Trail Cam Build 2

TRAILCAM BUILD INSTRUCTIONSSONY S40 WITH YETI BOARD

CLEAR WAL MART BOX WITH PIPE THROUGH

This build uses the small Wal Mart waterproof box , Yeticam board (horizontal and back mounted control) fast mod (4 wire), Sony s40 camera, 1“ standoffs and a .9 wide angle fresnel. It is also setup as a pipe through which allows the use of a Master Lock Python lock.

The S40 modification instructions and manual can be found at:depreyswildlife.comyeticam.com

The size of the unit will be 6“L x 4 1/2” wide and 3 1/2“ deep.

Step #1We need to locate the board in the box. Set the board at the bottom of the box (deep side) horizontally. Leave about 3/16 between the bottom of the case and the board. Mark the 4 mounting holes on the box and drill them 9/64th. Mount the board to the case using the standoffs between the case and board.Fig. #1

Step #2We need to locate the center of the PIR on the box. There are different ways to do this. I just look down and mark the case where the center is. Remove the board from the case.Center punch your mark and drill a 1“ hole using a 1”forstner bit. Debur the hole. Reinstall the control board.Fig#2

Fig #2A

Step #3Look straight down using a straight edge and mark the center of the PIR on the case. Mark all the way across, top and bottom.Fig #3

We now need to locate the sweet spot on the wide angle fresnel. One side has 9 dots and the other end has 10. We need to use the side that has 9 dots. Count over five and this should be in the middle. We need to mark center on this dot to match our case for fresnel installation.Fig #4

We are now ready to install the fresnel. We can glue it in or use double sided tape. I use automotive goop. Remove the board from the case. Apply your glue to the inside of the case around the hole. Apply the fresnel (smooth side pointing out) as close to center as you can. Align your marks to get it centered. let dry. The goop is messy and we don`t want to get it all over the fresnel. I do want a good seal so moisture doesn`t get in.Fig #4A

Step #4We are now ready to install the pipe in the case. I use a 4 3/8“ L stainless steal tube bigger than the python lock cable that is to be used. You can also use plastic in place of the steal tube. Your holes will go by the diameter of your tubing used and the drill size will not be stated. Reinstall the board in the case with the electrical connections installed and we will now locate the tube. Put a mark 3“ down on both sides from the top which is opposite end of the board. 3/4” from the edge. Install the pipe with goop to seal and hold the pipe in place. Don`t be afraid to use the goop to get a good seal. We will cover it later.

Fig. #5 and #5A

Step #5We now need to locate the camera lens and flash holes. I use 1/2“ foam as a flash gasket. You can buy precut foam gaskets from various board manufacturers if you don`t want to cut your own. Lay the foam down above the pipe. On your camera you need to remove the plastic hand strap connector. I just cut it off with a pair of cutters. Install the camera on top of the foam. Close the lid and look straight down and mark the center of the camera lens. Now mark the center of the flash.Fig #6

Drill the lens using a 1” forstner bit. We now need to drill out the flash hole. You can drill one hole with a forstner bit or I use a roto zip. Fig #6A

Step#5This is an important step because of flash bleed. Because we are using a clear box the flash will travel through the clear plastic to the camera lens. This will give us white in our picture. What we need to do is paint the inside of the case. You can remove the board and paint the whole inside or paint just the top. Use a flat paint for best results and you need to make sure you don`t paint the board and fresnel.

Fig #7

Step #6We now need to install the lenses. I install the lenses on the outside of the case with goop. I use anti glare lens for the camera lens and standard lens for the flash. There is a plastic ridge around the box. We need to cut or grind this down around the holes so the lens will lay down flat. Put the goop around the camera lens hole and the flash hole. Lay the anti glare lens over the camera lens hole and press down. Now lay the standard lens over the flash hole and press down. You will have goop all over the outside. This is no problem, we are looking for a good seal and we will cover it up later.

