Hi Nigel, Great pictures. I presume that is an additional battery pack behind the Git 2. Would you be willing to share the detail of how you set up the PIR to trigger via the HDMI cable as while I am reasonably handy with the mechanical stuff I am not really clued up on the electronics. A while ago I looked at a TriggerTrap PIR for my DSLR for the same as you have done with the Git but it was ridiculously expensive. Thanks and Regards Dennis
Hi Buspass. Yes, it is an EasyAcc 10,000mAh USB battery pack which should run the camera and electronics for well over 24 hours, haven't tested it for that long yet.
My post above was a shortened version as I wasn't expecting people on this forum to be interested in the full details, but since you have asked, here is the full post, the electronics are actually quite easy but you will need a soldering iron to make the cables up as GitUp doesn't have an HDMI cable available for sale yet and the PIR sensor doesn't come with cables, ask if you want any more details...
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I've connected a PIR motion sensor to the Git2 HDMI port so my Git2 now takes a photo when someone or some animal moves in front of it.
These were from the first test, wasn't expecting it to work with small birds but it did! Photo quality will improve when I put the close up lens on and the rain stops...
This is what it currently looks like:
Rain proof box with USB powerbank, Git2, a small circuit board and a bag of silica gel inside. PIR Sensor outside since the nice clear lid of my box doesn't let IR light through so the sensor can't see from inside. GoPro filter adaptor and UV filter mounted in a hole in the front of the box to hold the Git2 and give it a better view than looking through the plastic box lid. Hopefully any damp inside the UV filter will find it's way down the flat area at the top of the lens barrel and get adsorbed by the silica gel inside the box - very useful having a flat top to the lens barrel, Gitup thinks of everything!
It could do with some shorter and thinner cables to look tidy, but that works for now.
So what is on the circuit board?
The PIR sensor gives a digital output. +v when it detects movement and 0v when there is no movement.
The Git2 requires a servo motor PWM signal on pin2 of the HDMI connector with 3 different levels specifying record video, standby or take photo.
To convert from digital to servo signals I used one of these:
https://www.particle.io/
It allows a bit more than just converting signals, it also gives a wifi connection (or mobile connection with a different version) so I can see how many photos or how much video it is taking from my computer, it can inform me of when it takes a photo, and I can also tell it to take a photo over the wifi.
This is the circuit board:
The big wifi aerial is not necessary but means it will connect from anywhere in the garden, even when well out of range of the Git2 wifi or remote watch.
Of course it needs a bit of firmware to tell it what to do, for those that are interested, this will take a photo if the PIR sees something or if you tell it to over the internet or you press the test button, and you can ask it over the internet how many it has taken:
Code:
SYSTEM_THREAD(ENABLED);
SYSTEM_MODE(SEMI_AUTOMATIC);
// Use the following commands at your computer command prompt to access the photo count and take a photo via wifi:
// particle variable get TrapCam PhotoCount
// particle function call TrapCam TakePhoto
typedef enum
{
mode_video = 1000,
mode_standby = 1500,
mode_photo = 2000
}
mode_enum ;
int button_photo = D0;
int led_photo = D4;
int led_board = D7;
int pir_sensor = D6;
Servo servo_Git2mode;
bool hart = false;
double photo_count = 0;
bool photo_request = false;
mode_enum mode = mode_standby;
void setup()
{
pinMode(led_photo,OUTPUT);
pinMode(led_board, OUTPUT);
pinMode(button_photo,INPUT_PULLUP);
pinMode(pir_sensor, INPUT_PULLDOWN);
servo_Git2mode.attach(D2);
Particle.variable("PhotoCount", &photo_count, DOUBLE);
Particle.function("TakePhoto",TakePhoto);
Particle.connect();
}
void loop()
{
bool photo_button_pressed = !digitalRead (button_photo);
bool pir_on = digitalRead (pir_sensor);
mode_enum new_mode = pir_on || photo_button_pressed || photo_request ? mode_photo : mode_standby;
if (new_mode == mode_photo && mode != mode_photo) photo_count++;
mode = new_mode;
photo_request = false;
digitalWrite(led_photo, mode == mode_photo);
servo_Git2mode.writeMicroseconds(mode);
digitalWrite(led_board,hart = !hart);
delay(100);
}
int TakePhoto(String command)
{
photo_request = true;
return photo_count + 1;
}
For people in the UK, components can be sourced at good prices from:
http://cpc.farnell.com/webapp/wcs/s...estType=Base&partNumber=SC13874&storeId=10180