Category: Photography & Images

Taking & making images.

CNC 3018-Pro: Probe Camera Case for Logitch QuickCam Pro 5000

The ball-shaped Logitch QuickCam Pro 5000 has a rectangular PCB, so conjuring a case wasn’t too challenging:

Probe Camera Case - Logitech QuickCam Pro 5000 - bottom — Probe Camera Case – Logitech QuickCam Pro 5000 – bottom

That’s more-or-less matte black duct tape to cut down reflections.

The top side has a cover made from scuffed acrylic scrap:

Probe Camera Case - Logitech QuickCam Pro 5000 - top — Probe Camera Case – Logitech QuickCam Pro 5000 – top

The corners are slightly rounded to fit under the screw heads holding it in place.

The solid model shows off the internal ledge positioning the PCB so the camera lens housing rests on the floor:

3018 Probe Camera Mount - solid model — 3018 Probe Camera Mount – solid model

The notch lets the cable out, while keeping it in one place and providing some strain relief.

I though if a camera was recognized by V4L2 and worked with VLC, it was good to go:

Logitech QuickCam Pro 5000 - short focus — Logitech QuickCam Pro 5000 – short focus

Regrettably, it turns out the camera has a pixel format incompatible with the Python opencv interface used by bCNC. This may have something to do with running the code on a Raspberry Pi, rather than an x86 box.

The camera will surely come in handy for something else, especially with such a cute case.

The OpenSCAD source code as a GitHub Gist:

	// Probe Camera Mount for CNC 3018-Pro Z Axis
	// Ed Nisley – KE4ZNU – 2019-08

	Layout = "Block"; // [Show,Build,Block]

	Support = false;

	/* [Hidden] */

	ThreadThick = 0.20;
	ThreadWidth = 0.40;

	HoleWindage = 0.2;

	Protrusion = 0.1; // make holes end cleanly

	function IntegerMultiple(Size,Unit) = Unit * ceil(Size / Unit);

	ID = 0;
	OD = 1;
	LENGTH = 2;

	inch = 25.4;

	//———————-
	// Dimensions

	PCB = [45.0,38.0,1.5]; // Logitech QuickCam Pro 5000 ball camera

	PCBLip = 1.0; // max non-component border
	PCBChamfer = 3.0; // cut along XY axes for corner bevel

	PCBClearTop = 15.0; // cables & connectors
	PCBClearSides = [0.5,0.5]; // irregular edges & comfort zone
	PCBClearBelow = 5.0; // lens support bracket rests on floor

	Lens = [11.5,14.2,3.0]; // LENGTH = beyond PCBClearBelow bracket
	LensOffset = [-1.5,0.0,0]; // distance from center of board

	CableOD = 4.5;

	BaseThick = Lens[LENGTH];

	Screw = [
	3.0,6.8,18.0 // M3 OD=washer, LENGTH=below head
	];

	RoundRadius = IntegerMultiple(Screw[OD]/2,1.0); // corner rounding

	ScrewOC = [PCB.x + 2sqrt(Screw[OD]),PCB.y + 2sqrt(Screw[OD])];
	echo(str("Screw OC: ",ScrewOC));

	Lid = [ScrewOC.x,ScrewOC.y,1.0/16.0 * inch]; // top cover plate
	echo(str("Lid: ",Lid));

	BlockSize = [ScrewOC.x + 2RoundRadius,ScrewOC.y + 2RoundRadius,
	BaseThick + PCBClearBelow + PCB.z + PCBClearTop + Lid.z];
	echo(str("Block: ",BlockSize));

	NumSides = 234;

	//———————-
	// Useful routines

	module PolyCyl(Dia,Height,ForceSides=0) { // based on nophead's polyholes

	Sides = (ForceSides != 0) ? ForceSides : (ceil(Dia) + 2);
	FixDia = Dia / cos(180/Sides);
	cylinder(r=(FixDia + HoleWindage)/2,
	h=Height,
	$fn=Sides);
	}

	// Basic shapes

	// Overall block

	module Block() {

	difference() {
	hull()
	for (i=[-1,1], j=[-1,1])
	translate([iScrewOC.x/2,jScrewOC.y/2,0])
	cylinder(r=RoundRadius,h=BlockSize.z,$fn=NumSides);

	for (i=[-1,1], j=[-1,1]) // corner screws
	translate([iScrewOC.x/2,jScrewOC.y/2,BlockSize.z – Screw[LENGTH]])
	cylinder(d=Screw[ID],h=2*Screw[LENGTH],$fn=8); // cylinder = undersized

	translate(LensOffset + [0,0,-Protrusion]) // lens body
	PolyCyl(Lens[OD],2*BlockSize.z,NumSides);

	translate([0,0,BlockSize.z/2 + BaseThick]) // PCB lip on bottom
	cube([PCB.x – 2*PCBLip,PCB.y,BlockSize.z],center=true);

	translate([0,0,BlockSize.z/2 + BaseThick + PCBClearBelow]) // PCB clearance
	cube([PCB.x + 2PCBClearSides.x,PCB.y + 2PCBClearSides.y,BlockSize.z],center=true);

	translate([0,0,BlockSize.z – Lid.z/2]) // lid recess
	cube(Lid + [0,0,Protrusion],center=true);

	translate([0,Lid.y/2 – CableOD/2,BaseThick + PCBClearBelow + PCB.z]) // cable exit
	hull()
	for (j=[-1,1])
	translate([0,j*CableOD/4,0])
	rotate(180/8)
	PolyCyl(CableOD,BlockSize.z,8);
	}

	}


	//- Build it

	if (Layout == "Block")
	Block();

	if (Layout == "Show") {
	Block();

	}

	if (Layout == "Build") {
	Block();
	}

view raw 3018 Probe Camera Mount – QC Pro 5000.scad hosted with ❤ by GitHub

2019-09-02

City of Poughkeepsie Police Armor

Returning from a long ride, we spotted an unusual sign at the Vassar Farm entrance (clicky for more dots):

Vassar Farm – Poughkeepsie Police Training sign – 2019-08-12

Even more unusual was the sight of a matte black MRAP jouncing across the field:

Vassar Farm – Poughkeepsie Police MRAP – 2019-08-12

I hadn’t noticed an uptick of the insurgency around here, but I suppose it could happen.

