Homebrews

[carbonhunter]

Anyone whilling to give out some info on how you make ur homebrew cameras, is it cheaper than buying a trail cam set up?

[NEMOdeerhunter]

You can definitely buy a cam cheaper than a homebrew, but if you spend $250 for a commercial cam and $250 for a homebrew, the homebrew is twice the value. In my opinion homebrews are the way to go. you can probably build one for $150 if you shop around alot and you can build a really good one for $250-300. With all the forums around, they are easy to build if you take your time and build the right cam. Below is a link for a cam that is $679. You can build this exact cam for under $350. the case, board, and accesories would be around $110, you can buy a new camera on ebay for less than $150 add the IR materials, python cable and other misc costs and you are still under $350.

http://www.pennswoods.com/DS-06IR.html

Also here is a good link for getting started

http://www.chasingame.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=39

[NEMOdeerhunter]

I decided to do some figuring and realized you could actually build one exactly like the pennswoods for around $275. Keep in mind that the building one like the penns woods cam is tough to modify because the camera has small solder points but if you are good at soldering it would be ok. It looks like they use a Pixcontroller.com universal board and a pelican 1040 case so you can buy all of that in a kit for $101 TYD, below is a link to a new 6.0 mp Sony S600 for $129.99 TYD, if you choose to do the IR setup, you can get the glass and filter plus a python locking cable from whitetailsupply.com for $28.32 TYD. That comes up to about $260 and the only other thing I can think of is some marine goop for about $5 at your local hardware store. You need some basic shop supplies like a drill and dremel tools are handy for these and some small screwdrivers and a soldering iron. You end up with a $680 camera for $275 and the satisfaction that you did it yourself. Just make sure you read and research alot and most importantly take your time.



http://cgi.ebay.com/Sony-CyberShot-DSC-S...1QQcmdZViewItem

[wtnhunt]

Aaron, I have built two so far. First one cost me about $150 for everything, it is a 3.2 mp camera. Second one ran me about $240, but is a nicer setup and a 4.1 mp sony p41 camera. The 4.1 mp sony setup I am sure will trigger faster than any commercial cam on the market.

Using the pixcontroller boards here. There is a pretty good tutorial at pix too.

[Finn]

Here's a note I rec'd from a guy on another site who's built about a dozen cameras:
[ QUOTE ]
Scrounge up a Sony cam, either a dsc-p32 or a dsc-p41 on ebay. Do a search for the cams on ebay just how I listed them and you will find them. I wouldn't pay more than $80-90 for a p32 or $110 for a p41. Make sure it's a working camera in good condition. This is where I get all my cams and I have never had a problem. Then if you purchase a kit from Pixcontroller. I would suggest start looking at cams now and as the "season" winds down you will see cam prices start to drop. There are a lot of guys building cams now and with the increase in demand obviously the prices shoot up. Check out these sites and see if it's something you think you might be able to handle, it's really not that hard. Pixcontroller has step by step instructions on how to modify the camera as well as a how to build a trail camera tutorial that is also step by step with pictures. Also check out another site I visit all the time, Real Deal Hunting Chat, it's where I learned how to build trail cams and is probably the most helpful site on the internet. Whitetail Supply is also another great parts supplier and Daryl is second to none in customer service. I haven't used one of his new control boards but coming from him I'm sure it's an excellent product. All my cameras use the Pixcontroller boards so that is what I'm used to building and have just stuck with them. A homebrew camera is the best trail cam you can own, the results speak for themsleves.

Here's some sites, check them out and let me know what you think.

http://realdealhuntingchat.invisionzone.com/

www.pixcontroller.com

www.whitetailsupply.com

[/ QUOTE ]

[wtnhunt]

Would not pay more than $65-70 for a p32 depending on whether it has any additional memory with it or not. The p41's good luck finding one of them for under $110 with no accessories.

The pixcontroller universal kit for the sony p series cams runs about $100 then add $8 for shipping. They also sell a shelf for the camera, used one in my p41 setup that holds your board and is a shelf for the camera that runs $9.

[wtnhunt]

One other thing here Aaron, think the s series cams do not use a fixed focus lens so the trigger times will not be quite as fast as the p32 or p41. I have looked over the tutorial for the mods to the s600 and have considered using one of them, can buy the cams new at wal mart for around $140. Looks to be a little more to the mods for the s600 than there is for the p series cams though.

[carbonhunter]

Thank you much guys, i have really wanted to get a couple cams ever since my parents bought there Iowa farm, sounds like the homebrew is the way to go......ill keep this short because there will def. be more questions coming.

[Huntr104]

Here's a Sony P32 with a Pix universal board kit. The whole thing cost me around $180 to build and it produces WAY better pics than my commercial units. Plus the detection range is double that of my Leaf River camera.