The Dummy CCTV

I got this 'thing' while I was in Pasar Road in the morning. This is one of those dummy CCTV cameras which, as far as I am concerned, a cross between a novelty toy and well, a joke. So, in my own snobbish way, I completely ignore this abomination to the point, if it was just in front of me, I would not even notice it.

Then it all changed when I was discussing with rayloke of ICW. He is quite imaginative when it comes to securing resources and creating solutions to an otherwise complex and wall-banging problems. And so, for my project, the dummy CCTV was the only solution. Its cheap, salvageable and also fits my requirement.

After searching for more than a year,
I have found it. The good news is that
it costs half the price on what rayloke
told me last year.

Opening the box, these are the contents to the
dummy. You need a screwdriver to mount the
dummy to the stand. Whether its a tongue in
cheek or as a serious thought, the manufacturer
also supplied some screws and wall mounts in
case you really need to install it onto a wall....

Gently is the word when you unscrew the screw
to mount the dummy. As this is a MIC product,
you know that the plastic is brittle to the point
of cracking. See the small black part through
the slots? This is the 'magic' part which made
the whole thing move.

The dummy takes three AA batteries and I broke the
screw mounts under the battery case here. But not to
worry as I don't need them for my project.

Oh, for my dummy, the neck joint
between the base and the mount
is very weak even though it has a
clickable joint. With the weight of
the batteries, any slight bump will
make the dummy droop.

OK, once I switched it on, the camera will
start to swing at about 45º. I think if I do
enlarge the black disc, it might even swing
more. What is so clever about this is that
it has a light sensor located opposite the
red LED. As soon as it sense a change in
the lighting, it will start to move for a few
seconds before stopping.
(Actually, it detects light and not motion)

OK, fun's over. Now, lets open it up.
Remember the thick white 'wire' that comes out from the dummy and disappears into the stand? Well, fret not because that wire is a dummy too. Look closely at the photo below and at the bottom left of the picture, you will see how that wire was terminated. Anyway, the picture below is what you will see once you remove that fragile wobbly battery holder. After looking at it, I think its better that I do not do tinker much in this area. Not because I am afraid of screwing it up, but just look at the two plastic pillars in the middle of the picture. They are the ones holding hte battery compartment earlier, and have cracked when I screwed it back, even with the smallest amount of pressure. So, If I were to touch it even further, its going to be in pieces. Also, look at the bottm right of the picture, which houses a small little circuit board. This is the brains of the whole dummy.

As soon as it sense the change in the light dependent resistor (top left), it will start the motor and also blink the red LED (top right) for a few seconds. The problem is how to turn this to an advantage when you place the thing in a bright room?

At the bottom of the box, you can see a
set of holes, which is meant for a speaker.
Maybe there was another model which'll
talk or make beeping sounds... now, that
would really make it corny.

Already, I have ideas for the 'lens'

And this is the light dependent resistor sensor,
which for my project, will be relocated to another
place.

So, this is a wonderful surprise for me and I am ready to implement this for my project. It will be very exciting and unique indeed. That is, once I have the time or opportunity to do this. Until then, its going to the 'to-do' shelf...