camera ignition

[dragon finder]

Ok so I got a diposibal camera today and I want to know how to mod it to use it in a cannon.
<img src="http://tinypic.com/sec1ld.gif">
I have to wind the blue thing to arm the flash after I charge it because the silver winder is not working. so how do I mod it?

[rna_duelers]

I think its the terminals for the flash on eather side of the blub that is where u make the connection for the ignition cables,i could be wrong but.

[saladtossser]

find the flash tube thingy, take that out, you should see 3 copper wires or tape.
what you need now is a small pvc cap or bottle cap. and 3 screws in them, with a spark gap around 1mm, hook each screw to one of the three wires, charge it up, press the shutter button, it should give you something spectacular

now find a way to get it in your gun

results: http://www.geocities.com/robotking34/hvpics.htm

[nicholai]

take the whole camera apart minus the wires, battery, switch and PCB (printed circuit board) and remove the switch, replace it with a momentary pushbutton switch (kinda like the switch on a stun gun).

im not 100% sure but i think that there is a tutorial on this site on how to make one of these

check this site out

http://www.i-hacked.com/content/view/181/48/

[dragon finder]

ok I got it. So I just take off the bulb here
<img src="http://tinypic.com/sep1sl.gif">
put a button between these
<img src="http://tinypic.com/sepxlf.gif">
put it in a project box conect every thing up and I am done.

[saladtossser]

in the first picture, that peice of copper under the tape is the 3rd wire i was talking about

[dragon finder]

What do I do with it? nothing?

[FiveseveN]

I was afraid you'd ask that.
To avoid explaining the whole thing again, here's a good tutorial:
http://www.angelfire.com/80s/sixmhz/camera.html
and here's info from the SpudFiles Wiki : http://www.spudfiles.com/spud_wiki/inde ... mera_flash
One would think you've searched obviously-already-existent information before starting a new thread.

[dragon finder]

Yes one would think one would have serched but one may not do many things. Thanks for the links.

What type of wire should I use??

[alex bennett]

i use speaker wire for mine, cause i have it laying around. You can pretty much use any copper wire at least 24 gauage. oh, just a friendly reminder, 330v even at very low amprage, does not tickle. wear some thick leather gloves, i was electricuted by mine while holding down the charge button, but my fat fingers prob hit some terminal or something.

[dragon finder]

he he I know it dousn't tickle

[nicholai]

he he I know it dousn't tickle

lol, for a second i thought you called him a douche pickle

[Atlantis]

You guys overcomplicated it, I removed the flash bulb, took the TWO wires out, ignored the third, and wired those through a switch and into two TOUCHING screws that actually cross each other. YES this does create a spark. If I find my camera I'll show you mine. I just mounted the whole camera on top of my cannon, I left the camera charge switch on it so it's not coninuously charging with that whining noise some cameras make, it also acts as a safety.

[FiveseveN]

The electrodes will fail soon and the switch may weld itself shut. You have to understand you're dealing with a dynamic system here. All parts need servicing over time. Using a more complicated, yet more reliable alternative is one way of sparing yourself the trouble of frequent maintenance.
Another issue: is your set-up creating a yellow spark? Have you tested it in your cannon yet? A yellow spark probably won't be hot enough to ignite your mix unless you use an additional oxidizer.
The simplest way to use a camera flash for ignition is to add a transformer (like a car ignition coil) in series with the bulb and use the bulb as a triggered spark gap (which technically it already is). If one can't figure how to do that on his own, he should probably stick to BBQ igniters.

And I can say for sure getting shocked by a cap from a small flash isn't at all fun. I got my lesson a few years back when I was fooling around with one, having no idea it was dangerous. A cap from one of those big external flashes will most likely knock you out.