Olympus Camera IR control

Several Olympus camera models can use the RM-1 IR remote to control the shutter and a few other functions:

I reverse-engineered the RM-1 to implement the same functions on an Arduino Diecimila using only an IR LED connected between pin 11 and ground:

Here's a zip file containing the sketch (olympusrm1.pde and irparams.h):

http://wikiputer.org/arduino/olympusrm1.zip

Several macros are defined to emulate the buttons on the RM-1. most notably:

RM1_SHUTTER ;

The remote uses the Extended NEC IR protocol.

Connecting a high-power IR LED as shown (without a current-limiting resistor) results on an "on" current of about 80ma. This exceeds the spec of 40ma for Atmega168 output pins, but the duty cycle is low (50% max during pulsing) so it's probably OK.

The range of the setup as shown (LED is Vishay TSAL6100) is about 25 feet, not quite as much as the RM-1 range itself. But it works well within that distance.

Using an Olympus E-510 DSLR as shown, I estimate that there's about a one second lag beween the IR command and when the shutter actually fires.

Joe

WOW! I am trying to do pretty much the same thing. Amazing job! You are so much better at the coding than me.

WOW! I am trying to do pretty much the same thing. Amazing job! You are so much better at the coding than me.

Lately I've been experimenting with different types of IR communication, both transmitting and receiving, & it seems like I always strart with drawing a state machine on paper, coding it in a big switch statement in a timer interrupt routine, & the code just grows. Like "a journey of a thousand lines of code starts with state = IDLE."

Brilliant work!

I have not yet worked out how to test it, as I am new to this and cannot decode where to connect the shutter button (or the other ones). But I am sure I will manage in the end, possobly even adding a cable to implement the unctionality from this:

Joachim

I want to emulate the rm-1 remote for timelapse photography and I just found your post. The link to the sketch is no longer active, it the sketch still available?

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