So i'm building a camera controller - Ideas please!

Ok here is the maiden picture!!

I was very surprised that it actually worked (given that i've had nothing but a simulator to code in all week). I've also tested out the delay library for 10 second intervals which worked. Next to try out is the range i think.

Until the FETs arrive i've got it the LED going through a 2N3904, operating at 60mA which seems to be fine. Only issue is that whilst the shooting function certainly works, it looks like the LED is still drawing some current when it's supposed to be off. It points to a pin not turning off, but by nature of the code if that was happening then the signal would be inverted (all the logical 1's would be 0's).

http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/8602/dsc5418b.jpg

Aren't most IC's notched? They should have the semi-circular bit at the top to tell you where pin 1 is...?

EDIT: Range appears to be pretty good - with the camera perpendicular around 2m. At 60% current that should improve and with the camera normal to the LED it should be a good deal longer!

I think the final stripboard design will be pretty compact. The only onboard components are the power supply (IC and four caps), the ATMega168, a few resistors, MOSFETs for the LEDs and the crystal. The buttons will just be glued into the box and they just need holes on the board as does the LCD.

I also discovered when making the a programming cradle that a dremel with an engraving bit does a far more efficient job at removing strips than a cutting tool :)

notches don't stop you putting it the wrong way round when ur tired + stupid... I had to half rebuild a commercial project i was doing because of that :( Mabye thats why I just do software now.

the dremel sounds like a top tip.

Glad to hear its all working, thou i must confess its the utlrasound I wanna see working, i like the idea of trying to get macro shots in the garden with a cheapo camera!

Ok, LCD is soldered and working (note the much improved power supply using the MAX619 and the horrible tangle of wires that my board is turning into!):

http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/6154/dsc5464.jpg

:P

So is the ADC, got it set up as a basic light detector at the moment. The LDR is pretty good, the response time seems pretty quick (the ADC is sampling at around 100kHz anyway), i might try triggering a picture off a flash to see how well it works. Also it's worth bearing in mind that there's a 50ms lag between each update value due to the wait time required to show a character on the screen. When it's actually triggering from an input source the LCD won't be displaying the ADC value so there shouldn't be any lag at all (minimal if any):

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/4038/dsc5465.jpg

(higher = brighter)

Right, pretty much done now. Just finishing off the instructable. I've given up on power saving mode because i've got no way to wake the processor up after it idles (the timer runs in the wrong mode).

So, perhaps if i've got time i'll rewrite it so it clocks internally and i can use the external crystal for an asynchronous source (i.e. it'll run during sleep).

In any case, it draws so little current the battery should last for ages (2 AA's at about 20mA should be at least 50-100 hours).

Sorry for the bump, but check it out: http://www.instructables.com/id/Buil...n-wireless-ca/

Finally finished writing it and entered it into the Digital Days compo, so hopefully i might win something :P

EDIT: Featured!

And now featured on hackaday too! (never thought i'd get an article there :P) http://hackaday.com/2009/10/13/a-dif...a-controllers/

Currently in 1st place :D