I built myself a D200 Remote Control!!

[tasadam]

Gidday.

If you are like me and dislike the fact that the D200 does not have a standard wireless remote control, you might be interested in my solution...

I thought I would post it here for interest's sake, not the "for sale" section - as not everyone that looks at it would be in the market for one but would probably find it interesting.

But if you're a member, check out the bargains section...

Cheers
Adam.

[aloysius]

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Wireless-Remote- ... dZViewItem


this poppued up in another thread on these forums...user was happy with results.

http://dslrusers.com/viewtopic.php?t=27106

might be better alternative for cheaper cost...

[xorl]

Gadget Infinity also sell wireless D200 remotes fairly cheaply.

[SteveGriffin]

I have one of the Ebay N1 remotes and it works fine. Not quite as full featured as Adam's though.

Well done!

[bwhinnen]

How's this going Adam?

[DVEous]

... Obsolete ...

[tasadam]

Mine has been working really well. I'm really happy with it.
The whole thing has been on hold for a bit as my electronics mate that I talk to regarding recommending fine tuning to the circuits, has been busy - second child just arrived etc so he hasn't had any time to help me with the lightning sensor.

I will build a couple of units as the project stands for now, for people that are interestied in it as it is. Nothing wrong with that, though!

To answer the question "What do you do if you want to use the hot shoe?"
The electronics gadget box at the end of the cable, that contains the receiver, is very minimal in weight. This is partly due to not having any batteries - and partly to my ability to get things as small as possible. Well, ok, not as small as possible, but I did not want to go for surface-mount chips as I could have done, it would have been too messy with the micro-soldering.
So as this box is light weight, it can safely hang from the cable that screws into the connector on the camera body.
This is because of the high quality cables I have sourced for the project.

I made it with a hotshoe mount as it was convenient for me. I don't have an SB-800 flash yet.
I have been keeping my eye out for a material I can make a bracket that would utilize the tripod mount on the base of the camera - an angle bracket that extends out to the left and will be small and light weight, and place the receiver box in a convenient position and... etc.
Also the thought of a bit of velcro to attach it to the camera strap... but this idea does not appeal to me as the strap is moved around a lot and would cause excess movement to the cable - anyone knows that the more you move a cable the weaker it becomes... And the cable is the most expensive component in this project by a long way.

But there is nothing wrong with hanging the box straight from the cable when you want to use the flash.

As for mounting it in the hot shoe, I made my mount (as in the photos) long enough to cope with the inbuilt flash being able to open / operate.
This makes the receiver box a little more difficult to fit into the camera bag, and I rarely use the popup flash anyway - so I am thinking it would be a much better idea to make a short post for the hotshoe mount on my receiver and just hang it from the cable if I want to use the flash.
In any case, all of my photography that uses the remote is done from the tripod anyway, so hanging the receiver from the cable won't be an issue - nice & stable, or I could soon put a bit of sticky velcro to the side of it so it doesn't blow around if it's windy.

It's nice to see some interest in my project. I'm sorry to those of you that have contacted me and I have had nothing forthcoming - I would have liked to finish the lightning trigger for further units I build. Unfortunately it looks like I have to put the lightning trigger on hold for now while we decide whether to introduce a bit of PIC programming to the project as has been suggested by my electronics mate, but that would mean a complete redesign of the receiver circuit. Or I might have a go at designing one from scratch with the circuits available to me.

Cheers!

[Phanoongy]

Im new to this forum BUT plan to stay around, and one thing i believe is IF someone here makes something like what Adam is making i would rather buy that than something of eBay, Im going to be watching this Very closely

[tasadam]

IF someone here makes something like what Adam is making i would rather buy....

Aw shucks. You're only saying that coz you like my avatar...

[Phanoongy]

IF someone here makes something like what Adam is making i would rather buy....

Aw shucks. You're only saying that coz you like my avatar...

It helps!