Xbox WebCam Mod

[hutchyweb]

There are probably a few of these about but i thought i'd share the way i modded mine. (some images are from Astro-Beano's blog)

Astro Xbox Live Cam Modification

Parts Required

Xbox Live cam (eBay – £8.99)
Astro webcam nose piece (eBay – £12.75)
Project box – 74mm x 51mm x 26mm (Amazon – [hyperlink=http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00IFGGGCM/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1]LINK[/hyperlink] – £2.99)
40mm 5v Fan- 3 PIN (Amazon – [hyperlink=http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B006KCXAR2/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B006KCXAR2/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1]LINK[/hyperlink] – £4.99)
40mm fan finger guard (Maplin – JU25C – 99p)
4 x M3 bolts 19mm
8 x M3 washers
4 x M3 nuts
3 x M2 bolts 12mm
12 x M2 nuts

Nuts, bolts & washers from Maplin Code: N53BU - £5.29

Modification Process

1. Pop off the grey focusing ring on the camera


2. Using a screw driver remove the front cover from the camera


3. Remove the pad from the bottom of the webcam and remove all screws and also remove the screws with in the body that connects the base.

4. Remove the 3 screws the hold the PCB to the case and disconnect the USB cable



5. Dismantle the base and use some snips to remove the ‘pivot’ cone of the base that’s on the wire.

6. Carefully drill these three holes to 2~2.5 mm so they will take the M2 bolts


7. With long nose pliers carefully break off the lens of the 4 green LEDs (it’s best to test/check where the LEDs are before you break them)


8. Cut the yellow cable from the fan this is only used for spin detection and is not required for the fan operation

9. Locate the pins from the USB connector and solder the RED and BLACK cables from the fan to Pins 1 and 4 (check these are the correct pins by connecting the USB cable to the board and checking the colours)


10. Test the fan works by connecting the camera to a PC USB port make a note of the air flow from the fan so the fan can be fitted to blow air on to the board. (Note: the camera its self may not work at this stage as two of the holes you’ve drilled are ‘loop backs’ on the PCB thus breaking the connection, don’t worry they will be reconnected when its installed in the case)

11. Mark the lid and base of the case to find a centre point where you want the fan and the lens mounted and drill a 2mm hole


12. Holding the fan finger guard on the lid mark where the four holes will need to be to mount the fan on the diagonal lines and drill them to 3.5~4mm

13. Using a hole cutter, cut a 35~40mm hole in the lid of the case.


14. On the case drill a 15mm hold for the lens of the camera.

15. Remove the focusing ring and put the lens mount of the camera through the hole then replace the focusing ring to protect CCD/CMOS chip

16. Carefully line-up and drill three 2~2.5mm holes through the previously drilled holes on the cameras PCB through the case.


17. Remove the PCB replacing the focusing ring to protect the CCD/CMOS chip

18. Place the lid and the base of the case together and drill a 3mm hole along the seam of the case for the USB cable to pass through


19. Mark the case and drill any required ventilation holes for the air to escape.

20. Using the M3 Nuts bolts and Wasters mount the fan on the lid of the case


21. As per the diagram below put the three M2 bolts in to the case and double up the nuts thus giving making a spacer for the PCB to sit on (Note: this should also be the approximate height of the lens mounting bracket)



22. Install the PCB on to the three M2 bolts and secure buy doubling up the M2 nuts on the top of the PCB. (remember to replace the focusing ring to protect the CCD/CMOS chip)

23. It should now look something like this and is


24. Install the lid and test the camera is still working after the mod. I have also opted for a nose piece so it is more stable in my telescope focuser.


Enjoy!

[hutchyweb]

## UPDATE ##

In addition to this mod i've now added a switch to isolate the FAN incase the vibration affects the image quality. Although after testing i have not seen any sugestion that there is a problem.

Here are two images taked with the fan running (Skywatcher 200p/EQ5 - SharpCap2)

[wella]

Hi,

Do you find that the fan is necessary?  Is there a visible temperature increase in the cam?   Can you see any differences between having the fan running and not having the fan running?  I'm not asking due to vibrations, I'm asking due to temperature increase

Thanks for your help, Paul

[Keltoi]

hi, I know this is an old thread but need a little help

have a 200p on eq5 mount and an xbox cam with nosepiece, haven't done full mod like yours yet but will be doing so.

However I am unable to get the cam to focus  any ideas?  I resume I remove the lens from the cam otherwise cant use nosepiece.

Would I need to use a barlow  or should I be able to reach focus without?

thanks in advance