June 18th, 2015

See Hits at 2000+ Yards with Target Cam System

Mark Dalzell target cam nevada camera video

We’ve seen a huge surge of interest in extreme long-range shooting in the past year. Guys are testing their shooting skills at one mile (1760 yards) and beyond. However, it’s kind of pointless to toss expensive bullets downrange if you can’t see your hits (and plot the misses). For that reason, a good target cam system is an essential piece of kit for any extreme-range shootist. Here is a report on a system developed by Forum member Mark Dalzell (aka “MDSlammer”) a couple years ago. With elevated directional antennas, this system worked reliably at 2300 yards (1.3 miles).

Mark Dalzell likes to shoot at extreme long range in the Nevada Desert. (See 2300-yard Hits in VIDEO). In order to see both hits and misses at ranges out to 2300 yards, Mark assembled a target-cam system that broadcasts multiple video cam feeds wirelessly to a receiver on the firing line. Down-range, Mark positioned a high-gain antenna. This was key — without the antenna the system’s useful range was less than 1000 yards. But with the hi-gain antenna Mark gets very clear signals from 2300 yards.

To explain the components and set-up of his 2300-yard target cam system, Mark has made a 10-minute video that shows the equipment and explains how all the gear is hooked up. Mark system uses a KW7305 2.4 Ghz, 8-channel A/V transmitter/receiver kit ($269.00), powered by Li-Ion batteries ($125.00 with charger) that offer about 3 hours of run-time. The video camera was a Panasonic HDC SD-60 with 35X zoom ($350.00). The antenna is a 2.4 Ghz 24 DBI Grid unit (model # HG2424EG-NG), that cost just $45.00 plus another $29.00 for cabling. To see how this all functions at long range, watch the video below.

Watch This 10-Minute Video to See Components of 2300-yard Target-Cam System

While Mark positioned his hi-gain antenna downrange near the target, you can, alternatively, set the hi-gain antenna at the firing line and point it downrange at the transmitter. Mark says that either configuration will work, as long as the hi-gain antenna is aimed carefully. You also need to elevate both Transmitter and Receiver antennas. Mark mounted his receiver on top of a 10-foot-tall Century C-Stand near the shooting station. From there he could watch bullet impacts on his 7″ Marshall color monitor placed on a portable bench.

Mark Dalzell Long Range video target camera

Mark Dalzell Long Range video target camera

Mark Dalzell Long Range video target camera

Mark tells us the whole system was affordable (under $1100.00 for everything including monitor and antenna), and it was easy to set up. Mark encourages readers who’ve been thinking about building a similar system for their long range shooting sessions: “The hardware is not difficult to configure… if I can do it, anyone certainly can.”

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