Make Your Own Housings >CHEAP<

[dipshwich 0]

Edited May 11, 2005 by Guest

[DataAve 0]

Perty cool idea. Must get a nice pic too, but hope you live where there is no humidity.

[dipshwich 0]

yea I thought of that too and this is how that works. Notice the flex hose coming out of the back of the housing. I positioned the housing directly under a "vented" section of the soffit. the updraft from the soffit picks up a draft through the flex tube. A "nature blower " I guess, but it works quite well.

[C7 in CA 0]

Good job!

 

The sun shade is a nice touch.

[kaysadeya 0]

Very nice. Thanks for the tip.

[qman 0]

Very cool, just spray paint it white.

[rory 0]

does it have some rubber seal for waterproofing?

 

Looks interesting ...

[dipshwich 0]

No rubber seals. Instead, I cut two 1/4" rings and used them to sandwich the plexiglass with. (see 4th pic down) I did fill it half full of water, put both end caps on for a test, and there were no leaks.

One other thing I should mention is you will need a decent miter saw to get nice square cuts, (especially for the 1/4" rings).

[wahloon 0]

pretty sweet

[bryan1656 0]

MAN.. that is pretty schweet!!

 

What about using float glass?

[kaysadeya 0]

What about using float glass?

 

Ok, I'll ask: What's "float glass"?

[CSG 0]

I am working on something similar. I am using PVC because the cam is going to be set into an embankment and mostly buried. Using my plumbing skills I will screw in a cheap garden hose and use that as conduit out the back of the PVC for my cables.

 

I will be using an old Computar motorized zoom so after the thing is set in place, I can focus & adjust the picture.

 

How do you plan to adjust your lens, or camera settings. You must remove the cam from the pipe each time.

[dipshwich 0]

The camera stays fastened to the steel flatbar.

If I want to adjust the lens or camera settings, I just pull the tube straight off of the rear assembly. (pic#3)

 

Maybe I should explain something else that is not very evident in the pics.

There is a steel mounting bracket on the back of the 4" pvc end cap.

The 2 stainless steel bolts (pic#3)pass through the flatbar...then the 4" pvc end cap...then the mounting bracket at the back, sandwiching the 3 pieces together.

 

 

btw....I'm curious too...what is float glass??

[bryan1656 0]

Float glass is so named because it involves "floating" the molten glass over molten tin during production.

 

The end result is glass that is almost perfectly flat...but most importantly for our purposes is that the qualities of float glass give it exceptionally high optical transmission qualities.

 

[edited to add the link below]

 

http://www.edmundoptics.com/onlinecatalog/displayproduct.cfm?productID=2402

[kaysadeya 0]

Kool. This is what I was looking for years ago and ended up with glass designed to work with a photo enlarger. The only problem is that it blocks IR light.

 

This is a great thread!

[rory 0]

Kool. This is what I was looking for years ago and ended up with glass designed to work with a photo enlarger. The only problem is that it blocks IR light.

 

This is a great thread!

 

Hmmmm, glass, hmmm

[joe4 0]

Great idea but why PVC?

 

Aluminum tube is cheap and would last longer.

[dipshwich 0]

cause if i made em out of aluminum, someone would ask "why not pvc"

but really, pvc is a fraction of the cost of aluminum, and i'll be long buried before they deteriorate!

[rory 0]

this may be a silly question, but why didnt you just buy one ready made

[dipshwich 0]

Not a silly question at all rory...I'm semi retired, and I have more time on my hands than $$$. I have a beutiul detached shop in my back yard(with beer fridge), to where I spend the majority of my time. The other minority of the time I spend in the house listening to the wife b**ch about everything and anything. Like just yesterday she said to me "why didn't you just go buy them stupid things"!!!...go figure eh...

[dipshwich 0]

Dang..I may as well answer the next question before it gets asked...Yes, I do know how to spell..."beautiful"...

[kaysadeya 0]

Hmmmm, glass, hmmm

 

Ok, wisenheimer. :

 

http://www.wordreference.com/definition/wisenheimer

 

Most people with basic knowledge of photography would never put “regularâ€

Edited May 11, 2005 by Guest

[kaysadeya 0]

The other minority of the time I spend in the house listening to the wife b**ch about everything and anything. Like just yesterday she said to me "why didn't you just go buy them stupid things"!!!...go figure eh...

 

You might want to slap some paint on that housing before your wife sees it.

[dipshwich 0]

listen you doeheads...they use acrylic glass (plexiglass) in outdoor housings...(that last for years, but are easily and inexpensively replaceable)...Geez...sorry for sharing the idea!!!...you can ban me now cause I wont bother coming back.

[kaysadeya 0]

"doeheads" What's that?

 

Dipshwich, no reason to take offense. Your housing is an inspiration. (And I mean that seriously!) Rory and I were just discussing the merits of regular glass vs. optically correct glass.