Standalone infared illuminator for use with xcams ?
neil p
cameras and dont work in the near IR spectrum like a CCD would ..... hmmmm ....i
have seen illluminators for as low as 15 bucks .....
it is known that color cameras (CMOS) do not repond to IR light ...... but hey
....try and we shall see ......
only CCD responds to IR since they operate in the near IR psectrum.... and xcam
from x10 is made up of a CMOS camera ....
good luck
neil
John wrote:
> I'm looking for someone who makes an infared illuminator. Doesn't have to be
> led's. Anything that I can plug in to 110V will suffice.
>
> I found that the color xcams will respond nicely with them. I did a little
> experiemnt by pointing a remote control at the xcam and you can see the flash
> of light loud and clear!
>
> So, I darkened the room and used the remote as a flashlight to read a piece of
> paper. Worked great. Granted, I was right on top of the camera, so I figure
> any infared illuminators will need to be very bright for practical use.
Brian Karas
range of about 40-50 feet, and look more or less like a regular
floodlight, so they blend in well outside, and they are also
weatherproof.
[] [] John <john...@aol.moc> arranged some electrons to say:
>I'm looking for someone who makes an infared illuminator. Doesn't have to be
>led's. Anything that I can plug in to 110V will suffice.
>
>I found that the color xcams will respond nicely with them. I did a little
>experiemnt by pointing a remote control at the xcam and you can see the flash
>of light loud and clear!
>
>So, I darkened the room and used the remote as a flashlight to read a piece of
>paper. Worked great. Granted, I was right on top of the camera, so I figure
>any infared illuminators will need to be very bright for practical use.
>
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Dennis Heidner
You need to verify that information. CMOS camera can and often are very
sensitive to IR. I think you'd need to visit the component mfg's sites,
like Toshiba, NEC, Hitachi, Sharp and Sanyo to verify otherwise. But in
general silicon devices often respond better to IR than visible light.
One of the earlies homebrew camera's that I can remember was one made
using CMOS memory chips (in 1970's), we popped the lid off the MOSTEK
device and would write all 1's into the device, read it back and where
it was exposed to IR the bits would be reset.
The frequency spectrum for a semiconductor device is dependent not just
on it being a CCD (which are also CMOS devices) or ordinary CMOS
devices, but the electrical structure of the individual sensor cell,
doping and the process used to produce the device.
neil p wrote:
>
> thats a first that IR illuminator works with xcam ..since all xcam are cmos
> cameras and dont work in the near IR spectrum like a CCD would ..... hmmmm ....i
> have seen illluminators for as low as 15 bucks .....
>
> it is known that color cameras (CMOS) do not repond to IR light ...... but hey
> ....try and we shall see ......
>
> only CCD responds to IR since they operate in the near IR psectrum.... and xcam
> from x10 is made up of a CMOS camera ....
>
> good luck
>
> neil
>
> John wrote:
>
neil p
they said that their xcam are not responsive to IR light ..
"Will the camera work in the dark or low light?
How much light does the XCam(s) need to operate?
None of X10's cameras are intended for low light use. While it's hard to say
exactly how much lighting is
necessary, X10 cameras work best in a well lit area.
Will using an infrared (IR) source to light up the area help my XCam see in
the dark?
No. Because X10 cameras CMOS sensor rather than a CCD, they are not sensitive
to infrared illumination.
the above was taken from x10 web site ......
neil
Patrick Brochu
sony camcorder, it has 'nightshot', which is an ir-lamp. It works quite
well actually. I guess hooking up together a couple of IR-leds would do the
trick, but I still have to try it.
neil p <ne...@servo.com> wrote in message news:397731B5...@servo.com...
Dennis Heidner
Color camera's are almost always less sensitive, not necessarily because of
the sensor, but because they add the color filters in front of the camera.
The green, blue filter pretty much clobber the infrared wavelengths, the
red filter probably isn't a neutral density so it may also add the
equivalent of one or two f-stops. I don't think the X-Cams have a very
fancy light exposure control circuit, which also doesn't help.
For anybody using any of the camera's with infrared illumination, and if
you are a do-it-yourself type of person, you can go to Radio Shack and
pickup about a dozen or two of the infrared LED, and bread board your own
illuminator.
