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Author Topic: Photo Booth (Box)  (Read 14362 times)

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DaOld Man

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Photo Booth (Box)
« on: July 01, 2018, 07:57:28 pm »
A couple of years ago I threw together a photo booth for my nephews wedding. It used a RPi and saved the pictures to a thumb drive.
It was pretty popular and I gave it to the newly weds for a wedding present. (His wife to be asked me if I could make one for them.)
The first one had a 15" LCD display and could take photos and videos. (She requested video option after I had already started on the box.)
It also used big arcade buttons the user would press to take a photo or a video. It also had to have a PC desktop mike and PC speakers plugged in to do the video.
Mic for audio input and speakers so the video can be reviewed after taking.
I wanted to hook a printer to it to print out the photos, but printers designed for that are pretty expensive.
I did not leave a build log on here of this one, just didnt have time, cause I was rushed to get it done before the wedding.
Here is a pic of that first photobooth. (With crappy paint labels showing what everything is. *sorry bout that)



Now fast forward a bit. I decided to make another one, with a touchscreen monitor. I will try to record my progress as best i can. (It's almost finished right now and I got to scratch up what few photos I took while building it.)
I first made a test rig to mount the monitor to so I could start on the python script. I used the same script as the first one, but modified it quite a bit before I was done.
I bought a couple of used touch screen monitors off ebay. 17" I also used a RPi2 on this one, I tried a RPi3 but could not for the life of me get the touch screen drivers to work.
I also installed a microphone and speakers into the box. I also added a new function, "leave a voice message".
Here is the test rig set up.



Instead of the big lighted buttons, you just touch the big colored areas.

More to follow.
« Last Edit: July 03, 2018, 04:03:38 pm by DaOld Man »

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #1 on: July 01, 2018, 08:16:26 pm »
Here is the back of the monitor mounted to the test rig.
More crappy paint labels telling what everything is.
You can see the RPi in all it's glory, and the USB sound card that is for the .... you guessed it! sound.



I needed a way to mount the monitor so i modified the original mounting plate it had. I removed the touch screen circuit board then removed the plate (?) from the VESA mount of the monitor.
This plate had an L shaped appendage on either side. I cut those off to make the plate flat. I cut out a slot (on the right side)  to allow the touch screen flat ribbon cable to pass, and I attached some standoffs to mount the RPi with.
Hind sight is better than fore sight, I wish I had mounted the RPi higher up, but it works where it is.



I mounted the plate to the inside of the box using aluminum L brackets. (Made from aluminum angle).



And here is the plate attached to the monitor, RPi and touchscreen board mounted too. Just to see how it's all going to look.



The mic on the first photobooth did not pick up very good. I decided I had to go with something different. I tried several different mics on my test rig but none seem to do good.
I then found an amplified mic on adafruit.com (https://www.adafruit.com/product/1713) that works real good with the RPi. It was so sensitive I had to add a audio pot to turn it down. (More on that later.)
It is powered by 3.3 VDC from the RPi.



More to come....





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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #2 on: July 01, 2018, 08:41:15 pm »
I made the box out of white pine. I bought two boards at Lowes, 5-1/2" wide  X  3/4" thick X 4' long. (I think it was labeled 6" X 1")
Hindsight again: I wished I had went at least an inch wider on the boards, cramming all the parts in was a feat on it's own.
I first cut a slot in each board. This slot will be used to slide the plexi glass front into.
I set my table saw to cut about 1/4" deep. I then set up the saws fence and rigged up a makeshift auxiliary fence to hold the board perfectly straight.
I used a piece of aluminum angle and some scrap wood to clamp the auxiliary fence down good and tight.
The slot ran completely along the length of each board. After the second board I compared the two to make sure both slots lined up perfectly.





I now had what i needed to make the box's top, sides, and bottom.

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #3 on: July 01, 2018, 11:11:36 pm »
I then figured out how tall and wide the box needed to be, based on the size of the monitor, and allowing for speakers and camera.
I cut the board on 45 degree angles and glued together. (Did not glue bottom cause it will be removable.)



My cuts were not perfectly square, I see a gap on one of the corners. I later filled that in with bondo, but it bothered me so much I took a couple of days and made a sled for my table saw.
Cuts are much more precise now.



