Ad Astra Observatory

Jimbo,

Yes, the camera control is just like a “relay”. The software just toggles

the state of the parallel port pin. So you should be able to interface your
microcontroller easily.

Steve

—–Original Message—–
From: Jimbo S. Harris [mailto:jimbo@jimbo.net]
Sent: Tuesday, August 22, 2006 5:32 PM
To: steve@barkosoftware.com
Subject: parallel port protocol for DSLRControl

Hi Steve,

Sorry if this is a FAQ — I’ve built myself a PIC microcontroller-controlled
box that drives an IR LED to trip the shutter on my Nikon D70. The PIC knows
the D70 IR remote code, and knows how to transmit it.

I’d like to add DSLRControl support to the unit (at the moment, it’s just

for personal use), but I’d like to know whether DSLRControl is expecting to
send the IR code itself, or is it more like a “relay” that just sends a
particular parallel port pin high (or low), which a “smart” device down the
line is supposed to interpret as “OK, fire the shutter now”.

In short, can you tell me what communication protocol DSLRControl expects to
use? I have a free input pin on my PIC and a free LPT port on my Win2K
laptop.

Thanks for your help on this.

Clear skies,
Jimbo S. Harris
amateur astronomer and amateur tinkerer