Tools of the trade

Got this old used multimeter from work:


It seems to be working ok (haven't calibrated it, don't know if it's even possible), but it needs 9v batteries to operate. I have no intention to spend money on new batteries when ever it runs out of juice, so here's a simple hack to stop using batteries. I added an external connection to run it off an AC adapter:


This is the internal connector, from the AC adapter to the original 9v battery connector. I kept the original connector as stock, should the need ever arise to use batteries again:


Already had this philips AC adapter lying around, so I put it to good use:

(Last picture showing the multimeter measuring a -0.006v of the room air, don't know why...)

Cameras, like cats, don't like water

Hey, my first post!

To start off this blog I want to show something from my work place. I work with (among other interesting technologies) industrial firewire cameras. The next few pictures show cameras of this type:

http://www.theimagingsource.com/en_US/products/cameras/firewire-ccd-mono/dmk41bf02/

We have (actually, had...) two cameras of this model. The cameras are mounted vertically in 2 separate housings on a vehicle. Turns out the housings weren't so water insulated, when some rain started. This is the first camera after the back side was removed:

And the second: 

Each camera has 3 pcb's - backplane (firewire connectivity),  logic and CCD. These are the first and second cameras parts laid out by order:

As you can see, some nasty corrosion occurred, mainly on the ccd's pcb of both cameras (being located the lowest in a vertical positioning). I've tried to clean the corrosion off the pcb's, but to no use. There are some dead components on the boards. I've also tried cannibalizing the cameras, mixing pcb's from both to check maybe something has survived. The conclusion - 1 dead back pcb, surprisingly 2 living logic boards (the middle ones), 1 dead ccd and 1 half dead. Bottom line, can't build a single working camera from these parts.

More shots of the ccd's damage:

P.S.
the BNC connector on the camera's back is used for photography triggering