Fig #8

Step #7There are different ways to power the control board. I use a 9volt battery and holder. You need to wire in a switch and I will not specify which switch to use. In this build I am using a push in switch from Radio Shack. You need to drill a hole for the switch. I like to mount

mine on the bottom. The hole will be determined by the switch you use. Now we need to connect the wires. A. Connect the red wire from the control board to the switch. B. Connect the black wire from the control board to the battery holder black wire. C. Connect the red wire from the battery holder to the switch.There are many types of battery holders and different ways to mount them. I am using a flexible 9v holder. I use a piece of !“ diameter foam insulation and I cut a slot out for the 9v battery.

Fig #9

Step #8I prefer to put a piece of the !“ foam on the back to keep the camera against the front foam. We don`t want to push to hard. Cut a piece of 1” foam the size of the camera and glue it to the back. You can also install the setting sticker under the foam.fig #10

Step#9We can now wire the camera. I solder everything and use I shrink tube to seal the connection. The picture shows a 4 wire mod.A. Connect the red wire to the power of the camera.B. Connect the black wire to ground/common.C. Connect the green wire to the shutter of the cameraD. Connect the white wire to the lens mod if you are using the fast mod or 4 wire mod. If you are using the three wire mod you will do nothing with the white wire. This is a good time to test our unit. When we power the board the leds should flash. It is very important we use a good alkaline 9v. The batteries in the camera should be fully charged. If they are not charged the camera will want to turn off. Make sure you have your camera setting set for your setup. Turn the camera on and turn off the lcd. Now turn the camera off. Make sure you have enough memory to take pictures. Power the unit up. It will take a few minutes for the camera to take pictures. When you walk past the unit should take a picture. If it takes a picture we need to check the sensing distance. You should have atleast 30' of sensing distance. If not move the board to get the pir centered better in the fresnel center.Fig #11

Step #9We are now going to camo the camera. You can camo it this way or use your own imagination. We will start with a general application liquid nail. We will apply it to the outside to make it look like bark or tree. After the liquid nail drys we will paint it. I recommend a flat camo paint.

Fig #12

Component List:

1. Yeticam camera control board. Horizontal and back controls. You can order it in the fast mod (4wire) or standard mod (3 wire). This will depend on your camera hack. There are other board manufacture such as bfoutdoors.com board or snapshot sniper board.

2. Walmart dry box. This box is usually located in the camping section or fishing section.

3. Automotive goop can be bought at walmart.

4. The Python lock can be purchased at walmart or ollies some times sell them for $5.

5. The 9v battery holders and switch can be bought at Radio Shack.

6. Lens. Anti glare lens can be bought at whitetailsupply.com. So can the standard lens. I recommend the Anti glare because without it you can get glare from the sun.

7. !/2 “ foam or flash gasket. The flash gasket can be purchased at the board manufacturer.

8. The cameras can be bought on ebay or other camera outlets. This is what determines the cost of your unit. The cheaper you can get a camera for the cheaper your build will be. There are some tricks to getting a working camera cheap. I have bought these cameras for under $10 total and got them to work fairly easy. The Sony s40 has a defect which is easy to fix. This defect can allow you to get one cheap. The camera will give a white screen which is a very easy fix. Do not get a camera with a black screen. The fix is on

depreyswildlife.com. You can also get a s40 with a grinding lens. This means there is dirt in the lens gears. The gears need to be cleaned. It harder than the white screen but not to bad. The camera modification instructions are on the board manufactures sight or depreyswildlife.com. There are quite a few sights and information on this camera. The Sony s600 has just about the same dimensions as the s40. This is a 6mp camera and will cost more. One caution is when you buy something from ebay you may not get what the descriptions say. It may have a white screen but not tell you that the lens will not extend. When buying these broken cameras it is a gamble. I look at it this way, if it doesn`t work I got parts that I can use to repair other cameras.

Tools1. Soldering iron2. Presicion screwdriver.3. 1“ forstner bit4. Drill bits5. Drill6. Utility knife