Since there is quite a difference in the wavelength of infrared and visible
light, the focus for the camera may be off. The low-cost camera's are not
autofocus, but you can manual focus them. However you may also then need
to decide do you want a clear picture in bright light or low light with
infrared...
The link below has a pretty good explanation about the camera
technologies,,,
Stephen W. Jones
http://www.bgmicro.com/pdf/page7.pdf
they have an IR Illuminator board kit with 36 infrared LEDs for $12.95
Note: you'll need Adobe Acrobat to view this page of the online catalog.
John wrote:
>
> On Thu, 20 Jul 2000 18:32:13 GMT, br...@futurestandard.com.doitsu (Brian Karas)
> wrote:
>
> >We sell the NetMedia IR "floodlights" for $99. They are good out to a
> >range of about 40-50 feet, and look more or less like a regular
> >floodlight, so they blend in well outside, and they are also
> >weatherproof.
>
> Whoa! That's about $80 out of my price range!
>
> I'm looking for something that will illuminate a room - hence, baby cam.
>
> Neil mentioned $15 illuminators and that's what I'd be interested in. 110V or
> low voltage DC is fine.
>
> >[] [] John <john...@aol.moc> arranged some electrons to say:
> >
> >>I'm looking for someone who makes an infared illuminator. Doesn't have to be
> >>led's. Anything that I can plug in to 110V will suffice.
> >>
> >>I found that the color xcams will respond nicely with them. I did a little
> >>experiemnt by pointing a remote control at the xcam and you can see the flash
> >>of light loud and clear!
> >>
> >>So, I darkened the room and used the remote as a flashlight to read a piece of
> >>paper. Worked great. Granted, I was right on top of the camera, so I figure
> >>any infared illuminators will need to be very bright for practical use.
> >>
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Brian Karas
>On 20 Jul 2000 18:30:07 -0700, "Dennis Heidner" <den...@heidners-nospam.net>
>wrote:
>
>>For anybody using any of the camera's with infrared illumination, and if
>>you are a do-it-yourself type of person, you can go to Radio Shack and
>>pickup about a dozen or two of the infrared LED, and bread board your own
>>illuminator.
>
>Hey, I'm game on trying this as I know how to use a soldering iron and whatnot.
>
>How many of these guys do you figure I'd need to light up an average room, say
>12x12 ?
From my experiences with the cameras with LEDS mounted on them, I'd
guess 2 or 3 of these kits.
>Also, are they just simply rated for direct DC current, or would I have to build
>some sort of "real" circuit to get them to work ?
Yup, DC goes in, light goes out ;)
neil p
it will work great for you with pwr supply incliuded too!
will get back to you .....
i think i fthis works ...baby cams will be more pratical now ....coz as it say ...the poor
baby need to see MIDDAY SUN for the camera to see him/her :)
neil
John wrote:
> On Thu, 20 Jul 2000 19:06:05 GMT, neil p <ne...@servo.com> wrote:
>
> >Dennis seems i am learing each day .... point well taken .....however ....on x10 site
> >they said that their xcam are not responsive to IR light ..
> >
> >"Will the camera work in the dark or low light?
> > How much light does the XCam(s) need to operate?
> > None of X10's cameras are intended for low light use. While it's hard to say
> >exactly how much lighting is
> > necessary, X10 cameras work best in a well lit area.
> >
> > Will using an infrared (IR) source to light up the area help my XCam see in
> >the dark?
> > No. Because X10 cameras CMOS sensor rather than a CCD, they are not sensitive
> >to infrared illumination.
> >
> >the above was taken from x10 web site ......
>
> Neil, that is extremely odd as I have tried it - myself - and it works !
>
> I got the 3 camera deal that is now selling for $169 and ended up paying $115
> delivered because I had a voucher. I couldn't pass it up.
>
> I, too, was surprised that they responded because I have always read that almost
> all color cameras don't respond to IR.
>
> These respond nicely, and it will allow me to use one as a baby cam that I
> wasn't even counting on being able to do!
>
> So....you mentioned that you've seen $15 IR illuminators. I would GREATLY
> appreciate it if you could point me in the right direction on these.
