Micronta Observation Camera 49-2502

[tszodie]

hiya pillarama hope you dont mind me quoting your pm to get this started

Subject: Micronta Observation Camera 49-2502

Hi tszodie,
Greetings from Australia! Very Happy
I was given a few Micronta 49-502 cameras recently and my intention was to try and use them on my ZM setup, however I soon discovered that they were a combined video / mic / speaker setup for which I didn't have any base station etc, so shelved them for another day. I found them again today and after a quick investigation decided that isolation of the individual video stream might be over my head, Confused I was about to bin them but out of curiosity punched the model number into google and to my great surprise stumbled on your ZM forum post!

If I understand correctly you actually managed to modify these cameras for ZM use? Would it be at all possible for you to please point me in the right direction to convert the ones I have and save them from ending up in land fill? (I'm reasonably handy with a soldering iron and have basic electronics understanding) Of course I completely understand if it's too difficult to explain or you don't have time etc...

Thanks in advance,

Pillarama

[tszodie]

Ok (without any coffee) to begin with there is a few small things to figure out these are mostly logistical for hookup

As soon as i figure out how lol ill get pics up for you that will help

which version do you have (on pcb ) or describe your ir/leds new version has em soldered to pcb but older ones have a pcb screwed to the rest of the camera and pcb (hope that makes sense).

Remove the mic and speaker from the enclosure keep em for another project with asterisk or something.

Now how would you like to hook up your electrical portion you have choices
1 Svideo Cable
2 cable that came with unit (even if you dont have the station you can still reuse this wire)
3 cable that goes between base portion and cam ( about 5 inches )
the other choice is up to you how to power them
I daisy chained them all into their own PSU connectors for ease.

I have wired a switch into 2 of the older ones that turns off the ir portion cuz they can glare
Also a tip for this cam remove tinted front plastic and remove the paint (toluene or similar) from the six IR areas this greatly improved my IR output as the tint is dark like to hide the IRz

[tszodie]

This is the original pinout of the wires for the system It was located using the us radioshack faxback thingy
http://support.radioshack.com/support_s ... /14749.htm

you only need pin 1 4 and ground for the video to ZM
if you choose to use a common S Video cable and it is not ground also on the sheath then a small jumper wire on the camera pcb can link the ground for you saving some wire hassle.
then the other way is to put a female bnc @ camera . I prefer to run the power and vid all in one cable.
cheap and good is a 100' of telephone wire extension just like those cheap lorex and other outdoor bullets.
(if I ever end up with another pile of proprietary camz I will use the telephone extension method - least hassle)

[tszodie]

CAMERA SPEC 49-2502A

Definition Angle: ................................... 70 degrees, diagonal
Horizontal Resolution (nominal): ................................... 4 MHz
(limit): ................................... 3 Mhz
Min. Illumination Video Output Level (nominal): ................. 0.6 Vp-p
@ 0 Lux [Camera-Target Board=50cm] (limit): ................. 0.4 Vp-p
Grey Scale (nominal): ............................................. 8 Step
(limit): ............................................. 6 Step
Video Output Level: ..................................... 1.1 +/- 0.1 Vp-p

Note: The camera has an 8 mm wide-angle lens, microphone and speaker
connections, and is intended for commercial use only.

Focal Length of Lens................................................4.3 mm


Operating Temperature...................................14 - 122 degrees F
Dimensions, camera only (HWD)..2.99 x 2.04 x 1.29 inches (76 x 52 x 33 mm)
Dimensions, camera with
speaker amp (HWD)..............2.48 x 3.62 x 3.77 inches (63 x 92 x 96 mm)

[tszodie]

ok I just ripped apart camera 1 and took some pix for you guys.
When the power comes back on here soon lol Ill get em up somewhere. then I will write up the different methods I used on each camera 1-4 I experimented a little mate
Every method is easy once you trace the video line.
Only tool needed is digi multimeter with continuity test. Turn on the beep and go to work
NOTE: Just so you know I chose to trace from the pcb because this is the only method that is tried and true between revisions cameras etc. If you learn to trace the circuit u can rewire your cheap wireless to wired and do almost any camera not just this one

[tszodie]

http://picasaweb.google.com/tszodie/ZMHelpPix

okeydokey until told otherwise here will b the pix

[pillarama]

WOW! tszodie you're a legend! Thanks so much!!! I'm itching to get my soldering iron and mm out now! I'll post back once I've had a go...

Thanks Again!

[Lee Sharp]

This is why Open Source is so cool. You wouldn't see this in a Bosch forum.

[spruce_capital]

I wonder if I might join in on this thread and ask a few questions?

I have a couple of 49-2501A's and am curious about the modifications that are shown on http://picasaweb.google.com/tszodie/ZMHelpPix IE What each does and any other information that you might have?

I realize that your unit's are 49-2502A's but the two units look quite similar.

Any information you may be able to provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[tszodie]

yes they are similar now how can i help u .. if u can take a high res pic and post it I took mine with the camcorder snapshot i can prolly circle and repost what needs to be done to make it bnc compatible which I assume is what u want

[tszodie]

also spruce_capital when u pull it apart check the capacitors yer model sometimes suffers a over heat issue
c306 bulged. The value of this filter is 10mfd@350v
if any caps are leaking and or bulged and or highly discoloured u may wanna replace em .. easy process
if you can use a digital multimetre u should have no problems tracing the video input and the schematic should be about the same for your cam too the schematic is really just a guideline since its different for all the cams
also workin on a guide for us all to turn the cheapo 2.4 wireless bullets into a wired no interference version.

hehe the spell checker for the forum is trying to force me to speak American