Long Range Video Target Cam

One-Eyed Jack

One-Eyed Jack

Gunny Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Nov 29, 2004
1,485
10
Minden, NV
#1
Today I bought a video target cam with a nominal range of 2000 yards using simple antennas. The system is very compact, stores in a small case, has a color cam, 7" LCD monitor, and is powered by lithium ion batteries.

The system is manufactured by Remote Video Teck (their spelling) in Carson City, NV; here's a link to the website, which I think is not very well done but provides some basic information:

Link to Remote Video Teck website

The latest version of the long-range system is about $680, you can call them for a list of dealers as they don't normally sell direct (mine was a gun show purchase from them).

I was planning to eventually put together a system of my own, but the RVT system is much more compact than what I had in mind and is very well integrated so you're not going to be assembling parts in the field and fiddling with antennas and battery connections. The transmitter is 2W and the receiver and transmitter use rubber duck antennas. The max potential range is 2500 yards, as stated in the manual, so there is plenty of reserve if you're shooting a mile.

I'll take a couple pix of the system I bought and post it here later. Right now I have the cam looking at the desert and hill behind the house and am watching the transmitted video on the monitor upstairs. This could be used as a home surveillance system as well, as long as you can provide long-term power since the system normally uses battery power.
 
#3
Re: Long Range Video Target Cam

The target cam system consists of two major assemblies: the Transmitter (camera, transmitter, antenna, tripod, and battery) and the Receiver (7" LCD monitor, receiver, antenna, and battery - all mounted in a plastic housing/box), along with a couple battery chargers and a remote control for the monitor. The receiving antenna mounts on the edge of the raised lid of the receiver box, which is also used to store the transmitter assembly. The transmitting antenna mounts directly on the transmitter. The display window to the left of the monitor is used to select the receiver RF channel (1 to 8); a smaller display on the gold-colored transmitter is used to select the transmitter channel.

The Receiver box is about 12" wide, and the antennas are about 8" tall to give you some idea of size. The whole thing weighs about 3 pounds. There is a standard threaded tripod mount on the bottom of the Transmitter assembly.

Note: The model number of this system is VTC2000 (the label is incorrect and they're sending me a new one).

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#5
Re: Long Range Video Target Cam

I bought the VTC just today, so it's not been to the range yet. The manual says that you can see 22 caliber holes with the camera placed up to 25 feet from the target and transmit the image a nominal 2kyds with no obstructions.
 
#6
Re: Long Range Video Target Cam

Interesting, Target Tech renamed? Please let us know how this system works. I have been looking for a turnkey system, but the failed group buy had me leery.
 
#9
Re: Long Range Video Target Cam

I'd be interested in which camera they are using.....we bought one to try and it sucks. I'll try to post some info on the one we used so no one makes a mistake and gets the same one.
 
#10
Re: Long Range Video Target Cam

You bought the same camera or you bought the VTC camera system? I have the latest model, according to them, and they still have a few of the previous model leftover. I know one difference is the battery - lithium ion (newer) versus gell cell (older). If the camera looks different, then it's not the same one.

I will take the VTC-2000 to the 300-yard range sometime this week, it's the longest distance in the local area without a trip to the wide open desert.
 
#11
Re: Long Range Video Target Cam

OEJ, if you know the frequency band utilized (700mhz, 900mhz, 2.Xghz, 5.Xghz?), attaching high-gain antennas to that would be a snap. The difference between those duckies and a real antenna with positive gain is like more than doubling the effective distance, dependent upon several details. Even if you only improved one side of the link.

Sure, then it won't all fit in the pretty box, but if you find that at 1000yds+ the performance is not so good it can be remedied for less than $100 most likely.

Some of my "work tools" include unlicensed low-power radios that I use to transmit high speed TCP/IP and video over 30mi.....let me know if you ever need assistance there.
 
#12
Re: Long Range Video Target Cam

Thanks Scotty, I thought of that myself (I'm FCC licensed). I don't know the operating frequency, the manual says only that it's lower than the cell phone band (about 850MHz), but I can call them and find out. A four-element Yagi or log periodic on the receive end will do the trick if needed.

BTW, are you back from Utah for awhile or still working there?
 
#13
Re: Long Range Video Target Cam

Are you a commercial or amateur operator? I have a General ticket myself.

Hmm, once you find out it shouldn't be too hard to locate an antenna. If you're operating on a fixed frequency (or narrow bandwidth), the log periodic would be a loss compared to a Yagi design, I would think.

I'm in eastern NV at the moment, will be in and out all summer.

Let me know how it works out.
 
#15
Re: Long Range Video Target Cam

Scotty - Yes, ham (AE). Whether yagi or log periodic depends on what the operating frequency is, since yagis aren't built for every frequency and logs can cover a wide band. WiFi would have been great since there are a lot of high gain antennas available. Even a discone is probably better than the duck, and I have one already for my scanner.

