Do it yourself cam, any good?

[upnorthguy]

Hello folks,
Was curious if anyone has tried those do it yourself underwater cameras? I have been reading a bit about them, seems like they should work fine based on method and equipment used. However always like to hear someone elses take on the whole situation. If it sounds good I'll dump the 60 bucks and build one myself. Thanks folk and may ice grace us soon!

Upnorthguy

[TIP-UP_DAD]

I got to tell you that we bought one and had alot fun putting it together, and then using it with my kids.We have used it for two years now and we even use it for night time fun in the summer. We have even used it to tape a possible burgler at night stealing from a barn.  and boy, the stuff you can see at night in a barn.We even had a squirrel came face to camera and was that funny also, to bad we didnt have it running into a vcr then. We have used it to watch fish come right up to us and check out our bait also used it to check out what was the bottom condition or the surrounding area looked like. now I will say that the water we fish is usually less than 10' deep and pretty clear. We really do enjoy this unit for the money we got in it  but would love to check out a new camera sometime this year.Now we did buy a B&W TV that takes 9 D Batteries under it.We adapted the camera to those batteries so we didnt need to have another source of power for camera. We also made some adapters to wrap the cable around the bottom of the tv. All in all though we DEFINITLY feel we have gotten our money's worth in the do it YOUR SELF KIT we purchsed.                                                              upnorthguy good luck at all of the choice's you have.

[eatabeaversaveatre]

I have made many for friends and they love them. If you do some searching you can find the camera boards for 25.00 dollars. And every year our menards store has a sale on 13 inch black and white tvs for 10 dollars with the right hook ups. This would bring the price way down. I have made them for well under 40 bucks all ready with all of the extra electronic equipment I have. You can also buy LED illuminator kits to see farther in the dark waters. Its great!

[wsb_bwhntr]

Hi guys,

Never heard of a D.I.Y. underwater camera.  Any of you guys have any more information on how to make them and how they work?  
Thanks,
bill

[Rusty Hook]

Got a link for this

[Bob_G]

 I am currently waiting for my camera to come in. I found a 5" bw tv for $13 the camera was $68. I can't wait to try it out. I hope that it works pretty well for the money.
 Eat a beaver, where can I get the L.E.D. lights that you mentioned? How much further will I be able to see at night with these lights? I figure I should give myself every little bit.  The camera that I ordered has the infrared lights on it, will that make a difference?
 Thanks for any input.

[ZachSchuler]

Wheres the cheapest place to get a camera?

[Brett Meyer]

I am also interested on where a link would be to build one of these cameras. I  build myself a game camera this summer, and that thing is a blast. I want an underwater cam, but don't want to dish out the $$ for a good one.

Thanks

[shwung79]

Anybody ever see the Atlantis cam at Bass Pro.  Looks like a good setup for 199$  Any feedback?

[wendall]

for the home made cams, do a search on spy gear, or go to ebay and search for water proof camera, or cctv camera.  i got one from a spy gear shop.  its a color cam that switches to b&w in low light conditions.  it has the infared lights on it as well.  its fun to use, but i cannot see my screen to well outdoors.  i either have to cover my head and the screen with my jacket, which takes me away from my rod, or go into my shanty.  if you fish from a house or shanty, there are a load of fun.  its cool to see your jig and waxies doing the lil dance down there.  i dont use mine to much, so if you want, make me an offer on it.  i can get some pics up if needed.  

here is a brief desc of the set up...
camera
i think 100 ft of cable
5 inch color monitor (tv tuner as well, great for those sundays on the ice when you want to catch the game to)
all necessary wires
all packed into a metal tool box for transportation


my set up cost a little more than others due to the color camera and monitor.  but if you are going to use it for other things than fishing, it comes in handy.  watch the garage like mentioned above, or any other security uses.


possibly trade for other gear as well.


good luck and tight lines
wendall