I then cut a speaker panel out of 1/2" plywood. The microphone is in the center.



I then used my router to cut a recess for the speakers. And painted it black.



I decided to mount the speakers on the inside, so I flipped the board around. I cant remember why i did that, maybe it was because of the grill that covers the speakers, but this move cost me a 1/2" of real estate on the inside. Oh well, hind sight again.



Testing the plexi slot with a piece of scrap plexi.


Cut the plexi glass and test fitted. (The box is upside down).
You can also see the camera mount. I drilled holes to allow air to circulate around it.


Made the back admin panel out of 1/2" plywood. Heres how I mounted the speaker amp, stolen from a pair of desktop PC speakers. (the speakers Im using came from them too.)


And here is the admin panel getting glued into the back bottom of the box. Sorry not any pics of my progress on making this. I stained it as really a test of how it would look.
At this point, I like the stain. You can see the speaker panel is already glued in.



And here it is after glued dried. Oh look! More crappy paint labels. You can see the air vent has been glued into the top of the box. It has been stained also. Grill installed also.



More labels! Top section of the box.



More labels. Permanent bottom glued in, speaker panel and admin panel. I used T-nuts to allow me to fasten the false bottom to this bottom. The bolts will go through some rubber feet.
On the corner braces, I glued then drill and insert wood dowels, glued and cut off flush. I tried a screw on the first brace, but I didnt like that. The wooden dowels aint going nowhere.
You can also see a rabbit cut on the admin panel. I did this before I glued it in. This is for the back cover.



Speaking of rabbit cuts, I ran my router around the inside of the back of the box, using a rabbit bit.
The bit left a fairly large radius rounded corner.



Using a screwdriver and hammer, i chiseled away the rounded corners. It dont look like Id like for it to, but I guess it will do. I really need to invest in some good wood chisels.
I did clean it up considerably with a small file and sandpaper, afte rthis pic was taken.





« Last Edit: July 01, 2018, 11:19:54 pm by DaOld Man »

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #4 on: July 02, 2018, 08:54:51 am »
Here I am test fitting the rubber feet, which also holds the removable (false) bottom.
This panel has to be removable to allow the plexi to be inserted or removed. On the first photo booth I cut the bottom in half, the rear part was glue din while the front part was removable to allow plexi access.
I like the false bottom better I think.



I put a hole right in the center to allow tripod mounting. This box is too heavy for most tripods, but it could still be used to fasten the box to a table or platform. I used a 1/4 X 20 T nut on the inside of the false bottom.

I inserted plexi glass, laid the box on its front, with a spacer between plexi and table to keep plexi from bowing outwards. Then I laid the monitor inside the box, with plate and L brackets installed.
This gave me exactly where I needed to mount the L brackets. Marked the 2 holes in each bracket onto the inside wood sides, and removed everything.
I then drilled and inserted 4 threaded inserts. I think they were 10/32.



I didnt think I was going to have enough room for the arcade power supply I was going to use, so I decided to mount the fan at the top.
I made a box out of fiber board and mounted the fan to that. I had to glue some posts for the box to mount to.

I inserted and glued wood dowels into these also. (As I also did on the camera mount block, you can see those here.)
I like the wooden dowels as fasteners. I first used them on A Little Rage, it works our good and I think is much stronger than screws. Just have to be very careful when drilling the depth for them.



And here is the fan box mounted. fan mounted to box and box spray painted black.



I was now ready to stain the box. I stained inside first, to test how it looks. It looked pretty good, except glued that was smeared did not take the stain. It looked like crap on a cracker. Bird crap on a graham cracker.
I checked the outside and didnt see any glue spots, I even lightly sanded the outside just to be sure.
Applied the stain and look what showed up. yep, glue splotches. Very visible on the corners, where I used most of the glue.

I tried sanding and even applying more stain, nothing worked. I found out online that the glue absorbs into the wood pores. They only way to fix it would be to sand the wood surface down past the soaked in glue. I dont have a belt sander so i didnt see that happening. When I glue something, i wipe the glue that oozes out with a rag before it dries. I found out (although too late for this project), that never wipe the glue, that just smears it over a larger area. Let the glue dry then use a putty knife or wood chisel to scrap the glue off. Also dont be so generous with the glue, use only what you need to minimize oozing when clamping. I must remember that next time. On my first photobooth I didnt stain it, i used clear poly urethane and it did not show the glue smears. At this point I was wishing I had used the poly on this one.



