Adventures in Electronics, or The Night We Setup the Christmas Tree
So, tonight we set up our little Christmas tree while watching the cartoon version of How The Grinch Stole Christmas... Afterward, Ashlee wanted to show her boyfriend the home movie that we have of when she was an Oompa-loompa in a school play in junior high...
So, we broke out the video camera and I got it all set up. We watched a couple of minutes of what was on the tape already in the in the camera (A French project Ashlee did in high school), then popped in the tape of the play.
Then things went all to hell.
The camera wouldn't accept the tape and kept making some weird noises. So we tried the first tape. Same thing. Now, this camera is about 13 years old, so we weren't surprised that the camera finally went crazy. So, while watching Wizard of Oz, which was on TV, I took the time to take the camera apart, to see if I could find a mechanical part that was malfunctioning. With the camera in pieces, I decided to see if I could get the camera to turn on, just to see if I did any damage to the parts (which I didn't think I did). And by holding the AC adapter in place (because the piece that did so was no longer anywhere near it) I got the camera to turn on. And better yet, I got the camera to accept the tape. Then I accidentally ripped a ribbon cable which controlled the ON/OFF switch for the camera.
Using some Scotch Tape, Twine, and sheer luck, I got the camera to play the tape, on the TV! So I managed to save the day with the video camera, and since some components no longer function, like the microphone, and the viewer... due to some, uh, collateral damage... I've decided to try to do some salvage work and use what I can to create a box that will allow us to view the tapes through the TV and record them to VHS, or import them into my computer to put on DVD. I don't know how well it will go, but I've got a couple of projects to work on first, so I've got some time to think about it. I'm really excited about doing this too, I don't have much experience with electronics, but I'll basically be reusing the existing circuit boards and connections, just rearranging them and removing the unnecessary (or non-functioning) parts, so I don't seeing it being too difficult.
Here are some pictures from tonight's fun...
Our cute little tree all lit up.
The video camera in multiple pieces. It looked in much worse shape than this.
Twine in action, holding the AC adapter to the camera.
This connects to the other part of the camera really easily, so it's ok that it's separate.
Scotch Tape holding the necessary ribbon cable in place. You gotta love it when improvised stuff like this actually pays off :)
So, we broke out the video camera and I got it all set up. We watched a couple of minutes of what was on the tape already in the in the camera (A French project Ashlee did in high school), then popped in the tape of the play.
Then things went all to hell.
The camera wouldn't accept the tape and kept making some weird noises. So we tried the first tape. Same thing. Now, this camera is about 13 years old, so we weren't surprised that the camera finally went crazy. So, while watching Wizard of Oz, which was on TV, I took the time to take the camera apart, to see if I could find a mechanical part that was malfunctioning. With the camera in pieces, I decided to see if I could get the camera to turn on, just to see if I did any damage to the parts (which I didn't think I did). And by holding the AC adapter in place (because the piece that did so was no longer anywhere near it) I got the camera to turn on. And better yet, I got the camera to accept the tape. Then I accidentally ripped a ribbon cable which controlled the ON/OFF switch for the camera.
Using some Scotch Tape, Twine, and sheer luck, I got the camera to play the tape, on the TV! So I managed to save the day with the video camera, and since some components no longer function, like the microphone, and the viewer... due to some, uh, collateral damage... I've decided to try to do some salvage work and use what I can to create a box that will allow us to view the tapes through the TV and record them to VHS, or import them into my computer to put on DVD. I don't know how well it will go, but I've got a couple of projects to work on first, so I've got some time to think about it. I'm really excited about doing this too, I don't have much experience with electronics, but I'll basically be reusing the existing circuit boards and connections, just rearranging them and removing the unnecessary (or non-functioning) parts, so I don't seeing it being too difficult.
Here are some pictures from tonight's fun...
Our cute little tree all lit up.
The video camera in multiple pieces. It looked in much worse shape than this.
Twine in action, holding the AC adapter to the camera.
This connects to the other part of the camera really easily, so it's ok that it's separate.
Scotch Tape holding the necessary ribbon cable in place. You gotta love it when improvised stuff like this actually pays off :)