Microphone and IR array installation
The Microphone comes with a very long Cord and needs to be shortened down a bit, this cable needs to be just long enough to allow you to remove the camcorder from the case. so the length you shorten it to is up to you.
So get your Mic out and measure it to see what size hole needs to be drilled in the case.
What I like to do is put the Mic in a place where it will be sticking out the Bottom of the case, this allows it to pick up sound from any direction, and it protects it against water for the most part, it is worth mention I have done this and not had any problems yet. What I do is, I drill the hole in the bottom of the case, in the far rear corner, I stick the Mic just far enough out of this hole to allow for it to pick up sound, I then Epoxy it in place.
You need to remove the camera to do this job, here is a picture of it after i got it into place.
And what it looks like on the outside.
Shorten the cable and solder it back together and tape it up well. Also notice the location of the Battery box on the lid, I stuck it in place there with a couple strips of the PT 1100 tape. You can see how I run the wires back into the case and then up to the LANC board.
NOW, onto the IR Array.
The IR array obviously needs to be enclosed in a case of its own, and mounted to the outside of the cam case. and needs to be sealed up to protect it against moisture. I went to Radio Shack and picked up a Hobby Box, part number 270-1803, its a tight fit but works real well. I take my Dremmel and grind out things inside the hobby box to allow my array board to sit just far enough inside that I can put a cover on it. As you can see in this picture the array will not fit inside.
After Grinding to get a fit.
Notice I left the screw lugs in the box intact, I need them later, but you will have to do a little grinding on them anyhow to get the array in.
I have drilled 3 holes in this box, the first one is out the side, the other 2 you can see, the one out the side is to allow the wires to come in to the array for hook up, the other 2 will hold it on my enclosure.
Drill a hole in the top of the Pelican and run the Array wires out.
now drill the 2 holes for mounting into the pelican case molding (seen in the picture below), seal up the wires in the pelican with silicone, run the wires in the the hobby box and silicone them up, and bolt on the hobby box. Solder the wires to the Array board and put it into the hobby box.
Use some Plexiglas for a lens, cut it bigger than the hobby box, drill the holes out for the 4 screws, put silicone all around the edges of the hobby box and screw on the plexiglass..this makes a rubber gasket and seals it up nice..Not Pictured yet.
And so far where we are at, basically a finished vid cam, but we need a battery shelf for the 12 volt battery that powers the Array. those wires are hanging inside the case now and will need Alligator clips soldered to them, Also I need to add the lens cover on the array, We will finish that on the last page. and I will try to put some links to some test video clips so you can see how well it turned out.
Last page still under construction. Link is dead until then.