Hi Ben!!! I PM'ed you my home #---I'll include extra $$$ in with the payment for my camera for the Tech Support...

Kevin

KG

I got your PM. I just got done helping user SIX (see few posts above) and his cam is working. You are next in line


BTW, he did not get the cam from me.

Regards

Ben

Another tip for those of you looking to snag a camera before all the old firmware versions are sold out:

Look at the camera while its still in the package. You should be able to see the label on the bottom through the plastic packaging. It should say "Pure Digital Technologies Inc, Video Camera - Model 200"... If it says Model 220, DO NOT BUY IT...

Hope this saves a few guys from getting the new version accidentally.
Kelly

FWIW, I struck GOLD yesterday. After about 50 miles of roundtrip drive, I stumbled into a CVS with 18 FW-version 03.62. Needless to say they do not have anymore after I left the store.

I will be returning the other batch with wrong fw-version that I procured earlier.

Hey Kelly, Mouser has one of the connectors you are looking for (minimum buy of 1) but the other is out of stock and shows up as a minimum of 1000.

Little help please!
I have been successful following all the directions to unlock and download from a 3.62 version camcorder with ops except the .avi files that are downloaded to my pc are showing 0 bytes. The OPS program says the download was successful and I can format the camcorder after downloading. Any suggestions.
Thanks in advance!
Jay Smullen

Gordon,
I've watched the "Pensacola Pincushion" video a few times and I think it's one of the best on board videos I have seen. The music selection along with the sequencing and editing all blend together very well. It must have taken a good amount of time to put that together. I just picked up a camera yesterday and was lucky to get a 3.62 and managed to get it open on the third try. I'm just hoping to get some airborne video of my flying field. Again, great video Gordon. Will the next production use Freebird(live version) for the sountrack?

Marty

Hi Marty,

Thanks! The cams provide a new dimension to our hobby and its alot of fun recording and editing the videos. Editing can be grueling. I now have four (4) cams permanently installed in Pin Cushion and, at Pensacola, I added another one to the KingCat for Saturdays flights. I shot over 6.5 hours of video on these five cams over six flights plus I had additional footage on the ground cam. Yet the final video production lasted a mere 8 minute 16 seconds. In other words, I only used about 2% of the raw footage.

Does Freebird have a future with Pin Cushion? Maybe.......

Gordon

Hi Guys

I first saw Gordons posts on the RCjet list and was blown away by it. Since then I have been trying to find a place on the web where I can buy a couple of these cameras and there is NO place to buy them. I even searched the CVS online shopping site and they dont even list them there. We dont have CVS stores here in Australia so it makes it very difficult to get any cams for us. I have a friend touring the west coast of the USA now and managed to get a fax to him at his Hotel in LA but not sure if he is going to bring any back with him..hopefully he is but I dare say they will be the wrong software version...oh well if they are too bad..cant return them ....but do any of you guys with excess cams want to part with a couple? or at least know where I can get some...It would be nice to try them out here in the land down under . If someone will it would be much appreciated...or even tell me a site where I can purchase them online?????. I can pay anyone with paypal or do a direct international funds transfer to your account.....

Cheers

Mark Kyle
Simjet Distributor Australia

"Fly it like you stole it"

Yup, unless you have a CVS store nearby you have a problem. No CVS stores here in the "outback" of Colorado either! You can find them on eBay but the new (supposedly unhackable Model 220) ones are showing up in stores according to some reports. eBay is your best bet (do a search on "CVS camcorder"). I've bagged a couple off of eBay - they're out there.

Good luck.

Mike

http://search.ebay.com/search/search...era&category0=

Ebay can be used as a search engine

Mike

Well men.....I've hit the camcorder jackpot!!!!! After a 50 mile round trip I bought three camcorders form CVS. Three is all I could buy with the cash I had on hand-----But there are 8 MORE model 200's in stock!!!

If any of you want me to get you one----Or some---Let me know and I'll get as many as needed. The price will be $29.99 for the camcorder, plus 9.75% sales tax, (I know it's high but at least we don't have a state income tax!!!) plus $4.00 shipping, and I would appreciate a couple of $ for gas as I have no reason to go as far as I did other than to get these cameras. (Dang SUV is killin' me!!!![:@])

Total is:$36.91 each plus any gas $$ you feel free to donate.

