Reply by Mike ●March 2, 20192019-03-02
On 3/2/2019 12:29 AM, Robert Baer wrote:

> terrypingm@gmail.com wrote:
>> Project: To get images with my iPhone 6S+ of a fox visiting our garden 
>> overnight. One approach I’m considering is to tap the button of a 
>> Bluetooth camera shutter gadget (from CAMKIX) with a 500 ms pulse to a 
>> solenoid, triggered in various ways. (I don’t want to crack open the 
>> tiny case to attempt that with a circuit mod.) That seems reasonably 
>> straightforward.
>>
>> But to get a VIDEO clip, far preferable, I need a second pulse, to 
>> stop it.
>>
>> I’m thinking I would need three non-retriggerable monos. The first 
>> would be triggered by a +ve going signal from one of my sensors. (Such 
>> as a thin nylon trip wire or a micro switch under a large lightweight 
>> panel, cunningly disguised.) It would last 500 ms, activating the 12V 
>> solenoid. The second mono would be be started by the terminating edge 
>> of the first. Its duration would be say 20 s and it’s terminating edge 
>> would trigger the final mono, another 500 ms, stopping the video.
>>
>> Does that seem reasonable please? Any other suggestions?
>>
>> Terry, East Grinstead, UK
>>
>    Try one-transistor one-shots.
> 

That could come in handy.  Please elaborate.
Reply by Robert Baer ●March 2, 20192019-03-02
terrypingm@gmail.com wrote:

> Project: To get images with my iPhone 6S+ of a fox visiting our garden overnight. One approach I’m considering is to tap the button of a Bluetooth camera shutter gadget (from CAMKIX) with a 500 ms pulse to a solenoid, triggered in various ways. (I don’t want to crack open the tiny case to attempt that with a circuit mod.) That seems reasonably straightforward.
> 
> But to get a VIDEO clip, far preferable, I need a second pulse, to stop it.
> 
> I’m thinking I would need three non-retriggerable monos. The first would be triggered by a +ve going signal from one of my sensors. (Such as a thin nylon trip wire or a micro switch under a large lightweight panel, cunningly disguised.) It would last 500 ms, activating the 12V solenoid. The second mono would be be started by the terminating edge of the first. Its duration would be say 20 s and it’s terminating edge would trigger the final mono, another 500 ms, stopping the video.
> 
> Does that seem reasonable please? Any other suggestions?
> 
> Terry, East Grinstead, UK
> 

   Try one-transistor one-shots.
Reply by Terry Pinnell ●February 26, 20192019-02-26
Mike <ham789@netscape.net> wrote:


>On 2/25/2019 12:40 AM, Terry Pinnell wrote:
>> "dcaster@krl.org" <dcaster@krl.org> wrote:
>> 
>>> On Friday, February 22, 2019 at 5:00:11 AM UTC-5, Terry Pinnell wrote:
>>>>   >
>>>> I bought PICS and software about 15 years ago but never really mastered
>>>> the coding. Last programming I did was decades ago (early assembly
>>>> language at IBM, BASIC, FORTRAN, etc. I do some occasional VBA in Excel,
>>>> mainly in copy/paste mode, but otherwise the closest I get is writing
>>>> macros with Macro Express Pro.
>>>>
>>>> Terry, East Grinstead, UK
>>>
>>> Things have changed a lot.   Try looking up  Arduino.  Incredibly cheap and easy to use.
>>>
>>> For best prices go to Aliexpress.  Just takes a long time to come from China.
>>>
>>>                                              Dan
>>>
>>>                 We have Foxes in Delaware USA too.  ( and deer, skunks, possums, and racoons.
>> 
>> Thanks Dan, but I guess you missed "Not into programming, so PICS,
>> microcontrollers, FGPS, Pi, etc not options."
>> 
>> I didn't explicitly mention Arduino - but as that appears to need C or
>> C++ programming know-how, much as I'd like to use it, that's out too ;-(
>> 
>> Terry, East Grinstead, UK
>> 
>The Digispark device I suggested has a USB plug.
>It needs exactly ZERO additional support.  NO power supply,
>no breadboard no nothing to develop a program.
>
>You could have combined the two demo programs below to do exactly
>what you want in far less time than you've spent whimpering
>about it.


As I said in my reply to you four days ago, my focus is now on an iOS
app. I'm now using it on my iPhone and iPad. No fox yet but I can't
blame that on hardware, software or 'whimpering'.