After a few days of wringing my hands and allowing the stain to fully dry, I decided to paint the outside of the box. I lightly sanded it, then applied 3 coats of spray can primer, then 3 coats of spray can black enamel. Lightly sanding between each coat. It turned out pretty good. I bought some wood glue that is supposed to be stain-able, so i wouldnt do this again in the future. I tested it on a piece of scrap and they lie. it aint stain-able, at least not with the stain i was using.

Now I was ready to install guts. I mounted the microphone gain pot on a block and a piece of lexan. I wanted the gain pot to not be easily accessible, so I mounted it so the pot shaft is pretty well flush with the outside of the back panel. You need a small screwdriver to adjust the gain.

You can see a bracket I made for the speaker amp to keep it tight. i made that out of a blank PC case expansion slot cover.
I also shimmed up the mic gain pot to get the edge of the shaft slightly below the surface of the panel. (white plastic between lexan and wood block).
The 1 uf capacitor goes between the pot and the microphone output, to block DC. I tied the two inputs going to the USB sound card together, cause this aint stereo with only one microphone, but I did want sound on both of the stereo channels.



I also mounted a small switch to the right of the speaker amp. This switch is so I can re-boot the Rpi, if it hangs up or something. I have a small hole drilled through the panel. To re-boot, inset a straightened paper clip into the hole and press the switch. (I had this on the first photo booth too, plus another one to stop the program if I need to. I didnt include the stop button on this one, i can insert a keyboard and press ESC to stop the program. I figured you need a keyboard anyway after stopping the program and exiting to the GUI.)



Heres the guts all crammed in. I used an arcade power supply because I needed 5 volts for the RPi and USB hub, and also 12 volts for the speaker amp and fan. This power supply has plenty of both kinds of juice.
You can see there is not a lot of space. I also have a 12 volt relay hidden in there. The relay kills power to everything else when the RPi shuts down.
You can see the USB hub, power inlet, power switch, air inlet filter, mic gain pot, and speaker controls. i have a wifi module plugged into the USB hub. I later moved it to the top inside the fan box to get better reception. I had to use a long camera ribbon cable to reach the RPi. Its not plugged into the RPi yet. I also used a plug cut from a IDE cable to plug into the GPIO header. This gives me connection points for the mausberry switch and the 12 volt relay.  More on that later. You can also see the HDMI to VGA converter laying on top of power supply. The vga cable between this and the monitor is not plugged in yet.
On the RPi usb, I have the USB sound card, touch screen control, and USB hub plugged in. The USB sound card is so fat that i cant plug anything else into the socket beside it, so I had to plug the wifi adapter into the usb hub. Probably better to get its power from the hub instead of the Rpi anyway. Side note: i left the admin and air vent panels stained, cause they looked pretty good.

« Last Edit: July 02, 2018, 09:04:29 am by DaOld Man »

wp34

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #5 on: July 02, 2018, 09:13:05 am »
This is a real interesting build.  Are you writing the software for the RPi yourself or is there something already available?

DaOld Man

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #6 on: July 02, 2018, 09:45:55 am »
I wrote most of it myself, I did steal a few snippets off the net.
I can give you the script if youd like to test it out. Python 2.7.

on bootup, the script turns on the fan, checks for a usb mem stick plugged in, if yes, uses it to store pics and videos, if not, uses the SD Card for storage.
It also loads several images I made for backgrounds, you will need those too. However you can edit those images.
It also checks cam and microphone operational and checks free space on the storage medium. if anything dont jive it pops up an alarm screen.

After boot up, the main screen (pictured above) is displayed. Touching the photo area takes you to a screen that says get ready, more or less, then takes 1 to 4 pictures. The pictures are saved to the medium, then displayed for X number of seconds. Then main screen again, ready for next command

Same with video and voice messages. Except on these, fan is turned off to keep microphone from picking up the noise it makes.

