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Home Brew Game Camera Build Step-by-Step
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Canyon Runner
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PostPosted: Mon May 19, 2008 9:19 pm    Post subject: Home Brew Game Camera Build Step-by-Step Reply with quote

I am taking the plunge and going to build my first homebrew game camera, hope it works! Laughing

Over the next few weeks or so, I will try to post the steps I am going through so that any of you can build one yourself if you like.

First off, the basics. 'An Introduction to Camera Homebrewing' by Bob Turner, aka OutdoorBob7, with www.gotchatrailcams.com

Here is the link, it has pictures to go along with it, or you can just read the text below.

http://www.chasingame.com/articles/080507_homebrew/intro_homebrew.htm

Introduction to Camera Homebrewing:
The initial segment in a series of short articles we have planned to highlight what home brewing is all about.


by Bob Turner (aka OutdoorBob7)
www.gotchatrailcams.com

With trail cams becoming more and more popular each year, there is another segment within the trail cam field that is growing even more popular, that of the HomeBrew camera. The use of trail cams has made hunting your favorite game a year around sport. Many have taken this a step further by building their own cameras. "Homebrewing" as it is called, continues to grow by leaps and bounds. What could be more exciting than building your own camera, placing it in the field and retrieving pictures of that trophy of a lifetime? The amazing thing is you don’t have to be some electronic whiz kid to be able to do it. Heck if me and Roscoe (aka Ross Baker) can do it, anybody can!

Homebrewing involves choosing a digital camera which will be operated by a control board which turns the camera on when heat/motion is detected and takes a picture. Almost any camera can be “hacked” so it can be operated by these control boards, however factors such as startup time, battery life, flash, and other factors have made certain cameras more favorable as homebrews. Just like commercial cams, these digital cameras have their own strengths and weaknesses. You can view the most popular cameras and pdf files, which shows the hacks for these cameras at http://www.depreyswildlife.com/mods.html. The “hack” involves going inside the camera and adding a stereo jack, servo, or some other means of connecting the camera to a control board.

Next you must choose the control board. Homebrew boards are alike yet very different, yet you will be more than happy with any of them. Each board has a PIR sensor, which detects heat/motion much better than most commercial cams. Some have LCD panels, while others have dip- switches. Most boards have settings and delays, which pretty much mirror those of commercial cams.

Laying out your camera within the case can be fun. You can be different and use many types of boxes to build your camera. Most people use Pelican cases, but really it just needs to be waterproof and able to endure various temperatures and weather conditions in order to be used.

Building a cam using a plain case and then adding something like liquid nails and painting it to resemble treebark (3d camo) will make the build even more personal.

Cost of a homebrew camera is dependent mostly upon the camera you choose. The average cost of the control boards are $40 - $60. Another $40 to $70 for the case and other necessary items brings total cost before purchasing the camera to $80 to $130. $175 to $200 is a good average cost for most cams while the most expensive ones may run upwards of $275. Suppliers provide complete kits that can require little assembly all the way to complete assembly depending on your desire.

Most common tools required are a micro-screwdriver set, 15 or 25 watt soldering iron, some type of magnification, drill or drill press, side-cutters, and some tweezers. If you’re like most, you’ll find yourself buying many little specialty tools after you’re completely hooked.

We often joke that homebrewing is addictive and it truly is in many ways. Your always seeing ways to improve your builds, and new products are coming much more rapidly now that the sport is growing so quickly and you’re wanting to try them out. Trail cams have made our favorite pastimes a lot of fun and year around activities, but if you build your own trail camera we think you’ll find the enjoyment even greater than you could have imagined. Now if you think you want to move on to the next step, in the chasingame discussion forum, check out the sticky “A Little Something To Get You Started” in the HomeBrew forum. This is a great simple article that should help you choose your camera and board. You’ll find many here at Chasingame that are always willing to answer questions and give any advice you need along the way.

Here is a list of sites I find useful in homebrewing:

http://www.pixcontroller.com/
http://www.snapshotsniper.com/HomeBrewProducts.htm
http://www.yeticam.com/
http://www.whitetailsupply.com/WS-PIR-Board.html
http://www.hagshouse.com/
http://www.bfoutdoors.com/

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Canyon Runner
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PostPosted: Mon May 19, 2008 10:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The first basic step is to choose the camera that you want to 'hack' and then a control board to make the camera sense movement/heat and take pictures. After that you need an assortment of odds and ends to make everything work and go together, and a case to put it all in to keep it safe from the elements.

