Chapter 2: The PEEPER Is Born

The enthusiasm of a brilliant idea from a dream subsided as I started to get realistic. I needed to mount the cameras so that the girls would want them in their rooms and in their bathrooms. I couldn't have them broadcast TV signals because that might interfere with other radios and TVs in the house. The signals could also be intercepted by some pervert who had nothing better to do than eavesdrop on someone else's private peeping operation.

I sat down at my computer and began to design my PEEPER (Personal Electronic Eye Platform for Examination and Relaxation). I just love making up acronyms.

I started by looking up TV cameras on the net. I wanted a small color TV camera. The camera had to have a pretty wide angle also. I couldn't think of a way to have the girls undress in the same spot every night. They might become suspicious.

The camera also had to be powered by normal house current not batteries. I didn't want to have to change batteries every few days. It also had to hardwired to my receiver so that it didn't broadcast pictures to everyone. The cameras couldn't be mounted in walls because they wouldn't have the flexibility to be moved around if the chosen spot was not optimum for my viewing pleasure. That meant a cabinet to conceal the camera. But a cabinet meant that there had to be something in the cabinet that the girls would want in their bedrooms and bathrooms. My second inspiration struck. A radio!

As I told you we were in a small town in western Minnesota. There might be 10,000 lakes in the state but there are damn few radio stations worth listening to if you aren't near the Twin Cities. Personally, I don't like farm reports, country music, or preachers telling me I am damned if I don't send them a donation. That had been a constant complaint of all three girls since we moved out here. The only radio station they liked was located in the twin cities and could barely be tuned in most days. If I could provide them with a radio that picked up WKNZ, they would kiss my feet. Or maybe I would have them kiss some other part of my anatomy.

I could put a homebuilt FM radio in the cabinet and mount the camera behind a Plexiglas hatch or window. We were at the fringe of good FM reception for the WKNZ. I could build a receiver and put up an antenna and pipe an amplified signal to my special receivers. The girls would each want one in their bedrooms and bathrooms.

I found the camera I wanted after a half-hour of searching the Internet. I ordered a dozen of them using my mom's credit card. I also ordered some cases to mount them in and radio receivers to put in the cases. Three days later everything was delivered via UPS. God, this is a great country.

I had ordered extra parts so that I could experiment with design. I wanted the ones in my sister's bedrooms to be perfect. I wouldn't get another chance to put in a camera if the first was discovered. I spent a week designing and assembling the PEEPER-Mark I.

I mounted the first PEEPER on top of the dresser in my room. I had to string the antenna wire along my ceiling so that the radio would work. I ran the signal wire for the camera out the back and connected it to the VCR on my desk. My heart was pounding as I turned on the radio and TV. The picture was horrible. I could see a snowy blurry picture of myself sitting at my desk watching an even blurrier picture on a TV.

I tore apart the Mark I and started adjusting components. The blurry picture was fixed by changing the glass that hid the camera. The snowy picture was fixed by changing the signal wire from twisted pair to coax cable. This gave me another brilliant idea. I ran my antenna up in the attic and connected it to a length of coax cable that I ran down the wall to my room. I started testing the Mark II PEEPER.

It was better but still not good enough. I could see almost my entire room. I walked right up to the camera to watch the focus. My face blurred at about 3 feet from the lens but that seemed good enough. The picture was no longer snowy. The radio actually had good sound. I could pick up all of the really cool stations (even WKNZ) with no static or loss of signal.