Having fun with the flash from disposable cameras.

[dat2zip]

Must have read Don Klipstein web site over a year ago and have been wanting to try this out.

Get a used disposable camera with flash from a photo processor store. Take it apart and see if the flash works.

Yup, it works. I've got a couple now and tone one kodak I have comes with a single AA battery and the flash portion still charges up and flashes on demand.

see Don's web site for more info.

Don Klipsteins web site.

 

[signals]

Wow, those disposable cameras are a very cool source of parts... It's been somewhat common, for a while now, that the tube electronics people would scavenge them for the "free" capacitors inside.

-Kevin

 

[The_LED_Museum]

I've got several of these disposable camera flashes lying around here just waiting to be put to use. Now where can I find a 1.5v or 2.0v AC adapter? They would make great photoelectric-triggered slave flashes for all the damn macro pictures I take and have to throw out because my camera's own flash is in the wrong place for that type of shot.

 

[dat2zip]

Before playing, opening one or even thinking about it. I highly recommend reading Don's web site. He has a wealth of safety tips and precations that you should be aware of before opening one.

The one I opened was fully charged and even after triggering the flash continue to recharge back to full. Although there was the front button that you are suppose to push to activate the charging of the flash, this one is either broken or just always charges.

I took the batteries out, triggered the flash and there was still enough charge on the main storage capacitor to generate a good spark when I discharged it with an insulated screwdriver.

 

[LiteFreek]

Be careful when playing around with those flash circuits. Those capacitors can store quite a charge as I found out once when disassembling one. Needless to say, one's body flying through the air without a purpose other than falling flat on your back is no fun.

 

[star882]

The flash in disposeable cameras are great for launching rockets. Just connect the rocket ignitor in series with the flashtube. Keep these wires short to avoid wasting power in the wires. A long 2 conductor cable goes to where the shutter switch contact points used to be. Connect other end to a microswitch. A neon lamp and a 470k resistor across the flashtube can be used as a connected indicator. A small plastic box works nicely to hold the flash electronics. The microswitch can be just insulated or put in small container(a m&ms tube candy container works good). You may want to use a D cell instead of the AA cell originally used(these flashes use AAs fast). For safety, take the switch with you when wiring up the rockets. You may have problems with launching rockets with a big ignitor.

 

[CNC Dan]

Dat2zip: glad to see you are aware of the safty issues with a HV cap. More than enough energy to stop your heart. Want to do other HV stuff? Get an ignition transformer from an oil burner (house heat furnace). About 10,000 at 20ma. Look around for some HV diodes and some "door knob" caps.

Be carful, don't work alone. Last time I took an HV zap, I was picking myself up off the floor, wondering how I got there.

 

[Saaby]

Ouch! Wan't quite as powerful as these camera caps but my brother had a fan sitting in his room for a time with the cover removed...It had a huge cap (It was old though so...) and I *accidently* managed to bump it with my arm. Don't remember if I was moving the fan or what but I bumped it and had a nice little burn on my arm for the next week or so...

 

[georget98]

A true high voltage incident. I was 22 when this happened in 1969, it's a wonder I made it to my 23rd birthday alive.

A kid in the neighborhood wanted to build an x-ray machine for his science fair project! There was an article in the "Amateur Scientist" column in Scientific American sometime in the early/mid sixties about building one using an 01A radio tube for the emitter.

The tube had a magnesium getter which would emit x-rays if hit with enough electrons. So you hooked a source of about 25,000 volts DC to the tube elements, I think all of them, and the other terminal to a piece of aluminum foil glued to the outside of the bulb.

For the high voltage DC, we built a voltage quadrupler from TV doorknob capacitors and 1B3 TV high voltage rectifier tubes. We powered the tube filaments with individual alkaline D cells, and solved the major arcing problems by building it on a piece of glass.

I think the output was around 60,000 volts. The over 4 inch arc was mighty thick and scary and the 01A exploded the first time we turned it on.

He ended up doing the project about x-rays minus working equipment. His science teacher thought the power supply would be prizeworthy but when they turned it on, there was a big bright snap-zap that made a hole in the side of one of the 1B3's.

