Newbie - requires point in right direction

[defuzz]

Hello, total newbie in the world of PIC so just need some pointing inthe right direction.

I have a Canon Digital SLR camera which has a wired remote which works by earthing two connections on a 2.5mm phono socket. I've already made a wired control using this plug, a couple of momentary switches and a project box.

The next step is to build time lapse remote switch. It seems it would be relatively simple to get a picaxe board to do a simple earthing of the circuit every x seconds but my problem comes in with the process of allowing a user to "input" a different time span (without redownloading the programme to the board each time).

-So first of all, will one of the starter packs be able to handle clock functions on their own or do they need a timer/module?

-In order to allow user changable time spans, where should I start researching?

 

[Dippy]

If doesn't need to be super accurate then PICAXE can do it easily.

Changing time spans/delays?
Just connect buttons to your PICAXE, get your code to read the Buttons (Faster/Slower) .
Make it flashy with an LCD diplay to show your speed. More buttons and you could preselect the number of frames taken.
So many things...

Have you any/much experience of programming in Basic?

 

[defuzz]

very little basic knowledge. I do a lot of windows programming though so hopefully it won't be too hard to pick up.

 

[Rickharris]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=1 face=arial>quote:<hr height=1 noshade>
So first of all, will one of the starter packs be able to handle clock functions on their own or do they need a timer/module?

-In order to allow user changable time spans, where should I start researching? <hr height=1 noshade></BLOCKQUOTE></font><font face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' size=2>

Although this comment often leads to a lot of criticisms - I would start by reading through the 3 manuals you will find as PDF files in the help section of the programme editor. You can download that for free from this site.

After that setting times and displaying information is as said fairly straight forward. Simple up down button control. I would think even an 08 might do what you want if there is enough I/O for your needs.

Time can be in seconds or milli seconds, accuracy will drift but is generally enough for most purposes, an external RTC can be used if accuracy is needed.

Sounds interesting - what do you want to time laps photograph??

 

[BeanieBots]

As mentioned by Dippy, we really need to know the required accuracy, how often and over what duration.
With these figures, it would then be possible to determine the required method of timing.
As for &quot;user&quot; input, there are many approaches that could be used ranging from a simple 'blind' potentiometer to keypad and LCD display. The choice will again come down the required accuracy and also budget.

 

[defuzz]

the time spans will hopefully be 1 minute-60 minutes, mainly for landscape timelapse

 

[hippy]

For slow timing applications like that - where a few mS, even seconds, either way don't matter - the PICAXE can use multiple PAUSE commands. Write a routine which delays for one minute, then your main loop simply needs to call that routine for however minutes the desired time lapse period is, fire the camera, and repeat.