Jesse's Hunting > Game Cams > Homebrew Cams > Homebrew Video Game Camcorder

Homebrew Video Game Camcorder

This project was started by Gizz and is still undergoing field testing and revisions. If you have any ideas or info that would help out please email me at . There is also a talk forum where the current notes and ideas are posted at Talk Forums under the Game Trail Camera and Camcorder section.

Materials Needed

(This list only includes parts for the videocam - you will need to get parts for the timer as they are required by those plans - see the Tinhorn/Welby one-shot timer and parts list)

• 1 - Regent MS20 PIR Sensor
• 1 - Radio Shack 12V SPDT relay (Part No 275-248A) - Controls power to the timer board
• 1 - Radio Shack 12V SPST reed relay (Part No 275-233) or same relay as above clipping the NC lead. - Controls turning external light on/off.
• 1 - 12 vdc external utility light. I got mine from a local tractor supply store. Get a "flood" light if you can as this will light up a wider area. I've seen them at www.northerntool.com. Part no's 163463, 1630 (not flood type), 160963 (what I have or very close to it).
• 1 - 12 vdc battery to power the PIR and timer board. Since we're controlling 3 relays and 2 boards I'd go with the 1212 type available from All Electronics for $7.50 ea. You could substitute something else here but I have no idea how much power this draws so choose wisely.
• 1 - 12 vdc battery to power the light. I chose the powersonic PS12120 (12 Amp). It seems to be holding up nicely so far but I've only ever left the unit out overnight so I don't know how long it'll last. I "freshen" up the battery each time I bring it in. I do check it with my cheapo multi-meter and it always shows 13 vdc so I'm assuming that it is holding up well.
• 1 - Amber/Red Lens. I'm still on the fence with this. I don't see much difference in the deer's reaction to the different colored lenses although some say that red is less alarming to them.
• 1 - Tinhorn/Welby One-shot timer. This may change as I'm currently having problems with the Regent MS20/camera/light getting out of sequence with each other. See "current problems" below.

Miscellaneous parts (Pretty much the same kind of stuff needed for the homebrew cam)

• Glass - for the enclosure/lens opening
• Switches - at least one for turning the power to the Sensor On/Off
• Silicone sealant for sealing openings in the enclosure.
• Foam, hot glue, wire, solder, solder sucker/wick, solder pencil, hot glue gun, etc.

CAMERA

This is where things get fuzzy. I've tested 2 so far. The Panasonic Palmcorder IQ PV-IQ403 and PV-IQ504. Both of these are of the VHS-C type and are older models. They go to sleep after 5 minutes if they are in camera mode but NOT recording. They will wake up by pressing the REC button on the included mini-remote and start to record. Basically one press of the button to start recording and one press to stop recording. The button cannot be "held in" or the camera will cycle between rec/no rec until you let go. This is why we needed some type of timer to only hold the contacts closed for a couple seconds - the one-shot timer. There are a lot of different model numbers for these types of palmcorders and I'm fairly confident that if they have the mini-remote they will work the same - BUT I'M NOT CERTAIN!

The nice thing about this is we are only risking the remote if we mess up on soldering. I didn't want to hack into the palmcorder itself since I want to use it for other things also. I rarely used the mini-remote so I figured no big deal if I messed it up.

These palmcorders sell on Ebay anywhere from about $75 to $200 or more. I bought one a couple weeks ago (PV-IQ504) for $78. I've found that if there is no picture of the item the price is much less as there is much less competition. These cameras are notorious for developing tracking problems during record as they get older so try to verify with the seller if he/she has tested the camera lately. I had my original PV-IQ403 repaired a couple weeks back for $95. It should be good to go for a while. Take a look at the picture of my palmcorders to make sure we are all on the same page. Some of the models DO NOT come with the mini remote so verify this with the seller also. It usually stashes inside the camera up near the battery.

Other Cameras
You may already have something that'll work. If you have an older cam lying around put a tape in it and turn the unit on. Start recording for a couple secs then stop the recording but leave the power on. Let the camera sit a while 5 to 15 minutes and see if it goes to sleep. If it doesn't I doubt you'll be able to use it because it will kill the battery too fast. If it does go to sleep try waking it up by pressing the record button to start recording. Don't mess with the power button, just the record/start button. If you can get it to wake up and start recording then you might have a candidate. Of course your kinda on your own to try and figure out how to hack the button but it should be able to be done. One option here, although I haven't done it but did consider it, would be to pay a local VCR/Camcorder repair guy to hack the switch for you. I'm sure for fee they would be willing to help you with this.

Recommendations
If you haven't done so already I'd recommend you build at least one of the homebrew cams first. Not that this project is more difficult but that the process is very similar and the plans for the homebrew trailcam are much more detailed and thorough. A lot of time on Spectr17's part, (and I'm sure many other people) went into detailing that project and it wouldn't make sense to repeat it all here again. For this project I'm going to assume you have knowledge of the following: Relay, Regent MS20 PIR , timer board, resistor, soldering tools, manual switch, SPST (single pull, single throw), SPDT (single pull, double throw), Directions to Radio Shack.

Current Problems:
Before building this project you need to know that it is NOT PERFECT. There is really only one problem so far and it's kind of a big one. I'm hoping that some of you who decide to build this project will be able to help figure out a way to get around this problem. Please don't build this and then complain about the problem after the fact. It's sort of like the Canon Owl shut down problem - you knew it existed before hand but went ahead and built it anyway. Because of this a solution has since been found and can be retrofitted into the homebrew setup. This requires some de-assembly as will probably be the case once a permanent solution is found to this projects problem.