I also made a screen saver that comes on after X minutes of no activity. This is a slide show of all the pictures that have been taken.
Touching the screen anywhere cancels the slide show and returns to main screen.

I also wrote a setup program that can be run from the terminal to allow you to set up several options.

I am still needing to do a little de-bugging before its really ready to share though.
I have a bug when you remove the mem stick and touch the screen the program crashes.
I plan to have it detect the stick being removed then warn one time that the sd card will be used for storage until the mem stick is re-inserted.

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #7 on: July 02, 2018, 11:18:37 am »
Here are a few pics of the different images displayed during photo booth operation.
In the settings file you can choose the mode of the photobooth, photos only, photos and videos, or photos and voice messages, or all three. (This can also be set in the setup program).
A main screen will be displayed based on the mode you wish to use:
Photos only:


photos or videos:


Photos or voice messages:


Or all three:


There are several other images, including which picture is about to be taken of how many per setting. (1-4, chosen in setup file or setup program)
Pic 1 of 1 (First pic of only 1 pic per setting).


After taking a video, a preview can be played (setup file or program), while FFMPEG is assembling the video, this screen is displayed to tell the user to wait for the preview. (assembling only takes a few seconds.)


when a voice message is chosen, this screen is displayed during record time (record time sets in setup)


After that is done, user sees this screen and voice message plays back so they can review it (if review is selected in setup).


I created all these images, and they can be changed without going into the script. As long as they remain 600X800, and if the main screen is changed, the touch co-ordinates must remain the same, or else they will have to be changed in the script. A mouse can also be used instead of a touch screen. (mouse cursor visible selected in setup).
« Last Edit: July 03, 2018, 03:59:44 pm by DaOld Man »

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #8 on: July 02, 2018, 11:44:23 am »
I may take you up on the offer of your script when I am in a position of needing to build one of these.  Kids are of the age but nobody is engaged yet.   :cheers:

I wouldn't mind seeing a video of it in action when you are done. 

It would be cool to post the pictures/videos to a place they could be seen by the folks at the wedding.  That might be too complex though.


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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #9 on: July 02, 2018, 12:09:56 pm »
A photo booth is a lot of fun at parties, weddings, get-togethers, kids birthday parties, etc. My nephew has loaned his out to several people. i told him he should start charging rental fees. LOL but you know how it is with friends and relatives.
I included the wifi adapter for just what you suggested. But mainly for downloading the pics to a pc where they can be reviewed or printed.
Im sure you could write a program for a PC or MAC that would look into the folder where the pics and or videos are saved and display them on a big screen. Interesting idea.
If I could have gotten the RPi3 to work, I had planned on using its bluetooth to allow people close by to review and download the photos onto their smart phones or tablets or what ever you kids call them fancy things these days LOL.
I can still plug a bluetooth adapter into this setup and modify the script for it. maybe later.

The good thing about the usb stick is that you can easily transfer the pics and videos to another computer to choose what you want to print out or share. (probably after party is over), or take the stick to walmart and print them out. (I was thinking memstick because the area where my nephew had his wedding did not have wifi access).

I am also tossing around an idea about making a collapsible frame with curtains to act as a photobooth booth. if designed properly, it can be taken apart and moved rather easily.
I thought about using EMT electrical conduit (thin wall metallic) as the curtains frame.

I also explored green screen technology to display a back drop behind the subject, but from what I have found for the RPi, I dont think it looks all that terrific.
You could always have the kids draw up a backdrop pertaining to the event on a poster board and hang it behind the photograph area.
That would be fun for a kids BD party.

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #10 on: July 02, 2018, 01:33:33 pm »
This is cool but it 100% needs a printer.

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #11 on: July 02, 2018, 01:35:54 pm »
Really impressed by this (mainly the programming part - not those cheesy pics with Comic Sans :D ).

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #12 on: July 02, 2018, 03:08:31 pm »
I agree PBJ. Ive still got my eyes open for a deal on a printer. It wont be hard to add one, via USB.
The main problem I see is the ink and paper being expensive. They do make a printer that has the paper and ink combined.
Open to any suggestions.

Thanks Barry, and the pics are cheesy, but mainly on purpose, Im not much of an artist, dont claim to be, but I kind of like the lighter side (hence cartoony).
Why is everyone so against comic sans ms? I kinda like it.
But as I said, these images are easily changed, if you want to volunteer me one or two (or all), feel free, and I would appreciate any help from anyone to make this project more professional looking.