I could write all this up myself, and only forget half a dozen required parts and points, so I'll leave it up to a guy I know only as 'Bond.' The original post can be viewed at http://www.chasingame.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=39 or just keep on reading...

The most popular cams to use are:

Sony S600 6mp - very good quality pics. Amazing flash, it can be set up to 1000 ISO, so it is like having a slave flash. The downside is its speed. In the daytime it is around 2+ seconds and at night it can take around 4 seconds for it to take a pic. This hack is rather difficult, I wouldn't recommend it for a beginner unless they're really good at fine soldering.

Sony P41 4mp Very fast, 1 - 1.5 second trigger, flash is good, 2AA batteries take about 300 to 500 pictures, easy to modify - you don't have to solder to the actual camera.

Sony S40 4mp - flash and picture quality is better than p41 but it's zoom lens makes it a little slower - a little more than 2 seconds.

Sony P32 3mp - same flash as p41, little bit slower - about 1.5 to 2 seconds, modified just as easy as the p41.

Olympus d-380 2mp - This is can be modified for an instant trigger, or if you want longer battery life, trigger speed is about 3 seconds, easily modified by soldering. Makes a great IR cam

Olympus d-370 1.3mp - Same as d-380 except it's 1.3mp

Olympus d-360L 1.3mp - The main advantage to this one is you don't have to open up the camera to modify it, you just plug it in to the board. I've never used one of these so I don't know much else about them.

Samsung A402 4mp - A little on the slow side but still a good camera. Most people use these because they make great IR cams.

Here is a link on how to hack all of the above cams - http://pixcontroller.com/CameraMods.htm

The P41, P32, d-380, d-370, DC2.1 and A402 can all be modified to see IR. The d-380 and A402 take the best quality IR pictures. The p41 and p32 are nice because they don't need a slave flash(although it is recommended.) after converting them to IR. All the rest need a slave flash because the IR material put over the flash reduces the flash range.

Here are links to all the control board makers. Any board you choose is just as good as the next. Just pick one. If you don't like it, try a different one. Even if you do like it, try a different one for your next cam. It doesn't make a difference.

http://www.pixcontroller.com/

http://www.snapshotsniper.com/HomeBrewProducts.htm

http://www.yeticam.com/

http://www.whitetailsupply.com/WS-PIR-Board.html

http://www.hagshouse.com/

http://www.bfoutdoors.com/

Ok so you got your camera, your board, now you need:
-A case - once you choose your camera and board, you need to figure out (or ask) what size case you need and you can get those at lots of places - casesforless.com, ebay, trailsendcams.com, or any of the board suppliers. Most people use 1020, 1040 or 1060 pelican cases.
-Some kind of connector to hook the board to the camera- stereo plug, servo connector, phone plug, etc.
-Glass to cover hole over shutter
-Glass or lens to cover hole over flash - most people use a flash enhancer
-Fresnal lens - to cover hole over PIR sensor
-Stand offs and mounting screws - to mount the board to the case
Something to mount the case to the tree - most people used U bolts so they can use a python lock to lock the cam to the tree, I used a bungee mount from buyezweb.com or cinchy.com
-Battery holder

I think that's a complete list of what you need, it'll get a lot easier and clearer once you decide on a camera and sensor board, until then you don't really know exactly what you need.



Let me know if you have any questions, or anyone else who builds can chime in.(let me know if I forgot anything)
You can also try these forums:
http://hagshouse.ipbhost.com/forums/index.php
http://realdealhuntingchat.invisionzone.com/index.php?
http://pixcontroller.com/forums/
Read the pinned topics and FAQs and search for newbie questions. If you can't find an answer, just ask, they'll answer any question no matter how hard, or how dumb it is.

Other good links you should check out:
http://www.pixcontroller.com/Tutorials/ ... torial.htm

http://www.iowawhitetail.com/ubbthreads ... o=&fpart=1

http://www.easy3dcamo.com/building.html <---LOTS OF GOOD INFO HERE

http://www.shomeoutdoors.com/Trailcam.htm

http://www.qdmaforums.com/showthread.php?t=9337

http://www.gotchatrailcams.com/ <------ Complete trail cameras made by our very own Outdoorbob7.

