Equip Fitlet With A Mini-Monitor & Camera Accessory Mount

Application notes using fitlet. Credit goes to user Hassellbear for publishing more than enough cool application notes to justify a dedicated sub-forum.

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hassellbear
Posts: 106
Joined: Mon May 28, 2012 12:25 pm

Equip Fitlet With A Mini-Monitor & Camera Accessory Mount

Post by hassellbear »

Overview

This project began as an effort to mount a Mini-HDMI monitor onto fitlet for use in portable applications. The 5" mini-monitor I have is designed for photographic applications, so it is configured for the industry standard 1/4 inch - 20 threads per inch mount.

As work progressed on designing a mount which uses the 14 inch - 20 TPI system, it became apparent that there was no reason to limit the mount to simply attaching a monitor to fitlet. In actuality such a mount allows attaching any type of 1/4" - 20 TPI photographic/video device to fitlet. Such items include:

- Mini-monitors
- Action cameras
- Still Cameras
- Lights
- Light meters
- Camera flash units (using hotshoe adapter)
- many more
Accessories.jpg
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Some items listed above may not really complement or interface with fitlet, but you can mount them if you wish.



Required Materials

The materials required for the mount are:

- Aluminum flat bar (1" x 1/4" x 2')
- One 1/4" 20 TPI bolt - 3/4" long
- Two M3 flat head machine screws - 16 mm long
- Ball swivel camera mount adapter
- Metalic spray paint (Krylon Metalic closely matches fitlet's color)
- Rubber equipment feet (peel and stick, greater than 1/4" thick)
Materials.jpg
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Form Factor

The form factor I arrived at was a very simple "U" or "Horseshoe" shape. This shape greatly simplified fabrication and proved to be relatively easy to make. The dimensions of the mounting bracket were chosen so as to provide ample clearance both above and behind fitlet. The goal was to not adversely affect fitlet's heat dissipation and to allow plenty of room for cables connecting to the back of fitlet.
Form Factor.JPG
Form Factor.JPG (1.54 MiB) Viewed 222421 times

hassellbear
Posts: 106
Joined: Mon May 28, 2012 12:25 pm

Equip Fitlet With A Mini-Monitor & Camera Accessory Mount

Post by hassellbear »

Fabrication

Fabrication was straight forward and fairly easy. In general the steps were:

- Cut aluminum bar to the required length
- Bend aluminum bar into the required "U" shape
- Radius ends of bar using a belt sander
- Drill required holes (2 - 1/8" and 1 - 5/16")
Fabricate.jpg
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Finish and Paint

The finishing steps consisted of:

- produce matte finish on bar using wire wheel (enhance paint adhesion)
- spray paint using metallic color
- Oven bake paint to speed drying and make finish durable
Finish-Paint.jpg
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Attach Bracket to Fitlet

The bracket was designed to attach using fitlet's bottom VESA mount points.

- Affix 4 peel and stick rubber feet to the bottom of Fitlet as shown in the photo.
-Attach the bracket to fitlet using 2 - M3 x 16mm flat head machine screws
Attach to Fitlet.jpg
Attach to Fitlet.jpg (244.9 KiB) Viewed 222419 times

hassellbear
Posts: 106
Joined: Mon May 28, 2012 12:25 pm

Equip Fitlet With A Mini-Monitor & Camera Accessory Mount

Post by hassellbear »

Install Camera Mounting Hardware

Install the 1/4" - 20 TPI machine bolt and camera ball swivel mount
Add Attachments.jpg
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Attach Accessories to Fitlet Using the Mount


WiFi Linked Action Camera
Action Cam.jpg
Action Cam.jpg (427.9 KiB) Viewed 222417 times

Mini HDMI Monitor
Mini Monitor.jpg
Mini Monitor.jpg (64.24 KiB) Viewed 222417 times

hassellbear
Posts: 106
Joined: Mon May 28, 2012 12:25 pm

Equip Fitlet With A Mini-Monitor & Camera Accessory Mount

Post by hassellbear »

The Mount in Action

Here is the Mini HDMI Monitor securely attached to Fitlet using the new mount.
At Work.JPG
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Measured Drawing

Here is a measured drawing for those who wish to make their own camera/video accessory mount.
coming-soon.png
coming-soon.png (47.95 KiB) Viewed 222417 times


Conclusions

1. The filtet camera/video accessory mount is simple to fabricate and very useful.

2. Fitlet demonstrates its considerable versatility - yet again

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