R44 used as a news helicopter

[hawaiianhigh]

We want to be installing a news camera and microwave communications mount on a Robinson R44, how do I do that.
Right now we just have the cameraman use a remote out the door and cellular.
We have seen the R44 before with the mounts but don't know where to get them.
Robinson will sell them with a brand new ENG R44 but they will not tell me where I can purchase it to retrofit an existing R44 since that means no more money for them.
Any suggestions on how I can make an existing R44 into a News chopper? (ENG)

[skwinty]

Tylermount ?

http://www.tylermount.com/pdf/SVGR44_e.pdf

[fisbangwollop]

Was speaking on the radio today to "Newsflight 1" who was filming the "Tour of Britain"....that was an R44 so guess its possible!!:cool::cool::cool:

http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/middle/4/4/8/1091844.jpg

[helidan30]

Dart Helicopter accessories out of Canada make a camera mount for the R44 (side mount I believe) their Catalog is online a lot of good stuff not sure about the microwave uplink though.
Dan

[hawaiianhigh]

I love the look of this unit as the microwave we already have is directional, NOT omni.
The antenna mount is supposed to track the station and move to be always facing it.
So far, I can't find the tracking microwave mount.
We have the antenna but need the mount.
Any ideas how I cna contact these folks?
Jim

[mickjoebill]

Jim full marks for realising that shooting out the door is not the way to go.

The r44 news variant is a painless way to get into the business and the new gimbal has a decent HD camera.
However, the lens falls short for hard news coverage when compared to larger gimbals more commonly in use for news work.

The advantage of installing a tyler mount on a regular R44 is that
you can fit floats and choose a more powerful gimbal (at a significant cost I might add).
Swap helicopters as and when required.

Installing a microwave transmitter (to the tyler bracket) would involve a little certification design and approval pain

The R44 news has a very good comms and microwave setup, but don't signup to one unless you are very sure the gimbal can get tight enough shots, are you transmitting HD or SD?


Mickjoebill

[helihub]

Just to point out that the factory-produced Newscopter (and indeed Police) variant fly on more volts than a standard R44 that you may be adding equipment to. They must have some reason for running these equipment-hungry models on more volts, so just wondering if that could be a limiting factor for you?

[chriswhi]

Gigawave|GPS Antenna (http://www.gigawave.co.uk/products/products.php?node=gps&ident=1311&pagetitle=GPS+Antenna)

[JimBall]

Hawaiianhigh - see PMs. Also note that R44 ENG antenna is both omni and directional. In directional mode with a decent ground rx site you will get 70 miles LOS @ max 13 dB. It's an electronic array with no moving parts. Brilliant.

[mickjoebill]

Yes the phased arrays are far easier to maintain than mechanical tracking models such as the Troll Systems. The greater number or arrays (wedges) the better.

Mickjoebill