Hardwire Methods

Modifying Digital Cameras

RSP Method 1 - "Push Power On/Off Digital Cameras"

Modifying Camera type 1 - "Push Power On/Off" - The above shown digital camera is the popular Sony DSC-P32 digital camera. This is a good example of a "Push Power On/Off" type digital camera. Basically what this means is you press down a Power button to turn power on to the camera, and pressing down on the Power button again will power it off. The PixController Universal will simulate this action when you wire to the appropriate contacts inside the camera. If you have a camera that is not on our list then please choose the Minolta-U PIC chip. This PIC chip is basically a generic control chip for this type of digital camera. With this method you will wire the Power button, shutter, refresh (auto focus), common or camera ground to the PixController Universal board. The phone style connector on the Universal board has all of these contacts.  Note: If you camera is not on our list then please follow the "Modification Tips" listed below.

RSP Method 2 - "Lens Cover Slide - Power On/Off Digital Cameras"

Modifying Camera type 2 - "Lens Cover Slide - Power On/Off" - The above shown digital camera is the popular Olympus D-380 digital camera. This is a good example of a "Lens Cover Slide Power On/Off" digital camera. To turn the camera on/off you open/close the lens cover slide. The PixController Universal will simulate this action when you wire to the appropriate contacts inside the camera. If you have a camera that is not on our list then please choose the RSP3i-U or RSP4i-U PIC chip. This PIC chip is basically a generic control chip for this type of digital camera. With this method you will wire the Lens Cover Slide switch (power on/off), shutter, refresh (auto focus), common or camera ground to the PixController Universal board. The phone style connector on the Universal board has all of these contacts.  Note: If you camera is not on our list then please follow the "Modification Tips" listed below.

Digital Camera Modification Tips
(For help modifying digital cameras not found on our list)

1. Choosing a digital camera - The first step in this process is to locate a camera that will work well as a trail camera. Things to look for are to make sure it's a "point-n-shoot" type camera. This means it won't have a zoom lens, and you want something with a fairly flat camera face. The reason you don't want a zoom lens camera is because most cameras with a zoom lens tend to be slower and can make more noise when the zoom the lens out on power up. This can also make it more difficult to get your camera into a water proof case. Secondly the flat face of the camera front will also help when you put your camera into a case. You will need to mask the flash from the camera lens to avoid "flash bleed", which will wash out your night photos. Another point to remember is when you construct your camera build it with 2 separate pieces of glass for the flash and camera lens. 2. Locating the Shutter and Refresh contacts -  This next step can be a little overwhelming or down right scary the first time you do it. You will have to open your digital camera up and locate the Shutter and Refresh contacts. When taking your camera apart remember to put all of the small screws into a container so you don't loose them. Keep notes on how you took it apart so you can put it back together! The Shutter and Refresh contacts are often located right at the camera's shutter button. In most cases you will find a button soldered down to a small circuit board, which may have 4 solder contacts. One will be the Shutter, and one will be the Refresh (if your camera has one), and in some cases one will be the Common or Camera ground. To find which contact is what you will need to use an Ohm meter, and set it in the "Ohms" position. This is best done with 2 people since you will need more than 2 hands to perform this task. Next, have one person press down on the shutter button. When pressing down you will feel a half click, and this is the Refresh, or auto focus. The camera will use this to focus the camera and top off the flash before taking a photo. Not all digital cameras have this function. With your ohm meter move it from contact to contact, and you are looking for a switch closing. You will see the meter go from infinite resistance to less than a few ohms when the button is pressed in. Do this process for the shutter too, which is the shutter button pressed all the way down. You should find one contact that's in common with the shutter and refresh, and this will be your "common" contact. Make note of these positions, Shutter, Refresh, and Common, and solder a small gauge wire to them so you can connect them to the appropriate contacts on the Universal board. 3. Locating the Power On/Off contact - Lastly you will need to locate the power on/off contact. With a push button power on/off type camera this is usually a button under the power button on the camera. Again it probably will have 4 contacts like the shutter button does, but it may only have 2 contacts as well. Using the method you learned in locating the Shutter and Refresh contacts you will do the same thing here. One contact will be power on/off and the other will be ground. Solder a small gauge wire to the Power on/off contact, then connect to appropriate contact on the Universal board (power on/off). With Lens Cover Slide type digital cameras you will be looking for a small switch usually located on the lens cover slide itself. Again, you will attach one wire the power on/off, and one to the ground. Good examples of this are with the D-380, and D-395 wiring examples for the RSP3i-U or RSP4i-U PIC chip.