The Mod.

I anxiously look forward to returning home. I recorded some test videos and I want to see if the audio is in any way salvageable. It really was terrible on all my test recordings, as if you were standing in a wind tunnel. Sometimes you could not even hear the speaker. I figured that I could use Virtualdub to separate the video from audio and fix the sound quality in Sound Forge. A little more post-processing work in the end, but it if I can do it successfully it may deter the need for plan B: mods.

I didn't spend a lot on it, comparatively speaking, but I don't really want to loose the $43 bucks I did put down on it by doing a bad hack job. I was toying with the idea of installing a different mic before I left, but quickly dismissed the idea. This is a bit more complicated than my circuit-bent toys (which in the nature of circuit bending, you technically "break" the toys to make instruments . . .but I digress.) Yet the urge to attempt a mod and make it more useful is overwhelming.

So I did a search looking for any help at all and stumbled on a link for adding an external mic to a shit digital video camera. It's a mod for the Aiptek A-HD, but my camera is pretty similar to it. So much for not breaking my equipment. The idea to mod is back, but this time with detailed pictures. I would love to put a 1/4" jack in and run mics (because I love putting 1/4" jacks on just about anything) but my concern is that it will be to big for the casing. It is not the unsightliness that bothers me, it is the delicate nature of having wires hanging out as well as acquiring a static/pop sound when the external mic is moved. The guy in the demo instructions used a 3.5mm TRS jack (1/8") from an old cd player. It was even in a nice chassis to cut down on shock (unlike all my 1/4" jacks.) So I will just have to use a 1/8" to 1/4" jack-plug converter to run my mics. No big deal, it will be on a tripod anyway for music recording. And when it is not, I am pretty sure I have a tiny "spy" mic which I can tape to the top and plug in for little stuff that does not require the good mics.

If it comes down to it, that is what I will probably have to do. IF- the big if-my camera looks the same as his on the inside.

I also probably need to pick up a new soldering iron. The tutorial recommended 15 watt to prevent burning out the board. I generally use a 25 or 45 watt. In circuit bending burning out the board is not as big as a concern as in delicate electrical soldering. Look at me, getting all excited about modding without even knowing if my model of video camera can support it.

The Mod.