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #13 on: July 02, 2018, 03:19:29 pm »
I agree PBJ. Ive still got my eyes open for a deal on a printer. It wont be hard to add one, via USB.
The main problem I see is the ink and paper being expensive. They do make a printer that has the paper and ink combined.
Open to any suggestions.

Thanks Barry, and the pics are cheesy, but mainly on purpose, Im not much of an artist, dont claim to be, but I kind of like the lighter side (hence cartoony).
Why is everyone so against comic sans ms? I kinda like it.
But as I said, these images are easily changed, if you want to volunteer me one or two (or all), feel free, and I would appreciate any help from anyone to make this project more professional looking.
Don't understand me wrong, I am no artist at al either. But I guess I would sourced some images more alike and just not that font ;) ;) ;)

Maybe anyone else will take up the challenge?

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #14 on: July 02, 2018, 03:21:42 pm »
Seriously, why is that font so unpopular? You are not the only Ive seen that didnt like it.
If it questions my manhood or something like that, i really need to know. LOL

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #15 on: July 02, 2018, 03:35:55 pm »
This is a nice project. i like the idea that you can do video as well as photos.

Several years back I wanted to do a photobooth for the local American Cancer Society Relay for Life event, but couldn't find a nice cheap solution, so I decided to write my own app.
I'm happy to share it with anyone that might want to provide feedback. I am not a developer and definitely not a user-interface kinda designer, so I could use ideas for improvement. The app is pretty simple...you hit the button and it takes 4 pictures (something like 10 seconds between each) combines them to a single jpg, and prints it out automatically.

Been a few years since I used it so I don't remember any more specifics than that. I believe i had a handful of color themes and you could add a line of text that printed on the bottom of the photos.

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #16 on: July 02, 2018, 04:12:30 pm »
Seriously, why is that font so unpopular? You are not the only Ive seen that didnt like it.
If it questions my manhood or something like that, i really need to know. LOL
Not your manhood, just your age.

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #17 on: July 02, 2018, 04:35:05 pm »
Thanks brihyn.
I would like to see your project.
My project uses pigame to display the images, and Im pretty sure I can add captions to them, may need to study that more. Sounds like an excellent option.
What type of printer did you use?

barrymosel:
Well I am DaOld Man. so is comic sans ms older than me, or am I showing my mental age? LOL

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #18 on: July 02, 2018, 09:37:05 pm »
Ok more pics.

I first planned to mount the USB hub by tie wrapping it to a block I glued on the inside.
This didnt work very good, when unplugging something from outside, it would pull out of the tie wrap. I couldnt get tie wrap tight enough to hold it, so i wound up hot-gluing the USB hub case to the block.
That fixed her.
This pic is before the hot glue.


While in the test rig,  this hub would supply +5 vdc back to the RPi through the usb, so RPi would not shut completely down. I didnt like this, so I removed the back cover of the hub and started to cut the trace that connects to the red wire in the usb supply port (the one that connects to the RPi usb.) Then I thought, "hang on you big dummy." there was no need to cut anything on the circuit board. I just cut the cable that connects the hub to the RPi, I then soldered the wires back together, all except the red one. That one I folded back.
Anyway I broke a clip that held the cover on, so now it wont stay. But thats ok, since I had to remove that cover anyway for the hub to go into the hole I cut for it. The open end will be inside anyway.



Now even though I glued the hub case to the wood block, now when I unplugged a usb device, it would try to pull out the circuit board through the front.
So I removed teh hub and put 3 or four hot glue blotches on the back of the circuit board, to the hub case. That worked like a charm.


I somehow screwed up my micro usb connector on the RPi and had to solder in a connector.


I have the full story of that escapade posted in a thread on the RPi section:  http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,157569.0.html

Remember how I said that the program turns off the fan while recording audio?
I made a little circuit with an opto-isolator to do that.


