Post by thread:[OT]: CoolCam

I recently bought a "CoolCam" from JC Penny. Just wondering if anyone has looked into the data transfer protocol for this unit - it's $69, does 352x288, and runs on three AAA's. There's enough RAM (not flash) to hold 20 pics at that size. Quality isn't good, but should work for my supplying pics to my other project, the web server on a 3c509b. There's a shot of it here (bottom of page): http://www.rof.net/yp/alphaone/activities/electronics/3c509b/ Thanks, JB -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details.

>I recently bought a "CoolCam" from JC Penny. >Just wondering if anyone has looked into the >data transfer protocol for this unit - it's >$69, does 352x288, and run s on three AAA's. >There's enough RAM (not flash) to hold 20 pics >at that size. Quality isn't good, but should >work for my supplying pics to my other project, >the web server on a 3c509b. I have just seen this device advertised in the UK for GBP75, and was wondering what it is like. Unfortunately I am spoilt by having a colleague here at work who has just got himself a Canon Digital Ixus, and who is very keen on digital photography, so things like the Coolcam tend to get compared to that.... -- http://www.piclist.com hint: To leave the PICList spam_OUTpiclist-unsubscribe-requestTakeThisOuTmitvma.mit.edu>

{Quote hidden}> -----Original Message----- > From: Alan B. Pearce [SMTP:.....A.B.PearceKILLspam@spam@RL.AC.UK] > Sent: Thursday, August 17, 2000 9:20 AM > To: PICLISTKILLspamMITVMA.MIT.EDU > Subject: Re: [OT]: CoolCam > > >I recently bought a "CoolCam" from JC Penny. > >Just wondering if anyone has looked into the > >data transfer protocol for this unit - it's > >$69, does 352x288, and run s on three AAA's. > >There's enough RAM (not flash) to hold 20 pics > >at that size. Quality isn't good, but should > >work for my supplying pics to my other project, > >the web server on a 3c509b. > > I have just seen this device advertised in the UK for GBP75, and was > wondering > what it is like. Unfortunately I am spoilt by having a colleague here at > work > who has just got himself a Canon Digital Ixus, and who is very keen on > digital > photography, so things like the Coolcam tend to get compared to that.... > > I see the special technology exchange rate of UKP >= $ applies here. Mutter, mutter.... Mike -- http://www.piclist.com hint: To leave the PICList .....piclist-unsubscribe-requestKILLspam.....mitvma.mit.edu>

>I see the special technology exchange rate of UKP >= $ applies here. >Mutter, mutter.... Yes I have noticed that too. As I get a trip to California in the next month on the company I will be visiting Fry's to see what I can pick up in the way of a high speed video card. Buying disk drives there in the past has shown American Dollars to be equal to British Pounds at 1:1 for this sort of purchase. -- http://www.piclist.com hint: To leave the PICList EraseMEpiclist-unsubscribe-requestspam_OUTTakeThisOuTmitvma.mit.edu>

part 1 1011 bytes content-type:text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 (decoded quoted-printable) Can you bring me some petrol back? I think that is a little worse than 1:1 [About 20K gallons should cover it ;-)] On a more serious note, is there a price differential on buying a MCHIP ICD from the States as opposed to the UK? (Import duty aside, that is) Is it $99 to �99 ? Regards, Dan |-------------> |(Embedded | |image moved | |to file: | |pic13983.pcx)| | | |-------------> >------------------------------------------------------------------------| |"Alan B. Pearce" <A.B.Pearcespam_OUTRL.AC.UK> | |17/08/2000 11:34 AM | >------------------------------------------------------------------------| Please respond to pic microcontroller discussion list <@spam@PICLISTKILLspamMITVMA.MIT.EDU> To: KILLspamPICLISTKILLspamMITVMA.MIT.EDU cc: (bcc: Dan Lloyd/GBPTD/ABB) Subject: Re: [OT]: CoolCam Security Level:? Internal part 2 521 bytes content-type:text/plain; charset=us-ascii >I see the special technology exchange rate of UKP >= $ applies here. >Mutter, mutter.... Yes I have noticed that too. As I get a trip to California in the next month on the company I will be visiting Fry's to see what I can pick up in the way of a high speed video card. Buying disk drives there in the past has shown American Dollars to be equal to British Pounds at 1:1 for this sort of purchase. -- http://www.piclist.com hint: To leave the PICList RemoveMEpiclist-unsubscribe-requestTakeThisOuTmitvma.mit.edu part 3 165 bytes content-type:application/octet-stream; (decode) part 4 103 bytes -- http://www.piclist.com hint: To leave the PICList spamBeGonepiclist-unsubscribe-requestspamBeGonemitvma.mit.edu>

