Keychain DVR
erco
Posts: 20,260
My latest WOW find from China/Ebay is a tiny digital video camera/recorder for ~$40. Keychain car remote-sized, they call it a "spy" unit,·and there are tons of uses. Stick one on your robot for a POV cam. Acts like a flashdrive, USB hookup. Records nice quality audio & video, 640x480, 30 FPS, also takes digital stills at 1280x960. Rechargeable built-in·battery, built-in·4 GB memory will record ~1 hour of video! So tiny that you really can mount it anywhere with foam tape, weighs just 16 grams. Friggin' amazing.
My sample videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zde3DduyEWw·outdoor·bike ride
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Yjw6Z0-Kpw·indoor light level
Sept·3 Edit: Recommend you ONLY look for 4 GB cameras that have a CCD sensor (NOT CMOS) and 30 FPS. There are cheaper 8 GB cameras using CMOS sensors that shoot 15 FPS and the picture and audio is poor quality. These will shoot longer duration·video,·but are suitable only for a fixed location camera. Moving them around gives a blurry smear of an image.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
·"If you build it, they will come."
Post Edited (erco) : 9/3/2009 1:59:37 AM GMT
My sample videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zde3DduyEWw·outdoor·bike ride
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Yjw6Z0-Kpw·indoor light level
Sept·3 Edit: Recommend you ONLY look for 4 GB cameras that have a CCD sensor (NOT CMOS) and 30 FPS. There are cheaper 8 GB cameras using CMOS sensors that shoot 15 FPS and the picture and audio is poor quality. These will shoot longer duration·video,·but are suitable only for a fixed location camera. Moving them around gives a blurry smear of an image.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
·"If you build it, they will come."
Post Edited (erco) : 9/3/2009 1:59:37 AM GMT
Comments
After watching the bike ride video I am now on the floor with a damp washcloth on my head - the room is still spinning. I feel like I just watched The Blaire Witch Project.
This would be very cool on a robot! What an amazing little device. Thanks for the heads up.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Whit+
"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney
That would be useful as part of some security projects.
A controller could use that to take short videos...if it
turned out easy to interface/hack.
In a few years all camcorders will have no visible lens, or it will be
a small fisheye lens. Higher density and more sensitive image chips will take the wide view
image through a pinhold lens thus capturing all the action and no focus
needed as the pinhole makes it all sharp. Software will then take the distorted
fisheye image and convert that back to where everything looks normal.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
- Some mornings I wake up cranky.....but usually I just let him sleep in -
Going to see if I can pop one open and interface it to a prop.
I have several cool project ideas for them.
Should be able to interface it safely using opto couplers I would think.
I'm curious what's inside these...bet it's cramped on that circuit board.
The video and audio from these is amazing!
Be cool if it was possible to make the 8gb of flash ram available to the prop.
Imagine a propeller security device that could snap thousands of 1.2mp snapshots
and 6+ hours of 640 by 480 video at 30 frames per sec....and add just 20.00 to
the project cost.
Might be best to pull the board out and interface it, then encapsulate it in
black plastic leaving just a row of pins sticking out the bottom...so snoops
can't figure out what it is and how cheap they really are.
They need to make a 16:9 aspect ratio model of this thing.
Videos made with this seem to have a date and time stamp on the bottom,
at least I think they do? Found several keychain spy cam vids on youtube
and they seem to have the stamp. Wonder if it can be turned off?
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
- Some mornings I wake up cranky.....but usually I just let him sleep -
Post Edited (HollyMinkowski) : 8/31/2009 5:08:17 AM GMT
Glad you're pleased with 'em, I think they are the bee's knees. I like the date/time stamp myself. You set the time by making a "settime.txt" file in the root directory of the device. Might try setting to all blank or all zeroes to turn it off.
BTW, a friend found a firmware glitch when he left his camera on to record video until the onboard memory was full. He got about 1 hour on a 4 GB unit. He could download the file properly, and then he deleted the file, but the camera wouldn't function again until he reformatted it FAT32. Then all was fine.
MFR's Directions:
How do you set the time of video and images taken with the device?