Here is the problem in detail:
I believe the problem is when a deer (or something else) gets in front of the sensor but remains stationary long enough for the MS20 to reset - in turn activating the timer board to turn the camera off. When this happens the light turns off also, alarming the animal and immediately activating the MS20 again. Since it takes a couple seconds for the camera to shut down what happens is the signal to turn the camera on is not received since the camera is in the process of shutting down. Basically at this point the light is on, the MS20 is detecting motion but the camera is OFF (it never turned on). Now when the MS20 resets (no more motion) it activates the timer again to shut the camera down but the camera is already shut down so it turns on. Now we are out of sequence and the tape usually runs till it's gone. This wouldn't be a problem if we had a separate Record and Stop button. But with the models I'm using this is not an option so something else will need to be developed. I'm currently thinking something that would disable the MS20 from detecting motion for a "few" seconds so that the camera has enough time to shut down. I am a very novice electronics geek so I'm definitely gonna need some help with this.

With all that behind us and with the problem in mind here are the steps/schematics to build what is currently working:

STEP 1 - Modify the MS20 sensor.
Solder in the new relay's as shown in the photo. Make sure you follow the diagram on the back of the relay packaging to get the Coil, Common, and Contacts correct. Hopefully the photo will be enough information for this step. I didn't apply the all the proper wiring color codes so beware. Clip R3 so this will run off of 12 vdc. I also used nail polish to hide the light sensor (R22) so that it'll run at night in either "auto" or "test" mode.

I also replaced R26 with a higher resistor value to increase the time the MS20 stays on during "test mode. Something around 180K will give you around 16 seconds of "record" time. 220K will give about 20 seconds, etc. You have to increase this resistor or you won't get much of a recording since it takes a 3 or 4 seconds for the camera to wake up and start recording. Review the following diagram and ask questions if you aren't sure. I'm not a very good artist so the diagram may be a bit confusing - hopefully not. The photo shows one already wired together. Once everything is together you can then hot glue the relays to the MS20 case enclosure.

STEP 2 - Build the Tinhorn/Welby One-shot timer.
Since we'll be using the relay on the MS20 to control the power instead of closing the circuit on the timer, you can simply tie the two leads that would normally go to the MS20 relay together. Use a wire nut, electrical tape, or some other type of connector. You could also jump the contact points together on the board when making the board but since I'm not sure what development may come along to possible solve the out of sequence problem it's probably a good idea to build the timer to specs and tie the wires together. Who knows, we may need to undo some of this down the road. I've included a picture of the timer schematic. Please direct your questions to the talk forum group as I know very little about this timer other than that is works. Thanks to Welby for this photo

STEP 3 - Modify the mini-remote control.
What we'll be doing here is very similar to what is done to the canon owl camera when doing the homebrew cam. We'll be attaching 2 separate wires on the Record button contacts to close the points when the relay on the timer board is tripped. This is what will start and stop the recording. Since I didn't take any pictures of the remote that I have currently wired and in use, I'll be tearing a second one apart and scanning this step very soon.

STEP 4 - Connect everything together and test.
Coming soon!

Notes:
Although I have one completed and in use I consider this a work in progress due to the inherent problem with the out of sequence as I mentioned above. One of the reasons for putting this out there for you is to get suggestions on making the videocam easier to build and operate along with help in figuring out the "out of sequence" problem. Together I'm sure we can come up with a foolproof plan that works 99% of the time instead of 60%. I've only had mine in use for a week and already have had a lot of fun with this, I only wish I didn't have the one as of yet, unsolvable, problem. Have fun and make sure to post your questions and findings on Jesse's board under the Homebrew Camera and Videocam list. Also if anything needs clarification here don't hesitate to ask, I'm a computer programmer not a technical writer and sometimes I don't explain myself in very clear words. I also admit that my grammar and typos are annoying, Sorry!

Credits:
I take very little credit whatsoever for this project. Much of the ideas, "engineering", and plans came directly from Jesse's web page. I credit most of this to him. Without me stumbling across one of his posts somewhere in cyberspace 5 months ago I would be clueless at this point - to say the least! Also, Tinhorn, Welby, KMAY, Blackwater, Yotee, Eagle Eye, Ksbowhunter, Swampfoot, ToddP, and all the guys at TNDEER, just to name a few. There are many names I left out but not on purpose, it's just that there have been so many people involved in this project way before I ever came along that I don't remember all of them. So to the many, many others who have contributed to this subject, I would like to say to them, THANK YOU!

Ripping Off These Plans Or Using The Ideas Here.

For some reason a few visitors to this website have decided to rip off these plans to sell themselves or they sell these cameras and claim they thought of these plans first. We don't care if you sell these cams, it's your parts and labor. We DO care if you try to sell just the plans for profit since the whole intent of this open source project was to help out those who couldn't afford the more expensive game cameras. If you do use our plans or info to make game cameras for sale all we ask is that you post a link to where you got the info. For an example of a credit link you can use:

These units were developed using the assistance and information contained on Jesse's Hunting & Outdoors. If you have an interest in building your own, or sharing your knowledge and experiences, please visit the site at http://www.jesseshuntingpage.com/site/homebrew-cams.html

If you're a little thick headed and want to steal the copyrighted plans anyway just beware we have shut down websites on Ebay and Yahoo for copyright infringement and will pursue any recourse to shut down anyone who rips the plans here or falsely claims to have thought of these game cameras we make themselves.

Bottom line this is an open source project that is renowned around the world. Please have a little courtesy and respect for all the hard work of the many people who have participated in this endeavor.