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Ham Radio

Jackson Hamfest

[Today’s run: rest day]

No run yesterday or today.

Yesterday we got up before the chickens and drove the old F-150 down to Jackson, MS with stuff to sell at the hamfest.

We had a good day and got rid of a lot of stuff.  There are always a few wheeler-dealer guys who buy my stuff and then display it for sale on their own table.  I got my $$, so I’m not distressed about it, but I find it kind of humorous.  I guess that is how commerce works!

Anyway, I got rid of:  TS-830, National NCX-5, dsPIC development board, 8051 development boards, Polarad satellite band signal generators (2), 3-com network switches (2), box of 1940’s era radio magazines, HP analog RMS volt meter (which I had paid too much for at an online auction), some parts of mobile radios.

And I bought a few things.  I bought some UHF connectors and a few crimp-BNCs which may be a wrong size ferrule (we’ll find out), and two analog video cameras.

Since arriving back home I have been able to determine some info about the video cameras.

Then are labled, “Kustom Signals, Inc” and EVI-400.  They are a repackaged Sony EVI-400 camera. They have zoom and autofocus. The connector is an 8-pin jobbie.  I was able to cut down a computer ribbon cable to 2×4 and that fit fine.

Kustom Signals camera connector

Signals / pins :

  1. V++  (goes into an 8 volt three-terminal regulator)
  2. Serial TxD (connector CN204 pin 1)
  3. Ground
  4. Serial RxD (connector CN204 pin 4)
  5. foward facing LED  (ground pin to light LED)
  6. Serial DTR (connector CN204 pin 2)
  7. Serial DSR (conector CN204 pin 3)
  8. composite video output

The guy sold me two of these cameras for $15 and both appear to work.  I have not tried to talk to their serial communications lines yet.  They use a protocol called VISCA and I have some work to do in that area.  I will have to figure that out if I want to use the zoom feature.

Kustom Signals Inc has a website and appears to focus on police and public safety market.  I’m thinking these were probably in-police-car video.  Who knows, maybe the video from one of these cameras appeared on “COPS” or something.