How to UIR...

Last updated 2 Oct 2001

What is required:

Handcrafted UIR. It costed me $5 to build.
  • UIR receiver. This one is going to PC COM port. I built mine myself and it costed me something around $5. Click on the link to find out how to build one. You can also try to buy ready-made one.
  • PC with COM port for UIR and USB for camera connection
  • ANY remote (TV, VCR - most of them work fine) I used AKAI RC-V9A and AKAI RC-X511E remotes from my TV & VCR.
  • Software:
    actually any you can find on the web. Girder and UiCE should work fine, but I've never tried them for camera.

    OlyUIR is the part of bigger ("global" LOL, somewhat like Came0.9) camera control application that is available now for testing. Despite having lots of bugs is quite usefull - actually I prefer to use it for testing with TV remote.

OlyUIR

So far...

  • connect camera to USB port and put it on - mode doesnt matter
  • plug UIR infrared receiver into any COM port - it should be auto detected by software
  • run the olyuir.exe
  • check if your UIR receives the remote signals - the LED in program window should flash as keypress received.
  • assign buttons on your remote to correspond particular camera functions you want to use. Usually it takes just a couple of minutes (save/restore configuration capability will be implemented in main software). To do it
    • put the software in programming mode by checking "Prog" check box
    • double-click on the function desired from the list, then dialog box appears
    • press the corresponding key on remote. Now dialog box close and function is "programmed" - it appears in green
    • go on for the rest functions desired. Most probably you will not use all of them. If the remote button is already assigned to other function, it will be reassigned to ne wone, and old one will appear in yellow. You should assign some different key on remote to make it work again. If you press Cancel when the wait window is open, the function key will be disabled.
    • press the buttons and check for the desired functionality. Now you can exit programming mode to prevent accidental keys reprogramming
    Currently Zoom increments and decrements in steps of 2 mm of focal length. Set beeper mode doesnt work for some reason, still not sure abt certain modes.

What you get:
  • Extended functionality can be implemented as you get more than 5 keys as compared to RM-1
  • You can use remote while camera is connected to your PC - it meand you get unlimited space for storage. Handy for bulk scanning.
  • RM-1 is still usable, as UIR understands it. Actually I'm using it sometimes to control my Winamp MP3 player
  • Once you get it, UIR can be used to control your Winamp MP3 player and more.
  • There are so many remotes around in your home that it hardly makes sense to buy one more for camera - just use the one you have

Test applications
    The testuir utility is a dirty hack to test the remote you suppose to use with your camera. Once started it scans COM1..COM4 ports for UIR presence. If found it waits for remote signal or keyboard stroke and prints received remote code on exit.

    In the following test application testuir, olytake and olyget are put together for routine picture take automation. I used simple batch file to glue them. 

    @rem ---- UIRTEST.BAT -----------
:strt
@testuir
@olytake
@olyget -dd:\download -e
@goto strt
@rem ----------------------------
    This application waits for IR remote button pressed (ANY button on almost ANY remote), takes the picture, saves it to HDD and cleans the camera memory, so the amount of camera memory depends upon the free HDD space available only.

    I've tested it with AKAI RC-V9A and AKAI RC-X511E remotes. It works fine, except for some reason UIR cant detect buttons autorepeat of RC-V9A.

    The application is a bit slow, as it initializes the interfaces alot of times. But it still can be useful - say, for discreet monitoring people in the room who are using TV or VCR ;-) or if you use low capacity Smartmedia card and you need to scan the book ;-) In this scenario 2 MB card is sufficient, as camera should hold one image only (I own spare one, ask if interested).

    You can speed up the application by using few olytake calls per one olyget call: 

    @rem ---- UIRTEST.BAT -----------
:strt
@rem ---- first picture goes to camera card
@testuir
@olytake
@rem ---- second picture goes to camera card
@testuir
@olytake
@rem ---- third picture goes to camera card
@testuir
@olytake
@rem ---- download 3 pictures to HDD and clean the camera memory
@olyget -dd:\download -e
@goto strt
@rem ----------------------------