IMAGING
d
a
b
a
c
e
A
Build the Mount Possible Improvements
The mount is very simple, and its specific dimensions Two safety improvements would be to tether the
will depend on your car. At one end of the tube, drill camera with a strap, so it isn’t ejected in a frontal
4 holes spaced to fit the U-bolts tightened around collision, and to add end caps to the square tube,
the headrest posts of your front passenger seat. most importantly on the side that points toward
Then drill another hole at the other end of the tube the driver. Even safer would be to use a longer tube
for the mounting screw, running perpendicular to that attaches to both front headrests, but this would
the others and positioned to give the camera an make it harder to adjust the pitch.
unobstructed view when you attach the mount to Finally, you could attach the camcorder using a
the passenger-side headrest. swivel stand, like the ones that come with webcams,
In Figure A, a is the width of the U-bolt, b is the instead of the mounting screw. Then you could adjust
distance between the 2 headrest posts, and c is the the camera’s angle in any direction. But depending
approximate distance between the inner headrest on the quality of the stand, the car’s vibrations
post and the midpoint between the front seats. For might loosen it, even with a lighter camera.
the holes to drill, d is the diameter that the U-bolts
run freely through, and e is the diameter that the
mounting screw will run through.
Ready for Action!
It’s time to take your mount for a test drive. First,
bolt it onto the passenger headrest’s posts so that
it grips tightly to the seat. Attach the camera with
the mounting screw. You can make rudimentary
adjustments to its pitch angle by playing with the
seat-back reclining angle. Then turn on the camera,
push Record, fasten your seatbelt, and go!
I suggest that you slide the passenger seat as far
back as you can, to keep the tube away from the
driver’s head. Also, don’t let anyone ride in the back.
In an accident, the wing nuts and U-bolts could be
dangerous to rear seat passengers.
Christophe Caron lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Curious about just about everything, he enjoys making stuff,
the outdoors, and I T. His biggest project to date: a daughter.
contact@christophecaron.com
148 Make: Volume 13