Hi, >>I see the special technology exchange rate of UKP >= $ applies here. >>Mutter, mutter.... >Yes I have noticed that too. As I get a trip to California in the next month on >the company I will be visiting Fry's to see what I can pick up in the way of a >high speed video card. Buying disk drives there in the past has shown American >Dollars to be equal to British Pounds at 1:1 for this sort of purchase. Extend that to entire Europe :-( Recently I was in the process of buying an digital video camera ( Sony PC-100 ) listed in the US at 1800$ ( which is quite hefty as-is ). In sweden they want the equivalent of 2500$ for it ( do I need to mention that I didn't buy one, saving that for my next trip OUTSIDE Europe ). /Tony Tony Kübek, Flintab AB ²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²² E-mail: TakeThisOuTtony.kubekEraseMEspam_OUTflintab.com ²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²² -- http://www.piclist.com hint: To leave the PICList RemoveMEpiclist-unsubscribe-requestTakeThisOuTmitvma.mit.edu>

In message <DA3A3E91471FD411B8D60000F8B82B3F44FC59EraseME.....zpgtd00e.europe.norte> l.com>, Michael Rigby-Jones <EraseMEmrjonesNORTELNETWORKS.COM> writes >I see the special technology exchange rate of UKP >= $ applies here. >Mutter, mutter.... Doesn't it always - what really hurts is that many UK originated items are much cheaper in the USA as well :-(. -- Nigel. /--------------------------------------------------------------\ | Nigel Goodwin | Internet : RemoveMEnigelgEraseMEEraseMElpilsley.co.uk | | Lower Pilsley | Web Page : http://www.lpilsley.co.uk | | Chesterfield | Official site for Shin Ki and New Spirit | | England | Ju Jitsu | \--------------------------------------------------------------/ -- http://www.piclist.com hint: To leave the PICList RemoveMEpiclist-unsubscribe-requestspam_OUTKILLspammitvma.mit.edu>

I'm assuming a lot of this is due to the US being such a strong bargianing power concerning economic trade. I've also heard that competition is somewhat more fierce here. I remember one person coming from another country speaking of their first experience in a US grocery store. They were amazed at how many different brands of coffee they could buy... I wonder, though, in the case of the video camera if one couldn't order it from the US and have it shipped to the UK? I understand there would be certian customs, tariffs and taxes, but I've not shipped anything across national borders. Are these particularily expensive? Is there a resource on the internet for rates and shipping info? -Adam Nigel Goodwin wrote: {Quote hidden}> > In message <RemoveMEDA3A3E91471FD411B8D60000F8B82B3F44FC59TakeThisOuTspamzpgtd00e.europe.norte> > l.com>, Michael Rigby-Jones <EraseMEmrjonesspamspamBeGoneNORTELNETWORKS.COM> writes > >I see the special technology exchange rate of UKP >= $ applies here. > >Mutter, mutter.... > > Doesn't it always - what really hurts is that many UK originated items > are much cheaper in the USA as well :-(. > -- > > Nigel. > > /--------------------------------------------------------------\ > | Nigel Goodwin | Internet : RemoveMEnigelgKILLspamlpilsley.co.uk | > | Lower Pilsley | Web Page : http://www.lpilsley.co.uk | > | Chesterfield | Official site for Shin Ki and New Spirit | > | England | Ju Jitsu | > \--------------------------------------------------------------/ > > -- > http://www.piclist.com hint: To leave the PICList > piclist-unsubscribe-requestSTOPspamspam_OUTmitvma.mit.edu -- http://www.piclist.com hint: To leave the PICList spamBeGonepiclist-unsubscribe-requestSTOPspamEraseMEmitvma.mit.edu>

In message <KILLspam399C26B4.C10A5996spamBeGoneubasics.com>, M. Adam Davis <EraseMEadavisEraseMEUBASICS.COM> writes >I wonder, though, in the case of the video camera if one couldn't order it from >the US and have it shipped to the UK? I understand there would be certian >customs, tariffs and taxes, but I've not shipped anything across national >borders. Are these particularily expensive? Is there a resource on the >internet for rates and shipping info? I've bought a number of items from the USA (and other countries), it all seems a bit hit and miss - the last item I received from the USA had import duty, 17.5% VAT, and #6 post office administration charge added to it! - this made rather a mess of the original #30 odd cost!. However, previous orders have usually been OK, it seems to depend how lucky you are :-). -- Nigel. /--------------------------------------------------------------\ | Nigel Goodwin | Internet : @spam@nigelg@spam@spam_OUTlpilsley.co.uk | | Lower Pilsley | Web Page : http://www.lpilsley.co.uk | | Chesterfield | Official site for Shin Ki and New Spirit | | England | Ju Jitsu | \--------------------------------------------------------------/ -- http://www.piclist.com hint: To leave the PICList spamBeGonepiclist-unsubscribe-requestKILLspammitvma.mit.edu>