Good Luck, you won't regret it.

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Decoy
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PostPosted: Tue May 20, 2008 7:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Got my Olympus 360 on ebay, my board from pix and my case from cases for less. Ordered the wrong board 1st but now have the right one so will be putting it together soon. also have 3 stealth cams , 1 35mm and two didgetal that work kinda okay but believe this homebrew is going to start another hobby i'm afraid. Very Happy
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Canyon Runner
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 5:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

So the first step is to pick a camera. I wanted EASY, so I chose the P41 from Sony, but as I searched around town for a used one in good condition, and on Ebay, I found that I could get a S600 for less. I have looked at a LOT of homebrew pics (drathaar has some excellent ones on this site) and the S600 rocks, so I purchased one on Ebay for $59 + $10 for shipping.

Side Note: As I type this today, there are Sony S600's and P41's available on Ebay for between $10-$90. The ones for ten have 5-6 days left on the auction and are sure to go higher. Look for ones that the seller has tested and listed as in good working order, or take a risk. My personal rule for Ebay is to only buy from sellers that have a lot of positive feedback (some are "Powersellers"). My wife and I have rarely (if ever) had an issue with one of these.

Now, the P41 hack is shown pretty well at http://pixcontroller.com/Products/WireSonyDSC-P41.pdf and I initially chose it for the simplicity of the hack. But the S600 http://pixcontroller.com/Products/WireSonyS600.pdf looked daunting to a guy that is MUCH more comfortable with a circular saw and framing gun in hand than a soldering iron with a fine tip. I decided not to risk frying my new camera, and instead sent it in to have the hack done professionally to WhiteTail Supply and Feed for $33. http://www.whitetailsupply.com/services.html ...they can also hack the P41/P32 for $29, and the Nikon L11/L14 for $33 also. I think they can also do others, but I do not know for sure. Daryl Crane is the man in charge, and he helped me out with what I would need to get my design taken care of properly.

I decided to go with the control board "SnapShotSniper" due to the LCD display and the clean finished look, and I also wanted external batteries (outside the camera, but inside the watertight case it will all be housed in) as my hunting area is a 3.5 hour drive and I would not be able to make it back there each month to swap batteries and memory cards. I filled out the form on WTS&F and also spoke with Daryl via e-mail to be sure that I understood what I wanted Laughing . Typically, this camera set up would only need a 3-wire servo to connect to the control board, but since I had the added requirement of external batteries, a 5-wire servo was required. The additional cost $5. I mailed him my camera and check and got busy ordering my board and misc. parts.

The SSS control board was purchased at http://www.snapshotsniper.com/HomeBrewProducts.htm for $60. I shopped around for the best deals on cases, foam, lenses, glass, u-bolts, python locks, etc., and found that with shipping and the comparative prices each of the above sites advertised it would be cheapest to get everything in the same deal. About half of the needed products were ordered from WTS&F and the others from SSS. Gary Kohout is the man at SSS.

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Canyon Runner
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 5:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Decoy,

Quote:
but believe this homebrew is going to start another hobby i'm afraid.


LOL, me too, I have heard bad, BAD things...

- CR

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Canyon Runner
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 6:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here is the Sony DSC-S600 after it has been hacked.
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Canyon Runner
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 6:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here are the parts I picked up from WTS&F, who also did the camera hack.

On the far left is the Python Cable Lock that will be wrapped around the tree the camera is mounted to to help deter thieves. Emphasis should be placed on the word "deter."

Top center is a 9V battery holder that will run the SSS board. The board demands very little power and the 9V is projected to last 8-12 months. The SSS board came with its own holder, hindsight is 20/20.

Bottom center is what is known as a flash gasket. The Sony S600 has an extending lens; if there is any space between the lens and the glass cover the flash in the box will ruin your pictures through "flash bleed."

Top right are two pieces of foam with a sticky backing. These are used to properly locate the camera in the box and to keep it from moving inside the case and again messing with your pictures quality.

On top of these is a Zorbit. What the helll is a Zorbit you ask? It's one of those funny little packages you get in the packing of most everything nowadays to absorb moisture before it can ruin whatever it is protecting. On a side note, how many idiots had to eat them before the govt. required the mfgs to label them "DO NOT EAT" or "NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION?" Wherever you put your camera, you're gonna have some moisture at some point, the gasket on your protective case and a Zorbit are the only things keeping you from having a really crappy day when you go to collect your memory card.
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Canyon Runner
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 7:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here are the supplies I purchased from SSS.

