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Re: Microneye software, where?



On Fri, 21 Nov 2008, zzjoki@gmail.com wrote:

On Nov 14, 6:11 pm, "Michael J. Mahon" <mjma...@aol.com> wrote:
Toinet wrote:
Dear All,

I own a Microneye camera but I lack its software. I would like to know
whether some of you could provide me with a link to download it.

A search among the archive of csa2 brought me to several threads and
links but all return in error.

I thank you in advance for your help.

Wasn't that the de-capped DRAM chip adapted for use as a camera
(from back when CCDs were very expensive)?

Circuit Cellar (Byte Magazine) ran an article on it, IIRC, but
the principle should be:

1. Write all 1's (or all 0's) to the DRAM,
2. Wait for the desired exposure time,
3. Read back the DRAM--any differences are proportional
    to the received illumination.

The relationship between address and the image geometry
will need to be determined empirically.

-michael

******** Note new website URL ********

NadaNet and AppleCrate II for Apple II parallel computing!
Home page:  http://home.comcast.net/~mjmahon/

"The wastebasket is our most important design
tool--and it's seriously underused."

Yep, it's a de-capped RAM chip. Wouldn't there be a threshold per bit
- no "proportional"? Or maybe you could scan at different exposure
times to assemble a gray scale image.

Does anyone know if capped non-Micron RAM chips also be used this way?
(I've got a box of "iffy" capped RAM chips)

Just after the Altair 8800 was in Popular Electrnics, Roger Melen and
Harry Garland had a simple digital camera in the same magazine.  I can't
remember the name, but apparently it was originally more standalone
and then was reworked after the Altair came out so it could be
interfaced to the bus.  It used a RAM IC, and was very low resolution.
There were various other articles in the magazines about doing the same
thing.

Some attempts at such things with a "special part" seemed likely to be
someone doing some presorting, using RAM, getting the top off, and
making sure it worked.

ANd that was a key thing, that one in PE used an IC that came in a ceramic and metal package, so the chip was accessible by pulling the metal off.
It was still common at that point, we're talking something like a 256bit
RAM.

Later RAM becomes problematic because one has to grind plastic to expose
the chip.

   Michael