Operation

To transfer pictures from the camera you must install the driver and MyPicture application that came with it on to your computer. You do not need to install the bundled photo editing program. The camera has SRAM memory. This means that if the camera loses power the pictures are lost. We use this feature to re-initialize the camera.

To use, start with the switch in the off position, wait 10 seconds, then turn the switch to on. You will see the LCD switching through several modes. You have about 30 seconds after you turn the camera on to position it and walk away before it will start to take pictures.

When you retrieve the camera to see what you got, do not turn it off . Go to your computer and plug in the USB cable, start the MyCamera application, and download the pictures. After you have saved the pictures to your computer, you can turn the camera off.

FAQ

Q: What is the resolution of the camera and how many pictures does it hold?

A: In high resolution mode the camera's resolution is 352 x 288 pixels. It can hold 20 non-compressed pictures or 60 compressed pictures. The program places the camera in high resolution and compressed, so 60 images can be stored at a time. If 60 pictures are taken the program puts the camera to sleep.

Q: What is the best distance between target and camera?

A: Because of the low resolution you want to be close, but not too close. I have found 3 to 6 feet from the target is best.

Q: What is the range of the sensor?

A: The sensor can pickup large movements at up to 15-20 feet. An example would be a deer or human moving into the line of sight of sensor. At short range, less than 5 feet it can pickup a leaf blowing across the sensor. A very small movement, for example a squirrel moving a hand from a pile of seeds to his mouth without a stance change, might not trip the sensor. In this case, it helps to spread the seeds from a large single pile to a small area so the squirrel has to move a bit.

Q: How do I change the PIR's sensitivity?

A: We can't change the sensor's sensitivity directly, however we can change the system's sensitivity to a PIR trip. If you look in the code at the TA interupt service routine you will find the following lines:

// set band time

cntr_val = 15000; // 15000 ~= 0.125 sec <----------- line of interest

interval_delay(1,0);

cntr_val = 120000; // 120000 ~= 1 sec

By changing the cntr_val number in the line

cntr_val = 15000; // 15000 ~= 0.125 sec

we change how long a PIR imbalance must exist before taking a picture. I would not change it to a number less than 4000 (~1/32 sec) or more than 30000 (~1/4 sec) .

Q: Why didn't you write the code to take multiple photos when triggered?

A: I originally had the camera take pairs of pictures spaced by 5 seconds, but I decided that I preferred to have more "events" than sets of photos. It is just a matter of preference. The code change is easy. It depends on how long you plan to leave the camera unintended, the target that you are trying to capture, and the purpose of your shots. For example if you want to know if there are deer going to your location you would be interested in events and you might want to increase the minimum time between shots. If you are looking for cute pictures (what I'm doing) you might want to do sets of photos.

Q: How much did the project cost?

A: I was lucky and was able to buy both the air freshener and the camera from Walgreen's on sale. Together they cost me ~$10. Normally they would be double that. The microcontroller was part of the TI Launchpad kit which sells for $4.30 plus shipping. The project box cost $4 from Radio Shack. The other parts were in my junk box. So total cost between $20 and $30 dollars.

Q: Why didn't you just use the Launchpad instead of making a bread board?

A: I re-use my Launchpad for multiple projects, so I can't have it tied up in a project that I plan to keep for awhile.

Q: Why did you put the transistors directly on the Camera's PCB board instead of just attaching wires and mounting the transistors onto the microcontroller board, like smb did in his instructible?

A: My first thought was to eliminate two wires and make the microcontroller board simpler. In hindsight the collectors of both transistors could be tied to Vcc on the microcontroller board, so no wires are actually saved. You could put the transistors on the microcontroller board and just bring over a wire where the emitter of each transistor are currently connected. If I had to do it again, this is how I would do it.

Q: Could you not cut the front of the camera case, and attach it to the camera PCB

board?

A: This is another hindsight moment, the way I did it worked out easy enough, but I had a simple way to cut out the plastic. Others might not have this luxury, and retaining the whole camera case front should work. I believe there is enough room in the project box. You would want to remove the side with the USB plug so it would fit into the

hole in the project box side.

Q: Did you originally plan to use this particular camera?

A: No, I originally planned to use a type 808 keychain spy camera from eBay. They are higher resolution, smaller, and have video capability. I actually bought one, but the project kept being delayed because I was having too much fun with the 808 camera. When I had an opportunity to buy the Vivitar mini keychain camrea for $5, I jumped at it, and the project moved forward. If I had used the spy keychain camera the project would have cost about $20 dollars more due to camera price difference and need to purchase a mini-SD card.