Nikon D50/D70 IR remote control

The Project

After chasing the idea of building a remote for my D50, I found this really interesting page with all you need (especially the IR timing) to get your remote up and running.

But using a AtTiny2313 for this leaves a lot of room to play with. So I made an enhanced version with a 7-segments display and a menu system. The new firmware let’s you choose among several shooting modes.

The remote is almost identical to the BigMike’s one except :

• the firmware is, of course, modified
• there is no On/Off button
• there are two buttons for the menu (change/select)
• there is a 7-segments display for the menu

Remote control

The firmware sets the Tiny2313 in sleep mode after 5 seconds of inactivity.
In tis mode, the datasheet gives at most 2µA current usage. So, since a CR2032 yields 220 mAh, and if I didn’t mess up somehere, you should be up and running for 10 years.

Modes description

The remote offers 9 shot modes, which of course can be changed in the firmware.

Whatever the mode, the dp dot blinks everytime a « take shot » IR frame is sent.

• Single shot mode (symbol : reversed lower ‘c’) : one button press makes a single shot

• Double shot mode (symbol : two horizontal dashes ) : one button press makes two shots in a row

• Triple shot mode (symbol : three horizontal dashes ) : one button press makes three shots in a row

• Continuous shot (symbol : lower ‘c’) : one button press starts continuous shooting as fast as possible until the ‘menu’ button is pressed again or the battery is dead

• Continuous shot every second (symbol : number 1) : one button press starts shooting 1 picture per second until the ‘menu’ button is pressed again or the battery is dead

Numbers 2, 5, 0 and 6 are also continuous shoot mode with 1 picture every 2, 5 10 and 60 seconds respectively.

Modes selection

Files

Wanna build yours ? You’ll need :

Circuit schematic

Circuit board layout

The core of the code (IR timing loop) is taken straight from BigMike’s ASM source.

Issues

There are some issues in my version. I am not sure if they are firmware/hardware/ir issues. The problem is the reliability of triggering : sometimes it just doesn’t work. This does make the remote of reduced usability for continuous shooting modes where timing is critical.

I wonder where this problem comes from : IR receptor low sensitivity ? inaccurate frequency generation ? AF mode induced triggering problems in some situations ?
Since I have relatively few hardware here (no friend with another D50, no oscilloscope, …) I didn’t dig it up for now.

And oh, BTW, the usual warnings apply : this remote can brick your MCU, destroy your Nikon, set your house on fire, etc… You’ve been warned !

Thanks

Big thanks to Bighignoli Michele, Jonas Diemer and Nate who pioneered the area.

EDIT : I finally managed to put my hands back on the firmware ! You can grab the ASM source or the hex file. Have fun !