I have a really basic question, but my googling isn't providing a clear answer (I'm not good with circuit diagrams and electronics jargon) so hoping someone can chime in. I've only used my picaxe chips with digital high/low inputs, like a PIR sensor. I'm wondering how to use a switch as an input.
I've ordered a commercial product that triggers my camera based on an active infrared sensor of some sorts. The product connects to my camera with the standard shutter release cable, which has a focus, shutter, and ground wire. To take a picture, it probably touches the focus to ground, then shutter to ground. I'm guessing the wires are grounded for about 300-1000ms. So my understanding is that the product's outputs are two switches (focus and shutter).
Instead of plugging the product's shutter release cable into my camera, I want to plug it into a picaxe-controlled board (in this case the 08M2 starter kit board) and treat the output of the trigger product as the input for the picaxe board, so that I can have more control over what my camera does when the trigger product detects an object. The output of my picaxe board will be another shutter release cable which is actually connected to the camera (via optoisolators).
I need help with the inputs to the picaxe chip and how to program the 08M2 to monitor them. Specifically: how do I attach the focus, ground, and shutter wires to the picaxe; and what code would I use to detect whether a switch has been closed (i.e. s whether the shutter and ground wires have been touched together).
Thanks a lot for any help.
I've ordered a commercial product that triggers my camera based on an active infrared sensor of some sorts. The product connects to my camera with the standard shutter release cable, which has a focus, shutter, and ground wire. To take a picture, it probably touches the focus to ground, then shutter to ground. I'm guessing the wires are grounded for about 300-1000ms. So my understanding is that the product's outputs are two switches (focus and shutter).
Instead of plugging the product's shutter release cable into my camera, I want to plug it into a picaxe-controlled board (in this case the 08M2 starter kit board) and treat the output of the trigger product as the input for the picaxe board, so that I can have more control over what my camera does when the trigger product detects an object. The output of my picaxe board will be another shutter release cable which is actually connected to the camera (via optoisolators).
I need help with the inputs to the picaxe chip and how to program the 08M2 to monitor them. Specifically: how do I attach the focus, ground, and shutter wires to the picaxe; and what code would I use to detect whether a switch has been closed (i.e. s whether the shutter and ground wires have been touched together).
Thanks a lot for any help.