In the middle is the SnapShotSniper control board with attached 9V holder and remote on/off switch. On the lower left, not the very corner, is the PIR (passive infrared sensor). That little bugger there is what makes things go, i.e., Apparent motion is detected when an infrared source with one temperature, such as an elk, passes in front of an infrared source with another temperature, such as a tree. I have read that a smudge on it can reduce your sensing ability from 60' to 10'! Something to keep in mind.

Above the board is a non-required item that I like a lot. A control board cover. It makes things a bit more simple, and allows for a very finshed look to the camera when finished.

Below the board are two u-bolts. These will be attached to each side of the case. When in the field, the python cable will slip through one of these, across the cover of the case, through the other bolt, and around the tree where the python will be cinched down tight and locked. End result, camera located, fastened tight so as not to move, no one can steal it without bolt cutters in hand, and no one can get inside and steal your camera either. Again, if someone REALLY wants it...and yes, someone could still just bash it with a rock and ruin your day too.

On the bottom left, and hard to see inside the bag, sorry, is what is called a fresnel lens. This is located over the PIR sensor to enhance its' sensing abilities.

And the bag on the bottom right has 1-1/4" glass to cover the camera lens and flash, as well as the mounting screws and standoffs for the SSS board and the nuts for the inside of the u-bolts.

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PostPosted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 7:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

And finally, a case to put it all in and hopefully protect it from the elements. I chose a Pelican case, a 1060. A 1060 measures approximately......wait for it....YES! 10 x 6. Not really, it's about 9.5 x 5.5 x 2.5, and it is very common to use 1040's and even 1020's, though now you're talking packing stuff in there TIGHT. A camo'd case can run as much as $35-40! And they are pretty cool, but, I got the plain black for $15 also from WTS&F and will be doing a custom camo job to more realistically match tree bark.

Almost forgot, Radio Shack 2 D-cell battery holder. Those will be my external batteries. An interesting side note on batteries, the NiMh rechargeable batteries are great for getting lots of pics, but they self discharge themselves, bummer. FIX: Pack a couple alkalines in with them and the very slow to self discharge alkalines will effectively "charge" the NiMh in your camera giving you mega run time and a boatload of pics.

OK, I'm tired and my butt is asleep and my fingers are not going where they are supposed to, more later.

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PostPosted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 7:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You'll probably not get a bunch of folks that are interested in making their own cameras, but this is the most informative thread I've ever seen on making a home brew! Very Happy

Thank you very much CR!

It's worthy of a sticky for sure!
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Canyon Runner
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 4:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow, I have my very own sticky! Laughing Thanks for the kind words Scott. Sorry I have been away from this thread for too long, too much stuff going on and season's are right around the corner...

-------------------------------------------

Next you will need to start drilling some holes into your brand new case Shocked The first we will attempt is the control board. Now, before you run off into the garage and start punching holes in all the wrong places, it makes a little bit of sense to stop, and think for a minute. I have the hardest time getting my employees to do this, just slow down for a second before you set us back a whole day...

Take a second to do a little layout and see where things will fit and how you might like them, or look at some pics of some other guy's stuff and see what he did. In my case, I like the SSS cover plate, so I need to leave enough room for the plate while I locate the board. The plates are designed to be easily trimmed, hence they are bigger than needed right off the get go...

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Canyon Runner
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 4:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Once you are sure where you want things, start at the top and work your way down, or whatever works for you. Remove the rubber bladder so that you are working with just the plastic case.

I installed the standoffs onto the back of the SSS board and set it in place to be sure that I knew where I wanted it would work. Then, a little help from your wife, or girlfriend, or sister, Mom...ASK them for a tube of old lipstick, or foundation, or whatever they have that will adhere to the back of the plastic standoffs. Apply a little bit of it to all three standoffs and then carefully set the board and standoffs into the case EXACTLY where it belongs. Press firmly, but gently and then remove. You should end up with three precise locations for you to drill your holes.

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PostPosted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 4:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Next you need to locate the u-bolts that will allow the Python cable to lock your camera to your tree of choice, locate these holes the same way.