Create a new Txt file on your computer named “SetTime”. Open the file, input the date and time in the following format: year , month, day, hours, minutes and seconds format (for example : 2009.05.18 18:28:23). Then save the text file, connect the device via USB and copy the text file to the root catalog of the device then disconnect the device. Then turn on the device again to record a video as usual; connect to the computer again and you will find the date and time have been changed to the one you had set. If this method does not work, please try formatting the device first, and then repeat the previous steps.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
·"If you build it, they will come."
An 8gb thumb drive costs nearly as much.
If it can just be interfaced to the prop you could
create all sorts of security gizmos and just fun toys.
Put it into a mundane object and have one cog running
at low clock speed watching and waiting for a good opportunity
to snap an image or record video....possibilities are endless.
Put it in a tiny box with a prop and velcro it to your dash, every time the car starts
the prop could start recording. It could start deleting files
in a fifo manner to always have space to continue. That would
be a great thing to have if you were in an accident or something
strange just happened while you were on the road.
Time lapse photography, one frame every second or two and this thing
could run for months.
Build a custom package with a prop that uses this as the camera and flash ram parts.
Plug in a VGA monitor and kbrd and customize what the device does in a zillion ways.
Sell them on ebay to security guys and geeks. A cheap GPS add on and a real time clock
would make the data look good in court.
Picture a tiny plastic case holding this cam, GPS, a prop
and a few amp hrs of battery...put a rare earth magnet on the case and stick it in a good
spot beneath the frame of a car....or wherever and however you could place it.
Make it small enough and with ingenuity you might get the target to
carry the thing around with them.
I wonder what sort of processor this thing has and wouldn't it be cool
if it can be re-programmed via the USB... if I had designed it I would
have left that option in case a bug turned up...they could be fixed and not
just dumped. I found out that the same device has VOX functions but the
newest version left off the switch, to save $ I'd guess. The vox started taking video
when sound was detected.
These are some of the cheap parts we have been waiting for
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
- Some mornings I wake up cranky.....but usually I just let him sleep -
I suggest you stick with CCD and 30 FPS, even if the memory is smaller (like the 4 GB unit). The rechargeable internal battery is probably only good for about an hour anyway.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
·"If you build it, they will come."
I hope the ones I ordered are 30 frames/second and not 15 :-(
That bike ride video of yours is scary
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
- Some mornings I wake up cranky.....but usually I just let him sleep -
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
·"If you build it, they will come."
Thanks for the tip on the inferior DVRs! I am about to place an order.
Edit- I just took a look. I can find the 30 frames per second, but the ones I can find are all CMOS. I will keep looking. Even the one you initially linked is a Color CMOS sensor.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Whit+
"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney
Post Edited (Whit) : 9/2/2009 3:54:23 PM GMT
Wonderful news about the twin babies!
I hope they are identicals
I just love babies!!!
Makes me shudder to think of her behind you on that wild ride while 8mos pregnant...shame on you guys
Post a photo of the girls after they arrive.
I bet I am going to end up with the cheaper cmos cams...darn it.
It does say 30fps though..not 15. If you can provide a link to cams
that you know are like the first one you bought please post it.
Or sell it to me!?
I know!
When the babies arrive use your original cam to make a short clip of the darlings.
Then make another with the cmos cam you just bought and post them to http://www.ziddu.com/
(you can post anonymously without registering) and let us download the original clips
instead of the youtubed versions.... maybe you could post that wild bike ride
on ziddu as well.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
- Some mornings I wake up cranky.....but usually I just let him sleep -
Post Edited (HollyMinkowski) : 9/2/2009 7:58:43 PM GMT
That's a $35 Buy it Now with free shipping, the best I can find right now. Hope it helps, and glad you approve of·our baby·names!!!
Holly: Glad you like babies so much! Ours are not identical, and per the ultrasounds so far, one's·already bigger than the other. If you're a diapering expert, please stop by and give us a few dozen lessons the next time you're in LA!
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
·"If you build it, they will come."
Post Edited (erco) : 9/3/2009 2:00:54 AM GMT
Wonder if you could make a dirty diaper detector out of one of these? http://www.parallax.com/Store/Sensors/PressureFlexRPM/tabid/177/CategoryID/46/List/0/SortField/0/Level/a/ProductID/557/Default.aspx
I know it will work on the daiper bin.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Whit+
"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney
Post Edited (Whit) : 9/3/2009 2:59:05 AM GMT
erco, I'm the fastest diaperer in the west!
I get to LA about twice/year
I usually drive there, straight
out I10 all the way.