>Copy and paste from demos.
>And you'd have the ability to change your program in an instant.
>And a skill to widen your possibilities.
>
>Note that most of the text in the demos is tutorial.  The actual
>code is a small percentage of the text.
>
>Development in C for people interested in quick results and lacking
>a photographic memory for details is a non-starter.
>It's not the C language itself; it's the zillion little details
>you have to master and memorize to get anything to run at all.
>
>Arduino and Digispark eliminate most of that.  You just find a demo
>program that's close and edit it a little.
>Then you plug the device into a USB wall charger for power,
>hook up the wires to your hardware and
>you're done.
>
>Having said that, I still think a packaged "baby monitor" or
>"surveillance camera" app for your iPhone is probably the easiest
>solution for this case.
>
>If you insist on making oneshots, Digispark or equivalent is your
>simplest path.  More capable Arduinos are easily available,
>but you don't need 'em at this point.
>
>Wiring up digital hardware is only necessary if you need more
>speed than you can get from software solutions.
>
>Are we having fun yet?
>
>******************************************************************
>This is the Button demo:
>
>/*
>   Button
>
>   Turns on and off a light emitting diode(LED) connected to digital pin 13,
>   when pressing a pushbutton attached to pin 2.
>
>   The circuit:
>   - LED attached from pin 13 to ground
>   - pushbutton attached to pin 2 from +5V
>   - 10K resistor attached to pin 2 from ground
>
>   - Note: on most Arduinos there is already an LED on the board
>     attached to pin 13.
>
>   created 2005
>   by DojoDave <http://www.0j0.org>
>   modified 30 Aug 2011
>   by Tom Igoe
>
>   This example code is in the public domain.
>
>   http://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/Button
>*/
>
>// constants won't change. They're used here to set pin numbers:
>const int buttonPin = 2;     // the number of the pushbutton pin
>const int ledPin =  13;      // the number of the LED pin
>
>// variables will change:
>int buttonState = 0;         // variable for reading the pushbutton status
>
>void setup() {
>   // initialize the LED pin as an output:
>   pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);
>   // initialize the pushbutton pin as an input:
>   pinMode(buttonPin, INPUT);
>}
>
>void loop() {
>   // read the state of the pushbutton value:
>   buttonState = digitalRead(buttonPin);
>
>   // check if the pushbutton is pressed. If it is, the buttonState is HIGH:
>   if (buttonState == HIGH) {
>     // turn LED on:
>     digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH);
>   } else {
>     // turn LED off:
>     digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW);
>   }
>}
>
>****************************************
>
>This is the blink demo
>
>/*
>   Blink
>
>   Turns an LED on for one second, then off for one second, repeatedly.
>
>   Most Arduinos have an on-board LED you can control. On the UNO, MEGA 
>and ZERO
>   it is attached to digital pin 13, on MKR1000 on pin 6. LED_BUILTIN is 
>set to
>   the correct LED pin independent of which board is used.
>   If you want to know what pin the on-board LED is connected to on your 
>Arduino
>   model, check the Technical Specs of your board at:
>   https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Products
>
>   modified 8 May 2014
>   by Scott Fitzgerald
>   modified 2 Sep 2016
>   by Arturo Guadalupi
>   modified 8 Sep 2016
>   by Colby Newman
>
>   This example code is in the public domain.
>
>   http://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/Blink
>*/
>
>// the setup function runs once when you press reset or power the board
>void setup() {
>   // initialize digital pin LED_BUILTIN as an output.
>   pinMode(LED_BUILTIN, OUTPUT);
>}
>
>// the loop function runs over and over again forever
>void loop() {
>   digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, HIGH);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the 
>voltage level)
>   delay(1000);                       // wait for a second
>   digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, LOW);    // turn the LED off by making the 
>voltage LOW
>   delay(1000);                       // wait for a second
>}
>************************************************************************
Reply by dcas...@krl.org ●February 25, 20192019-02-25
On Monday, February 25, 2019 at 3:40:06 AM UTC-5, Terry Pinnell wrote:



> >>
> >Things have changed a lot.   Try looking up  Arduino.  Incredibly cheap and easy to use.    
> >
> >For best prices go to Aliexpress.  Just takes a long time to come from China.
> >
> >                  >> "dcaster@krl.org" <dcaster@krl.org> wrote:                           Dan
> >
> >                We have Foxes in Delaware USA too.  ( and deer, skunks, possums, and racoons.
> 
> Thanks Dan, but I guess you missed "Not into programming, so PICS,
> microcontrollers, FGPS, Pi, etc not options."
> 
> I didn't explicitly mention Arduino - but as that appears to need C or
> C++ programming know-how, much as I'd like to use it, that's out too ;-(
> 
> Terry, East Grinstead, UK


I did not miss the " not into programming ".    But the Arduino is really easy.  Grade school kids use them.