And here is the schematic:


I originally hooked the fan to 12 volts, since that is what its rated at. But it was really loud, plus it induced a buzzing noise into the speakers. Very annoying.
I added a capacitor on the fan leads, and that cut way down on the speaker noise, but it still sounded like the space shuttle taking off in the back.
So I tried hooking the fan to 5 volts. That almost cut the fan noise down completely and the speaker noise is not there at all, that my old ears can tell anyway.
It still seems to be moving enough air so I think I will stay with the 5 volts.

Next up: how I control the 12 volt switch relay.

Sounds like a thunderstorm coming in, plus I been getting server errors on this site, so I better quit for now.
Got this post copied to a text file so I wont have to retype it all if the system crashes.


« Last Edit: July 03, 2018, 03:42:48 pm by DaOld Man »

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #19 on: July 03, 2018, 04:09:43 pm »
On the relay, I basically did the same circuit as the fan.
I used another TIL119 opto-isolator but wired it's input to Pin 1 (3.3v) and Pin 6 (GND) of the RPi GPIO header.
The output of the opto-isolator supplied 12 volts to an "ice cube" plug in relay. 3PDT
The relay switches 120 volts AC to the monitor, 5 volts to the USB hub and fan, and 12 volts to the speaker amp.
The RPi is powered on and off by a mausberry switch, and that is supplied by 5 volts on all the time.
If RPi is on, relay is on.
If relay is on everything else is on.

Ive been going through and resizing some of the pics I posted. Its a lot of work so I may leave the rest as is, my apologies.
Im going to make sure future pics are sized correctly before uploading to here.

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #20 on: July 03, 2018, 09:26:28 pm »
Just a quick update.
I painted the inside of the plexi glass black. I put one of those round color coded labels where the camera is, did want to paint over the camera area.
I tested those labels on a piece of scrap first and they were kind of a pain to get back off, so I coated the one I used with a thin coat of Vaseline.
It was easy to remove after the paint dried.
I then cut out for the monitor and the speakers.
Heres some eye candy:
]

It turned out pretty nice, but I do have a slight problem with the piece between the speakers and the monitor, its kind of "flappy", easy to pull away from the monitor, just bugs the tee total heck out of me.
Anyone got any ideas how to neatly fasten it down?

I still need to remove the protective film from the camera lens. And will probably put a couple more coats of black spray paint on the inside of the Plexi, I can see the bright light from the USB hub shining through the paint, its not real bright, but I know its there.
« Last Edit: July 03, 2018, 09:28:05 pm by DaOld Man »

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #21 on: July 03, 2018, 09:34:39 pm »
Quick pic of the "ice cube" switch relay. Its all lit up from the USB hub led. The relay is situated between the hub and a speaker.


That led is pretty bright, I may put a piece of tape over it.

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #22 on: July 04, 2018, 07:42:40 am »
Looks really cool.

What piece exactly is "flappy"? The part I thought you were referring to is wood as far as I see?

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #23 on: July 04, 2018, 07:56:06 am »
Quality stuff as always. I'm enjoying seeing something different.

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #24 on: July 04, 2018, 09:00:29 am »
Thanks guys.

The part Im referring to a s"flappy" (probably not a good choice of words), is on the plexi glass, the strip that runs horizontal between the speaker grill and the bottom of the monitor.
I dont have any double side tape, but I did roll up a couple of pieces of frog tape, with sticking side out, and wedge those between the plexi and the speaker panel at the bottom and a piece between the speaker and the monitor frame at the top.
This helped a lot. I need a solution that is fairly easy to un-do, in case I ever need to remove the plexi. I plan to pick up some double sided tape and try that.
It will have to be easy to remove if the camera goes bad, or the plexi gets scratched real bad and needs to be replaced.
Heres more hind sight again, but I wish now I had made the camera removable from the iinside of the box.
Guess I was thinking the plexi would be easily removable, and a lot more access from the front once the plexi is out of the way. The flappiness (LOL) never occurred to me.

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #25 on: July 04, 2018, 06:32:33 pm »
Ive been thinking about a printer for this.
I came across canon selphy cp1200 printer. Costs around 100 bucks on amazon.
Print cartridge/photo papers cost around 30 bucks for 108 photos.
Anybody had any experience with this printer?
I wonder how it will work with the RPi.

