[grassle]

Hello, fellow modders!

Dell has a nice 2 MP webcam for the Inspiron 1526 (possibly also used in the 1420 and 1720) that fits into the Mini 9 if the WLAN antennas are moved a little to the corners. See thumbnail.

It is UVC compliant and it works in

• Windows, using the Dell drivers (driver download R168730 from the Dell support site) -- I tested it with XP professional.
• Linux -- I tested it with Mint.
• Mac OS X -- you need Macam, although not official, Macam works also under Snow Leopard if the Macam Plugin is placed not only in the appropriate subfolder in /Library/ but also in /Users/<YourUsername/Library/.

All you need to do is:

• Get the cam.
  The Dell part number is NN784. Note: the cam for the Inpiron 1525 appears identical except that its connector is extremely small. If you don't have a matching cable & plug for it, it's going to be a real challenge.
  Or go for second hand (I got mine for $17 incl shipping!). Data to google are:
  Laptop Integrated Webcam
  Product-ID: 0x2640
  Manufacturer-ID: 0x05a9 (OmniVision Technologies, Inc.)
  Version: 1.00
  Manufacturer: OmniVision Technologies, Inc. -2640-07.07.20.3
  Dell Inspiron 1526 2.0MP Webcam Web Cam Camera NN784
  
• Re-wire the plug on the Mini 9 webcam cable.
  From camera board end to center the pins are:
  GND -- Data -- Data -- Vcc -- four more (for the built-in microphone?)
  The first four are for the cam, they are standard USB (I tried them soldered to a standard USB A plug -- worked); they go to the Mini 9 cable colors (In the same order)
  Orange -- Red -- Brown -- Black
  Which is in standard USB color code:
  Black -- Green -- White -- Red
  The yellow wire is not required for this webcam to work, I left it unused. (On a Sony webcam I tested it connected to a pin labelled "HK" and the cam worked in the Mini 9.)
  
• Make room.
  The new webcam is about 1mm thicker than the original Mini 9 webcam. Behind the shild foil that's in the lid behind the webam are a few tiny plastic ribs that keep the original cam at the right angle. Just whittle them off, and also any other protruding plastic nipples in the way. No problems, the new cam will fit in nicely.
  
• Put the camera in place.
  Double sided tape, maybe with a thin soft foam layer, is great.
  Before finally pressing it in firmly, hold the bezel in place to check that the camera eye is centered in its whole.
  
• That's all.

If you find out the wiring for the stereo microphone that's on the camera board PLEASE LET ME KNOW!

Enjoy the great image!
grassle

[reflex]

Thanks for the info.

[AaronASB]

This should def be listed on the list of hardware mods thread.

Great hack, congrats. Love it.

How is the new webcam lux wise compared to 1.3mp?

[grassle]

Well, I'm not sure what you mean by lux wise, and I have no 1.3 cam at hand. But maybe the attached pics will give you an impression. They were taken from Windows XP professional Workplace without any extra camera software.

One was taken on a cloudy afternoon, the other later in that evening, both in daylight.
Upper left = 2.0 mp cam, upper right = a Sony 0.3 mp cam, lower right = Dell 0.3 mp from a mini 9.

Note that the latter is better in low light conditions, while the Sony cam gives a generally smoother image. Also the Sony cam can be controlled with software like ManyCam for an even much better image, it uses some other protocol than the Dell cams.

[AaronASB]

Originally Posted by grassle

Well, I'm not sure what you mean by lux wise, and I have no 1.3 cam at hand. But maybe the attached pics will give you an impression. They were taken from Windows XP professional Workplace without any extra camera software.

One was taken on a cloudy afternoon, the other later in that evening, both in daylight.
Upper left = 2.0 mp cam, upper right = a Sony 0.3 mp cam, lower right = Dell 0.3 mp from a mini 9.

Note that the latter is better in low light conditions, while the Sony cam gives a generally smoother image. Also the Sony cam can be controlled with software like ManyCam for an even much better image, it uses some other protocol than the Dell cams.

Both 0.3 cams are on eBay right now.

Lux is a measurement of visible light to a ccd.

Here are a quantity of the units for $8.98 Dell Inspiron 1525/1526 Web Camera NN784 - eBay (item 370301295365 end time Oct-29-10 14:04:19 PDT) for anyone who's interested.

[grassle]

Looks like a good offer.

[syber3m3]

hey im new to the site i noticed you used a inspiron 1525 web cam im looking for the wire colors that are on the pc plug end im trying to add a internal web cam from a hp and the plugs are different any help would be great

[grassle]

No, I used the 1526 not 1525 webcam. Also I didn't have the original cable, only the cam. I had to use some tricks to find the connection of the cam part, the mic ones are still a mystery to me.

[brett89]

I bought a 1525 webcam with cord, and attached it with the matching colors, could I get a picture of the wiring setup? Thanks.

[grassle]

Well, I'd have to disassemble the thing for pics. Will do for you, but only as last resort.

I think (no guarantee, though! -- no risk, no hacking fun!) from the fumbling around (officially known as 'testing') that the 1525 has the same order of pins as my 1526, and that the only difference is in pin/connector size.

You could try and wire an external USB plug to the wires that connect to the outer four pins:

From camera board end to center the pins are:
GND -- Data -- Data -- Vcc -- four more (for the built-in microphone?)
The first four are for the cam, they are standard USB (I tried them soldered to a standard USB A plug -- worked);...

they go to the USB plug (standard USB color code, same order): *

Black -- Green -- White -- Red

If that works, connect them to the M9 cable:

... they go to the Mini 9 cable colors (In the same order)
Orange -- Red -- Brown -- Black

* To be on the safe side, test whether it is really Red really that has +5V. There are non-standard cables around and the voltage on the wrong pin may fry a chip.

Good luck!
g