Modifying WebCam to get Composite Video

[Andy H.]

Is there any way to modify the CCD module in a webcam to output a
composite video signal (NTSC hopefully)? I know most of these cameras
process the video directly to the USB signal, but are there any
commercial available chips/kits that I can interface with the CCD to
give me the desired output?


Thanks.

 

[Michael Black]

Is there any way to modify the CCD module in a webcam to output a
composite video signal (NTSC hopefully)? I know most of these cameras
process the video directly to the USB signal, but are there any
commercial available chips/kits that I can interface with the CCD to
give me the desired output?


Thanks.

You buy a digital camera, one with TV output.

Or you get a video card that has TV output, then use the webcam with
the computer and feed the TV from the video card.

There is no reason at all that a webcam would output any kind of
standard video. It's just wasteful circuitry, given that the
computer needs a digital signal.

Michael

 

[Andy H.]

Like I said in my previous post, I'm aware that most of the cameras
just process the digital signal out to the USB interface. I'm
wondering if there are schematics, kits, etc. that can be interfaced
to the CCD module to provide the output that I want.

The reason that I ask is that I would like to take out the crappy CCD
module supplied inside those cheap, imported, 2.4GHz wireless video
units, and replace it with a higher quality one from a webcam. These
cheap video units have a separate Tx board attached to the main CCD
board and it would be fairly trivial to switch them out assuming the
same output format (analog video). Using the CCD from a webcam is
MUCH cheaper that buying some of the commercial solutions (~$300).

This camera will be mounted on my RC plane, so I'm looking to put a
little effort into making a cheaply replaced unit (<$100), in case I
crash the damn thing. Also, hacking harware is fun too.

 

[Andy H.]

Well, it looks like the Logitech 3000 and 4000 both use a SONY
ICX098BQ CCD module. From the data sheet
(http://www.unibrain.com/download/pdfs/ICX098BQ.pdf), it appears that
this particular module can be set to 'monitoring mode' and output an
NTSC signal (WOOHOO!!). I'll let you guys know if I actually get it
to work.