If you could  find a class or someone to help you , you would see  how easy it is to use.


                                            Dan
Reply by Mike ●February 25, 20192019-02-25
On 2/25/2019 12:40 AM, Terry Pinnell wrote:

> "dcaster@krl.org" <dcaster@krl.org> wrote:
> 
>> On Friday, February 22, 2019 at 5:00:11 AM UTC-5, Terry Pinnell wrote:
>>>   >
>>> I bought PICS and software about 15 years ago but never really mastered
>>> the coding. Last programming I did was decades ago (early assembly
>>> language at IBM, BASIC, FORTRAN, etc. I do some occasional VBA in Excel,
>>> mainly in copy/paste mode, but otherwise the closest I get is writing
>>> macros with Macro Express Pro.
>>>
>>> Terry, East Grinstead, UK
>>
>> Things have changed a lot.   Try looking up  Arduino.  Incredibly cheap and easy to use.
>>
>> For best prices go to Aliexpress.  Just takes a long time to come from China.
>>
>>                                              Dan
>>
>>                 We have Foxes in Delaware USA too.  ( and deer, skunks, possums, and racoons.
> 
> Thanks Dan, but I guess you missed "Not into programming, so PICS,
> microcontrollers, FGPS, Pi, etc not options."
> 
> I didn't explicitly mention Arduino - but as that appears to need C or
> C++ programming know-how, much as I'd like to use it, that's out too ;-(
> 
> Terry, East Grinstead, UK
> 

The Digispark device I suggested has a USB plug.
It needs exactly ZERO additional support.  NO power supply,
no breadboard no nothing to develop a program.

You could have combined the two demo programs below to do exactly
what you want in far less time than you've spent whimpering
about it.  Copy and paste from demos.
And you'd have the ability to change your program in an instant.
And a skill to widen your possibilities.

Note that most of the text in the demos is tutorial.  The actual
code is a small percentage of the text.

Development in C for people interested in quick results and lacking
a photographic memory for details is a non-starter.
It's not the C language itself; it's the zillion little details
you have to master and memorize to get anything to run at all.

Arduino and Digispark eliminate most of that.  You just find a demo
program that's close and edit it a little.
Then you plug the device into a USB wall charger for power,
hook up the wires to your hardware and
you're done.

Having said that, I still think a packaged "baby monitor" or
"surveillance camera" app for your iPhone is probably the easiest
solution for this case.

If you insist on making oneshots, Digispark or equivalent is your
simplest path.  More capable Arduinos are easily available,
but you don't need 'em at this point.

Wiring up digital hardware is only necessary if you need more
speed than you can get from software solutions.

Are we having fun yet?

******************************************************************
This is the Button demo:

/*
   Button

   Turns on and off a light emitting diode(LED) connected to digital pin 13,
   when pressing a pushbutton attached to pin 2.

   The circuit:
   - LED attached from pin 13 to ground
   - pushbutton attached to pin 2 from +5V
   - 10K resistor attached to pin 2 from ground

   - Note: on most Arduinos there is already an LED on the board
     attached to pin 13.

   created 2005
   by DojoDave <http://www.0j0.org>
   modified 30 Aug 2011
   by Tom Igoe

   This example code is in the public domain.

   http://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/Button
*/

// constants won't change. They're used here to set pin numbers:
const int buttonPin = 2;     // the number of the pushbutton pin
const int ledPin =  13;      // the number of the LED pin

// variables will change:
int buttonState = 0;         // variable for reading the pushbutton status

void setup() {
   // initialize the LED pin as an output:
   pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);
   // initialize the pushbutton pin as an input:
   pinMode(buttonPin, INPUT);
}

void loop() {
   // read the state of the pushbutton value:
   buttonState = digitalRead(buttonPin);

   // check if the pushbutton is pressed. If it is, the buttonState is HIGH:
   if (buttonState == HIGH) {
     // turn LED on:
     digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH);
   } else {
     // turn LED off:
     digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW);
   }
}

****************************************

This is the blink demo

/*
   Blink

   Turns an LED on for one second, then off for one second, repeatedly.