Now you are ready to trim the bladder. Now the point of the bladder is to keep your case watertight in the rain or mist or fog in the mountains. The part that really matters is the "o-ring" edge that seals the top of the case to the bottom, in fact, some guys cut the entire rest of it away and discard it completely. Again, back to that "thought process" I determined the thickness of the bladder against the back of the case helped me locate the camera properly in relation to the front of the case, so I just trimmed mine the way it needed to be for me to be able to install the hardware
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 7:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm looking foreword to seeing some pics off this thing when it's done. How much longer? Laughing
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 3:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

ya was wondering how much longer also? starting to get the itch to start building my own also. just like to see the steps and stuff to buy before i go and buy stuff i don't need.

by the way this is a good tread. good job
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Canyon Runner
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 7:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is a primer for you guys for opening morning hunting...PATIENCE!!! Very Happy

So now we are going to drill some big holes. If you mess up on these, you're probably out a couple of bucks and a bit of time to get a new case, so let's lay things out first to see where we want everything to go.

In my case, no pun intended, I am going to put the SSS sensing board at the top, the 9V battery that will run the board just below it, the 2 D-cell alkaline batteries that will charge the eneloop AA batteries in the camera just below the 9V, and finally the Sony s600 below it all. Should look something like this
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 8:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Now to be able to locate where to actually drill through the case lid requires one of a few options. The best in my mind that a lot of guys do, is hang a laser pointer from something a foot or so above your work station (also known as Ma's kitchen table). Set the open case below it and move the case until the laser is pointing directly down at the center of the camera lens, being sure that the camera is exactly where it will be when you are finished with the entire installation. Now close the case without moving anything!!! Mark where the laser point is on the case lid and that's one hole marked, two to go. Do the same for the camera flash, and then again for the control board sensor.

I don't own a laser pointer, and being fairly handy with a measuring stick I went about it the old fashioned way, I measured from the edge of the case to the center of the lens using my trusty metal ruler down to the gnats ass and cut a small line into the case, then measured from the other side (90 degrees) and did it again, the intersection of my two cut lines would be the center of the lens, etc.

After marking both camera hole centers, I took everything out of the case and took the case to the garage where luck would have it I just happen to have a drill press. You can drill your holes with a handheld drill, but the press is much easier, and a lot more expensive too I might add.

You will now need to drill two countersinks with a forstner bit so that you can recess the glass lenses for the camera into the case. Be aware that your case material is about an eight of an inch thick, you only want to go about half way, if you go all the way through your glass lens will also rendering your case useless or at best you on the search for larger glass and a VERY difficult process of centering your new hole without any material in the center for the tip of the bit to bite into...just know it sucks, it can be worked around, but best to do it gently the first time, raise the bit, look, and drill a bit more, raise the bit, look, etc. In the end you want it to look like this


Last edited by Canyon Runner on Mon Aug 11, 2008 11:42 pm; edited 2 times in total
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Canyon Runner
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 9:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

eventually, like this.

Be aware also that you can drill your countersinks from the inside as well, in fact most guys do. I didn't see any compelling reason to do so, but locating them would have been the same process, plus drilling a pilot hole through from the outside so that you have a starting point on the inside. Some don't drill them at all and just glue the glass directly to the case.

Also note that I mistakenly drilled a countersink for the sensor when I only needed the 1" hole as there is no glass over the fresnal lens. The sensor needs to be able to sense heat, and it can't do that if their is glass in the way. In the end it will perform fine with or without a countersink, so no big deal, and it will get covered with camo so visually it will still be purdy.


Last edited by Canyon Runner on Mon Aug 11, 2008 11:54 pm; edited 2 times in total
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 9:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Then its time to step down from a 1-1/4 forstner to a 1 inch. Now find the pilot hole the 1-1/4 started and using the 1" drill slowly but completely through the lid. You have now just created the three holes that your glass will recess into in your final assembly.
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Canyon Runner
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 9:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Now if you put everything back in the case, and close the lid, it should look something like this
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 10:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

As an option, I am installing external batteries. These are external to the camera, but inside the case. As noted above, the alkaline D-cells will in reality charge the NiMh (or eneloop) AA's in the camera. Alkaline batteries should not be used in modern tech digital cameras as they just don't have the energy to fire repeatedly. However, the alkalines self discharge at a very slow rate compared to the NiMh's, so the alkalines will trickle charge the NiMh batteries in the camera as they wear down. The eneloop battery is a Sony product that has the power of the NiMh, but doesn't self discharge at their rate, hence why I will be using them in the camera itself.

