What you will need to Start

  • 1 x Plastic Enclosure 150mm x 80mm x 25mm  (6" x 3" x 1") You can really use just about any plastic box from an electronics shop but the size mentioned is called an instrument case ..any enclosure with a lid will work!!
  • 1 x 12v Li-Ion CCTV Battery These are available on eBay from under $15 for the 4800ma battery up to around $39 for the 9600mah battery ..just search for CCTV Battery (the one used here is the 6800mah)
  • Electronic Components as listed below  These will be used to make the voltage regulator and optional led battery monitor (skip the monitor list if you don't need it!!)
    • Component List for the Voltage Regulator (you will need this to adjust the output to suit your camcorder)
    • 1 x small piece of VeroBoard (predrilled printed circuit board) (buy a small piece as you are only using a couple of square inches!!)
    • 1 x Voltage Regulator IC Type LM350T  (if you have a small camera you can get by with the LM317T but the price difference is minimal!!!)
    • 1 x 240 ohm 1/2watt resistor
    • 1 x 2K ohm potentiometer (circuit board mount)
    • 1 x 0.1uf ceramic capacitor
    • 1 x 1uf electrolytic capacitor
    • 1 x TO220 metal heat sink
    •    
    • Component List for  the LED Battery Monitor (this is optional and only needed if you want indication of the battery state) This will also need some Veroboard but you will have plenty left from the voltage regulator!!
    • 2 x 3mm LED's (one green and one red)
    • 2 x transistors type BC547 or similar
    • 2 x resistors 1K ohm 1/2watt
    • 2 x resistors 3.3K ohm 1/2watt
    • 1 x resistor 100k ohm 1/2watt
    • 1 x diode 1N4148
    • 1 x Zener diode 10volt type BZX79C10 or similar
  • Extras needed  If you would like to add an on/off switch to your pack use any small slide switch. You will need a soldering iron, some thin solder to assemble the little boards and some side cutters to trim the wires. You will also need a few lengths of thin red and black cable (couple of feet will be more than enough or just steal some from the inside panel of an old computer like I did!!)  Don't worry too much if you cannot understand the terminology of some of the electric parts. Just print out the page and an electronics parts store will know what to give you (like Radio Shack or similar)

You will also need the following tools to do the job :

  • Hacksaw
  • Screwdriver
  • Portable Drilling Machine and some drill bits
  • A hot glue gun and some glue sticks or a tube of epoxy resin
  • Soldering Iron (small pencil tip one) and some solder
  • A digital Voltmeter (you can even borrow one as it's just to set the regulator voltage for your particular camera!!)

 

Back to the previous Page                          STEP 2 - Let's start on the Voltage Regulator