Model 510 hacking
well, I'm stuck here with a 510 I accidentally got, since I didn't do the research prior to stumbling upon a CVS... However, I'm not even able to replicate others' success at getting the camera powered over the USB :( Any ideas? What info should I provide? So far, I have attempted to solder a 10-wire cable directly to the camera's terminals-- not totally sure that the bottom 3 pins aren't soldered to each other, but that shouldn't affect the power (5-6 from the bottom, right?)

Does this not work or has anyone here tried this? http://webpages.charter.net/tvickers89/PV2mods.htm

different model

OK, FOR THE LAST TIME. All the camcorders can be hacked. The only camcorder that cannot be hacked is the M100. Chances of getting one are very slim, and if you do, a lot of people here are willing to buy one. All still cameras (PV2's) can be hacked EXCEPT the M510. If you want to put your efforts into fooling around/trying to hack it, go right on ahead. Nobody has succesfully made any kind of USB connection and it doesn't really seem worth hacking. I'm sure you can power the camera on via yUSB, but the pinout is probably differnet, so use a multimeter. I know GotAnMp3 has made a pinout.

510
I have about 10 of them, they were recycled. I'd like to see them hacked. I'd give up a few towards the effort.

Getting a model 510 camera isn't the challenge... getting any kind of clue about it's new interface is the challenge. The model 510's seem less interesting to hack since the other cameras produce better images. But, once the other cameras are totally gone from the shelves - which seems to be the trend - then the model 510 will be interesting I imagine. If you have a bunch of 510's, have you considered sacrificing one to make a schematic? I'm not sure if that'll help any though... :roll:

510
Sure, Where do I start...

Hmmm... I've never really done that myself. I've made schematics of stuff by looking at the traces with components present - but I've never had the luxury of ripping all the components off. Well - "ripping" is much too strong a word. Replace that with "carefully desolder" - which seems obvious for most components. However, that's not obvious (to me) for the new custom PDT chip where all the solder is on the bottom (BGA?). Hopefully some of the other hardware hackers will chime in here with suggestions. The 2nd thing I don't know is - what's the best way to record all of this? If you are a circuit board designer by trade then I suppose you just fire up your usual application and start entering information for the schematic. A while ago I found a free application named TinyCAD which claimed (from the website) to be able to do schematics - maybe that would work? Anyone? The last "challenge" I can think of right now is that the circuit board could have internal circuitry layers. You can visually trace circuits on the top and bottom - but I'm not sure how one traces the internal layers. X-Rays? Some way to delaminate the board while leaving traces in place? Or, maybe someone can visually rule out this situation. When the camcorder first came out, someone made a schematic for it. Find the thread, find the person and maybe they'll have good info!