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Using X-Plane camera on other planes - Anyone know how?

I know the odds are slim of finding someone who has done this.

I was given a SilverLit X-Plane, which comes with a small lightweight digital camera that can be triggered by a button on the transmitter. Plane and camera are connected by a 3-wire system (red black brown) and connectors. I want to use that camera with a different receiver, and need to know how to trigger it using an extra channel or two.

Anyone who has experience with this camera, probably knows that once the camera is turned on, momentary connecting wire 1 (black ) to wire

3 (brown) will take a shot. But I cant seem to get the camera to turn on by playing around with the three wires, only by pushing the button on the camera, which goes back to sleep too soon to do any good. I would appreciate any advice here. Thanks! RD2
Reply to
RD2
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Most likely the wires serve in this way: Red is positive power, Black is common negative, Brown is signal same as some servos. The camera probably gets its power thru the receiver the same as a servo would. Not so much the camera itself as whatever chip is in the camera that fires it and keeps it awake. You need to put a servo type plug on those leads. Wire it to the plug same as you would a servo. Black: common, Red: power, Brown: signal. Most servo leads use white, yellow, orange or even brown for the signal lead but the power and common are usually red and black.

Reply to
Fubar of The HillPeople

Fubar - Thank you for the response. I sort of gave up on the analytical approach and decided to use the BF&BI (Brute Force & Bloody Ignorance) approach instead. I just went ahead and dis-assembled the camera, soldered in a couple of extra wires to mimic the button for the wake-up function, and then built a little triggering sequence circuit for it, that first wakes up the camera, then snaps the photo. Not as elegant as I would have liked, but it works. Thanks. - RD2

Reply to
RD2

Hey, whatever works! I have one of those Aiptek cameras that I have added a PIC to following the instructions that RCCamman provides. Was a PITA to solder that 30 gauge wire onto the board but worked out pretty well. I have a later model Aiptek SD that I plan to do the same with one of these days.

Reply to
Fubar of The HillPeople

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