I will bring the proper equipment
for a guy to change a diaper.
(guys really really hate to change diapers)
LoL, while looking for a thumbnail image of rubber gloves I saw this one...wonder what this
guys problem is
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
- Some mornings I wake up cranky.....but usually I just let him sleep -
What's funny is that I'll be almost 49 when the girls are born, so I'll be 70 when they're 21. At some point, I'll·be going into diapers just as they're coming out of them.
BTW, the GOOD cameras I have seen have the time/date stamp on the bottom right in red, as shown in Holly's still image shown previously. The BAD cameras have the time/date code in small hi-res white numbers on the top left.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
·"If you build it, they will come."
Post Edited (erco) : 9/3/2009 3:10:31 AM GMT
One place I found on ebay shows the box that says ccd
but the written description says cmos...wth
I have found no youtube vid from a spy cam that
has the time in upper left. Why don't you take a short vid
using the 2nd 'bad' cam you got and post to
Ziddu.com anonymously and then put the link here so
we can download the actual video...and does that bad cam
look exactly like the good one?
Saw some reviews for the 8gb cams that claims they are good?
Maybe there is more than 1 version of the 8gb cams?
Where did you buy the 2nd cam that was not as good as the first?
So we can avoid them...probably it's where I just bought mine.
I have bad karma for stuff like this.
Look at this toon.... the pregnant lady is at one of those
Obamacare town halls.... The 6 greasy burritos sounds
about right for a pregnant lady that far along.
HUNGER!
Your wife will like this toon...
A 70yr old guy with 2 young daughters!?
You will never survive it
I wants me some babies, but it makes me nervous.
I just can't believe that 'it' can really stretch that far.
It's just that I picture this big scene where the MD says
"it's just not gonna fit through, quick! bring me the scissors!"
They actually do sometimes have to just cut the edge of 'it' so
that the baby will fit through...it's called an episiotomy
and I feel faint just thinking about it.
don't go look at real images on google of that...it will scare your wife.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
- Some mornings I wake up cranky.....but usually I just let him sleep -
Post Edited (HollyMinkowski) : 9/3/2009 3:56:34 AM GMT
I was very relieved on the night my twins (fraternal) were delivered when the doctor decided a cesarean would be best. I was not looking forward to witnessing such trauma. My own trip down the birth canal, which took literally days, resulted in my mother first seeing her son as a banana with eyes. Fortunately, baby skulls are soft so I didn't retain the potassium rich appearance for very long. My kids didn't have to make that trip, the doc just reached in and pulled them right out, nice. More interesting is when they pulled the entire uterus out and flipped it side to side checking that all was ok. You'd think they would handle internal organs more carefully.
If you decide to have kids, good for you! Undoubtedly, the most rewarding experience possible.
If you decide not to have kids, good for you! You'll avoid massive amounts of stress and worry plus you won't be contributing to overpopulation - and you'll save tons of money.
Rich H
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
The Servo Boss, a 12 channel servo tester kit from Gadget Gangster.
4 GB, CCD, 30 FPS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Yjw6Z0-Kpw· Good audio/video
8 GB, CMOS, 15 FPS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-avxyodwVis· Bad audio/video
Note the different time stamp formats.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
·"If you build it, they will come."
The image on the 8gb cam actually looks just fine.
But the smearing limits it to lesser uses than the other cam.
OK for stills probably, ok for certain uses like security
type chores where the quality may not be as critical.
I just bet that the flash is much cheaper and slower than the
4gb one and that is why the frame rate has dropped.
I'm inclined to think it is trying to write at 30fps but the
flash speed just won't allow it, thus it is missing frames
and the rate is lowered.
They probably decided that they could sell more with
8gb of really cheap and slow flash than 4gb of fast flash...price probably came
out about the same but 8gb sounds better to the masses.
The flash speed can be determined by sending a large file
to it over USB and checking the time it takes compared to
the 4gb version.
Oh well, if my cams turn out to be slow ones I will just have
to find someone selling the same ones you bought first.
If the cams won't do 30fps I will give scathing reviews to
the seller so that others might be forewarned.
