Disposable Camera...Surprises inside!

Hey all!
I was looking into making a stepup circuit and found some suggestions about obtaining the transistor from a disposable camera.
So, I obtained one and opened it up. Immediately saw the large capacitor inside. I had already charged and flashed the unit to dissipate any charge. I removed the single AA battery then I decided to short out the leads of the cap w/my screwdriver. Nice little [actually BIG] POP!
Note to self, discharge cap before touching. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
...Moving along...
I took the electronc board out and will remove the transistor later. I was about to throw the rest away, then I noticed the lense covering the shutter. Hmmmm. I think that would fit my Dorcy 1AAA. Pop that puppy out. Placed over the dorcy. Voila! I added some decent throw to the little light! Beam isn't all that great, but hey, for the price, not bad at all! I can always get 1/2 acryllic balls for optics. But hey, I don't have the balls. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Nice little surprises inside: a single AA battery, the transistor for my future projects, and an optic for my Dorcy! Oh, don't forget the big cap for hours of enjoyment. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Danno

Nice... what brand/model of disposable camera? Thanks

-Mike

Sorry, dunno. I got it from a photolab. They had already removed the cardboard with all the labeling and of course, the film. They usually ship them out to be recycled.

I have limited experience w/disposable cameras. So, I'm unable to recognize it by looking at it w/out the labeling.
I would imagine most are similar. You can get a few free by just asking at the photolab store. Get a few and have at it! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif ...and remember, be careful around the capacitor!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

Danno

I took one of those things apart one time and noticed the big cap, but figured that it ran off an AA so wasn't too worried about it as it usually take at least 50 or so volts for me to really feel anything. Not paying attention, I turned the board over and shorted the leads to the cap with my finger. Ouch...so I rechared the flash and tested on my DMM. The cap was charged to 200V+ no wonder it hurt /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif Anyway, just though a few of you could learn from my mistake...when danielo said: Note to self, discharge cap before touching, he definately had the right idea.

What could really be cool would be simply-added circuitry to convert them into fixed-rate repetitive strobes. Put in a D cell, park it on a mountainside out in the desert and ..... A friend built one with a little "windmill" based whisker switch to trip the flash. The rep rate was mucho variable.

Larry

What's even more fun is to charge the cap, wrap the leads of it around itself coiled up. Then throw it at someone saying "CATCH!". Another fun one is to put the cap into an empty pack of cigarettes, and run thin bare copper wires all around the pack, and charge it up and leave it sitting somewhere like in a bar. That will make people think twice about trying to swipe a smoke! Might make them even quit! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Larry, that sounds awesome. Aliens are coming! How do you make it flash quicker/charger quicker for that?

I bit myself with a HeNe laser power supply once...it had been unplugged for an hour!

I don't mess around with HV power supplies anymore. I *ALWAYS* discharge the cap before handling the circuit. Perhaps the safest method is to connect a 1Kohm resistor across the cap/output (depending on voltage and capacity). This works better than a dead short (safer for the cap too) unless you like to see fireworks. Though a dead short might not damage a photoflash capacitor, it can harm those found in switching power supplies and the like if they are short-circuited repeatedly.

Yup. I also took a small spring, stretched it out and shorted it on one. Instant fireworks! sparks everywhere!! I also took a motorcycle ignition coil once and a 555 timer and a 9v battery to make a 1/4" spark. Move it close enough and it would turn into a solid orange arc that would set paper on fire. Not enough current though to shock you like a stun gun though. It needed perhaps a voltage multiplier or a capacitive discharge circuit set at 20hz instead... I never got around to that though..

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

You could probably make a nice shock wand out of your 555/9v/ignition coil setup.

Don't get across the magneto output of a Briggs & Stratton small engine...it's enough to make you jerk and twitch.

I've known old auto mechanics that could reach in and by grabbing each plug wire at the cap, tell which cylinder was missing! Even they say dont even think about it with the HEI ignitions on today's cars!

IsaacHayes, The windmill was for lack of circuitry to make it flash repetitively. The whisker would keep tripping the fire circuit until sufficient voltage had built up on the cap to fire the tube. The wind mill was glued together from soda straws and plastic spoons and turned in almost no breeze. A better battery should should decrease the recharge time. One of our electronics types could probably come up with a circuit to do it much more reliably.

Larry

So is this high voltage discussion or optics discussion? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
I would like to hear more about the optics. I think most disposable cameras are build the same so they should have the same optics? I know some are more 'hightech' than others but the lens should have the same mm?

If you like high voltage stuff, check out this web page it also covers the recent EMP topic in ARC forum.

Vince.

Wow!

On returning to this thread, I noticed three things.

One, there's alot of projects/pranks involving hv caps. [Some are pretty devious...]
Two, there was only one post regarding the optics.
And three, noone commented on the statement, "But hey, I don't have the balls." Maybe that was too easy of a target, noone took the bait. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon6.gif

Well, regarding the optics, I've been curious about lenses since I got my Brinkmann Rebel 2AA. It has a lense with a concave in the middle on each side. It almost focuses the light too well, you can see the die image [I think that's the term] when you direct the light onto a white wall.

Well, I figured that the dc lens must be of decent quality, in order to take decent pictures, right? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif
Well, when I put the disposable camera [dc]lens over the 1AAA Dorcy, it too focuses the light pretty well when fastened to the stock lens. I can move the dc lens away from the LED to the point you can almost see the die image again. But it works just fine afixed directly to the stock lens. I still have some spill for walking and the lense definitely adds some throw. I'm a happy camper. [even though I haven't been camping in years.]

Sorry, still no images or beam shots. Maybe tonight when I get home.

Dan---It's not our job to comment about your ball problems.
Your lack (or abundance) of balls is between you and your physician! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Here is a question that I have always wondered about:
Do disposable cameras use the same 35mm film cartridges that go into regular 35mm cameras?
Can you shoot a roll with the disposable and then rip it apart to get out the exposed roll AND keep all of the electronic/optical goodies?

P.S.---Yeah, that was two questions.

As far as I can tell, I beleive they use standard 35mm cartridges. [They were removed by the time I got the cameras.] Not sure, though.

The first disp cam I got seemed like a cheap re-usable camera. It had a big rear door to load the new film in. And a little wind lever to pre-wind the film. [That's how the exposure counter works, backwards.] Too bad I didn't have the label to tell what brand it was.

So, I went back to the photo place.
I got 4 more disp cams. They, however, still had the cardboard labeling on them. Two were FujiQuickSnaps, and the other two were KodakMAX flash Camera.
The Fuji's have a small door just to remove the used film can. It's a PITA to open and you can't pre-wind the film. It's not re-usable.
The same w/Kodak. However, the optic is a little bigger than the first disp cam and the Fuji.
I may have to remove the current one on my LED Light and replace it w/the Kodak optic.

As for your question(s), MicroE, you can always just ask for it back or get a different one when you drop it off.

Well, I guess I'm /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dedhorse.gif [beating a dead horse] about now.

So, I'll recap this thread...
You can open up a used disp camera, and get the following:
The optical lens,
The Battery, [all four had a single AA]
The transistor [possible use in a step-up circuit]
And the HV Capacitor for amusement of yourself [or others when you shock yourself.]

[Guess that's about it. Later]

Danno

I have taken many of these apart. They all use regular 35 mm film. I always take them apart at home and just turn in the roll of film.

I have tried to put new film in so I could reuse the things and never have been successful. The new film would have to be unwound (in the dark) and placed on the opposite side of the film holder. Each time you take a picture you would wind it back up into the film holder.

btw, some of the capacitors are marked 330v. Those ones are pretty painful.