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Dave Chameides

Make Magazine: Hacking Your Way To Sustainability!

posted by Dave Chameides Jul 7, 2009 9:05 am
filed under: Conscious Consumer, Healthy Home, Reduce, Recycle & Reuse, Sustainable Dave, , ,
Make Magazine: Hacking Your Way To Sustainability!
19 comments

I have a little digital camera that takes stills and video that I’ve been using for about a year or so that’s really great. It’s small (about 1″x3″x2″) and is extremely fast, sharp, and has a ton of features that I use but not so many that I get confused. Now I know that regular readers are scratching their heads right now saying “he’s talking about stuff, why is he talking about stuff?” but read on, I’m headed somewhere with this.

A few months back I was snapping some pics and I noticed a spot in the lower right hand corner of each picture. I took a good look at the lens and cleaned it pretty well, snapped a few more, and there was that darn spot, slightly out of focus and in exactly the same place.

I brought it into work with me the next day (I make my living in the film industry as a camera operator) and we decided that there must be something on the little chip that records the image inside the camera. How anything could have gotten inside one of these little buggers is beyond me, but I became more and more convinced that this made sense.

I called the company (whose name shall remain cloaked for purposes of this article) and was told that they would look at it for $75 and if they could fix it, it would end up costing between $150 and $200! Unreal. New, the camera costs about that much, and a quick search of craigslist revealed that I could pick up the same model, used but in good condition, for less than $100.

I hung up the phone, thought about it for a few minutes, and decided to do the unthinkable. I got out my trusty set of mini screw drivers, and I took the thing apart.

Now I know what a lot of you are thinking and truthfully, I never thought I’d really get everything apart in the first place (it always seems like you get three of the four screws out and the fourth won’t budge in any given area) but believe it or not I did. I took the whole darned thing apart, down to the lens, and wouldn’t ya know it, sitting on the chip was a big old piece of lint. I aired it off, carefully put everything back together, and (with the slight exception of a screwdriver wedge mark on the casing where I got a bit overzealous) it works and looks like new. And the pictures are great.

I wish I could have taken a shot of it sitting in pieces to post up here, but alas, my camera wasn’t exactly snapping away at the time.

So why am I writing about this? I bring this up not for a pat on the back or great huzzah from everyone (I’ll take it if you’re offering though) but out of frustration. It used to be that things were made to be taken apart, to be tinkered with, to be fixed by the lay-person, and yes, even to be made better. But with the miniaturization of everything, and with companies not wanting you to do the fixing but instead to send it in, or better yet, just buy a new one, it seems as if those days are long gone.

But fear not, frustrated tinkerers of days gone by, Make is here! The site (and printed zine) offers a plethora of information for those of us who refuse to sit idly by. In fact their motto is “If you can’t hack it, you don’t own it”–I love that.

A recent perusal offered up such tidbits as how to make a soda can solar panel, how to make a wireless power monitor for your house, and even a piece on a couple in Wales who built their house into the side of a hill for next to nothing!

The main reason that I love Make, and the Makers (that’s what they call themselves) who post up on the site though, is that it speaks to the heart of what the sustainability movement should be about. How do we take what we have, use it smarter, and make it better. How do we do more with less? Why buy something new when you can make it from two other things you have?

Of course, I’m not going to try and convince anyone that making an electric cat feeder out of my old VCR is going to save the world. But then again, who knows what ideas I’ll come up with as I start slapping those gears together and making it work. The answers may be just a hack away.

 

Maker Workshop - VCR Cat Feeder from make magazine on Vimeo.

Dave Chameides is a filmmaker and environmental educator. His website and newsletter are designed to inspire thought and dialogue on environmental solutions and revolve around the idea that no one can do everything, but everyone can do something. “Give people the facts, and they’ll choose to do the right thing.”

More on Conscious Consumer (50 articles available)
More from Dave Chameides (63 articles available)

19 comments

19 comments

add your comment »
19 comments add your comment
Desiree Y.

Huzzah!!

Gershon M.

DEAR Dave Chameides AND ALL...
I ALSO HAD THE SAME EXPERIENCE WITH MY PELEPHONE WHEN IT STOPPED THE VIBRATIONS FOR A CALL COMING IN... I OPENED IT AND DUSTED IT OUT...
BEST WISHES...
GERSHON...


Kelly c.

Hi David - thanks for your insightful article!

I would like to know more about cooking oil and algae as recyclable fuels for energy/electricity. I would also learn more about real examples of solar-powered homes/offices, and about "energy auditing". Where can consumers get biodegradable boxes, etc online without headaches, etc.

Heard from a friend who spent a lot on home renovations etc only to find out later, the changes in his home is not going to help him save utility bills!

Hope you like my suggestions - it would help greatly if you could dig anything up for a more eco-friendly and pocket-friendly sustainable living. THANK YOU in ADVANCE, David!

LR Stuckey

I think the bottom line is that manufacturers make more profit selling unrepairable products. Probably back when most products were meant to be repaired and used for many years, some people who didn't have the time or skills to fix their broken stuff just tossed it. And maybe they even bragged that they did, since it connotes affluence. I think you were smart to try fixing the camera. Even if you had ruined it, replacing it with an identical used one would have been cheaper than paying for the factory repair. Smart move!

Tracey Shrier

Great article! I to am one to always tinker with things. Although, sometimes I dont have the greatest success when putting it back together, doesnt stop me from trying!
I recently ran across a contest on www.Greenwala.com about uploading a photo of your latest creation made from reusing something else. HP joined up with Greenwala and is giving the winner a new HP mini laptop and a printer! For more info check out http://www.greenwala.com/greenwala_contests/all/5-Choose-to-Reuse-Sponsored-by-Hewlett-Packard-HP

Em H.
  • Em H. says
  • Jul 9, 2009 5:39 AM

Nice article! I ran into the same problem with one of my old digi cams too. For some reason the lens got stuck and wouldn't close completely. So after reseaching and calling around getting pricey quotes we hot glued the lens open. Sure we have to be extra careful that the lens isn't closed but at least we can still use it :)

Genevieve H.

Thanks for an interesting article. There will come a time (pretty soon I think, probably in our lifetime) when we will ALL have to repair everything we have and make do with bits and pieces from really broken stuff to repair not so broken stuff, when there won't be any resources left, and no more energy either to run those factories. So only those who can make do with what is around them will be able to survive, or at least will make a good living out of their skills. Here is a field where lots of people should invest time and skill.
Me too, I remember the good old days when you could take your tv, your radio, your sewing machine, even your VCR, you name it, to a little corner shop where some very knowledgeable oldish man would repair it.
I try as much as I can to repair stuff myself, but I'd like to know more. Must have a look at this Make site. Sounds really great.

Krista Robinson

I often watch the Make tv show on PBS, some of the stuff is pretty cool. I am not that techie, but my brother is and can easily do some of the projects.
I am glad you were able to fix your camera. I have taken things apart before and then not been able to put them back together :o).

Sustainable Dave

Yes, techie indeed so not for everyone, but I think the concept endures. As for planned obsolescence, sadly, it's a part of the grand scheme. Check out The Story of Stuff if you are interested.

Claudia W.

just checked out the Make site, a bit too techy for me but great ideas!

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