Thermal close outs

[Fraser]

@paradigmic,

Many thanks. This is exactly what I needed.

I would not have included the switch debounce so that may have caused me some issues. I will now modify the sketch to control a FLIR PM 695 camera and maybe some others with RS232 control ports.

Thanks for the comment in the level shifter. I have ordered some suitable RS232 to 3V3 and RS232 to 5V converter boards so have that requirement covered.

Fraser

[paradigmic]

@Fraser,

I hope it helps. Let me know how it goes and if you run into any issues. I'm curious how other cameras handle their communication.

In other news, I finished everything I needed to make the camera mobile. In board2.jpg you can see the battery pack, LCD, and Arduino with buttons and serial level shifter. In finished2.jpg the board is mounted on the same piece of metal the camera is so it can be used as one piece. I definitely have a lot more understanding of the challenges of making a camera in a usable form factor. As it is my camera isn't super convenient to use, but compared to having a pile of separate components it's better at least.

[homestea]

Do you have a voltage regulator on there somewhere bringing the battery pack voltage down to the levels needed by the  Arduino?  I'm working on a similar setup but packaging it all inside a project box and also using an Arduino 101 with Bluetooth 4.0 (BLE) so that I have physical buttons but also use the BLYNK app to make a wireless control from my iPhone.  I bought a fairly cheap $80 7" Eachine (LCD5802S) monitor with built in battery and capability for 5.8ghz wireless video if I want to view it remotely. 

[Fraser]

@Paradigmic,

Nice work.

I am intending to build a compact remote control box that will have a simple 12 button keypad on the top and an Arduino Nano Pro within.

The command set of my FLIR PM series cameras is thankfully documented in the user manual for the scientific SC3000 camera. The commands are a simple string of ASCII characters that may be sent from a RS232 terminal. The original FLIR Remote control is a bit of a beast. I own three and they are somewhat over-engineered, and rare as hens teeth. A FLIR PM series remote can easily cost as much as the host camera on the present secondary market !  Inside the remote control I found a complete (IIRC) MC68000 single board computer that generates the RS232 command strings. It is basically a computer running a RS232 terminal program with only 8 macro keys as an input. This is circa 1997 technology.

The Arduino or a PIC can do the same task in a much smaller and simpler format. I will replicate the 12 button format and each button will prompt the Arduino to send the fixed command string. I will have to uses a MAXIM UART to RS232 converter but that is all the additional communications related hardware that I will need to talk to the cameras 'true' RS232 level communcations port.

I attach an example of the command strings used by the FLIR PM series cameras and a picture of one of the FLIR remote handsets that I have.
Thankfully FLIR made it very simple to replicate the cameras control buttons using a single string command that just needs the appropriate variable for each button replication. More advanced commands are also provided for full command driven control of the camera rather than replicating the buttons for menu access and control. I love these PM series cameras and it was good of FLIR to publish the command set for their full control via RS232.

I think I can build a clone of the FLIR remote the same size as the original, if not smaller using the Arduino Nano Pro. I bought my Nano's from China for only a couple of pounds.... so much versatility, yet so cheap 

Fraser

[paradigmic]

@homestea

The Arduino I have is a Sparkfun Redboard that has an input voltage range of 7-15V, so it can handle the whole range from charged to discharged (12.6-9.6V) of the battery pack without a voltage regulator. That monitor looks pretty cool, I didn't really think about how to use the camera remotely but that should work pretty well.

@Fraser

Sounds like you have a good plan for your controller. It's definitely worth trying out if it's so much cheaper than an original, and you can add more features when you want. The documentation seems clear as well which should make it a lot easier to work on.

Good luck to both of you on your projects.