zenith
08-04-2014, 08:01 PM
Hi all,
I decided to put a spare webcam to use that would not take very long and require less than $15.
1) Install the driver on the supported OS and confirm that the webcam still works. In this case it is a Logitech QuickCam communicate STX, 1.3M pixels, running on Windows XP.
2) Note that step 1) is the most difficult part of the entire project, and you will remember why you originally tossed the piece of junk in the shed.
3) Go to your local hardware store.
4) Realise that corporate globalisation has bankrupted your local hardware store, then go to your local giant hardware store.
5) While selecting some pipe fittings from the plumbing isle, take special note of the bewildered expression on the customer service specialist when you say you require pipe fittings to house the guts of a webcam.
6) Unscrew the single screw holing the webcam casing together.
7) Remove the microphone.
8) Drill a hole in the pipe fitting that is the end cap, large enough to feed through the USB connector and balun (the bit near the USB connector end shaped like Gina Rinehart).
9) Feed the cord through and screw the webcam circuit board into the thread of the end cap. This is where I got supremely lucky and it simply fitted perfectly. It screwed in about 5 turns.
10) Wrap the step-down pipe fitting thread in plumbers tape. Its not for water proofing, but to fatten the thread so that it goes in nice and tight. This is important because it will screw into the end cap and rest against the circuit board, so it can not be done up too tight.
11) Unscrew the webcam lens.
12) Screw in the next step-down pipe fitting, this is to give you a female thread to screw in the last piece.
13) The last piece is a riser pipe, cut off a length that is as long as the thread plus the length of a 1.25" eyepiece barrel.
14) Sand down the last piece so that it snugly fits into a 1.25" draw tube. You will only need to sand off a very small amount, about as much as is equivalent to the median size of the male reproductive organ of a healthy Apis mellifera.
14) You can now put a standard 1.25" lens cap on the end, and use some black duck tape and/or a grommet to seal the other end where the USB cord comes out.
15) Note, I left the power LED on the circuit board, because when fitting a variable polarizing filter onto the end of the camera you can adjust the filters while looking down the barrel of the camera to get a feel for how much light you want to block out. At least that is my excuse for forgetting to remove it or cover it up.
16) Take some video, spin some people out, then remember to use your reading glasses next time when focusing your telescope because you are now looking at a laptop monitor!
Regards Tim.
I decided to put a spare webcam to use that would not take very long and require less than $15.
1) Install the driver on the supported OS and confirm that the webcam still works. In this case it is a Logitech QuickCam communicate STX, 1.3M pixels, running on Windows XP.
2) Note that step 1) is the most difficult part of the entire project, and you will remember why you originally tossed the piece of junk in the shed.
3) Go to your local hardware store.
4) Realise that corporate globalisation has bankrupted your local hardware store, then go to your local giant hardware store.
5) While selecting some pipe fittings from the plumbing isle, take special note of the bewildered expression on the customer service specialist when you say you require pipe fittings to house the guts of a webcam.
6) Unscrew the single screw holing the webcam casing together.
7) Remove the microphone.
8) Drill a hole in the pipe fitting that is the end cap, large enough to feed through the USB connector and balun (the bit near the USB connector end shaped like Gina Rinehart).
9) Feed the cord through and screw the webcam circuit board into the thread of the end cap. This is where I got supremely lucky and it simply fitted perfectly. It screwed in about 5 turns.
10) Wrap the step-down pipe fitting thread in plumbers tape. Its not for water proofing, but to fatten the thread so that it goes in nice and tight. This is important because it will screw into the end cap and rest against the circuit board, so it can not be done up too tight.
11) Unscrew the webcam lens.
12) Screw in the next step-down pipe fitting, this is to give you a female thread to screw in the last piece.
13) The last piece is a riser pipe, cut off a length that is as long as the thread plus the length of a 1.25" eyepiece barrel.
14) Sand down the last piece so that it snugly fits into a 1.25" draw tube. You will only need to sand off a very small amount, about as much as is equivalent to the median size of the male reproductive organ of a healthy Apis mellifera.
14) You can now put a standard 1.25" lens cap on the end, and use some black duck tape and/or a grommet to seal the other end where the USB cord comes out.
15) Note, I left the power LED on the circuit board, because when fitting a variable polarizing filter onto the end of the camera you can adjust the filters while looking down the barrel of the camera to get a feel for how much light you want to block out. At least that is my excuse for forgetting to remove it or cover it up.
16) Take some video, spin some people out, then remember to use your reading glasses next time when focusing your telescope because you are now looking at a laptop monitor!
Regards Tim.