The universal trigger interface (The little box)

remarkable! :clap:

off to surf the wobbly now!
 
They're not official Arduino boards. They're cheap Chinese knock-offs. You don't know what components are on the board.
 
Another short visit to the professors lab and what a difference a day makes!

I took some photo's using my iphone so excuse the quality but.. here is the portable trigger in it's box with the display clearly working. There are two knobs/pots on the front for menu choices and adjustments and Darren was adding the output plugs as I was leaving. That's about how technical I get but It's getting exciting now and we will soon be out playing with this device :)

The Portable Trigger

89624E304BDD4CF9A9530A9A362544DB-0000339410-0002365652-01024L-0D3ECE67DE3744FDABDCF0011B38D85C.jpg


The Portable Trigger Naked

95F8EE766D2F4906B1C6934C0C72DEDB-0000339410-0002365734-01024L-B9DF3BF521B04048AAD6614C19AE4B70.jpg
 
Hmm....

Anyway further work on the device today. Just need to connect the outputs of the optical couplers to the pins which connect to the rear sockets, add two buttons (the final version will have knobs with integrated buttons) plus add the 9V battery snap and 5V regulator THEN it is just software :)

The prototype has a complete 328p board inside it BUT the finished article will be just the chip. My programmer and blank 328p chips arrived today so not far to go now.
 
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Right well got in from work at 7:30 and started on the project again as I knew posty was due...

Connected 3 buttons - Focus, Trigger & Select (Final version will probably only have focus and trigger with select using the rotary encoder's built in button)

Fitted the battery snap and voltage regulator - Now the device can be used without being attached to the computer.

Connected up all the extra wires that had not yet been done.

Fitted the knobs onto the menu selector and value selector spindles.

Slept for 4 hours

Added support for the buttons to the software (you can now use the device as a wired remote as well) which now very close to completion for the test device.
 
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:bang:

Whoops! I seem to have forgotten an on/off switch :suspect:
 
Oh well......

On the portable version - The trigger section of the code is now written too and the camera/flash is triggering as per the delays in the menu system.
 
Massive day today.

The right hand button has now been changed and is the FLASH button so the three buttons are SHUTTER, FOCUS, FLASH.

The long shaft encoders (with built in buttons) arrived so the ill fitting one that was in has now been replaced. Select is now done by pressing the right hand control.

All ports now tested and working

Added a hidden TEST menu option by pressing FOCUS and SHUTTER at the same time, this allows you to set the sensitivity of the laser or sound modules without taking 100 pictures of fingers etc.

HARDWARE is now complete (other than lack of an on/off button which will be added when a suitable one arrives through the post.

SOFTWARE is working but needs a little polishing.......

SO time to input the board into Eagle and make the finished PCB whilst letting my first device go off to be used to take some pictures.

The universal trigger box has had a few modifications to keep it compatible with the portable version in that triggers for one work with the other. However they can do more with the larger version and the larger version can detect the type of trigger etc......

Off to get some tea now :)
 
Well now that the portable version is finished and working I have to get it to production. I designed the PCB last night and will produce it as soon as I can work out how to print each side in Eagle and then watch the DVD that came with my PCB manufacturing system.

Next task is to locate certain components! It was so much easier when I designed add-ons for computers and just handed the schematic to the PCB company who sourced everything and built it too!

I need a 5K pot linear PCB mount potentiometer with a click off switch and a shaft that is the same length or longer than my encoder! ie 2cm with a 6mm shaft and the body maybe 5mm thick.

I need 3 push buttons that I like.

I need two nice control knobs for the menu pot and value encoder (I like the ones on the prototype but these are machined out of a solid lump of aluminium and were originally for a guitar so cost about £6 each!)

If anyone knows of an LCD where the display is 50mm x 20mm and the body of the LCD is no larger than 75mm wide let me know.
 
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farnelll have these but cheap they ain't £2.25 each + VAT

good progress by the look of it :)
 
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mmcp42 said:
farnelll have these but cheap they ain't £2.25 each + VAT

good progress by the look of it :)
Click to expand...

Thanks. They are the same price as the rotary encoders! Still, they are what I am looking for though. I will order three to see what they are like.
 