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #26 on: July 07, 2018, 12:28:51 pm »
Ok, been playing around with setting up the script to work with hard copy printouts.
When the box takes a picture, it displays it on the screen for x number of seconds.
If you take 2 in one setting, then it displays both pictures, quarter screen for the first, quarter screen for the second.
Three pictures displays all three, and four displays all four.
The pictures are individually saved to the storage medium, just I thought displaying them all at once for preview (or is it review?), would be a lot faster than one at a time.
But, Im thinking when printing, it might be best to print all the pictures in the setting to one printout, to save time, printer ink and printer paper.
So my solution is take a screen shot of the review display and save it, then print that one to the printer.
That part is working and has passed my tests.
Now I got to choose the printer I want to use and see if I can find a good deal on it.
Any suggestions for a decent fast printer?
 

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #27 on: July 09, 2018, 03:03:19 pm »
Regarding printers for a photo booth, I would ask how many prints do you plan to do for an event.  If it is for a small gathering of people, the Canon Selphy is a fine printer with good prints though it is pretty slow and each print is kinda expensive.   For larger events, I find that people get tired of waiting in line and people like to take photos with other people and want a copy of a photo for each person.  So for one group of people, I noticed that people can take 4-5 minutes printing out all the photos that they need.

For my DIY photo booth, I started lending it out to friends and I noticed that as the events got bigger, I had to spend more time changing out the paper and ink and also helping people print out stuff instead of enjoying the event myself.  I then got another Selphy and it would alternate printing to both printers but it was still too slow as people would start having to line up waiting for the previous person's prints to finish.  Also I had issues with the print drivers and if one of the printers ran out of ink or paper, it would not print to the other printer. 

In the end, I found an used DNP DS40 photo printer on ebay which prints out a 4x6 in 7-8 secs.   The printer ($450 used) AND paper/ink is expensive in the beginning ($99 for 800 prints) but it ultimately ends up being less than 10 cents per print.  I only need to change the roll/ink for every 400 prints so my enjoyment of events that I lend my photo booth to has increased exponentially.

If you end up wanting to use Selphies, I have two CP910s that I can sell for $50 shipped each. 

BTW Thanks again for all you do on this forum, I've learned a lot from all of your posts!

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #28 on: July 12, 2018, 02:35:51 pm »
Thanks for the kind comments processedemeat.

I placed a bid on a selphy cp1200 on ebay, but didnt win it.
I may take you up on that offer on the one you have, just not crazy about the 4 minute waiting time (ouch).
Any idea what the print time on the CP1200 is?
DNP DS40 sounds interesting but wow, at that price? If I ever decide to rent this thing out (probably wont, but who knows?), I would invest in that DS40.

I have an old HP Deskjet 932C printer that I thought I would hook up and see how fast it printed, but Walmart dont have the ink cartridges for it. I can order them off the net, but I wanted to fire it up first to see if there is enough ink to maybe print out 1 or 2 photos, to test print time. Ink cartridges for this printer aint real cheap either.
But I cant find the power cord for it. It takes one of those two conductor "figure 8 plug" cords.
I ordered one off amazon, but they sent the wrong thing. They sent 5 usb to IPhone 5 cables.
thats why i prefer to be able to look at something before I buy it.

I fixed the bug of the program crashing if the mem stick is removed, but if it is removed while screen saver is running, the screen saver freezes on the pic being displayed.
Touching the screen starts it back up again by displaying the main screen.
I think it is because Raspian jessie (the OS), steals the focus from the program when it detects the stick removed. It pops up a warning message.
Oh well, I guess I could live with that, but Im still thinking how to get around the screen saver freezing.



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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #29 on: July 12, 2018, 03:56:20 pm »
great write up.   When I cut slots with a table saw I got called a red neck. :)
If you're replying to a troll you are part of the problem.
I also need to follow this advice. Ignore or report, don't reply.

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #30 on: July 12, 2018, 04:10:09 pm »
My summer vacation.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk


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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #31 on: July 12, 2018, 04:28:23 pm »
Ive been called a redneck all my life Malenko. After awhile you wear it with pride! LOL

Mike A: LOL! You missed your calling man.
I think they they are serving fried possum at the next shallow island.

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #32 on: July 12, 2018, 04:31:14 pm »
I am finally done crapping today. I am in an artsy mood.