>
> Thanks.
>
> >
> >neil
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >Dennis Heidner wrote:
> >
> >> Neil,
> >>
> >> You need to verify that information. CMOS camera can and often are very
> >> sensitive to IR. I think you'd need to visit the component mfg's sites,
> >> like Toshiba, NEC, Hitachi, Sharp and Sanyo to verify otherwise. But in
> >> general silicon devices often respond better to IR than visible light.
> >>
> >> One of the earlies homebrew camera's that I can remember was one made
> >> using CMOS memory chips (in 1970's), we popped the lid off the MOSTEK
> >> device and would write all 1's into the device, read it back and where
> >> it was exposed to IR the bits would be reset.
> >>
> >> The frequency spectrum for a semiconductor device is dependent not just
> >> on it being a CCD (which are also CMOS devices) or ordinary CMOS
> >> devices, but the electrical structure of the individual sensor cell,
> >> doping and the process used to produce the device.
> >>
> >> neil p wrote:
> >> >
> >> > thats a first that IR illuminator works with xcam ..since all xcam are cmos
> >> > cameras and dont work in the near IR spectrum like a CCD would ..... hmmmm ....i
> >> > have seen illluminators for as low as 15 bucks .....
> >> >
> >> > it is known that color cameras (CMOS) do not repond to IR light ...... but hey
> >> > ....try and we shall see ......
> >> >
> >> > only CCD responds to IR since they operate in the near IR psectrum.... and xcam
> >> > from x10 is made up of a CMOS camera ....
> >> >
> >> > good luck
> >> >
> >> > neil
> >> >
neil p
...still huntinmg it doen for you ...let me know how the results are .......keep us
posted ..if all works out i mite get few xcam! .....since i am an antixcam fellow and
a supercircuits fellow! :)
"Stephen W. Jones" wrote:
> take a look at:
> http://www.bgmicro.com/pdf/page7.pdf
> they have an IR Illuminator board kit with 36 infrared LEDs for $12.95
> Note: you'll need Adobe Acrobat to view this page of the online catalog.
>
> John wrote:
> >
> > On Thu, 20 Jul 2000 18:32:13 GMT, br...@futurestandard.com.doitsu (Brian Karas)
> > wrote:
> >
> > >We sell the NetMedia IR "floodlights" for $99. They are good out to a
> > >range of about 40-50 feet, and look more or less like a regular
> > >floodlight, so they blend in well outside, and they are also
> > >weatherproof.
> >
> > Whoa! That's about $80 out of my price range!
> >
> > I'm looking for something that will illuminate a room - hence, baby cam.
> >
> > Neil mentioned $15 illuminators and that's what I'd be interested in. 110V or
> > low voltage DC is fine.
> >
> > >[] [] John <john...@aol.moc> arranged some electrons to say:
> > >
> > >>I'm looking for someone who makes an infared illuminator. Doesn't have to be
> > >>led's. Anything that I can plug in to 110V will suffice.
> > >>
> > >>I found that the color xcams will respond nicely with them. I did a little
> > >>experiemnt by pointing a remote control at the xcam and you can see the flash
> > >>of light loud and clear!
> > >>
> > >>So, I darkened the room and used the remote as a flashlight to read a piece of
> > >>paper. Worked great. Granted, I was right on top of the camera, so I figure
> > >>any infared illuminators will need to be very bright for practical use.
> > >>
>
l...@xoomail.com
cameras for Baby Cams... Recently added a Channel Plus 4 channel
modulator to the package and now babies are on their own channels,
visible in any TV in the house.
Ramsey can be found at:
http://ramseyelectronics.com/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/scstore/Hframeset.htm?E+scstore
They use frames, so it is hard to point to the actual illuminator, but
it is the IR-1, and costs 24.95
Look in the Video Cameras and Transmitters section for it.
It is a simple kit, about a 1/2 hour with a soldering iron and you'll
be good to go.
If you're really handy, and are lucky to have a good electronics store
nearby, you could cook this up yourself, but this kit includes the
board and all the parts, making it almost too easy. I've built 3 of
these without any problems.
Hope this helps,
Carlos