I could probably install a solar light on top, they're usually dirt cheap and while they aren't extremely bright, they should be sufficient.
With regards to power, there's a plethora of other threads on this site with regards to external power supplies, and DIY Battery packs, would this suffice, do you think?
I wouldn't expect it to stay outside for more than 2-3 days without being taken inside to take the pictures off, anyway. And if the Battery pack had rechargeable batteries placed in it, then it'd probably be recharged every few days anyway, if I can get it to last that long. My housemate is an electrical engineer, so I could probably get him to help, if I could work out a way to run a solar panel to charge the batteries during the day, I could probably get a reasonable amount of time running before it dies.
Evening guys, at the moment my Mum is borrowing a friends "Animal Camera", basically all it is, is a camera with motion detection and a good flash in a rock-like casing. As Christmas is coming up, I figured I could build one for her and give it to her as a present as it's something she's generally passionate about.
I'm a little worried about the motion detection during night, is it sufficient to catch animals such as wallabies/possums/foxes moving around during the night?
I was also thinking of mounting a solar panel on top, as a secondary power source, I'm not sure how I'd make it work, has anyone made anything like this before? I'm a novice when it comes to electronics and electrical systems, so I might not bother, it's not too important anyway, but if there's a tutorial somewhere a link to that would be amazing.
Also, I was thinking I'd need to build an enclosure for it too, would thickish wood be sufficient do you think? If I silicone the gaps, and give it a paint, would that be enough to keep the water out of it?
Or I could buy a silicone/waterproof case for it, depending on the camera I end up with I s'pose.
How do cameras generally handle heat? I know it's a pretty open question, and every camera's different, but as a whole, do they tend to not like higher temperatures? I'm in Australia, and higher temperatures are pretty common. The one Mum's using seems to malfunction if it's ~25 degrees Celsius outside, and that basically means that it only works during the night, and even then some nights it's still to warm and it takes pictures constantly until the SD-card is full.
QuoteMaking something like this work reliably with CHDK will likely be a significant project. Unless you like the project aspect for it's own sake or put very little value on your own time, you are probably better of buying a purpose built camera trap. While the cheap ones undoubtedly have bad image quality, I'm sure there's decent ones at some price point (you see some very nice camera trap images in places like Nat geo etc.)I have a few months off, so anything to keep my mind going is good at the moment, and if I finish with something tangibly helpful, all the better. QuoteProbably not. It might be work under a full moon out in the open, but in general it's not going to work well at night without illumination. You could hack out the IR filter and build your own IR illumination, I suppose, but that's non-trivial, requires more battery, and would affect the color of the resulting images. If you have power and don't might having visible light on it, you could just run a light all the time.Like I said before, I've found that cheap solar LED lights tend to work all night, and while they're not the brightest lights, they do light up my driveway pretty well.QuoteA simple (but not compact or efficient) way to do this would be to get an car/rv solar trickle charger (like http://www.amazon.com/Sunforce-50012-1-8-Watt-Battery-Maintainer/dp/B0006JO0KG/ref=pd_sbs_auto_2 ), a 12 volt lead acid battery (car, motorcyle, lawn tractor etc) and a 12 volt to whatever your camera uses adapter. I have a car battery downstairs, but it might be a bit heavy, the primary user will be a reasonably elderly lady living on a hill. I was thinking more along the lines of a string of rechargeable AA batteries attached to http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=ZM9091&form=CAT2&SUBCATID=1004 I don't know if this is even possible, I'd have to ask someone more knowledgeable in Electrical circuits. QuoteThat depends on your construction ability and conditions, but it certainly should be possible. One thing you still might need to worry about is condensation.I have used a cheap waterproof bag like http://www.amazon.com/DicaPac-WP410-10-5x16-0cm-Waterproof-Digital/dp/B001C20816/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1354591111&sr=1-1 for use in a dirty environment. The optical quality isn't terrible, but overheating and condensation can be an issue.I'm not too worried about the enclosure, I should have a way to avoid condensation and heating issues. And as it's just an enclosure, I can change it as I see fit when I have it running. QuoteThe cameras should be fine quite a bit over 25c, (canon specs include a temperature range, e.g. http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/support/consumer/digital_cameras/other_powershot/powershot_sx10_is#Specifications says up to 40c ) but remember they generate quite a bit of heat on their own, so sitting in a sealed enclosure could get a lot hotter. Direct sun on the enclosure could also be a big problem. I'm pretty sure I had my A540 shut down due to over heating using the above mentioned bag in the desert, but I'm not sure at what temperature. It's going to be in a forest, so the sunlight shouldn't be an issue. It's more the Australian climate, today it's 41c, and 85% humidity. That being said, it certainly wouldn't be left out on days like this, especially as its primarily for seeing what's out at night. Thanks for the links, too. I might just go for the camera bag idea, if they don't particularly affect image quality, it's as good of an option as an enclosure, really. I'm pretty content on doing this, as it's something to pass the time and it'll make a nifty gift if I can get it working. And at worst, I have myself a new camera, which I could resell on Ebay anyway.
Making something like this work reliably with CHDK will likely be a significant project. Unless you like the project aspect for it's own sake or put very little value on your own time, you are probably better of buying a purpose built camera trap. While the cheap ones undoubtedly have bad image quality, I'm sure there's decent ones at some price point (you see some very nice camera trap images in places like Nat geo etc.)
Probably not. It might be work under a full moon out in the open, but in general it's not going to work well at night without illumination. You could hack out the IR filter and build your own IR illumination, I suppose, but that's non-trivial, requires more battery, and would affect the color of the resulting images. If you have power and don't might having visible light on it, you could just run a light all the time.
A simple (but not compact or efficient) way to do this would be to get an car/rv solar trickle charger (like http://www.amazon.com/Sunforce-50012-1-8-Watt-Battery-Maintainer/dp/B0006JO0KG/ref=pd_sbs_auto_2 ), a 12 volt lead acid battery (car, motorcyle, lawn tractor etc) and a 12 volt to whatever your camera uses adapter.
That depends on your construction ability and conditions, but it certainly should be possible. One thing you still might need to worry about is condensation.I have used a cheap waterproof bag like http://www.amazon.com/DicaPac-WP410-10-5x16-0cm-Waterproof-Digital/dp/B001C20816/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1354591111&sr=1-1 for use in a dirty environment. The optical quality isn't terrible, but overheating and condensation can be an issue.
The cameras should be fine quite a bit over 25c, (canon specs include a temperature range, e.g. http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/support/consumer/digital_cameras/other_powershot/powershot_sx10_is#Specifications says up to 40c ) but remember they generate quite a bit of heat on their own, so sitting in a sealed enclosure could get a lot hotter. Direct sun on the enclosure could also be a big problem. I'm pretty sure I had my A540 shut down due to over heating using the above mentioned bag in the desert, but I'm not sure at what temperature.
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