Go Postal: Make this Greeting Card with a Built-In Camera & Display for Pen Pal Fun
So, you went ahead and, against your better judgement, purchased a Kodak Charmera. Now, it sits inside a drawer somewhere and you wish that there was something that you could do with it.
Well, wish no more; the answer to your misfortune is about to become the subject of a fun project that will bring joy of your closest friends. Furthermore, you’re going to enlist the resources of your local postal service to deliver this bundle of bliss to your friends.
The Kodak Charmera is the centerpiece of this delightful delivery. In a nutshell, the inner workings of the Charmera are going to be repurposed into a visual message displayed inside a greeting card. Once mailed to your fave pen pal, the receiver will open the letter and actually watch your greeting unfold on the tiny LCD screen.
Plan now for your Christmas cards, a new viral trend could be emerging!
Give the Gift of a Charmed Card
Your upcoming postal adventure starts with the opening up of the Kodak Charmera. Lacking any obvious fasteners, this task looks formidable. Luckily, there is a dead simple way to open the Charmera. Just look for the thin seam that runs around the length of the toy camera. Carefully, slip the blade of a hobby knife along this seam at one of the corners and exert a steady, but careful prying action.
A large gap will appear and a slight click will be heard. The click is the sound of a small clip being disengaged. Continue running the knife blade along the remainder of the seam and several more clips will be separated from the camera’s body.
Congrats; the Charmera is now open. You’ll notice that the camera’s back is held in place by a thin ribbon cable that connects the LCD to the main printed circuit board (PCB). This cable is attached to the PCB by a white connector.
This connector has a hinged black clamp on its top. Carefully, use your knife blade to pry this clamp up and slip the ribbon cable out. Set the camera back aside and remove the two screws that hold the PCB to the front plastic body.
The front camera has a black ribbon cable that is attached to another white connector. This connector, however, has a sliding clamp with two black knobs on each side of the connector. Again, carefully, slide this clamp away from the connector and release the camera’s ribbon cable.
The PCB can now be removed from the Chamera front body. Likewise, the camera can be popped out of the front body lens holder.
The LCD is removed from the back body by carefully prying the plastic frame off the camera. This frame is on the OUTSIDE of the camera back body shell. Just slip your knife blade under one of the sides of this frame and pry it off. The LCD panel can now be removed from the back body.
You’ve Got Mail
Grab your greeting card, open it up, and lay the three assemblies on the inside paper flap. It’s time to check your disassembly and ensure that everything still works properly.
Reattach the LCD panel and camera to the PCB. Hold down the ON/OFF button and wait for the Kodak logo to appear. Take a photograph of yourself and turn OFF the card/camera.
Postal regulations have specifically-defined restrictions regarding the shipping of a DIY battery-operated contraption like this greeting card. Therefore, the LiPo (lithium polymer) battery should be removed and recycled. Snip the battery’s red and black leads off and carefully tape the rest of the camera’s circuitry to the card.
Add some helpful labels and a greeting and the card is ready for mailing. But how will the recipient be able to view the visual greeting with the battery now removed, you ask?
A AAA-battery holder with leads can be purchased and mailed along with the card. Upon receipt, your pen pal just needs to insert three batteries into the holder, tape the holder’s red and black leads onto the Charmera’s red and black battery leads, power ON the device, and enjoy your visual message.
[Please note: some plastic insulation must be removed from the Charmera’s red and black battery leads for ensuring a good power contact between the battery holder and the greeting card.]
In spite of today’s instant messaging and video messaging services, there is still room for plenty of excitement when receiving a digital message that’s inside a distinctly analog letter. Imagine, a camera/display embedded inside a pen pal letter. Now that’s social media fun!
A long term postal card exchange featuring visual messages can be shared back-and-forth between your pen pal and yourself. This “charmed” letter writing campaign will finally make that errant Kodak Chamera purchase worthwhile.
Enjoy.