The concept of this hack is to create a fully functional digital camcorder by using a homemade cable that allows transferring data from the one time use CVS Digital Camcorder to a computer. For the camera, a USB type A female connector was used. This is because the USB A-A male cables are much harder to find than the A-B cables that anyone who has a printer owns although using a female B connector is probably more practical. The image of the camcorder plugged in and powered by USB is shown below.

The first thing to be done is to remove some parts from the camera such as the battery door, battery lock, and batteries. As seen in the images below, the battery slot can be found in the center by the FCC logo. The battery door can be made to slide by inserting a pin or something thin into the slot and pulling down on the switch inside.

There are 4 small screws holding the back of the camcorder. A utility knife was used to open up the camcorder by cutting out the sticker covering the screw holes and then undoing each screw. If the piece does not lift off easily, gentle tapping could take it apart since it is probably held up at the bottom by the battery storage area. The image of the camera with back plate removed is shown below.

The two more screws that are holding the circuit board into place must be removed once the back plate is removed. The USB extension cable is cut in half and to expose the red, black, green, and white USB wires as shown below, the outer casing is stripped. The connector is test fitted into the base of the camcorder subsequently.

A utility knife is used to cut away at the molded plastic until the circuit board sat flush in the casing while the cable fit in perfectly horizontally. A hole is created in the side of the casing by marking the inside of the case and using a Dremel toll to cut it open as the utility knife cleans up the edges. The top view of the case with USB cable and circuit board flush mounted and the side view of the case with USB port hole and flush mounted circuit board are shown below.

The circuit board is lifted after test fitting the circuit board and cables. To let the cables run through, a grove should be created in the top piece of the plastic. The cables are held down and prevented from getting in the way of the lens by applying a piece of 3M tape as they are routed through the created channel as shown below.

The circuit board was positioned above the plastic on a table so it can be pivoted back in the case in order for the USB cable to be trimmed down as shown below. After the wires are soldered, reassembling the camcorder and installing some drivers will follow. Once the drivers are installed, the Ops shortcut is double clicked and the camcorder is plugged in. The camera should be recognized by the computer and can be unlocked if the installation is done properly.