TECH PROJECTS SIG

Our purpose is to use technology to solve practical problems and to leverage different pieces of technology in useful ways.  By leveraging our different areas of skills and resources, we can all learn new ways to do new and old things.  This SIG is for all skill sets and all computer platforms. Meets second Wednesday of the month. Contact Rob Limbaugh for more information: Rob.Limbaugh@limbytes.com

News and Notes

We've decided to explore Drupal with CiviCRM and additional plug-ins as a possible solution for the DACS online community. Our test deployment is built on a virtual machine in our DACS Resource Center. The goal is to know what we will need to request of our ISP to accommodate the site and it's data.

After that discussion, we took a look at a disposable digital camcorder that I modified to be reusable. The camcorder is made by Pure Digital and sold through CVS as a “one time use” device. The cams are about $30 and hold 20 minutes of color video. When they are full, you are supposed to return them to CVS so they can 'develop' a CD/DVD with video on it. The intent is to get you to buy another camera and repeat the process. Thanks to the ingenuity of many folks, I found instructions that let me reuse the same camera over and over.

My cam is modified to use a standard USB cable or a modified Palm III cradle to download the data. More information on how to do these mods yourself can be found from the following sites:

http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2005/08/cvs_camcorder_u.html
http://www.i-hacked.com/content/view/182/94/
http://www.maushammer.com/systems/cvscamcorder/

It was noted that Pure Digital has since created a commercial version of the camera with different memory options, better resolution, and a built-in 'flip' USB connection. The cheapest one comes in around $80 and is available at retailers like Costco and Wal-Mart. To see options, check out: http://www.theflip.com/.

The great thing about these cams is that they take two AA batteries and the camera is about the size of a pack of cigarettes—making it extremely portable. When I modified my cam, the 'Flip' wasn't on the market. Now that it is, my suggestion is that anyone looking for a cheap and simple cam to carry in a shirt pocket or let kids use, this might be of interest.

For those electronically inclined who value the experience of modding something, then I suggest the 'CVS' version. The camera electronics all fit on one board, so it would be easy to add this to a remote controlled device to take up to 20 minutes of video.

There will not be a meeting in April. All skill levels are welcome to join us for our May meeting. Ideas, suggestions, and sharing of other projects are encouraged!