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How to Trigger a Camera Remotely without Physical Presence

Last Updated on July 3, 2019 by Swagatam 10 Comments

In this article I have explained a simple RF remote control circuit which can be used for activating a digital camera remotely, by a press of a button. The idea was requested by Mr. Pat

Table of Contents
  • Analyzing the Circuit
  • The Design
  • The Transmitter circuit for the proposed remote control camera switching circuit

Circuit Objectives and Requirements

  1. I'm Pat, from France. Congratulations for your blog & website about electronic's devices : it's the paradise :o)
  2. I'm photographer & i'm looking for a simple remote control for my Nikon D200 in RF. I need a transmitter and receiver in a single radio frequencies with good reach and operate on a 9V battery. the goal is to trigger the camera remotely. The Nikon camera has a 10-pin socket designed for it.
  3. Here's a business model but very expensive here :

warning message: electricity is dangerous, proceed with caution

Would you have an assembly to propose? (I tinker with classical electronics as ham radio... :o)
thanks for your help :o)

Patrick / F5CEY
~90 miles north of Paris
France

 

 

Analyzing the Circuit

Hi Pat,

I am glad you liked my website.

I'll to try post the design as per my analysis soon in my website.

In the meantime you can go through the following article which I would be
using for the proposed implementation.

https://www.homemade-circuits.com/2013/07/simple-100-meter-rf-module-remote.html

The Design

I have discussed a simple 433 MHz RF remote control module based circuits which can be used in all kinds of remote switching applications within a range of 100 meters. Other forms of modules can be employed for getting higher ranges of distance.

These RF remote control modules can be also effectively used for the discussed remote camera switching application.

As per my interpretation, the pinouts from the camera's 10 pin socket which are relevant to the remote switching of the camera (using the proposed RF modules) are as follows:

pin#1 = Rx input data (triggering pulse)
pin#2 = +5V external input, or from the camera battery
pin#7 = power ground to be integrated with the RF module ground or negative.
Other pinouts does not look relevant for the intended functions and therefore may be left open.

As per the above data, the Rx or receiver module output could be integrated with the camera's existing 10 pin connector in the following shown manner:

Transmitter Circuit to Trigger a Camera Remotely

If the camera is intended to be operated with an external power source then an external battery may be utilized for powering the Rx module and the same may be fed to the camera via the pin#2 of its 10 pin socket.

If the internal battery of the camera is used which looks more appropriate then the Rx module could be powered from this source via the pin#2.

The BC557 can be seen configured with one of the output pinouts of the RX module which happens to be pin#10 from the decoder IC of the Rx module, although any of the other output could be used for the same results.

In the Tx module you will also find compatible 4 inputs with switches, each corresponding to the individual 4 outputs of the Rx module, meaning if pin#10 button of the Tx is pressed, this will activate the pin#10 of the Rx module.... and so on.

Therefore in the above case the pin#10 switch of the Tx needs to be pressed for implementing the required remote controlled camera switching.

The press of a button in the Tx handset is supposed to generate a low logic at the relevant pinout of the Rx module (pin#10 in the present case), which causes the BBC557 to activate and send a +5V TTL pulse to pin#1 of the camera, activating the camera shutters.

The Transmitter circuit for the proposed remote control camera switching circuit

The following circuit depicts the transmitter circuit or the Tx circuit stage which is supposed to be utilized for triggering the camera located in the remote location:

Receiver Circuit to Trigger a Camera Remotely

As can be seen in the above image, the four switches correspond to the respective 4 outputs of the Rx module.

However since pin#10 is employed in the present design, the switch associated with pin#10 should be used which is indicated as SW1 in the above diagram. The rest of the switches could be ignored.

You'll also like:

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Filed Under: Remote Control Circuits Tagged With: Camera, Physical, Presence, Remotely, Trigger, without

About Swagatam

I am an electronics engineer and doing practical hands-on work from more than 15 years now. Building real circuits, testing them and also making PCB layouts by myself. I really love doing all these things like inventing something new, designing electronics and also helping other people like hobby guys who want to make their own cool circuits at home.

And that is the main reason why I started this website homemade-circuits.com, to share different types of circuit ideas..

If you are having any kind of doubt or question related to circuits then just write down your question in the comment box below, I am like always checking, so I guarantee I will reply you for sure!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nathan says

    April 24, 2018 at 1:12 pm

    Hi again,

    I tried the 1N4148 as suggested but no difference. It will invert properly, switching off when an incoming signal is detected, but when an incoming signal comes, the LED just goes extra bright…

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      April 24, 2018 at 3:59 pm

      try a pull down resistor across base emitter of the BJT, use a value that just corrects this issue.

      Reply
      • Swagatam says

        April 24, 2018 at 4:00 pm

        or you can also try an opamp in the comparator mode for the detection

        Reply
  2. Nathan says

    April 24, 2018 at 12:18 pm

    I am getting perfect switching with a 2.2k resistor on a different input that is 0.8v, but not the 3.3v…

    Reply
  3. Nathan says

    April 24, 2018 at 12:00 pm

    Thanks,

    I have tried the diagram shown below
    " rel="ugc">comment image
    and have tried a variety of resistors in conjunction with a BC547. I am not getting clean switching on an input of 3.3v and am wondering what I am doing wrong. I have tried a variety of different configurations but nothing switches cleanly. How do I figure out what to use?

    Thanks

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      April 24, 2018 at 12:26 pm

      try using a 1N4148 diode at the base of the transistor….

      Reply
  4. Nathan says

    April 23, 2018 at 2:27 pm

    Hi Swag,

    I have a really simple request. I have made a simple 38khz break-beam sensor but need to make an inverted output selectable with a switch so I can choose to switch between the output and inverted output for different uses.

    Any help greatly appreciated as always

    Thanks

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      April 23, 2018 at 4:58 pm

      Hi Nathan, you can simply do it by attaching a NPN BJT stage with the output of the circuit. The collector of the BJT can be connected with a pull up resistor to the positive supply, and emitter with the ground.

      A switch may be configured to select this collector of the BJT or the output from the circuit directly…this will allow you to select between the normal output or the inverted output…

      Reply
  5. Okey Onah says

    January 13, 2018 at 2:18 pm

    Hi Swagatan, happy new year. I am Okey Onah from Nigeria. Please, I have some Ucom Cameras ( web cameras ) in my junk box which are working perfectly but I don’t have laptop or desktop in my home. My question is, ” can I use the Ucom cameras with my Plasma TV to achieve a room monitor or a security which will be displaying on the TV screen through the help of the Camera?”. If yes, help me with the connection procedures and circuit schematics involve in achieving this goal. Thank you so kindly for being there for people like me because I have achieved and learnt alot from your website. I wish to hearing from you soon.

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      January 13, 2018 at 9:27 pm

      Happy New Year Okey,

      I am really sorry I have no idea regrading the question that you have asked, so I won’t be able to suggest much on this…

      Reply

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