   Most Arduinos have an on-board LED you can control. On the UNO, MEGA 
and ZERO
   it is attached to digital pin 13, on MKR1000 on pin 6. LED_BUILTIN is 
set to
   the correct LED pin independent of which board is used.
   If you want to know what pin the on-board LED is connected to on your 
Arduino
   model, check the Technical Specs of your board at:
   https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Products

   modified 8 May 2014
   by Scott Fitzgerald
   modified 2 Sep 2016
   by Arturo Guadalupi
   modified 8 Sep 2016
   by Colby Newman

   This example code is in the public domain.

   http://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/Blink
*/

// the setup function runs once when you press reset or power the board
void setup() {
   // initialize digital pin LED_BUILTIN as an output.
   pinMode(LED_BUILTIN, OUTPUT);
}

// the loop function runs over and over again forever
void loop() {
   digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, HIGH);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the 
voltage level)
   delay(1000);                       // wait for a second
   digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, LOW);    // turn the LED off by making the 
voltage LOW
   delay(1000);                       // wait for a second
}
************************************************************************
Reply by Terry Pinnell ●February 25, 20192019-02-25
"dcaster@krl.org" <dcaster@krl.org> wrote:


>On Friday, February 22, 2019 at 5:00:11 AM UTC-5, Terry Pinnell wrote:
>>  > 
>> I bought PICS and software about 15 years ago but never really mastered
>> the coding. Last programming I did was decades ago (early assembly
>> language at IBM, BASIC, FORTRAN, etc. I do some occasional VBA in Excel,
>> mainly in copy/paste mode, but otherwise the closest I get is writing
>> macros with Macro Express Pro.
>> 
>> Terry, East Grinstead, UK
>
>Things have changed a lot.   Try looking up  Arduino.  Incredibly cheap and easy to use.    
>
>For best prices go to Aliexpress.  Just takes a long time to come from China.
>
>                                             Dan
>
>                We have Foxes in Delaware USA too.  ( and deer, skunks, possums, and racoons.


Thanks Dan, but I guess you missed "Not into programming, so PICS,
microcontrollers, FGPS, Pi, etc not options."

I didn't explicitly mention Arduino - but as that appears to need C or
C++ programming know-how, much as I'd like to use it, that's out too ;-(

Terry, East Grinstead, UK
Reply by dcas...@krl.org ●February 23, 20192019-02-23
On Friday, February 22, 2019 at 5:00:11 AM UTC-5, Terry Pinnell wrote:

>  > 
> I bought PICS and software about 15 years ago but never really mastered
> the coding. Last programming I did was decades ago (early assembly
> language at IBM, BASIC, FORTRAN, etc. I do some occasional VBA in Excel,
> mainly in copy/paste mode, but otherwise the closest I get is writing
> macros with Macro Express Pro.
> 
> Terry, East Grinstead, UK


Things have changed a lot.   Try looking up  Arduino.  Incredibly cheap and easy to use.    

For best prices go to Aliexpress.  Just takes a long time to come from China.

                                             Dan

                We have Foxes in Delaware USA too.  ( and deer, skunks, possums, and racoons.
Reply by Joseph Gwinn ●February 23, 20192019-02-23
On Feb 23, 2019, Terry Pinnell wrote
(in article<uje37etkc16567idnvh043p328q5gqid9l@4ax.com>):


> Joseph Gwinn <joegwinn@comcast.net> wrote:
>
> > On Feb 21, 2019, terrypingm@gmail.com wrote
> > (in article<baad2a82-836e-46ce-9c4b-ecb13d742999@googlegroups.com>):
> >
> > > Project: To get images with my iPhone 6S+ of a fox visiting our garden
> > > overnight. One approach I&#4294967295;m considering is to tap the button of a
> > Bluetooth
> > > camera shutter gadget (from CAMKIX) with a 500 ms pulse to a solenoid,
> >
> > > triggered in various ways. (I don&#4294967295;t want to crack open the tiny case
> > to
> > > attempt that with a circuit mod.) That seems reasonably straightforward.
> > >
> > > But to get a VIDEO clip, far preferable, I need a second pulse, to stop it



> > >
> > > I&#4294967295;m thinking I would need three non-retriggerable monos. The first would
> > be
> > > triggered by a +ve going signal from one of my sensors. (Such as a thin
> > > nylon
> > > trip wire or a micro switch under a large lightweight panel, cunningly
> > > disguised.) It would last 500 ms, activating the 12V solenoid. The second
> > > mono would be be started by the terminating edge of the first. Its duratio



> > > would be say 20 s and it&#4294967295;s terminating edge would trigger the final
> > mono,
> > > another 500 ms, stopping the video.
> > >
> > > Does that seem reasonable please? Any other suggestions?
> >
> > Be aware that small animals like foxes have very good high-frequency
> > hearing,
> > and they are likely to be able to hear those relays and solenoids operating.
> > To them, it&#4294967295;ll probably sound like The Anvil Chorus, but painfully
> > loud.
> >
> > A behavioral audiogram of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes):
> >
> > .<https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25529529>
> >
> > Rats and mice are good to about 100 KHz.
> >
> > Joe Gwinn
>
> Thanks Joe. My solenoid-based design was intended for indoor use, close
> to a double-glazed window, so the risk of those sounds deterring the fox
> would presumably be minimal?


