The DIY stuff

[Seagull]

That is almost impossible.

Are you in FAST mode ?

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While the USB cable is connected is 'USB' displayed ?

Yes with wireless remote after first button press USB remains displayed.
Or hooking up to the PC the USB text is displayed
Connecting the camera to PC USB seems to have become more reliable and now makes an exposure on 90+% of the connections.
On further trials I note the focus beam always illuminates and for some strange reason if the camera is pointed at the ceiling the flash seems to always fire but pointed at the PC's screen it may not.

OK, that was misleading.
You have to remove the USB cable after the photo is taken and re-insert it a few seconds later.

Understood. that is what I was doing.

OK another discovery
When using the wireless (burp machine) remote and the hangup occurs (after the initial successfull photo) the USB indication remains on.  If I pull the cable from the socket on the remote receiver the usb indicator text  goes off and after plugging it in again another photo can be taken.
 
However switching off  battery power using the on/off switch on the remote receiver leaves the USB indicator on??
It was still showing USb even after 20 minutes.

I just borrowed an old analogue multi meter to see if it could detect any remaining loww voltage but it indicates zero after the initial 2 second 4 volt "pulse".

[Microfunguy]

It was still showing USb even after 20 minutes.

It will only display that if a voltage is present.

As far as I can tell there is not a problem with SDM, if it detects a voltage going from loe to high it will fire.
If the voltage stays high it will not trigger.

To put it another way, if your testmeter shows the reading is zero volts and 'USB' is displayed, it should still be displayed when you unplug your equipment.

I am quite sure it will not be  

So, SDM works perfectly and the new pulse-lockout feature is very useful for applications like this.

Now, we need to get a signal that goes to about 4V with respect to ground when the doorbell rings.

Are you able to post a photo of the circuit board or tell us the number on an IC, if there is one ?

[whoever]

Seagull,
Let me make a couple of guesses. (i) When you measured the output voltage, with whatever fancy DMM or otherwise, the USB was disconnected  from the camera; (ii) When you say "switching off battery power using the on/off switch", the power to the USB connector that you tapped from an intermediate battery leg was not terminated.

Right on both counts, am I not? Even though I have to second-guess the workings of your circuit...

This is exactly what I told you was happening: the output of your MOC3020, once opened when you press your burp control, gets sufficient current through the camera  to stay open forever. Thus, it only triggers to the "on" state, but not back.

Perhaps time to get rid of your burp?

[Seagull]

Microfunguy said:

Are you able to post a photo of the circuit board or tell us the number on an IC, if there is one ?

It appears to say SCA 30 TM
                         LM 358P 
But the 3 after the LM could be an 8?

Ain't these little cameras amazing?

Thanks

[Seagull]

whoever said

:

Perhaps time to get rid of your burp?

I already had come to that conclusion.

Maybe I should  go and buy a wireless doorbell Roll Eyes

But I am due to head off overseas soon and do not have the time to organise another wireless remote berfore I leave,  but I can  happily use the existing one, knowing now, as I do, it's well documented restrictions.

Thanks for setting me straight.







M

[Microfunguy]

That is a dual op-amp.

With the battery removed,  check if pin 4 is connected to battery negative.

Solder separate wires to pin 1 and pin 7.

Make sure you identify the correct pin.

Connect your meter from pin 4 (or battery -ve) and pin 1.

Fit batteries, turn-on receiver and measure pin 1 volts.

Operate transmitter, does pin 1 voltage change ?

Check the same with pin 7.


Also measure from battery -ve to each side of the speaker with the transmitter on and off.

The signal may be AC rather than DC, switch your meter to AC if necessary.

[lemagicien]

Hi folks! Just reporting!
I havea a Canon Powershot A630 with Allbest-a630-100c-50 CHDK version. Build a remote usb shutter with a CR2430 battery (couldn't find a CR2032 battery holder, so I used this one instead, it's the same as CR2032 just a little bit bigger). A normally open switch (push button) and a female usb connectot. Mounted everything on a breadboard (protoboard) for testing. Loaded the remote.bas script, activated the Enable Remote, activated the script by pressing the camera trigger button and everything worked perfectly! The remote usb shutter really works. No regulators or resistor-capacitor debouncing circuit. Just the push button in series with the battery and into the female USB connector (left pin when looking into it is positive). The camera usb cable is attached to the female connector.
Very simple and it works fine. Battery volatge is 3.15 volt, no need for 5 volt supply in this model (A630).
Regards!

[lemagicien]

REMOTE USB SHUTTER SUPPLY VOLTAGE - CANON A630

Just for the record: Remote USB shutter it works with 2.45 volts also with my A630!
REgards- Andy

[Badabing]

What do u guys think of this? http://hacknmod.com/hack/diy-macro-photogrpahy-on-the-cheap/
I have a Ixus 100 and im looking for a DSLR but its hard to find one (out of so many xD)

So im trying to get more results for the time being.

[SkyWalker9]

What do u guys think of this? http://hacknmod.com/hack/diy-macro-photogrpahy-on-the-cheap/

I've been using one that I created using PVC and very thin white satin cloth.

My brother-in-law had a large (26"x36") high-gloss framed photo that he needed to advertise on his web site. He had several guys try, but they just couldn't take good enough shots for the web page even though they were using top-of-the-line Nikons and Canon DSLRs. They all tried different studio light setups, but none even tried using a light box/tent. After several failed attempts over four weeks, it ended up costing him $450 even though he couldn't use their results.

I did a simple search and found several sites like the one mentioned here, and all used similar designs - boxes cut out with white paper/cloth on the sides. I needed a much larger scale (5'x5'), so I engineered the large scale version. Besides the extra size, I also needed to use four lights rather than the normal two with the smaller light boxes in the link above. I used my Canon SX20 and my shots were done the next day and cost him about $50 - the cost of my materials.

Although the light box construction doesn't take a lot of time, the MOST important thing is to use the correct light. Many people will use two slave flashes rather than worry about white balance, however I prefer "studio type" lights. My lights were common 8-10" clamp-on reflectors with GE CFL Daylight light bulbs.  The correct bulbs are critical because they need to be daylight 6500K ("cool, natural light", 26w - 100w equiv, 1600 lumens, life 8000 hours). You can get a two pack for about $7 from most local Walmarts.  Just set you camera white balance for a normal daylight photo.

So for a small amount of time and money, you can take great photos using either a PS or a DSLR.

[SkyWalker9]

Nice Light Box DIY project:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ainsworthphoto/287875597/#in/pool-homemade_photo_equipment

[Microfunguy]

It will be far easier to pack away than a softbox cube.

Have you tried packing a softbox ?

It is one of life's challenges .. do a search for YouTube videos.

[waterwingz]

http://lifehacker.com/5700178/turn-a-hacked-point-and-shoot-camera-into-a-time-lapse-station

This is really doing things the hard way but there are some nice comments about CHDK at the bottom.

[achillies]

Someone asked me if I could take some pictures of the power plug for an SX130IS.  They aren't the best pictures, but can be seen here -> http://www.achillies.com/CHDK_Files/powerplug.htm

The plug is *almost* the same as that of a Kyocera TXTVL10103 or Audiovox CNR4 power adapter.