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Old 12-26-2008, 01:39 AM   #1
lfw
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Backup camera

I have a securty camera mounted on my ladder I use for a backup camera. It works great.. It runs on 8 volts 200ma.. right now I have an inverter hooked to a 12 volt supply and the 110 power supply pluged into the inverter. Does anyone know how what I need to do to reduce the 12 volt down to 8 volt so I can remover the inverter? I think I will have to put some type of resistor in the positive side of the 12 volt line going to the camera.
Any suggestions would be helpful.
 
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Old 12-26-2008, 05:06 AM   #2
Steve and Brenda
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So if I get this right you're running an AC source from your rig's battery to power up the camera's power supply which takes the AC power and makes the necessary 8 volts DC, and you're looking for a voltage regulator that makes the rig's available 12 volts DC into the 8 volts DC, correct?

If you have any experience with soldering you might wanna consider a kit. A resistor only drops the input voltage by a fixed value so voltage spikes and drops would potentially cause damage to your camera. A regulator provides your 8 VDC regardless of input voltage and your 200mA draw means that the regulator does not need to be beefy.

Or you can get one of this type of DC-DC converter - http://www.powerstream.com/dc2.htm - model number PST-DC292 and set it for a common voltage rating of 7.5 VDC. Not the best solution but it should fit your needs if you keep the converter in a dry place, fuse properly and weatherproof your connections.
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Old 12-26-2008, 06:48 AM   #3
H. John Kohl
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Yes you can put a circuit in line that drops the voltage down to 8 Volts. This link starts the journey to building the circuit.
I do not have all me electronic books to build it right now. There are other options but the zener diode it the the most stable, I believe.
Good luck.
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Old 12-26-2008, 08:31 AM   #4
Dave e Victoria
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John Kohl is on the right track. You could probably make the whole thing using wire nuts to avoid soldering. Most Radio shacks should have the parts you need. The zener diode should have an 8 volt zener voltage. The resistor needs to be calculated from the current draw of your camera. You are starting with a source voltage of 13.8 volts (not the 12 volts we like to think of) You will drop 5.8 volts. Take the specified current rating of your camera and add about 30% to cover variations due to temperature and so on and to allow for lower than normal source voltage.. Divide this into the 5.8 volts to get the resistor size.

For example: suppose your camera current is 150 ma (thats 0.150 amps)
divide 5.8 volts by 0.150x1.3
That gives us 29.7 ohms. So, we will use a 30 ohm resistor. The resistor should have a 1 or 2 watt rating.
The 8 volt zener needs a current rating of 100 ma or greater.

Have fun,
Dave
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Old 12-26-2008, 11:27 AM   #5
SlickWillie
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Why not try something like this. I have one similar to this back home. Not sure what voltages the one in the link adjust too, but I'm sure there is one out there that will get the 8 volts you need. Merely wire in a lighter plug and plug her in!
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Old 12-26-2008, 11:57 AM   #6
lfw
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Steve and Brenda .. that is correct.
All of you guys are sure giving me a lot of usefull information. It is all greatly appreciated for sure.. It gives me several ways to go. Looks like I will have a lot of reading and research in the near future to do...
lfw
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