building usb-remote-cable

[Coutts]

So i read up on the remote trigger and i set off to make my own. first i found that the IXUS70/SD1000 needed atleast 5v of power to respond to the remote trigger, that would take 4 AA batteries which would make 6V, thats alot of batteries. I said screw it and just used 1 9v battery, it responds every time to the trigger and so far no signs of fried camera electronics so i dont think its too much voltage. Heres my initial version



i made that last night with what i had laying around the house, after seeing it worked great i said i'd go to radioshack today and make a better one. Heres what i started with:




And this is what i came up with:


  This is so neat! It works awesome, CHDK FTMFW!!!!!!!!!


for those wondering, all i did was take a 9v battery connector from radioshack, connect the ground wire to the black ground wire in the usb cable, and put a switch between the positive lead from the battery and the positive lead from the usb cable, when i push the button it triggers the shutter. I also used this script that i found on here for it:

Code: [Select]

@title Remote button

while 1
  wait_click 1
  if is_key "remote" then shoot
wend
end

 

[GrAnd]

9V directly to USB?

[Barney Fife]

Deleted

[Coutts]

i dont get it, if 9v was going to kill the camera wouldnt it have done it already? what are the risks im running?

[whim]

Well, you're using - depending on camera - a little more or less than twice the voltage present in the camera.
Unless you know the specs of Canon's USB interface, that does not seem a good idea ...

wim

[Barney Fife]

Deleted

[Bg~]

I'm going to try a wireless remote using this TX/RX kit from sparkfun. The RX is the bigger one:

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=7813

The remote doorbell is a good idea. I'll have to look to see how big they are.

[Coutts]

i dont get it, if 9v was going to kill the camera wouldnt it have done it already? what are the risks im running?

You may have been lucky so far. Many components are designed to take a small and momentary surge voltage, but they cannot tolerate extended operation at those higher voltages. So while it may have worked so far, one time you may leave your finger on that button just 1/10th of a second too long and there's goes your USB port (or camera).

so how can i fix it? i really odnt want to take that box apart as im almost positive the solder on the switch will break (usb wire is VERY small and fragile). is it possible to buy a usb extension wire or something that would protect from a surge and limit the power?

[rocstar]

Here is another idea for a wired and wireless remote in one.  I purchased a Skylink garage remote from Radio Shack. It needs a 12V power supply for the receiver, and you also need to provide 3-5V to the USB port.  I used a 8xAA battery holder for the 12V, and soldered some wires to the leads for 3 of the batteries to give me 4.5-4.8V.
The Skylink unit basically closes a set of contacts but doesn't push any voltage through them.  You can trigger via the button on the receiver, or with the small remote transmitter.  It couldn't be easier!  The remote unit cost $20.  The battery holder was $2.
I now have a compact wired and wireless remote.  I haven't tested the distance yet, but I would suspect that it is at least 70-80 feet.
Now I just need to buy an S2 IS to go with my SD850.  Anyone have one for sale? 

[amatos]

Here is another idea for a wired and wireless remote in one.

I have been looking for a wireless-meganewbie-howto for the remote control but I can't find anything that can adapt to my amazingly small knowledge about electronics (althou I'm studying software development.....)

Yours seems to be kind of easy. Could you please do a small (read: as detailed as you can) howto for the wireless RC?  (I'm going to assume you just said yes...) Thanks!!

[wontolla]

Hi Coutts

i dont get it, if 9v was going to kill the camera wouldnt it have done it already?

If you apply a higher voltage to a circuit, the components will degrade and the life of the circuit reduces. It doesn't mean your camera will explode. But if you fry even the smallest of the USB port resistors you won't be able to use USB anymore. And those small resistors are difficult tu repair by hand.

so how can i fix it?

You can make a simple voltage divider with two resistors. So instead of applying 9V you only send 5V to the camera and the other 4V dissipate as heat through one of the resistors. This is a "how to" I found Voltage Divider

Of course you would be wasteing almost half of the battery power, but is a small price to pay compared with burning your camera isn't it?

On the other hand, I think you can find 6V batteries in RadioShack may be.

[rocstar]

Coutts,
The easiest way to go from 9v to 5v is to buy a 7805 voltage regulator from Radio Shack.  They have 3 pins, 1 for 9v input, 1 for ground, and 1 for the 5v output.  Simple!  This is the method I used on my first remote (the picture is earlier in this thread).

[rocstar]

Here is an easy and small USB remote that allows you to trigger up to 4 cameras simultaneously.  I built it for SDM use.  There are only 3 parts.
1. Mini-usb hub
2. Microswitch (Radio Shack)
3. N Battery Holder (Radio Shack)
The mini-usb hubs have 4 female USB ports, and all of the POS and GND pins are shorted.  Only the data lines are routed through the switching circuitry (we don't use those).  So with very little modification, you can add a switch and a battery to the mini-usb hub. 
Start with the cheap min-usb hubs with a built in place for the male connector.  I got mine free from a vendor, but you can find them on Ebay for $3.  Then cut out the male USB connector.  Next is the hard part.  You have to carve out the plastic to make room for the battery holder, and cut a hole for the microswitch.  I used a hobby soldering iron/burning tool.
Then you just put the battery holder in the hole you cut, and attach the POS and GND wires to the circuit board.
I use 3 LR44 batteries for 4.5V.  I used a screw to bridge the gap in the battery holder.  The other nice thing is that there is a built in LED to tell you when the button has been pressed and the batteries are good.
Then you can use cheap retractable mini-usb cables to fire the cameras within SDM.  I got mine at the dollar store.  They are terrible for transfering data, but they work great with SDM. 
The overall dimensions are 1.5cmx4cmx9cm.

[databoy]

For Australian Users.

Purchase a Kambrook Model KWC2, battery operated doorbell; 3 volt operation.
Dismantle the doorbell unit; remove the small printed circuit board.
Remove the speaker.
Buy a small round head phone socket and matching plug; 1.5mm or 2.5mm.
Drill a hole in the top left hand side of the case in the middle case retention tabs.
Cut the corresponding locking tabs on the bottom of the case.
Unsolder the existing speaker wires and use longer wires.
Solder the speaker wires to the speaker socket; +ve to centre -ve to outer.
You will need about one metre of security wire or microphone cable.
You will need a female inline socket or an existing cable.
You will need to splice the +ve to +ve and -ve to -ve and heat shrink the cable.
The reason is the USB cable will not fit in the into the head phone plug.
Solder the security wire or microphone cable into the head phone plug.
Check your connections with a multimeter for the correct polarity.
Reassemble the unit and you are on your way.
The door bell remote will wake up the camera in about a second.
The actual pulse chime is a combination of square wave/ sine wave lasting about 8 seconds.

Sorry; I cannot post any photos. When you open the doorbell, you will see it is a very simple procedure. Remove two wires and drill one hole.

Total cost approximately $20 to $25 Australian.

If you do not remove the chime speaker the modification will not work. The voltage with the speaker in circuit is too low.   

[databoy]

I can confirm that the Kambrook Model KWC2 doorbell USB cable works with the remote script. The S3IS recognises the pulses and shoots a photo.

I have a few programming problems to sort out. If the USB cable remote shoot script is loaded automatically on wakeup I cannot get into the ALT menu. Is there a way around it? Thanks.

Albest Build 49.

I am a hardware person; I do not understand programming languages. Is it possible for all the USB cable remote scripts to be amalgamated into one big script?