In the place where you put the buyers review
I will place a link to a youtube vid of me using their
sad excuse for a camera...they will rue the day
Was that link you posted before the one to the very same seller and camera you got 1st?
cgi.ebay.com/Keychain-DV-DVR-Video-Camera-Spy-cam-CCD-Camcorder_W0QQitemZ250486006903QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3a52212477&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
- Some mornings I wake up cranky.....but usually I just let him sleep -
One other thing: the good cameras came in a nice little gift box (~4x3x1.5 inch) and included a 120v USB charger in the package. The bad cameras simply·came in a small flat envelope in bubble wrap. Both included the cable and minimal instructions.
The above seller above also·verified·his cams come in a gift box w/charger, so I'm pretty sure they are the good ones.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
·"If you build it, they will come."
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
·"If you build it, they will come."
Thanks for those images erco
Were they hard to get popped open?
I foresee a use for both the 35$ better ones and the 20 dollar cheapies.
The lower quality ones will still suffice for lots of gadgets you could make
using a prop
That circuit looks awfully tiny... I will have to use the rework station at work
with the binocular scope attached to make changes and connections to those tiny things.
Be nice to make them start filming or taking stills in response to changes in
the cameras detected image or sound, remote switch closures..etc
I wonder how difficult to tap the video data stream from cam to the
propeller for analysis?
Will we be getting images of the insides of the cheaper cam?
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
- Some mornings I wake up cranky.....but usually I just let him sleep -
When you said she was behind you on that bike ride I didn't realize it was a bike for 2
She really was behind you...that looks like a fun way to exercise.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
- Some mornings I wake up cranky.....but usually I just let him sleep -
I expected it to be one of those cob chips covered with epoxy.
Looks easy enough to connect to the pins for the USB socket.
Also appears you can easily encapsulate it in plastic and leave the mic
and cds cam exposed at the front.
Then harvest the battery.
Looks very hackable, be a good article for Hack-a-day
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
- Some mornings I wake up cranky.....but usually I just let him sleep -
> for a guy to change a diaper.
Holly, good thing you prepared Erco with most of the pictures of the require diaper-changing gear (for guys, that is).
erco> How hard could it be?
Hi erco,
Clearly, Holly wanted you to be ready - but I'm guessing she also didn't want to scare you too bad, seeing how she left out the picture of the guy-item needed most for a particularly messy change.
Namely, the full-body Tyvek hazmat suit.
Good luck (sincerely) to you and your wife!
- Howard
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Does this look like the same setup of parts and boxes that came with your cam?
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
- Some mornings I wake up cranky.....but usually I just let him sleep -
All I “need” is Bluetooth (mode of operation) of 100 meters range.
Any radical suggestion?
The “challenge” is it has to be super tiny!
I sent u a pm with the url
I want to make sure they are indeed the right cams before
posting here. I don't want anyone to order thinking they
are the good ones when they may not be.
Should be possible for a propeller to gain access to the 4gb
class2 SDHC card and use for storage of data and programs.
I wonder if anyone has put up an object for SDHC greater then 2gb?
The prop could modify the image files directly, you can add
any amount of data to the end of a jpg for instance. It could add
gps location data, time, whatever.
I just hope the 3 I bought have an 8gb sdhc in them. If so
then they are still a great buy even if they are only good
for still images...be great for time lapse.
The one I sent the link for is worth something in parts alone.
Lion battery, mic, cds sensor, 4gb SDHC card and socket, 5volt usb wall charger,
what looks like it might be an eeprom chip.... I mean, even if it broke
you could harvest those parts and do OK.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
- Some mornings I wake up cranky.....but usually I just let him sleep -
I remember there was a bluetooth board for low$
in my thread called "Holly's cheap parts roundup"
It's in this group. (sandbox)
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
- Some mornings I wake up cranky.....but usually I just let him sleep -
Girls are usually taught to change a baby at 11 or 12 years of age.
So it is just another messy chore girls learn to deal with...we have several.
Just not a big deal.
There are things you watch carefully for like rash but that rarely
comes up if you are keeping close watch for when baby needs
changing. You can just stick a finger tip beneath the diaper
to feel for wetness although the super absorbent diapers make that hard.
Me, I pick the baby up and smell it's bottom close up, I can tell
right away if it's changing time
I bet some guys couldn't pass that test...LoL
<ducks and runs>
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
- Some mornings I wake up cranky.....but usually I just let him sleep -
Post Edited (HollyMinkowski) : 9/4/2009 3:55:04 AM GMT