Asked — Edited

Camera Trouble

Hi, my camera won't turn off ( or on ) I was using it and the video stopped , when I noticed that the blue light was very dim I tried to turn it off but no luck, I plugged in the USB charge cord and again tried to turn it off...no luck....Will it charge up to full even with the light on? or what the heck??????

It's the camera that comes with the kit I used it approximately 25 mins. NO JOY!!!!

Dave


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#17  

DJ i'm having the same problem with my wireless cam. this happened the other day and i had to just let it die completely and then i charged it up on my computer's usb. it came on by pushing the power button, but after 30 minutes the cam died again. the camera was working, but then the signal turned the whole video window pink, then i just lost signal. so i thought the battery was just dead, so i charged it about an hour. it still doesnt work, maybe it needs to be charged 2 to 4 hours, or all night?

the blue light is on. when i hold the button 5-10 seconds it did not turn off the camera. i held it for 30 seconds and no luck.

hey everyone, at Dollar Tree in USA there is a connector that is mini usb to usb, perfect to charge up your camera from your usb port.

so i will try charging the camera again but i'm worried that it will not let me turn it off, no matter how long i push the button:(

[email protected] TJ

Canada
#18  

Hi TJ, I've been having weird things happen with turning the camera off too. I found that I need to hold the button in about 7 seconds ( 7 1 thousand counts) and I need to do this with 3 times with about a second or 2 wait in between. I tried a number of things as you have mentioned (holding it long doesn't seem to help) and got the funny colored window once too (can't remember if it was pink or not)

Anyway I thought I would throw in my 2 cents on it, maybe it will help you out.

Chris

#19  

I solved all my camera issues by disconnecting the battery and powering it with the EZ-B.

#20  

A little tip for those of us who are beginning solderers: solder 22 gauge solid wire to the ends of the cut servo wire (which is stranded). It's much easier to solder the solid wire to the contacts on the camera. I've watched DJs video 20 times and still can't figure out how he's able to solder the stranded wire so easily to the board!

PRO
Synthiam
#21  

@Choyster skillzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz:)

#22  

I think the process you are looking for is actually called' tinning' your wires/pins prior to soldering them together...works for me...you solder the end of the wires just a bit BEFORE you solder them to anything else......i am not a great solder-er but i don't have too many problems. This also makes soldering quick so you don't put too much heat on your components.

And yes, DJ does have skilzzzz as evident by his awesome boards!

Tinning

Good luck

#23  

kkeast -- I think I read somewhere that the method you described results in a "cold solder joint" which is less reliable. In any case, I actually soldered the stranded wire to a one-inch length of solid (unstranded) wire and then in turn soldered the solid wire to the board. I've got a second kit coming my way so I'd appreciate some thoughts on this as your method sounds easier than mine!

DJ -- Since so many of us are powering our cameras this way, what about a dedicated box within the camera control window (rather than the simple Set Digital control) to more accurately toggle between the four power states for the camera (Off - Video On - Off - Still Photo)?

#24  

@Choyster Tinning is the ONLY proper way along with applying a bit of flux for soldering, research this on the internet and you will find this the absolute best method.

I'd would like to point out that since I started this thread that I've come to the conclusion that the camera supplied with the EZ-B does have this quirk with the battery that if the voltage gets below a certain level that the camera shuts down but the led indicator circuit still has enough power to stay lit.

As everyone that has experienced this minor issue can attest you have to let the camera led completely go out then you are able to recharge the unit.

So far this doesn't seem to harm the unit .

I would like also to point out that all the suggestions about hard wiring and soldering are great but as I pointed out in post number 12 that I require a completely wireless camera.

Having a wireless camera that is hardwired in any way is not wireless, it's like hooking up a new wireless router to your computer and ripping off the antenna and plugging in the Lan cable and telling all your friends that " I finally have wireless internet in my house now ".

I'm thinking that maybe there is a way to completely shut down the camera automatically before the voltage drops too low, like a ." Fail Safe " in that way you just recharge when it quits instead of waiting for the battery to completely die.

:)