Hello everyone, and thanks in advance if you are willing to help me out
I do a lot of low-light photography, so I already made a handy cable release for my new camera. The problem is, there is still a physical connection between me and the camera through the cable, so a tiny bit of vibration still passes through, ruining the point of a cable release.
I could pay Canon ~$30 for an infrared remote that will only work up to 5 meters, and will still not allow me to use Bulb mode properly.
So, I devised a little plan. I have an older Bluetooth headset.
I can take the mono audio output of it, and I need a simple switch to activate based on the signal.
If I can accomplish this, I can write an application for my phone that would connect to the headset and send a simple signal to it (say, silence for "do nothing" and a 400hz tone for "open shutter"). This would not only give me radio-based remote control of the camera up to 10 meters (maybe more if I can mess with the headset's antenna?), it would also allow me to programmatically control it, and turn my phone into an expensive intervalometer.
TL;DR:
I need a simple circuit that will take an audio signal, and when a specific amplitude is reached (or a specific frequency - this would be the better, but probably harder option), would create a short circuit across the camera's shutter release, making it expose.
I thought I could get away with a simple transistor solution, but as far as my limited knowledge goes, transistors are pretty much useless for this purpose once the signal level goes below 0.6 V. This is just an in-ear headset, and I'm almost certain the signal will never go that high.
The optimal solution would only detect a specific frequency (bandpass filter + amplification + a transistor?), eliminating false positives (say if I get a call on the phone and the headset starts beeping), and this would also allow me to build a second copy of the circuit tuned to a different frequency, controlling the auto-focus too.
If this (seemingly) simple problem can be solved, I could create something that is far more advanced than anything the camera's manufacturer, or indeed any third party, has available. Obviously a dedicated RF transmitter+receiver would work better as a remote, but I already have a microcomputer in my pocket, and this would put it to some very good use!
Sorry if I blabbered on for too long, and thanks again in advance if you'd be so kind and help a n00b out.
I do a lot of low-light photography, so I already made a handy cable release for my new camera. The problem is, there is still a physical connection between me and the camera through the cable, so a tiny bit of vibration still passes through, ruining the point of a cable release.
I could pay Canon ~$30 for an infrared remote that will only work up to 5 meters, and will still not allow me to use Bulb mode properly.
So, I devised a little plan. I have an older Bluetooth headset.
I can take the mono audio output of it, and I need a simple switch to activate based on the signal.
If I can accomplish this, I can write an application for my phone that would connect to the headset and send a simple signal to it (say, silence for "do nothing" and a 400hz tone for "open shutter"). This would not only give me radio-based remote control of the camera up to 10 meters (maybe more if I can mess with the headset's antenna?), it would also allow me to programmatically control it, and turn my phone into an expensive intervalometer.
TL;DR:
I need a simple circuit that will take an audio signal, and when a specific amplitude is reached (or a specific frequency - this would be the better, but probably harder option), would create a short circuit across the camera's shutter release, making it expose.
I thought I could get away with a simple transistor solution, but as far as my limited knowledge goes, transistors are pretty much useless for this purpose once the signal level goes below 0.6 V. This is just an in-ear headset, and I'm almost certain the signal will never go that high.
The optimal solution would only detect a specific frequency (bandpass filter + amplification + a transistor?), eliminating false positives (say if I get a call on the phone and the headset starts beeping), and this would also allow me to build a second copy of the circuit tuned to a different frequency, controlling the auto-focus too.
If this (seemingly) simple problem can be solved, I could create something that is far more advanced than anything the camera's manufacturer, or indeed any third party, has available. Obviously a dedicated RF transmitter+receiver would work better as a remote, but I already have a microcomputer in my pocket, and this would put it to some very good use!
Sorry if I blabbered on for too long, and thanks again in advance if you'd be so kind and help a n00b out.