DIY

SPY

COVERT SPY SUNGLASSES

Record what you see and hear with these low-cost stealthy sunglasses. By Kip Kedersha

Ever since I was a kid I’ve loved spy gadgets. From Wild Wild West to Get Smart and Mission Impossible, they have always fascinated me. I can remember sitting in front of the tube watching the hidden camera pranks of Candid Camera. Well, now I have my own pair of sneaky sunglasses that are cheap and easy to make.

1. Route camera’s cable to 1 side. The first mod you may have to make is to route the wiring coming from the micro camera (Figure A). You want the wires to exit the camera on 1 side of the sunglasses instead of the top or bottom. Unscrew the camera housing and reroute the cable so that when the camera image is normal, the cable is routed as close as possible to the sunglasses temple. Either temple will work; I chose the right

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because I’m right-handed and it just seemed normal to have it on that side. Use the Dremel tool to cut a small notch in the housing so the cable passes through to the side you choose (Figure B).

2. Add a 4' extension cable.

Next you need to extend the camera cable so that it can run the length of the temple and then down your back or side to be concealed.

First, cut the micro camera’s cable a few inches from the camera (Figure C). You always want to leave a little extra wire just in case you mess up. You should find 4 wires inside the insulation: red, yellow, black, and white, corresponding with the connectors on the end. If it’s got the standard color-coding like mine does, red will be power, yellow video, white audio, and black the common ground for all the

Photography by Kip Kedersha