, I was very impressed with the moby.

So now with 'FleaBay' and the 'experience of age'?! I decided last December to buy a 1970 registered AV89 in what looked just about 'reasonable condition' for age, but needed what I thought at the time, a bit of restoration to get it back on the road.

I'm using it as a commuter hack still in reasonably original condition, to get me around locally, and through central London traffic to visit my girlfriend who lives in the other side of London. It's ideal for the task, when it's not raining and really miserable weather! and better than the now overpriced London public transport. It's very economical for a 50cc two stroke engine, with a fuel consumption around 100 to 110mpg, which is needed with a just 5 litre or 1 gallon fuel tank!
The Moby has a top speed of about 33 mph on level roads, and I have seen up to 37mph indicated on a slightly sloping down hill road. To get reasonably decent acceleration, the engine has to be kept in the two stroke power band, which is around 15mph.

This 43 year old moped still just about goes! with it's unrestricted performance two stroke engine, and is a design from 1960 which continued on until the late '70's, as it was very popular. Motobecane closed down production finally in the 1980's after producing around 8 million bikes, so I've read! It seems only the Honda Cub was built in greater numbers. Despite all that, I appear to be the only one regularly riding a moby in London!

For those interested in seeing the different starting methods for a Moby, here's a video I made.


You can also hear the noise the two stroke engine makes when running!