cabled camera under $150

[SIR VEYOR]

Hi All,
My poor search skills didn't really yield much information about a camera trolling setup like this:

http://www.supercircuits.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=4276

I was wondering if anyone has used such a low-end system and what the picture would look like? I'm thinking it might be able to let me do some casual bottom looking when boating, and double as a rear-view camera when I'm towing the sun-blocking trailer behing the diesel-guzzler. Little cars like to hide behind me and get annoyed when I try to pass traffic without giving them a chance first....
A pic of the TV screen showing how wide of an angle it collected would be very helpful.
Thanks, and sorry if this is in the wrong forum...
Sir Veyor

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I saw one set up at a sport show. The quality was better than expected (And better than some now dated B&W towed video cameras sitting around the shop used in commercial inspection work.)

However the limiting factor will be the avilable light. Also for "trolling", snagging on the bottom is a serious problem with only 65 ft of cable as it gives you almost no room to stop the boat and maneuver back to unstick the camera. I think we have always had a couple hundred feet of cable to work with in that regard. The extra cable may be able to be added, but then the signal can also be degraded and picture quality may suffer.

 

[Falco]

The only towed underwater cameras I've toyed with are the Atlantis ones. It was probably one of their first model since they now have color cameras. The main problem, in my opinion was the small size of the image it produced. When encountering something like a fishing wire, it would appear as an inch thick rope. They are available with long wires though (a few hundred feet a least).

 

[Nemrod]

JFYI, I have seen such units really cheap in the Harbor Freight Store. I have seen them also at Bass Pro. I have considered getting one for recon in the Big Bend area of Florida where low viz water from tidal action in the marsh lands over rides clear gulf water on the surface. You could drop the camera down to see if you get any viz before hitting bottom and look for underwater caves I found there years ago. N

 

[Tom Winters]

Dragging a camera behind a moving boat opens up a whole lot of problems but a drop camera sure could come in handy.The old Cousteau boat had a boom with a camera on it that extended from the underwater bow observation station, but they had a big budget also. Jack Fisher makes some of the best underwater tow and drop camera systems with pricetags that reflect this. Great if you have the scratch.
http://www.jwfishers.com/frames.htm

 

[Nemrod]

JFYI, the cameras are on sale at Harbor Fright for 99.00 dollars. The viewing angle is 70 degrees. The camera is B&W and is on a steel mesh 65 foot cable. These have some sort of LED lights in them also. They are intended for use at idle spped--slow idle speed or as a drop camera. The store near me has 5 units on the shelf. Comes with battery, carrying case, 5 inch B&W TV with connectors to hook up a video camera etc best I can tell. N

 

[SIR VEYOR]

Thanks for the reviews and suggestions!
The "trolling" would probably be more for the lake when somebody drops something off their jetski/boat and remembers that there's a scuba diver around. A longer cable sounds like a good idea. If the cable isn't to thick, I'll just go for the longer length and coil it up when I'm using it as a rearview camera for the trailer.
Sir Veyor