Alternative to RM-1 remote

[ooge]

Hey all...
Instead of buying a RM-1, I built myself a wireless remote for my E300. Its a simple single button remote just for the shutter trigger.
Anyone who's electronically inclined and is interested in making your own remote for under RM50 let me know. Only tested on my E300, but should work with most Olympus cameras.

[khoking]

can post some photos of the item you built?

It is always good to see more creative and DIY stuff

[ooge]

Can do. I'll grab some pics later today and post it. Electronics wise, there's nothing much to see. 5 components. Or 3 if you want to be stingy. The secret is in the programming.
Note that if I suddenly get inclined to work a little harder I should be able mod the code to work with Nikons & Canons as well.

[khoking]

I wish to have one that can work with my Olympus C5050...

[wooncherk]

cool...... r u electronics engineer???

[ooge]

Yup. I'm an electronics engineer. Nice to be able to build my own stuff sometimes

Attached is a photo of the prototype board. Next version will be smaller as I can exclude some of the additional parts needed for programming. Target is to fit it into a car remote casing.
Remote clone.JPG

[wooncherk]

Originally Posted by ooge Yup. I'm an electronics engineer. Nice to be able to build my own stuff sometimes Attached is a photo of the prototype board. Next version will be smaller as I can exclude some of the additional parts needed for programming. Target is to fit it into a car remote casing. Attachment 17986

cool....... how do u program the control to comunicate with oly???

[ooge]

Originally Posted by wooncherk cool....... how do u program the control to comunicate with oly???

With much difficulty. The program has to be written to generate the correct bit pattern that the Olympus will recognise as a valid command. The timing is absolutely critical. Basically if you're familiar with Microcontroller programming, I wrote the program in assembly language which although is more difficult, allows me to control the timings exactly.
Then I program the micro with a special programming tool and .... it works!!
The Micro is the black component in the middle.
I'm going to be doing some fine tuning of the program this weekend.

[wooncherk]

Originally Posted by ooge With much difficulty. The program has to be written to generate the correct bit pattern that the Olympus will recognise as a valid command. The timing is absolutely critical. Basically if you're familiar with Microcontroller programming, I wrote the program in assembly language which although is more difficult, allows me to control the timings exactly. Then I program the micro with a special programming tool and .... it works!! The Micro is the black component in the middle. I'm going to be doing some fine tuning of the program this weekend.

is the micro a 8051 ???? if yes...... can 8051 do much things or can it be programed???

[ooge]

Originally Posted by wooncherk is the micro a 8051 ???? if yes...... can 8051 do much things or can it be programed???

Nope... the 8051 is really overkill for something like this. You need the smallest, cheapest micro you can find. What I'm using is from Microchip.

[wooncherk]

Originally Posted by ooge Nope... the 8051 is really overkill for something like this. You need the smallest, cheapest micro you can find. What I'm using is from Microchip.

thanks for ur guidance......

ps: sorry for my ignorance...... i'm only a naive 17 year-old boy......

[ooge]

Yay!!
Field tested the remote yesterday at a dinner with the fiance & her family, and it works perfectly with the most recent firmware upgrade (the first version sometimes didn't fire, coz I messed up the timings a little). Her father got hold of the remote and started taking some "action" shots of himself Another 5 more minutes and he would have filled up my memory card

All in all.... very pleased with the results. Only haven't done a range test yet. Up to 4 meters is still okay.

[wooncherk]

cool...... keep developing...... looking forward to seeing the final result......

[faust]

Mmmm~ DIY electronic code/assembly hack-engineering jobs! Fantastic.

Just goes to show that consumer electronics aren't mystical - it's just a matter of huge budgets, and huge R&D teams. After all, signals and more signals are being played around.

Random idea to share: Stepper motor mechanism to zoom in and out using remote (unrelated with remote-triggering, but I guess it could be something extra for people to take actions shots of themselves Not to mention pan, tilt, viewfinder live feed.. oh my, going too far!)

[kokwei9035]

Originally Posted by ooge With much difficulty. The program has to be written to generate the correct bit pattern that the Olympus will recognise as a valid command. The timing is absolutely critical. Basically if you're familiar with Microcontroller programming, I wrote the program in assembly language which although is more difficult, allows me to control the timings exactly. Then I program the micro with a special programming tool and .... it works!! The Micro is the black component in the middle. I'm going to be doing some fine tuning of the program this weekend.

ooge, so how's your results on the remote? I am interesting in getting one of this as alternative to RM-1.

[ooge]

Originally Posted by kokwei9035 ooge, so how's your results on the remote? I am interesting in getting one of this as alternative to RM-1.

Oops... been so totally busy I forgot to update you guys....
Its been working perfectly for the past few months already. Anyone who wishes to test it out is welcome to do so. Just let me know where to meet you.

I'm contemplating making it into a little kit that you can assemble yourself. I've been eyeballing a little keychain torchlight that should be a good target. I can make and program the boards, you can buy the keychain (from Watsons) and put it together yourself.

Interested?

Doing stuff like this makes me happy.... Knowing that I did something and did it well Will share the blessings with anyone interested.

[mohamadfazli]

can u make for other makes.?

[omarjamaludin]

i heard you can use the universal remote control to trigger d70s...maybe this iz old story he he..

http://www.nikonians.org/cgi-bin/dcf...iewmode=all#11

[kokwei9035]

Originally Posted by ooge Oops... been so totally busy I forgot to update you guys.... Its been working perfectly for the past few months already. Anyone who wishes to test it out is welcome to do so. Just let me know where to meet you. I'm contemplating making it into a little kit that you can assemble yourself. I've been eyeballing a little keychain torchlight that should be a good target. I can make and program the boards, you can buy the keychain (from Watsons) and put it together yourself. Interested? Doing stuff like this makes me happy.... Knowing that I did something and did it well Will share the blessings with anyone interested.

ooge, me from Penang...any place nearest to yours, Perak, KL??thank u so much...

Rgds,
KW9035

[ooge]

Originally Posted by mohamadfazli can u make for other makes.?

Nikon - should be able to. I've got the data protocol with me. But I need a camera to test it out on. Any one care to donate one for me to experiment??