Maybe. They (and all animals) are particularly sensitive to correlated motion 
and/or sounds. You&#4294967295;ll be able to see if they are reacting in the 
videos.

>
> And, as you may have seen from my more recent posts, I'm now considering
> an iPad app that detects motion, instead of that 'fun but kludgy'
> approach.
>
> The exception is that I'd still like to be able to activate my Polaroid



> CUBE remotely.
> <https://www.dropbox.com/s/vlgx44kdnws8eo9/CUBE-Solenoid.jpg?raw=1>
> However, its push-button (requiring two presses to start a video) needs
> a surprisingly high force, beyond the range of most practical solenoids.
> I'm playing with the idea of a small R/C servo motor, but the mechanics
> of translating its rotating dome into a steady push are tricky.
>
> P.S. 'Our' fox seems inquisitive, occasionally appearing for a moment a
> few feet from the large glass sliding door, staring into our lounge.
> Attracted by the TV? (Fox News perhaps.)


Could be. Or is the fox applying for a job as a pet? In that case, the 
correlated clicking will have only attract him.

I have a few digital cameras that can be controlled (and powered?) digitally, 
using a long USB cable. Or WiFi. That sort of thing could work as well. Or a 
commercial critter cam.

Joe Gwinn
Reply by Terry Pinnell ●February 23, 20192019-02-23
Joseph Gwinn <joegwinn@comcast.net> wrote:


>On Feb 21, 2019, terrypingm@gmail.com wrote
>(in article<baad2a82-836e-46ce-9c4b-ecb13d742999@googlegroups.com>):
>
>> Project: To get images with my iPhone 6S+ of a fox visiting our garden
>> overnight. One approach I&#4294967295;m considering is to tap the button of a 
>Bluetooth
>> camera shutter gadget (from CAMKIX) with a 500 ms pulse to a solenoid,
>
>> triggered in various ways. (I don&#4294967295;t want to crack open the tiny case 
>to
>> attempt that with a circuit mod.) That seems reasonably straightforward.
>>
>> But to get a VIDEO clip, far preferable, I need a second pulse, to stop it.
>>
>> I&#4294967295;m thinking I would need three non-retriggerable monos. The first would 
>be
>> triggered by a +ve going signal from one of my sensors. (Such as a thin nylon
>> trip wire or a micro switch under a large lightweight panel, cunningly
>> disguised.) It would last 500 ms, activating the 12V solenoid. The second
>> mono would be be started by the terminating edge of the first. Its duration
>> would be say 20 s and it&#4294967295;s terminating edge would trigger the final 
>mono,
>> another 500 ms, stopping the video.
>>
>> Does that seem reasonable please? Any other suggestions?
>
>Be aware that small animals like foxes have very good high-frequency hearing, 
>and they are likely to be able to hear those relays and solenoids operating. 
>To them, it&#4294967295;ll probably sound like The Anvil Chorus, but painfully 
>loud.
>
>A behavioral audiogram of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes):
>
>.<https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25529529>
>
>Rats and mice are good to about 100 KHz.
>
>Joe Gwinn
>


Thanks Joe. My solenoid-based design was intended for indoor use, close
to a double-glazed window, so the risk of those sounds deterring the fox
would presumably be minimal?

And, as you may have seen from my more recent posts, I'm now considering
an iPad app that detects motion, instead of that 'fun but kludgy'
approach.

The exception is that I'd still like to be able to activate my Polaroid
CUBE remotely.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vlgx44kdnws8eo9/CUBE-Solenoid.jpg?raw=1
However, its push-button (requiring two presses to start a video) needs
a surprisingly high force, beyond the range of most practical solenoids.
I'm playing with the idea of a small R/C servo motor, but the mechanics
of translating its rotating dome into a steady push are tricky.

P.S. 'Our' fox seems inquisitive, occasionally appearing for a moment a
few feet from the large glass sliding door, staring into our lounge.
Attracted by the TV? (Fox News perhaps.)

Terry, East Grinstead, UK
Reply by ●February 23, 20192019-02-23
Thanks Ed. Me too.

Your suggested timer looks interesting but irrelevant here. For a rough 20s time gap? And it does not create two pulses.

I&rsquo;ll probably buy one anyway, for other purposes.  However that grossly misleading headline price of &pound;0.99 turns at a click into &pound;4.99 and almost stops me proceeding, on principle.

Terry, East Grinstead, UK