Modifying my Mini 0806...???

[givmedew]

Hi guys,

So I'm not the kind of guy who shy's away from modifying things. This thing gets hot and the cards get really hot!!! I was wondering if anyone has modified these at all to increase the cooling ability? I wouldn't mind hacking into the thing and modifying the case to put in a custom heat sink that came out of the device... I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't use thermal paste either (although they probably did) so I would at a minimum like to remove the sink replace the TIM (if it exists) with the liquid metal stuff from Coolabs and then chop away some of the case to allow more air flow.

Also how much better focus can be had? I heard the focus could be adjusted internally...

 

[Nigel]

If your 0806 is getting hot without the help of the sun then there is a problem, it should be about 15 degrees C above ambient air temperature. If the sun is shining directly on it then no heat sink will keep it cool.

I wouldn't touch the cooling, it has been well tested and should work fine with 60 degree air temperature as long as there isn't sun as well, at that temperature it will be the battery that fails, not the processor etc.

Looking at your image on the other thread, it does appear to be focused slightly far, if that is at normal temperature then you might find it worth adjusting. Check that the glass etc. is clean first though.

 

[givmedew]

Thanks,

It is directly in the sun... my iphone will actually shut off in this car if it is anywhere above and forward of the steering wheel! That said the camera has only done something weird that I might relate to heat 1 time and that was a beeping noise the didn't stop till unplugged and the battery died.

As to the battery failing... I thought this thing had a super capacitor... am I wrong? If it isn't a capacitor its pretty bogus! My camera stays on for about 1 minute before it says the battery is dead and shuts down. Been like that since day 1 out of the box so not a heat issue.

 

[jokiin]

it has a battery, not a capacitor

 

[Nigel]

If you live somewhere hot then I suggest you give it some sort of sunshield, if it is in shade then it can be nearly 20 degrees C cooler than if it is in direct sun and then the battery will have a much longer life. You should get more than 1 minute from the battery though, if it is actually getting hot while in shade then you may have a faulty battery. A good, brand new and fully charged one can get 15 minutes record time although there is a fair amount of variation and 10 minutes would be perfectly acceptable, that time will get shorter with use, you only need a few seconds for the camera to be operational.