Infra-Webcam Mod Part 1.

Due to a recent break-in near at our apartments, the whole security infrastructure went through an overhaul. Going through all the new features, I came across one that caught my eye, Night-Vision Security Cameras. Upon further investigation, I found these were actually Infrared cameras.

The cameras themselves looked like webcams dotted with red LEDs. Now, I had seen them before but never wondered their purpose or capability. A simple Google search uncovered a ton of info and the part that totally took me by surprise was the fact that these could be engineered at home using simple everyday camera hardware.

Now, I'm not gonna write down a tutorial or go much in depth but will give some insight on how I made mine.

The idea is simple. A normal camera has 3 components, the Lens, The IR filter and the CCD chip. All one has to do is to remove the IR filter and replace it with a "Visible Light filter" (Hint: Kodak).

Anyway, below are a few pics I took while disassembling and modding.

The Camera (Source: Local flea market, Vendor: PC-Touch)

The PCB with the Lens, IR FLTR, CCD.

IR Filter (Note to self: Next time take the picture before breaking the thing :-P)

CCD Chip (Lens, IR FLTR removed)

 Camera Lens with the light filter (Exposed camera film[Even Gradient])

Reassembled Module

Results in the next post.

Update[1/2/2013]: Damn! the drivers are 32 bit. Lets see if Linux does the job.

Old Cell Phones == treasure;

I guess many people don't realize before dumping their old phones that they are also throwing away a treasure trove of micro hardware that can be extracted and used in multiple DIY projects. I don't blame them as most people don't even know how does the vibration in their phones work.

So recently while going through some old 2006< cellphones, I decided to salvage such components. I recovered some really neat gems:

• Micromotors [Both types: External and Sealed]
• Mics
• Speakers
• 2MP camera modules
• LCDs [Color 64K & 256K 160ppi & B/W 100ppi]
• Micro DC-in female jacks

Now to think of some things I could do with them!?? Bristlebots anyone ;-)

DIY cooling solution...

I recently bought a new notebook [my old machine was... well old... needed a well deserved retirement. Goodbye ProcyonMk2 you ol' girl! :-P], about 2 months ago. ASUS K53 series, specs are:

ProcyonMk3:
15.6 inch screen @ 1366x768 WLED screen
Intel 2670QM CPU [4 Core + HT = 8 Threads]
NVIDIA GT 540M GPU [2GB DDR3 VRAM] [Optimus Solution]
ASint 8GB DDR3 RAM
WDC 5400RPM 750GB HDD
USB2.0 x 2, USB3.0 x 1
Atheros b/g/n Wifi, Realtek Audio, BT3, Altec-Lansing Speakers, 6 Cell Battery.

Basically a pretty powerful system. I wouldn't attach an ULTRA tag [my way of rating notebooks: low, midrange, high, ultra] to it but would consider it to be a HIGH end machine [a first for me since i am used to owning low to mid-range systems]...

Anyway, considering a heatwave thats been plaguing the area where I live, a decent cooling solution had to be designed as my old cooling pad was busted with 2 of its fans burnt out.

So basically I had this old but totally unused 12 volt .3 amps [3.6 watts] DC chassis fan lying around which I had extracted from my desktop since the mobo didn't have a chassis fan socket. Using an old router adapter rated at 12volts .7 amps DC [No.1 rule in Electrical Engg: Voltage should be the same, Current should be equal or more], laptop packaging and some nice nifty tools, made my own DIY cooling pad.

It turned out pretty good considering its simplicity.

Pics attached [I'm too lazy to take detailed photos, if you don't understand the design, then leave a comment and I could help you out]:

Pic 1: Underside.

Pic 2: Upside.

End Result: Cool'n'Quiet system, 1 week's lunch money saved :-)

Update: Since this is a internal desktop chassis fan, it has a high dB level, bloody thing makes noise like a jet engine. Good thing my speakers damp it all out with music... ;-D