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #33 on: July 12, 2018, 07:37:28 pm »
D/Oman....Liking the build, It was all nail biting there for a moment with the stain thing, but ultimately came out looking quite nice, using some not so in the box thinking in the final vision. The relay got Jenn so worked up with ideas she went on a A/zon binge  (don't ask yet) ,  And ultimately got Mike so excited he pooped himself  ....Now it takes an extreme awesome build to bring all that together.  ;D 

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #34 on: July 12, 2018, 11:48:50 pm »
Thanks Jenn, yeah i was ready to throw several hours of work in the garbage and start all over again, but couldnt bring myself to do it.
Im glad the primer and paint covered the stain, but at least i learned a very good lesson about using wood glue on wood you plan to stain.

About the relay: Here is the one I used, plus I ordered a socket for it:

http://www.bgmicro.com/REL1048.aspx

This relay is great and I like working with these "ice cube relays", but on this project i wished I had went with a smaller sized relay, since the room in the box is very limited.
And I probably could have gotten by with a 5 amp contacts relay. This one is rated for 10 amps, which is a fairly safe choice for most of my projects.

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #35 on: July 13, 2018, 12:23:35 am »
Without knowing the math on that relay couldn't really say, but since Titanic is my design go to Jenn would have to say big and overbuilt is usually a safe bet....Its not real common around here to see anyone incorporating relays into there builds at all, but when you did I got all like "Where's baby's BIG purse, cause Im gone shopping 8)" And probibally went a little crazy, but among the pile was my first solid state  and really excited about it. apparently solid state isn't really like traditional relays more like opto coupled circuits acting like relays but oh yes, still FUN!
« Last Edit: July 13, 2018, 12:42:35 am by jennifer »

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #36 on: July 13, 2018, 10:12:57 am »
Yeah, solid state relays (SSR) are definitely opto isolators in a fancy package, and some go up pretty high on the amount of current they can control.
Electro-mechanical relays are much tougher and more forgiving than a SSR, but they are mechanical and will someday fail. But Ive found they last several years under normal circumstances.
SSR's will fry if you hook them up wrong, and voltage surges can take them out to.
One big advantage of SSR though is that they use less current on the control side, are usually smaller, and produce no clicks or hums.
You can switch multiple things with the same mechanical relay (depending on number of poles), most SSRs can only do one circuit on the output. Most SSRs are normally open also, so you have to do some tricky control wiring if you need it normally closed.
So its whatever your individual needs or wants dictate.
I had a SSR in my junk box, I was thinking of using it to switch the monitor, but when I tested it, the LED inside was apparently blown, and as far as I know, it went bad setting up. Maybe static electricity? Or maybe I accidentally tested it without the proper "led" resistor on the input. (What you talking about Willis?)

Anyway, I have been playing around with displaying IP address on this thing, just in case someone needs to set up their home network to get pictures off it.
I can make a static address for it, but Im not sure how that would work moving it to different networks?
Maybe some of you IT guys can give me some advice.

I added a small button at the bottom of the screen:


Touching it takes you to this screen:


I greyed out part of the wifi address just cause im paranoid. (I know the greys are trying to find me. LOL)
I dont really like that extra button, maybe I can have a "secret spot" to touch?
Also, I probably dont need to display local and wired addresses, since I did not make easy access to the ethernet jack on the Rpi.
I also though about adding another "real" button on the back that when pressed will show this display. But do i have room???




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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #37 on: July 13, 2018, 11:44:01 am »
I greyed out part of the wifi address just cause im paranoid. (I know the greys are trying to find me. LOL)

lemme guess its either 192.168.1.102 or 192168.0.102

That's a local private IP address; no one can do anything to it that isn't on your network.
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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #38 on: July 13, 2018, 11:55:42 am »

lemme guess its either 192.168.1.102 or 192168.0.102

That's a local private IP address; no one can do anything to it that isn't on your network.

Hee hee. I was wondering who would notice that first.

So tell me, what do you think about displaying the address on this photobooth?
The more I look at the button on the bottom of the screen, the less I like it.

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Re: Photo Booth (Box)
« Reply #39 on: July 13, 2018, 12:09:58 pm »
I don't see why you'd ever need it.
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