It looks like a Cougar HE 6×6 MRAP on loan from the DLA 1033 Program to the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department. The flat top suggests they dismounted the CROWS gun, which seems a definite step down in no-knock capability.

Some poking around showed the Poughkeepsie Police Department acquired a 107 mm Mortar Carrier some years ago:

Marshall Project – Poughkeepsie 107 mm Mortar Carrier

The M106 is an impressive hunk of tracked armor, although it seems unsuited for urban warfare and would certainly scuff up the streets pretty badly. I don’t know if they scrapped the M106 in favor of the MRAP.

I’m hoping they don’t collaborate with the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Department to patrol the Rail Trail, even within the City limits.

2019-08-17
Logitech “QuickCam Pro 5000” Ball Camera Disassembly

Another alignment camera contestant from the Big Box o’ Junk Cameras:

Logitech Pro 5000 Ball Camera – overview

It’s a Logitech QuickCam Pro 5000 with a native 640×480 resolution. For no obvious reason, it seems to work better on a Raspberry Pi than the Logitech QuickCam for Notebooks Deluxe I ripped apart a few weeks ago, where “better” is defined as “shows a stable image”. I have no explanation for anything.

Remove the weird bendy foot-like object by pulling straight out, then remove the single screw from the deep hole visible just behind the dent in the top picture:

Logitech Pro 5000 Ball Camera – disassembled

The stylin’ curved plate on the top holds the microphone and a button, neither of which will be of use in its future life. Unplug and discard, leaving the USB cable as the only remaining connection:

Logitech Pro 5000 Ball Camera – USB connector

Inexplicably, the cable shield is soldered to the PCB, so the connector doesn’t do much good. Hack the molded ball off of the cable with a diagonal cutter & razor knife, taking more care than I did to not gouge the cable insulation.

A glue dot locks the focusing threads:

Logitech Pro 5000 Ball Camera – focus glue

Gentle suasion with a needle nose pliers pops the dot, leaving the lens free to focus on objects much closer than infinity:

Logitech QuickCam Pro 5000 – short focus

Now, to conjure a simpleminded mount …

2019-08-16
Monthly Image: A Tree Full of Turtles

Spotted along Robinson Lane:

Tree full of turtles

A closer look at the same number of pixels:

Tree full of turtles – detail

The little one way over on the left is definitely having an adventure!

I’d read of goats climbing trees, but never turtles.

2019-08-15
Xiaomi-Dafang Hacks: FTP Server for Camera Files
Since the PiHole runs all the time, it now hosts an FTP server to stash snapshots from the cameras onto a 64 GB USB stick. I installed ProFTPD, which Just Worked with a few configuration tweaks:
```
UseIPv6             off
ServerName          "PiHole"
DefaultRoot         /mnt/cameras
RequireValidShell   off
```
The cameras use the BusyBox ftpput command to stash their images (with the hostname prepended), which requires a few changes to motion.conf in the cameras:
```
ftp_snapshot=true
ftp_host="192.168.1.2"
ftp_port=21
ftp_username=$(/bin/hostname)
ftp_password="make up your own"
ftp_stills_dir=$(/bin/hostname)
```
The last line uses a separate directory for each camera, although they quickly ran into the FAT32 limit of 64 K files per directory; reformatting the USB stick with an ext3 filesystem solved that problem.

Fortunately, nothing much ever happens around here …

New Utility Pole Arrives
2019-08-09
Logitech “Quickcam for Notebooks Deluxe” USB Camera Disassembly
My collection of old USB cameras emitted a Logitech Quickcam for Notebooks Deluxe, with a tag giving a cryptic M/N of V-UGB35. Given Logitech’s penchant for overlapping names, its USB identifiers may be more useful for positive ID:
```
ID 046d:08d8 Logitech, Inc. QuickCam for Notebook Deluxe
```
It works fine as a simple V4L camera and its 640×480 optical resolution may suffice for simple purposes, even if it’s not up to contemporary community standards.

The key disassembly step turned out to be simply pulling the pivoting base off, then recovering an errant spring clip from the Laboratory Floor:

Logitech V-UGB35 USB Camera – mount removed

The clips have a beveled side and fit into their recesses in only one orientation; there’s no need for brute force.

Removing the two obvious case screws reveals the innards:

Logitech V-UGB35 USB Camera – PCB rear

Three more screws secure the PCB:

Logitech V-UGB35 USB Camera – PCB front

The ribbed focus knob around the lens makes it more useful than a nominally fixed-focus camera.

Reassembly is in reverse order.

I miss having obvious case screws …
2019-08-07
Monthly Image: And Then There Were Two

The turkey hen who once had nine chicks, then seven, now has only two:

Turkey Hen with two chicks

We haven’t seen the fox since it nailed the previous chick, but it may be responsible for taking a chick a day, every day, for a week.

We wonder if she misses the rest of her brood as much as we do …

Taken through two layers of 1950s window glass, zoomed all the way in, with a phone camera.

2019-07-15