Can I use this camera for FPV.

[Scratch]

Long shot here, but I'm wondering if anyone knows if it's at all possible to somehow use this camera for Anything.

This is an older ADT wireless camera unit that I had lying around and was going to throw it away, but then I thought I'd open it up and see if the camera was worth saving or not. I was hoping to find like 4 wires coming off it.... Not 15. I was thinking about using this for an FPV camera if I could figure out the wiring.

There are 15 wires going into the PCB but I have no idea what would be the power, ground or signal wires. There are no markings on the board anywhere as far as manufacturer, model number etc... No letters or numbers at all.

Should I just toss this thing, or should I try plugging wires into it, hoping I find a correct combination.

Hoping someone might be able to say something like "the first two wires are usually power and ground, then just find the video signal and you're set!" Type of thing.

 

[Tritium]

Just off hand I would guess no. It doesn't appear to have enough circuitry to handle the image processing and conversion to an analog signal used by FPV transmitters. Guessing at correct wiring is a sure fire way to "blow it up".

Thurmond

 

[xuzme720]

If you plan on tossing it out, then blowing it up isn't going to hurt anything, but be sure to get some video!

Try tracing the wires back to components on the board. That can sometimes give you an answer as to which wires do what. Or, you can post some macro shots of the board and we can try to help you. I appears to be a multi-layer PCB though, so I'm not sure we'll be able to help as much...

 

[Scratch]

Meh... I found another one laying around that was much newer, there were 6 wires, one red, one black, and 4 whites. I should be able to figure this one out easily. Plus I'm sure since it's newer, the resolution will be better.

 

[Scratch]

Here's the other camera I found and I got it to work easily. It has much more circuitry to it, and has what I believe to be a good picture. It's a little heavy though maybe... At 37 grams.

Do you think that's too heavy for an FPV camera? I might be able to remove that front plastic ring to shave a few grams, but tried pretty hard and it wouldn't budge.

 

[Tritium]

That one is a pretty nice unit as security cams go. Try it as is and report back. You should easily find another lens assembly if needed for it.

Thurmond