Kentucky Area Paranormal Society

[Kevin_DPS]

Well the thing i really like about making them myself is that i can design them specifically for the camera they are intended for, i can use just the right amoutn of leds to augment what the camera already has, but not wash it out, also i make mine with their own nine volt battery source, so they dont have to be plugged in, and they don't drain your precious, precious camera battery. I actually just got done making one for one of my cameras tonight, the over-all cost was somewhere around 15 bucks, and even i was impressed with what it could do!!! If anyone wants some help making one, or want one made, let me know.

[Phantom]

Well the thing i really like about making them myself is that i can design them specifically for the camera they are intended for, i can use just the right amoutn of leds to augment what the camera already has, but not wash it out, also i make mine with their own nine volt battery source, so they dont have to be plugged in, and they don't drain your precious, precious camera battery. I actually just got done making one for one of my cameras tonight, the over-all cost was somewhere around 15 bucks, and even i was impressed with what it could do!!! If anyone wants some help making one, or want one made, let me know.

HEY Kev!! We need to talk, man. I'd love to build one for my camcorder!! I'll do you one better. Maybe after we talk, you could come on the radio show and explain it to everyone....what do you think?

[Kevin_DPS]

Thats cool, but its so simple it'd be the shortest radio appearance in kaps history!

[Phantom]

Thats cool, but its so simple it'd be the shortest radio appearance in kaps history!

Not with a BS'er like me with you, it wouldn't...LOL. I think that would be tremendous. How can I get your info about building this thing?

[stoner]

I can use just the right amount of LEDS to augment what the camera already has, but not wash it out, .

That's a great point Kevin, I noticed that with the first attempt that I got a white spot in the centre of the screen, I used a Multiswitch to switch out some rows in a trial and error approach, I found that the focal point also made a difference and that over different distances that the images were either too white or not very effective.

How do you go about getting the correct amount of LEDS in your lights?

That's a great price you can build it for.

For example this is what it costs me

Box €7
LEDS 50C up to €15 each
Resistors 20C each
Multi Switch €12
Battery holder €2.5

So as you can see my suppliers are raping me.

So to cheapen things up I have found that buying something on Ebay and bastardising it to be a cost effective way to approach the procurement of my projects

On my first one, I replaced the incandescent lamp in a 6V rechargeable light with a 64 LED ARRAY, worked out well and for 25 Euro I got the light, switches, battery charger etc and the light could be switched to a 6V fluorescent bulb for normal light if I needed it. The LEDS resistors and circuit board cost me about €20 on top of that

I also got an LED camping lantern once again rechargeable and remote controlled, I switched the guts to suit IR LEDS and its ok, I black out the side the camera is facing so as not to damage the camera, it is good on juice as it can be turned on and off via remote control so you don’t have to disturb dust etc to turn it on.

However for all my efforts I bought an illuminator from e bay for 80 Euro, it has 6 high powered IR LEDS, 80M range IP65 case and can be plugged into a domestic socket. The light from it is great, very even with a great range.

It's annoying when you can buy something that’s cheaper and in many ways better then something you built yourself.

So here are my questions Kevin,

How do you select the amount of LEDS you need
What Angle do you like the LEDS to be?
Where do you buy them?
How do you work out your arrays?
Have you ever used an LED driver to dim em up and down (I have not but if you have and its crap you could save me the money and effort lol)

Anyway the info exchange should be good, if there's a chance that I can give you any info back just let me know,

Thanks again,

BTW I heard you are funny-----

Tell us a joke!

[stoner]

BTW the reason that I had the above rant is as follows,

When I talk science to the other PIGs they fall asleep
When Graham starts his history conversations I fall asleep
When Mark starts talking about "thought Forms, or though forums what ever they are" I fall asleep.
Gavin is about the only one we all listen to.

[Kevin_DPS]

Stoner you heard that I'M funny?!?!? I'd like to think so, but probably not!
The way i figure out how many leds to use is to first figure out what the camera has installed, my older sony night vision camera has two 5mm leds, and my newer one has one 10mm led. The main thing with leds is that because of the angle they emit light you want them more spaced out, so the two 5mm sitting next to eachother actually illuminate better than the one 10mm. Its just that the 10mm is brighter in the specific spot it is pointing. I usually make the led array round, that way all of the beams are overlapping and filling in the gaps. I try make sure each camera will have the equivilant of 25-30 5mm leds, so with my camera with a 10mm led, that would count as 2 5mm's so the illumintor has 28, but other things can effect how many to use, basically trial and error works if i'm not sure. I like to keep the size of the circle of leds similar to the size of the lense, that way you know your atleast lighting the edges of the view where the standard leds trail off. As far as angle, i prefer to keep them as flat as possible, i even sand the lips down on the bottom to make sure they sit flush with the board. Sometimes i will bend out the outside row, just to make sure the edges of the view are illuminated, that is the point afterall! But generally i will keep them flat to avoid IR shadowing, and to keep the illumination uniform. So far i get my leds on ebay, from a source in china, that's the best way to keep the costs down, i tried a pack from a guy in new jersey, but the quality of the ones from china are amazing!!! I am actually looking at a place that i can get a price break at a thousand, but i'm not sure i would have to make that many! The resistor you use is the best way to determine how bright your leds will be, leds are awesome in that they have a range of voltage that they will work at, as long as you dont overpower them, you can dim or brighten them as much as you want by switching the resistors, and adding more batteries of course. The standard model i use has 28 leds, all flush with the board, runs off two nine volts, which should last through an investigation, and mount in the tripod mount underneath the camera.

[stoner]

well i got 500 from here last time

http://www.besthongkong.com/product_inf ... cts_id=105

the break for 1000 is not that big of a difference, it comes in very fast.
I'm toying with the idea of putting in a small LED driver to deal with the moving docal point issue I have, they are only a few euro, i think it would be cool to be able to dim em up and down on site.

Thanks for the info

[Kevin_DPS]

Yeah that would be cool, you might be able to try like a potentiometer to dial up and down the current, i'll have to try that. Those LED's that you listed are 940nm, which is great for remotes but a little weak for good night vision, if you switch to 850nm you will need half as many, the main difference is that the 850's glow a dim red that you can hardly see, but they are much better, i dont think ghosts mind the red-glow! The 940's are much cheaper though!

[stoner]

yeah the highpowered ones I have on the illuminator have that red glow ( i was slightly concerned that ot would contaminate the area , but they cost me 15 euro each, so I'm sticking with the cheapos until the come down, where do you get them from, Best Hong Kong dont have em
I'll give those ones a shot so thanks again

[Kevin_DPS]

I get them from this guy, they take a while to get, but they are worth the wait! http://stores.ebay.com/sureelectronics1

Also i am in the process of making a UV/Black light illuminator, i have heard some theories on using black light also!

[Phantom]

Sigh....geek talk....I LOVE it...LOL

[stoner]

they are great prices, but they wont sell them to Ireland, I bet if Ireland was in the USA I could buy em , yeahhhhhh second class citizans here.

Yeah the geek talk is all good #what's the process for the UV/Black light illuminator? can you just buy a filter or do you need a special lamp?

[stoner]

they are great prices,
Yeah the geek talk is all good
what's the process for the UV/Black light illuminator? can you just buy a filter or do you need a special lamp?

[Kevin_DPS]

Ultra Violet LEDS!!!!!!! They are awesome! i get them from the same guy, hey stoner, if you give me your mailing address i could get a pack of IR's for you the next time i order them, they might not send them to you, but i sure will!!! Oh by the way, at waverly, you and i can talk all the science stuff you want!!!