After that we decided to do something safe like car racing or nerve gas testing.

 

[yclo]

And if you're really bored, you can take apart the circuit and re-solder everything so that it fits in a small box:

Of course, becareful when you're taking it apart and don't break any components like I did... especially when you're nearly finished...

YC

 

[Albany Tom]

I used one of these, with a home built regulator fed from an emergency light gel-cell, as a slave flash. Boy it recycled fast. One of the things I found, though, was that the voltage step up circuit may catch fire if you take photos without waiting for it to cool down between shots.

To make a 1.5 volt supply from a 3 volt supply, just put 3, 1-amp diodes in series from the supply to the device. Each one will drop about .6 volts, mostly independent of current.

 

[carbonsparky]

Originally posted by The LED Museum:
I've got several of these disposable camera flashes lying around here just waiting to be put to use. Now where can I find a 1.5v or 2.0v AC adapter? They would make great photoelectric-triggered slave flashes for all the damn macro pictures I take and have to throw out because my camera's own flash is in the wrong place for that type of shot.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">This is not quite the power supply you are asking for but it might do the job. I have a small wall wart packaged switching supply I bought at Wal-Mart. It is a Power Line Digital Universal AC adapter Model# 0900-33. It has 3, 4.5 , 6, 7.5, 9, and 12 volt settings. It is good for a amp and the voltage output seems to be regulated quite well. It sells for around $15.

 

[logicnerd411]

Um, did you just ask for these at your local photo processing area, or did you have to pay for these, or worse, beg?

 

[Steelwolf]

dat2zip: Re: Capacitor keeps charging, I was told that the Kodak disposable cameras are wired in such a way that the capacitor is kept charged and the push button on the front is not for charging, but to allow the discharge through the flash when both the push button and the shutter button are pressed. Apparently it doesn't take very much power to keep the capacitor topped up, so they do that to ensure it is always ready to fire.

The Fuji ones use the button to charge, then, I think, you can take your finger off once it is charged and the flash will fire when you press the shutter release button.

 

[dat2zip]

Steelwolf,

Thanks for the info. I still have them in a bag. Played with the a little but nothing since.

WayneY

 

[Willmore]

Like some flashlights, photostrobes often rely on the built in resistance of the alkaline cells to a current limiter. Some modes come with specific cautions *not* to use NiCd cells (this was in the day before NiMH) as they could cause the flash to catch on fire! Bad design practice, IMHO.

 

[Lantern Jack O.]

Not to pile on too much, but...
Flash caps really can pack a big whallop. I learned this the hard way when I was about 11 yrs old. Was puttering around, removing the board from a flash unit. I'd already flashed it and had the battery out so I thought I'd be safe. (How dangerous could two AA's be anyway?, I remember thinking.) Then I accidentally touched the screwdriver across a grounded screw and a cap terminal. Even worse, I was touching the metal on the screwdriver at the time. There was a bright flash/pop, and I was thrown backwards. ... When I regained my senses some time later, I was on the floor. I found the tip and shaft of the screwdriver was welded in place on the screw and terminal I'd shorted. They didn't give out Darwin awards back then, but if they did, I probably could've been a contender that day.

 

[star882]

Of course, you can use this to protect your money.
Get another wallet, put the circuit in the wallet, and connect the capacitor to pieces of foil on the outside of the wallet.
Put this decoy wallet in your pocket so it is in plain sight.
Hide your real wallet where only you can find it.
If a pickpocket gets the decoy, he or she will be given a nasty surprise.

 

[Saaby]

That's great, until you accidently grab the wrong wallet

:Rolleyes":

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I was wondering if there is any way to synchronize several of these flashes to get
a constant beam.

for example. assume I want 60 flashes per
second and I have 10 of these flashes. I would
want some way to synchronize the 10 flashes so
each flash fires once every 10 flashes. so
if each flash fires 6 times per second, the
10 synchronized flashes total 60 flashes per second.

any ideas? what would I need to do to get the
circuit to recharge that quickly? higher voltage?
larger capacitor?