PS Now that I think about it, I think they said the op frequency was lower than WiFi, which is about 2GHz.

coues7 - Yeah, there are a bazillion cameras out there. I looked into building a home surveillance system and was dazzled by all the cam choices.
 
#17
Re: Long Range Video Target Cam

I took the VTC2000 to the range yesterday and used it while I was sighting in my Raptor 4x on one AR and an ELCAN SpecterDR on a second AR, both at 100 yards. I set up two 8.5" x 11" targets side-by-side -- one was a 3" black dot on a white background and the other was a 3" white dot on a black background. Later, I shot a 2'x2' white target with square orange markings and grid lines.

My first impressions are:

* 22 cal bullet holes were easily seen on white paper, but difficult to spot on black. The targets were sunlit from the front, but off to the side enough that the bullet holes had good contrast against the white paper background. Lighting direction could be important (the Carson City rifle range shoots north and we were there about 1-3pm).

* I was able to see sufficient detail on the white target with orange squares and grid lines to be able to make turret adjustments and zero my ARs. Yes, I could see the orange grid lines with the cam at 10'-15' from the paper.

* With the camera about 10'-15' from the target, the field of view was about right to see a 2'x2' or 3'x3' target. I will try to quantify the camera's field of view in the next few days, but it's really windy outside now. At extreme ranges it would be useful to see bullet holes of hits and the splashes of misses. I don't think this is possible, but will try to determine how far back the camera can be and still see 22 cal holes in the paper and to measure the max target size covered by the video image.

* In bright daylight, details are more difficult to see on the LCD monitor, which could be a limitation under some circumstances. We were shooting in the shade of the covered pergola at the range.

* With all of the other shooting equipment that normally goes to the range with me, it was a pleasure to have only one additional small case and tripod for the video system.

More to come when I have time to play with the VTC system and shot up targets in my backyard.
 
#19
Re: Long Range Video Target Cam

My first estimate of the system FOV is 5.4 degrees high x 7.2 degrees wide (94 mils H x 125 mils W). I'm guessing that you could see 30 cal bullet holes in white paper in good light at 30 feet from the target. At that distance, the image area would be 2.8' W x 3.8' H -- a pretty small target area at 1000 yards, considering that target boards are 8' x 8'.

The bottom line on the VTC system may be that the target image area is too small at ELR, or you may not be able to see bullet holes if you place the camera far enough back to see a practical target size. The critical factor is how far from the target you can still see X-caliber bullet holes.

Shooting a painted steel gong at ELR may be the way to go here since the targets are generally less than 2' in diameter, and the hits are more visible than a hole through paper.
 
#21
Re: Long Range Video Target Cam

That's a thread about rolling your own target video system, there are couple threads going on that subject. I can see some components that appear to be the same as used in my VTC2000, which has a 2W transmitter. I like the idea in that thread of being able to send the video to a PC and then printing the screen. The VTC2000 has a video out plug (the connector with the yellow hood), and I might be able to do something with it - maybe there's a video signal to USB converter I can use.

ELR presents additional problems if there is wind and you have no idea where you are hitting without a good spotting system. The VTC's limitation isn't the video link range, but camera FOV and resolution, which are interrelated.
 
#22
Re: Long Range Video Target Cam

OEJ, neat, we'll have to QSO sometime.

Yeah, typical WiFi depends on the protocol, but 2.4 and 5.8 are two common WiFi bands.

Your comment about the ELR application is my take as well. A high-quality camera and a high quality screen viewed real-time could possibly help in spotting, but that's definitely not what these target cam systems are designed for.

Personally, if viewing on a PC is the application target, I would stay digital from camera to PC. Analog to digital converters can be a pain in the neck. If simply viewing live video for spotting misses, then analog is best. But if the idea is to spot holes in paper or splashes on steel after the impact and save it to a PC, then digital would be nice.
 
#24
Re: Long Range Video Target Cam

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: untouchable13</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I would like to see some footage!
</div></div>Not my thing, sorry!
 
#27
Re: Long Range Video Target Cam

As a product, yes. But I don't recommend the company because they don't answer their phones or return voicemails - so there is no customer support.

When I bought my cam system, I noticed the wrong label was on the unit (I bought the 2kyd unit, while the label was for the 1kyd cam system). They said "No problem, just call us next week and we'll send you a new label." I still don't have a label and they've never returned my two voicemails.
 
#28
Re: Long Range Video Target Cam

I tried to order one for about 4 months. They wouldn't return calls or emails. I called a dealer and they said they quit carrying them because of customer service. I decide not to go with them.
 
#31
Re: Long Range Video Target Cam

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Flying Dutchman</div><div class="ubbcode-body">At 2k, would it not be prone to bullet hits trying to get on target?
grin.gif
</div></div>
That is what AR500 is for. A nice little angled plate should take care of it and all you really need to do is have the antenna visible (line of sight)
 
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