The D-cell holder comes with leads from Radio Shack, and it is a simple process to solder the leads from the battery holder to the leads provided from the 5 wire servo previously installed in the camera itself.

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PostPosted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 10:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This Sony s600 had a five wire servo attached to it, two wires for the external batteries, the other three to the camera, a red, white and a black

The black wire is your common, the white controls the shutter, and the red controls the power. On the back right side of the SSS board you will find three empty cells stacked top to bottom, one each marked with a S for shutter, G for ground and O for on/off shutter. Insert the bare ends of the wire into the coordinating hole and solder the connection nice and clean. Be aware: the SSS board can be used to run many different cameras, not all of them connect the same. You will need to do a bit of research or ask to get the correct wiring schematic.
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Canyon Runner
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 11:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Now for the final steps.

Get yourself a tube of silicone caulk and cut just the very tip off of it so that you can get a fine bead. Lay a bead around the recessed holes that you countersunk and set the glass lenses into place. Press down firmly, but not so hard that you set the glass permanently into your thumb. Let set for 24 hrs to dry.

Next do the same with the u-bolts. A fine bead around the hole on the outside, insert the bolts back through the case and tighten the nut on the inside.

The fresnal lense is next. This is a bit tricky; precise placement will give you the most from your camera when it comes to sensing abilities. Presuming the sensing board (a snap shot sniper in this case) is installed, close the case. Get a bit of regular sewing thread and tape cross hairs across the fresnal lens opening perfectly centered on the sensor below. Open the case. Orient the fresnal lens with the rough side in, smooth side out, and set in the case lid, with the "sweet spot" centered on the cross hair threads in the previous step. The fresnal is larger than needed and will most likely need to be trimmed to fit in the case, depending on the sensory board and case size you have chosen.

The fresnal lens has two rows of circles on it; the top row is a solid row of circles edge to edge: 000000000
the middle row is two circles, a space, two circles, a space: 00 00 00
The "sweet spot" of the fresnal is the middle circle directly above the center pair of circles. Locate this directly over your cross hairs and put a piece or two of tape over the edges to hold it in place.

Now you are ready to perform a "walk test" to see if all of your hard work will come to fruition. Referring to your sensor board directions, set your camera out in the backyard, turn it on to "walk test" and back away. Each time you pass into the sensory zone, the red LED should come on to let you know that it picked you up. Back further and further away, walking back and forth in front of the camera and make a note of where the camera can not sense you any longer. You should get something close to or exceeding 40 feet, if not, check the location of the fresnal to be sure it is centered on the PIR sensor.

Remove one piece of the tape holding the fresnal lens in place and lift the lens up, running a fine bead of silicone around the opening, press the fresnal back into place and the tape as well to hold it in place while the silicone sets up.

Remember, moisture is the enemy, seal EVERY hole you made.

- CR

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Canyon Runner
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 11:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You need to fasten the 9V battery holder into place inside the case, that runs the SSS. In my case I also ned to fasten the 2 D-cell holder. I had initially designed the inside of the case to have all the components in the case portion and nothing in the lid, but, just for kicks I set the 9V on top of the D-cells and low and behold the case still closed, so I moved the D-cell holder to the lid and gave myself a ton of extra room for cold fingers to get inside and do their thing in the cold fall and winter months. You could drill holes, and seal them like we did for the sensor board, but here the fewer holes the better, so I used a product called Liquid Nails. You can pick this up at your local home improvement store, get the interior/exterior kind. Once fastened and dry, the stuff truly is like nails, you won't be getting it apart without breaking something. Clamp the battery holders down overnight while they dry.

Hopefully, it will look something like this:

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PostPosted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 11:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Remember that Zorbit? Open the package and peel off the sticker covering, then place it wherever you have room (in the camera! Laughing ).

Next it's flash gasket time. Imagine a camera inside of a sealed box, when the flash goes off it will light up the inside of the box and your picture will be a blast of white. Not what you're looking for. If there is any gap between the lens and the glass in the case, any flash inside the case will bleed through and be imposed on your picture, like this:
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