JB wrote: > > I recently bought a "CoolCam" from JC Penny. Just wondering if anyone has looked into the data transfer protocol for this unit - it's $69, does 352x288, and runs on three AAA's. There's enough RAM (not flash) to hold 20 pics at that size. Quality isn't good, but should work for my supplying pics to my other project, the web server on a 3c509b. > > There's a shot of it here (bottom of page): > > http://www.rof.net/yp/alphaone/activities/electronics/3c509b/ I wonder if it is related to the "WWF Slam-Cam" I just bought at Mac Frugals for $14.95. Crack the case open and look at the chipset. In the current Circuit Cellar (print and online <http://www.circuitcellar.com/> there is an article about hooking up a similar cheap camera to a NIC connected to an AVR. Matt Bennett -- http://www.piclist.com hint: To leave the PICList .....piclist-unsubscribe-requestspam_OUTmitvma.mit.edu>

It could be - after I bought it someone told me I could have had a Barbie Cam for $20. What the heck - a $70 camera is still a deal for hacking around, far better than trying to hook up to my Kodak and frying something inside. Besides - mine has a pretty purple see-through case :) I took some photos of the insides and posted them here: http://www.rof.net/yp/alphaone/activities/electronics/coolcam/cool.html JB At 06:05 PM 8/17/00 -0500, you wrote: {Quote hidden}>JB wrote: >> >> I recently bought a "CoolCam" from JC Penny. Just wondering if anyone has looked into the data transfer protocol for this unit - it's $69, does 352x288, and runs on three AAA's. There's enough RAM (not flash) to hold 20 pics at that size. Quality isn't good, but should work for my supplying pics to my other project, the web server on a 3c509b. >> >> There's a shot of it here (bottom of page): >> >> http://www.rof.net/yp/alphaone/activities/electronics/3c509b/ > >I wonder if it is related to the "WWF Slam-Cam" I just bought at Mac >Frugals for $14.95. Crack the case open and look at the chipset. In >the current Circuit Cellar (print and online ><http://www.circuitcellar.com/> there is an article about hooking up a >similar cheap camera to a NIC connected to an AVR. > >Matt Bennett > >-- >http://www.piclist.com hint: To leave the PICList >TakeThisOuTpiclist-unsubscribe-request.....TakeThisOuTmitvma.mit.edu > -- http://www.piclist.com hint: To leave the PICList TakeThisOuTpiclist-unsubscribe-requestKILLspamspammitvma.mit.edu>

Well the chip on the front (lens side) has a datasheet available at www.vvl.co.uk/products/co-processors/680/680.htm which appears to be a USB/RS232 interface chip for this use. Unfortunately I cannot make out the part no. of the other chip as the yellow writing does not show up well. I suspect it is a memory chip to store the pictures. The ST webpage seems to mention two possible sensors that could also be used in the camera. -- http://www.piclist.com hint: PICList Posts must start with ONE topic: [PIC]: PIC only [EE]: engineering [OT]: off topic [AD]: advertisements

>I've bought a number of items from the USA (and other countries), it all >seems a bit hit and miss - the last item I received from the USA had >import duty, 17.5% VAT, and #6 post office administration charge added >to it! - this made rather a mess of the original #30 odd cost!. However, >previous orders have usually been OK, it seems to depend how lucky you >are :-). I have bought a number of items from eBay over the last couple of years, and getting them into the UK seems to depend mainly on wether or not they seem to have been sent from a commercial organization, i.e. if there is a company name all over the outside of the package it is more likely to get stopped. On the whole it is very much the luck of the day. It is a bit the same being a traveler coming to the UK as well. Coming in through airport customs I have never yet been stopped and checked to see if I had any alcohol, tobacco or any other dutiable items. Moral seems to be always use the green channel. -- http://www.piclist.com hint: PICList Posts must start with ONE topic: [PIC]: PIC only [EE]: engineering [OT]: off topic [AD]: advertisements

I've got one of the Barbie Cams ( mine was ~$60 when I bought it) Should I keep for possible value enhancement or crack the case and use it? Regards, Keith -----Original Message----- From: JB [SMTP:.....alphaoneRemoveMEROF.NET] Sent: Thursday, August 17, 2000 10:25 PM To: RemoveMEPICLISTspamBeGoneMITVMA.MIT.EDU Subject: Re: [OT]: CoolCam It could be - after I bought it someone told me I could have had a Barbie Cam for $20. ----snip---- -- http://www.piclist.com hint: PICList Posts must start with ONE topic: [PIC]: PIC only [EE]: engineering [OT]: off topic [AD]: advertisements

Hi Adam, for shipping cost you can check the international rate calculator at http://ircalc.usps.gov/ . This is for shipment thru USPS, you have to customs clear the item yourself (or hire someone to do it for you). At least here in Czech. There is also the Global Priority Package, which ships four pounds of stuff for $9 (numbers of the head) in a special envelope. Not all companies are willing to ship abroad, some have minimum international order limit, some charge extra fee for out of US mailing, some ship thru UPS air only, but there is still a good share of US businesses which are very pleasant to deal with. Josef >... >Are these particularily expensive? Is there a resource on the >internet for rates and shipping info? -- http://www.piclist.com hint: PICList Posts must start with ONE topic: [PIC]: PIC only [EE]: engineering [OT]: off topic [AD]: advertisements