Well just ordered 10 x 1284P off Farnell. Going down the completely built by me route again. I didn't actually know that there was a DIL Atmel chip bigger than the 528P :shrug: This should help keep the price at my target. The portable version is finished now and I am just awaiting an instruction manual on printing both sides of the board using Eagle.

I am currently building a new desktop prototype from scratch so will have 2 desktop versions to mess with and then 2 portable versions. This will allow them to be tested in a field somewhere :)
 
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Well it's been a week and I am still working on the new chip to get it going properly. Once it is then I can get them both finished.

My chief tester/water droplet person has gone and injured himself so the portable machine that was waiting for him still is :)
 
cowasaki said:
<snip>

My chief tester/water droplet person has gone and injured himself so the portable machine that was waiting for him still is :)
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There's got to be a curse around this device :D :nuts: ... How many appendages did you damage making this? The person you've originally done this, wasn't he in hospital? And now, your pilot-tester is injured too! :eek:

All that aside, I look forward to see this in full working order :thumbs:
 
Wail said:
There's got to be a curse around this device :D :nuts: ... How many appendages did you damage making this? The person you've originally done this, wasn't he in hospital? And now, your pilot-tester is injured too! :eek:

All that aside, I look forward to see this in full working order :thumbs:
Click to expand...

Wail, John (CGeezer) is the person who was in hospital and has now broken his ankle.

The portable version is now WORKING and just needs testing. I have nearly finished the PCB design but I am working on using a new chip on the standard version which allows me to make the whole device from scratch.

Just discovered that I was using capacitors 1000 times too large on the clock crystal and wondered why I was having timing issues :lol:
 
It had gone quiet whilst I installed my PCB making kit, got all the surface mount equipment and got it setup and worked out the conversion from one processor to another (This will allow me to make them within the price quoted whilst still getting the components in this country).

The first complete and working prototype is, well, complete and working - it is the portable version.

I now need to finish designing the PCBs for the retail version and then we are away :)

I've just finished plumbing in the PCB etching and developing tanks today and will be printing my first PCBs for the portable version in the next few days.......

John is my chief tester but decided to break his leg instead !
 
Darren,
I have been watching this thread with interest in your project. It all seems to be coming together well.
Now you have the PCB etching set up, are you using ferric chloride as the etchant. I have used this for years to etch steel and have always been told its primary use is for PC Boards.

Mick.
 
I'd offer to test, but being a few 1000s miles away doesn't make it practical! :(
 
mick m said:
Darren,
I have been watching this thread with interest in your project. It all seems to be coming together well.
Now you have the PCB etching set up, are you using ferric chloride as the etchant. I have used this for years to etch steel and have always been told its primary use is for PC Boards.

Mick.
Click to expand...

Yes, I bought a kit "D" costing about £1300 with the VAT from HERE. I will not be making each board as I have someone to do that but if I can give them the Eagle CAD files knowing that they work it makes the job faster. I can also use it for making small runs of things. Electronics is my other hobby so it is nice to merge them for this.
 
cowasaki said:
Yes, I bought a kit "D" costing about £1300 with the VAT from HERE.
Click to expand...

I'll stick to using Really Useful Boxes for £2 each and buy my chemicals as needed from Rapid. :D
 
Wail said:
I'd offer to test, but being a few 1000s miles away doesn't make it practical! :(
Click to expand...

Maybe one of the prototypes could wing it's way over for some hot climate testing.

Once I have a working PCB it really is a quick job to get it finished. It will be the portable version finished first though as I have only just managed to get the larger processor to work properly on my own board.
 
Kaouthia said:
I'll stick to using Really Useful Boxes for £2 each and buy my chemicals as needed from Rapid. :D
Click to expand...

That does include the UV light box, guillotine, PCB drill, chemicals, tinning stuff etc etc. Yes it certainly can be done a damn site more cheaply but I just fancied getting a really nice setup that could be used for small runs too.
 
Already had a drill press that works surprisingly well (better than I'd expected) for PCBs. Just picked up my first batch of tinning crystals last week to give that a go now I'm trying some bigger boards (not cheap, so holding off until I can make a big batch of boards at once).

I use toner transfer from a laser printer, so no UV light box needed hear, but they're cheap enough to make if I need to go the UV route.

