Removing IR filter from "gum stick" cameras

[jimwelsh]

The IR filter on the "gum stick" style cameras doesn't appear to be easily removable, aside from cutting/breaking it out and removing all the pieces as carefully as possible.  Has anyone had any success doing this, or is this almost certain to damage or otherwise ruin the CMOS detector and/or nearby circuit traces?

[Jeffrey Warren]

Hi, Jim - actually the gum stick cameras have the IR filter already removed. Is there somewhere you think we could make that more clear? Did your instructions match the camera you got?

On Mon, Mar 10, 2014 at 6:23 PM, jimwelsh <jimw...@gmail.com> wrote:

The IR filter on the "gum stick" style cameras doesn't appear to be easily removable, aside from cutting/breaking it out and removing all the pieces as carefully as possible.  Has anyone had any success doing this, or is this almost certain to damage or otherwise ruin the CMOS detector and/or nearby circuit traces?

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[jimwelsh]

Jeffrey,

The instructions did match the camera I got, but I saw no reference to the IR filter.  It could just be me being unobservant, but I reviewed the website and also the instruction PDF, but found no reference to the fact that the IR filter was already removed.  If it is there and I missed it, I'm sorry.  I would suggest that perhaps you might add an entry in the "Frequently Asked Questions" area -- that's where I looked.

The camera that I got had a small lens that screws into a small plastic fitting immediately over the sensor.  The sensor appears to have a piece of colored glass over it.  I thought the colored glass was the IR filter.  Since my camera had already died, I had the freedom to be adventurous, and so I took some tweezers and was able to break that colored glass and remove most of it.  I figured I was practicing for a similar operation on a future camera.

Once I get a replacement camera, I'll see about getting some signal in the (very) near IR part of the spectrum.

Thanks!

Jim