In our battle to keep crows and pheasants out of our garden, we've taken things to a new level. A large apple tree obscures a view of the garden from our bedroom window - we can hear them crows calling from the trees, but can't see if they are on the ground.
A few years ago I modified a cheap wireless video camera (www.x10.com) to boost the power and extend the battery life. Now we can put the camera in the garden, and monitor the garden with my head still on the pillow from bed using my TV and remote control! And, the cameras have night vision for deer!
The cameras typically use 4 'AA' batteries and last about 2-3 hours of video. So... instead I took a cheap 6V waterproof flashlight, simply removed the bulb and drilled a small hole on the side of the lense (not in the glass!) and wired the camera power to the 6V of the flashlight. A power jack in the side of the flashlight makes a quick connection, too!
Pushing the flashlight button powers on the camera, and it will last about 14 hours. I just place the flashlight where I can see the garden and the rest is easy.
Now, if you've been paying attention over the last few weeks of blog postings, you might see where this hack and the airsoft gun hack could have fun potential... right? How about mounting the video camera to the scope of the airsoft gun - to see where the airsoft is aimed at. Power the airsoft trigger puller from the same flashlight, and we could remotely defend our garden. Now to come up with a simple movable base for moving the gun around...
