Anyone make a LANC Controller housing?

[kramynot2000]

I have an old video housing that I bought off ebay that is made for the older Sony HI-8mm cameras. Unfortunately, my son broke the camera so I picked up another cheap one off ebay but its a newer improved model. Unfortunately the start/stop button doesn't line up with the controls, the button is about 2" further back towards the viewfinder. I don't really want to redrill a hole to move the control and was thinking about trying to build a housing for a LANC controller instead. I've seen a bunch of these on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=21164&item=3864633204&rd=1

I could build a watertight box, but one problem I can see is that they are push buttons. Anyone have a pushbotton control out there that won't "push" when at depth?

If I can't get this to work, I'm thinking of just plugging the control hole in my housing and just starting the camera recording just before the dive.

Thanks,
Tony

 

[drbill]

Ah, the dilemma with dedicated housings. Top Dawg made by Light & Motion and sold by Backscatter in Monterey uses LANC controls operated by magnetic (vs thru-hull) switches. It works with most Sony TR and TRV camcorders as well as the newer Canons. Know you're not looking for a new housing, but that may be a necessity (unless you are much handier than I am!).

Dr. Bill

 

[diversteve]

I have an old video housing that I bought off ebay that is made for the older Sony HI-8mm cameras. Unfortunately, my son broke the camera so I picked up another cheap one off ebay but its a newer improved model. Unfortunately the start/stop button doesn't line up with the controls, the button is about 2" further back towards the viewfinder. I don't really want to redrill a hole to move the control and was thinking about trying to build a housing for a LANC controller instead. I've seen a bunch of these on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=21164&item=3864633204&rd=1

I could build a watertight box, but one problem I can see is that they are push buttons. Anyone have a pushbotton control out there that won't "push" when at depth?

If I can't get this to work, I'm thinking of just plugging the control hole in my housing and just starting the camera recording just before the dive.

Thanks,
Tony

Ikelite sells their control arms, but not their pushbuttons. Are you trying to mount the LANC box externally? It's an interesting idea, I'd seen those LANC controllers before but always thought about disassembling them for the LANC circuit and using some sort of electronic actuation. I'm a big fan of the less intrusions into a housing the better. What housing/camera do you have? Post a picture if possible.

Steve

 

[DiverMo]

Yeah, that's kind of what I was thinking, too. I thought maybe take the controller apart and connect each wire to a sealed toggle switch? You would probably only need two switches - a power on/off and a record on/off. From what I understand, not much zooming goes on underwater. OR, if you did need to zoom - maybe use that for one of the toggles and just power on before you close up the video case. I'm just now finishing up my housing, so I haven't got to this part yet - so tagging along hoping someone has some more input!

 

[diversteve]

Yeah, that's kind of what I was thinking, too. I thought maybe take the controller apart and connect each wire to a sealed toggle switch? You would probably only need two switches - a power on/off and a record on/off. From what I understand, not much zooming goes on underwater. OR, if you did need to zoom - maybe use that for one of the toggles and just power on before you close up the video case. I'm just now finishing up my housing, so I haven't got to this part yet - so tagging along hoping someone has some more input!

Groundhog246 and I have recently been banging around a slightly similar idea on this in the videography forum. Here's a link to the thread:

http://www.scubaboard.com/t83503-.html

I'd thought of taking the top cover off a LANC controller, removing the switches and soldering leads directly to the circuit board in the right places. I'm guessing the LANC controller uses some sort of surface mount technology for the buttons, probably each existing button pushes down on a momentary contact pad on the circuit board itself. Then doing something electro-magnetic for actuation, maybe soldering in reed switches and mounting them to the inside top/side surface of the housing in such a fashion that they could be operated by magnets from the other side.

Then groove the outside of the housing and install hard plastic buttons with magnets glued to their undersides that slide back and forth to activate the reed switches. I'm considering making an aluminum housing so I could just mill grooves into it with a slight chamfer on the inside to retain the buttons(haven't worked this out yet exactly) possibly with some sort of keeper that would have a spring on one end so when you released the button, it moved the magnet away from acting on the reed switch. I've got pictures of an old Gates Seahawk housing that had something similar.

Optimally line up all the reedswitches near each other and embed the whole mess, including the bottom half of the LANC controller in epoxy or silicon sealer. Then mount it to the top of the housing, it would be out of the way and not likely to get damaged during use. Also be waterproof in case it leaked, although that's not my big concern given how cheap the LANC controller is.

Be nice to do it this way as you'd have a housing with a universal LANC controller built in for not much money. I can't see trying to find someone who can design a custom LANC control circuit for me.

my .02

Steve

 

[kramynot2000]

Ikelite sells their control arms, but not their pushbuttons. Are you trying to mount the LANC box externally? It's an interesting idea, I'd seen those LANC controllers before but always thought about disassembling them for the LANC circuit and using some sort of electronic actuation. I'm a big fan of the less intrusions into a housing the better. What housing/camera do you have? Post a picture if possible.

Steve

Steve,

Thanks for the response and posts. I'm not sure which way to approach this and never thought about taking the LANC controller apart and using magnetic switches. I may have to expiriment with that! I don't want to drill any more holes because I want to avoid leaks. I think I'm gonna get one of those controller and start expirimenting.

As for the housing, I'm not sure what brand it is. Its a massive aluminum housing that I got off ebay a while back. The sticker says its rated down to 250' but there are no other markings on it.

Tony

 

[Bob3]

.... Top Dawg made by Light & Motion and sold by Backscatter in Monterey uses LANC controls operated by magnetic (vs thru-hull) switches. It works with most Sony TR and TRV camcorders as well as the newer Canons....

Hey, I have one of those very same housings.
I don't suppose you'd be able to come up with a list of cameras (cheap) that'd fit the thing?
The older Sony I have doesn't have the LANC jack & I have to remove parts of it & turn the critter on for the whole dive. buttpain!

BTW, the LANC control on your camera (standby/record) can be operated with an 1/8" plug with a magnetic reed switch, ya don't need a controller.
Heck, maybe we should just swap housings, if yours fits my camera ...

 

[kramynot2000]

BTW, the LANC control on your camera (standby/record) can be operated with an 1/8" plug with a magnetic reed switch, ya don't need a controller.

Really? That's really the only control I really want.

So I don't really know much about magnetic reed switches. Can anyone recommend a switch to use? I did a quick google search and came up with alot of hits.

 

[diversteve]

Really? That's really the only control I really want.

So I don't really know much about magnetic reed switches. Can anyone recommend a switch to use? I did a quick google search and came up with alot of hits.

Not having any personal experience with this company, I kind of like the look of these:

http://www.reedswitchdevelopments.com/productcatalog.html

Since they're packaged in plastic housings they'd be much more durable than the glass tube ones. In fact the only reason I mentioned epoxying the whole mess together in my previous post was to protect the glass tubes, I think this is a far better way to go. I've held glass-tube reed switches, they're pretty delicate.

Although now that I think about it, Alarm system magnetic contact switches are basically the same thing. The only concern with them would be how effective they function separated by the housing wall, most alarm systems I've seen mount the magnet right next to the switch. Be easy to test though, Radio shack sells them.

Steve

 

[Bob3]

My housing is a couple thousand miles away or I'd check to see what type of switch it is, I don't know if it needs to be kept in the closed position all the time or not.
You might want to check with the folks in the photo forum, maybe they'd have a better idea.