[Leor] wanted to take some video of the wildlife in his yard, like this chipmunk or some hummingbirds, but every time he tried to get close it scared them away. His solution was to rig up a cheap video recorder to be radio controlled (PDF). The donor camera was a cheap SD card based eBay purchase that takes 720×480 video. [Leor] removed the SMD switches from the recorder’s PCB and wired up a 4066 quad bi-lateral switch IC in its place. An RC toy car donated the receiver transmitter pair. The receiver signals are monitored by an AVR microcontroller which translates the commands in a proper set of button presses for the video. What you get is a controller that and turn the camera on and set to the proper mode, and the ability to start and stop the recording.
We’ve got some pics of the hardware after the break, and [Leor] posted a bit of the chipmunk video for your enjoyment.
The component boards (click to enlarge):
Inside the enclosure:
Finished product:
well cheaper than a telephoto lens i guess
Well, if we always turned to nice, commercially built solutions like telephoto lenses then there wouldn’t be many hacks to post about, huh? In this right application this is better than a telephoto lens with consideration to space, line of sight, etc. I like it ’cause it the remote could easily be activated autonomously without a lot more work.
How come facebook hack-a-day comments don’t show up with the non-facebook comments? You guys should fix that.
they shouldnt “fix” that , they should just hack it onto the web page with a drop bot or something, preferably using an arduino
“they should fix that” I like how you said that dude, as I’m sure you do realize that this is a hacking blog. Here, shit doesn’t get “fixed” it either gets hacked or kluged. I vote to “fix” the problem with arduinos, lasers, and duct tape.
If anyone is interested, I will post the schematic and code detail later on. Send an email to nobody102@gmail.com
Thanks!
@bioss
someone has something up there ass just looking to bitch at something
all i said is it was cheaper than a telephoto lens i never said it was any less useful n00b
Yea, I’m thinking my next mod to this is to hook-up a Lego NXT utrasonic sensor for motion detection to auto-record. Stay tuned!
Exposed wiring for a rodent observation device…
Somebody didn’t get the memo… or like to replace chewed wiring…
That rodent looks kinda smarmy to me, I think he’s up to somethin’ better watch him closely. What is he carrying in his pouches? Not just nuts I’ll wager!
Behind that cute furry persona lies PURE EVIL!!!!
Evil I say!! EEEEEEVIIIILLLLLL!!!!
Nice hack Mike, but next time please use a proper drill and bit for the holes in your projects, it looks much more professional that way.
biozz, you’re playing the FOOL, you’re snark had ZERO germane content to Mike Szczys hack, just what IS YOUR problem, it’s not us on the forum, it definitely YOU buddy.
Great job. Beside keeping track of wildlife, you can do the same way to the other things, like a camera nears your doorbell, … lOl
Nothing as exciting as sitting around watching the grass grow and hoping something walks, flies, jumps into view so you can justify all that wasted time by hitting the record button. Personally, I’d use a motion sensor and find something else to waste time on. Unless of course you’re tracking big foot, then camp on my fellow BFH, camp on (cause you can’t catch the big guy unless you’re willing to invest your very own time behind the shutter).
would just like to point out RC = Radio controlled, so then why do you need another controlled in the title? Radio controlled controlled… o.0
Stuff those pouches my little Chipmunk friend
I absolutely love RC toys for RC circuits.
I mean, how easy can you get?
It’s all laid out for you , it’s just a matter of adaptation and there you go!
I’ve avoided 27Mhz personally because it tends to be really noisy, but even 49Mhz can be sporadically noisy nowadays.
I’m about to convert a radio Shack Zip-Zap car into a basic little generic relay-based RC system that I can graft onto various things to control them. Seeing stuff like this just keeps the fires lit.
:)
Really neat project!
@wangchong:
I know, it’s like PIN number, LCD display and ATM machine.
cheap rc toys sometimes have nice re-usable transmitter/reciver chips.
i recently did a project with a re-purposed rc car, it was built around a chipset that had its datasheet available online, reading the datasheet i found that it even had a spare unused channel.
27 mhz seemed to be suprisingly reliable, even at sziget festival,(big music festival in budapest) which is probably home to more radio mics, walkie-talkies and fridges than any other place in europe.
Sup ‘munk! You’re all fuzzy and stuff…what’s with that? Looks like you got some nice seeds there, stuffin’ your mouth. Anyway, say ‘Hi’ to your mother for me, aight?
from the title, i was worried that this was not safe for work…
(didn’t watch the video yet)
Please be more mindful of your titles please…?
Either that or i need some internal datums santizationizing. ~
Nice pci
@flapjackboy
I know, it’s almost as infuriating as “RPM’s”. Almost.
@Shorin – definitely says more about you than their title writing :)
I am quite impressed by the quality of that cheap camera and I wonder, what brand and model that is. (yes I want one…)
Yea, I could not believe that it looks that good.
That is the max resolution of 720×480. They have them on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/12MP-4x-Digital-Zoom-5-1-Mini-Video-Camera-Camcorder-DV-/150511503368?pt=Digital_Cameras&hash=item230b2f4808
They all ship from Hong Kong, so it takes a while – 3 weeks, and check the shipping costs! They sell the cameras for $0.01, then charge you $26 shipping. Some sellers have lower shipping costs. They run on 6V/AAA, but I powered it with 5V, no problems.
P.S. I do not have any affiliation with the selles.
Intimate videos?? Sounds like voyeur critter porn to me.
“They sell the cameras for $0.01, then charge you $26 shipping”
They do that cause is cheaper. What they have to pay is base on the price not on shipping. Learn the system, then beat it i guess