I discovered this by coincidence. I bought with my amazon order my sx40 and some other stuff, among them a USB charger. It uses 2 normal AA batteries to charge USB devices.... and after a month or so... the idea struck me!!! I can use the USB charger as a power source for the remote control and use the camera's USB cable... no soldering whatsoever needed!! and it worked
One con of this setup is the slide switch on the USB charger. It's not of great quality, and I don't think it can endure a lot of turn offs and ons. You can search for other models though.
I had some problems with older CHDK versions. Not because of the USB charger, but because the older CHDK programming made using (switch) type button for a remote control almost useless. But the new version I'm using now (1.2.0 - 2171) is prefect.
There seems to be several different versions of this floating around - I wonder if we can find one that has enough space to sneak in a small pushbutton switch. That will take some soldering but could be worth it.
Glad you like it ! It was technically possible to setup the old version to work as a "one press" but it was really hard to understand how.
for those who don't want be bothered with making a remote control... there's a really easy solution.
This is the model I bought: (this is the old link, name changed)http://www.amazon.com/Portable-Battery-Powered-Emergency-Flashlight/dp/B003XTI5NE/ref=sr_1_13?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1321366809&sr=1-13I bought it for 2.87 USD, and it has an on\off switch that can be used as the release button. Also, it triples as a flashlight.So, for 2.78 USD I got: USB charger, flashlight, and a CHDK remote control There are many other sellers who sell the same exact model, search for the cheapest and most reliable.
Go to the CHDK settings and enable the remote control and set it to: switch Type: OnePush Control Mode: Normaland you're good to go
[One slight concern I had was what happens if you leave the switch on? A number of people in the 1 star ratings said the unit overheats to an extreme when charging their phones. Would this keep supplying a current to the camera and fry it if you left it on?
Is the reason you use Normal instead of Quick so you are forced to turn the switch off before it will trigger and thus avoid the possible situation I outlined above?
And USB ports constantly supply 2 currents (5v and 12v). Otherwise the hack would be just pushing electric current on a circuit not designed to take it, and that'd have been dangerous to begin with.
Regarding the heating, It isn't a problem because I think units heat up only when the connected device draws high current (500 mA). I think most Canon cameras don't have USB charging (mine doesn't) so they draw low current. Therefore, you shouldn't have any overheating problems.
No, it's just the easiest and most practical mode for me. Otherwise you have to make a very quick on and off to trigger the shutter and it's really difficult on that flimsy switch.
The camera input USB circuit draws almost no power, so there is no worry about overheating. (Except for the Powershot N - which charges via its USB port).
Paco was asking about the Control mode called "quick" rather than "normal". The "quick" mode fires the shutter as soon as the USB 5V is detected - it does not care how quickly you release the button.
USB ports don't use 12V - they are 5V only connections.
I suspect you are talking about why you use "one push" instead of "two push" as the input mode. Paco was asking about the Control mode called "quick" rather than "normal". The "quick" mode fires the shutter as soon as the USB 5V is detected - it does not care how quickly you release the button.
Have you measured the current? Maybe there is a current-limiting device on the inputs. I would hope…
It is supposed to work that way but on mine it doesn't. In either mode, the shutter triggers as soon as +5V is applied. Normal mode does not wait until it is removed for some reason. (I am simply plugging and unplugging the USB cable to test this feature out)
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