Ben, I haven't forgotten you concerning the camera you made for me---Do you want me to pay you with cameras or $$$$??? Let me know and I'll get whatever you want out right away!!

Kevin

Hmmmmmmm!!!!!!!!.....you have not sent the $$ out?. Even with the long distance technical assistance?. Your credit sucks my friend (jk)
You can send me 2 cams ( I drive SUV also) or send me the agreed $$, whichever that is better for you.
Later bud and please note that my statement above was made with pun intended.
Best Regards
Ben
BTW which FW-Version did you score at your local CVS?

FW Version 3.70---Good or no good????

Kevin

Good.

You just have to spend few minutes doing the hardware hack if you are lucky/good at it or spend about 1-3 hrs if you are not.
You can also “brick� it during the process if you are not careful.

Kevin, I did it on my 3.7 and its not too difficult.

It appears the resistor shorting window is a few hundred milliseconds long and it’s 'just' after the 2nd startup beep. Keep the wire shorted for ~1 second then remove it. The screen should come up with a video preview but no text at all. Anything else, such as a bunch of meaningless gibberish with the live preview screen, and the hack has likely not gone properly. The nerve pinch test will tell you for sure though, as a successfully hacked camera should say “not initialized�.

It took me ~20 tries or to so get it right. At times the camera may freeze up, and you may need to pull a battery out to shut it down.

I’ve got 11 more coming for the other local jet guys up here in Vancouver. Get em’ while they’re hot! Ben's da man!!!

Good luck!
Kelly

Man--I've been shorting the resistor out at least 100 times....I've gotten everything from jibberish numbers to a blank screen. I can't get the camera to unlock. Opening the camera is fine but unlocking has proven to be a (*&%##^^*(^$#$$!!!!!!.[:@]

What am I doing wrong?? After you get the blank screen do you attempt to unlock then or do you power down and then attempt to unlock?? When will the camera say "not initialized"?? Are you shorting the left side of the resistor or right???

Kevin

The camera I bought today turns out to be a Model 100. I didn't realize this was a problem until I started reading more of the hack links in the forum. One said that this model cannot be hacked. Should I stop now, or does anyone know if this model can be used?

Thanks,
Paul

Kevin, have a read of this thread... It describes the hack pretty clearly.
http://camerahacks.10.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=1577

- make sure to clean the resistor join off a bit with an exacto first. I followed the instructions and opened her up in ~20 tries. With enough practice, some get them on the 1st or 2nd try...

Paul, Model 100? I'm no expert but I'm not familiar with the M100. Most if not all are either M200 or M220. You want the M200 and NOT the M220 (until someone hacks it too)

Kelly

Looks like I fried this one....I know i tried at least a couple of hundred times...I know that I also didn't touch anything else that I shouldn't have---This one was just tired of being screwed with I guess. I got the blank screen as described in the link but the camera never would unlock.

Well--I've got two more to try---We'll see what happens.

Kevin

Lol Kev..... just touch it right after the beep for the 3.70 FW and you will get it. Now you know what I went through to hack yours.

Best Regards

Ben.


BTW

If you can not get it, just send them with the one you are sending to me and I will do the hardware hack and send it back to you.

I think I might have some 3.4's at home and I can trade those with you. Those will not require any hardware hack.

Oh, you have to pay for the postage.

Now Ben.....Don't be so quick to martyr yourself on MY behalf as the camera you sent me is a version 3.40!!!!

I'm on camera #2 and still haven't hacked it....Am I too slow or what??? I touch the resistor right after the beep and I have successfully brought up the blank screen but no unlock....[:@]

Kevin

Oppppppppssssssssss........sorry my bad. It was Kelly that I sent 10 cams with FWV 3.70's and 3.6.

Just make sure you scrape the right hand side or the resistor with exacto like KW mentioned above and just touch it right after the beep and you will score one for the geeper.

EUREKA!!! I FINALLY got it!!! This second camera only took about a dozen tries. Here's what the screen looks like when you've got it in the first photo. (I was so proud to get it unlocked that the pic is a little blurry)

The second pic shows my hacking wire....Just a male pin from a servo extension wire. No loose wire strands to worry about touching something in the wrong way, shorting out the wrong component.

Bingo!!!!!!!...I'm glad you scored one for the geeper!!!!!.