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Step 3Hack the Camera Part I (Solder Into The Switches)
This is the hardest part of the hack - but it's not *that* hard, I swear. So take a deep breath and let's get soldering!
For this hack, we will be leaving the camera circuit board entirely intact. All we will be doing is soldering our own connections into the circuit board on either side of the push button switches used to operate the camera. This allows us to use our Arduino to digitally "push down" on each button whenever we wish (via external transistors acting as switches).
When handling the circuit board, try to handle it by its edges whenever possible. The circuit board is fairly sturdy, but at the end of the day it is still exposed electronics, and it's worth not touching it directly any more than necessary.
Cut and strip the ends of four pieces of wire, each at least a foot in length. (Better longer than shorter in this case; this isn't something you'll want to redo too often.) Then, look at the two pairs of solder joints pointed out in the picture below, one pair around each of the two pushbutton switches. Using the continuity/short circuit function on your multimeter, you can confirm you've found the right pairs of joints to solder into by holding the ends to both switch joints and pressing the button manually to see if that creates a short between the joints. If it does (the resistance between the two drops from infinity to close to zero) you've found the right two. If you don't have a multimeter, you can just take a deep breath and trust the picture.
Once you're sure you've found the right joints, using your soldering iron, melt the solder at each of these four joints and attach an end of one of the four wire pieces into each of the four joints. If you have a helping hand on your soldering setup, by all means use it to hold your circuit steady (placing a small, folded piece of newspaper between the clamps to protect the circuit board.)
For this hack, we will be leaving the camera circuit board entirely intact. All we will be doing is soldering our own connections into the circuit board on either side of the push button switches used to operate the camera. This allows us to use our Arduino to digitally "push down" on each button whenever we wish (via external transistors acting as switches).
When handling the circuit board, try to handle it by its edges whenever possible. The circuit board is fairly sturdy, but at the end of the day it is still exposed electronics, and it's worth not touching it directly any more than necessary.
Cut and strip the ends of four pieces of wire, each at least a foot in length. (Better longer than shorter in this case; this isn't something you'll want to redo too often.) Then, look at the two pairs of solder joints pointed out in the picture below, one pair around each of the two pushbutton switches. Using the continuity/short circuit function on your multimeter, you can confirm you've found the right pairs of joints to solder into by holding the ends to both switch joints and pressing the button manually to see if that creates a short between the joints. If it does (the resistance between the two drops from infinity to close to zero) you've found the right two. If you don't have a multimeter, you can just take a deep breath and trust the picture.
Once you're sure you've found the right joints, using your soldering iron, melt the solder at each of these four joints and attach an end of one of the four wire pieces into each of the four joints. If you have a helping hand on your soldering setup, by all means use it to hold your circuit steady (placing a small, folded piece of newspaper between the clamps to protect the circuit board.)
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