Hey guys, I'm looking to wireless control the output of several camera flashes independently. I'll be replacing the photo-resistor used for the automatic function with some sort of selectable resistance, determined by a remote control.
So the goal is several receivers, with one transmitter that can choose what receiver it's instructing. If the receivers can feedback their setting, all the better.
I see a couple ways to control the flash; there's a physical pot moved by a servo, a digital pot, an array of resistors chosen via transistors or relays, or an array of resistors physically switched.
What I don't know is which of these methods above is best suited to remote control, or what the best method of radio interface would be.
I imagine the finished project giving me an arduino-based control unit with a display, buttons to select which flash is being manipulated, and a power dial.
Resistance values and range are currently unknown and variable; once I get the flashes, I'll measure they're output curves and calibrate the power settings to be near equal. As an estimate, we're talking 2M-50k.
Definite goal would be to keep the cost of the receivers low, even if it raises the price of the transmitter.
The cheapest method might be the digital pot method; there are many ways to do this (you might be able to find an application specific chip for the R/C part), but the easiest way - and staying "arduino" would be to set up each digital pot connected to a standalone Arduino, set up to interpret the R/C PPM signal. Basically, you would have software on the Arduino that would monitor a pin from the R/C receiver, and convert that PPM signal into a number that you would then output to the digital pot to set it. Such small boards, if you bought your parts in quantity (>10 pcs each), you could probably get it down to $10.00-15.00 for each board.
The next cheapest would be the direct servo/potentiometer setup; heck, depending on where you bought the parts (say on Ebay from chinese suppliers), it might be cheaper to go that route! 9g Micro servos and small trimmer-style pots would probably allow you to make controllers really inexpensively...
The JeeNode and rfBee are both radio+ arduino in a single package, right? Is the xBee similar? Is one form of radio more reliable than another?
Do certain R/C setups favor multiple independent receivers? I assume the basic 433 and 915s don't, which means you need a microcontroller added to the receiver to accept instructions prefixed with a callsign code or the like.
With the xBee could you just send serial data directly to the pots?
Is there a better radio I'm missing? When I say better, I mean longer range, more reliable transmission?