Ended up costing me about 50-60 quid for enough FeCL3 to last about 2 years, the tinning solution (probably do me for about a year), 20 6x4 boards and a flux pen.

Nice to have the proper stuff to do it, but for that kinda money, I'd rather put it into more camera gear. :D
 
cowasaki said:
Maybe one of the prototypes could wing it's way over for some hot climate testing.

Once I have a working PCB it really is a quick job to get it finished. It will be the portable version finished first though as I have only just managed to get the larger processor to work properly on my own board.
Click to expand...

That sounds excellent; although I am not sure how many of the users would subject it to the kind of heat I would :shrug:

Today, it was 41C late afternoon; by late July it ought to be well into the 50C at mid-day, and upper 50C if left out in the sun for a while.

All that aside, I'm just looking forward to getting the final version and putting it to good use :thumbs:
 
Kaouthia said:
Already had a drill press that works surprisingly well (better than I'd expected) for PCBs. Just picked up my first batch of tinning crystals last week to give that a go now I'm trying some bigger boards (not cheap, so holding off until I can make a big batch of boards at once).

I use toner transfer from a laser printer, so no UV light box needed hear, but they're cheap enough to make if I need to go the UV route.

Ended up costing me about 50-60 quid for enough FeCL3 to last about 2 years, the tinning solution (probably do me for about a year), 20 6x4 boards and a flux pen.

Nice to have the proper stuff to do it, but for that kinda money, I'd rather put it into more camera gear. :D
Click to expand...

To be honest I have the camera gear I want and I just wanted some nice gear for the electronics as well. I've treated myself to a 100MHz digital storage scope, surface mount board heater+rework system+tweezers etc, soldering/desoldering station, new bench PSU plus the PCB stuff. I was going to buy their through hole plating press until I found out that you can buy the through hole plating rivets and press them with either flat pliers or an old drill in a drill press. So once I had the money saved for that I used it on other kit.
 
Wail said:
That sounds excellent; although I am not sure how many of the users would subject it to the kind of heat I would :shrug:

Today, it was 41C late afternoon; by late July it ought to be well into the 50C at mid-day, and upper 50C if left out in the sun for a while.

All that aside, I'm just looking forward to getting the final version and putting it to good use :thumbs:
Click to expand...

Yes, with any luck I can etch my first PCB (which is a prototype board using the larger processor) in the next few days. Once I know that that works I can then re-design the main board using this processor rather than a pre-bought processor board. I can now use SMT devices for the smaller components and have the boards made for me with a socket for the processor.

I need to find a metal fabricator to make me a jig for routing the holes but I think I know just the person for that.....
 
Oh and John, switching to this method means that I can get everything from Farnell complete with certification :)
 
cowasaki said:
I was going to buy their through hole plating press until I found out that you can buy the through hole plating rivets and press them with either flat pliers or an old drill in a drill press. So once I had the money saved for that I used it on other kit.
Click to expand...

You have a link to that?
 
Kaouthia said:
You have a link to that?
Click to expand...

The through hole plating stuff is on their web site. It costs (all plus VAT) £250 for the press plus £91 per set of dies (one needed for each sized hole) plus £22 per 1000 rivets.

I bought 3 sizes of rivets and a pair of flat long nosed pliers :) I even have the rivet manufacturers details now too :)

The most useful size is 1mm ie drill a 1mm hole and stick the rivet through then when squashed it leaves a 0.8mm hole going right through. This is large enough for most components. I also bought 0.8mm rivets (0.6mm hole) to use for vias and 1.2mm rivets for use with larger legs such as the switches, relays and ZIF sockets.

If you PM me your address I will stick you some of each in a little bag for you to try.

Oh and here is the link : http://www.megauk.com/through_hole_rivets.php
 
Cheers chap. Good work so far. Can't wait for the production version.
On an aside I guess there's lots with this thread on subscription.
 
Well the current position is that the portable version is complete using the point to point wiring technique.

The software for the portable version is in a working state.

The board for the portable version is designed and I am hoping to print it and make it today.

I have built the processor board for the larger version on a PCB that I have designed and printed which is also working and complete.

I have built the board for the light trigger device on a PCB which is fully working too.
 
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