AYUCR
Camera Controller
This section is for the V2 revision of the controller based on the 18 pin 16F819 processor.
V2.06 (2/23/2006)
- Bootloader for flash upgrades
- 16 byte flight parameter (only 9 used) for future expansion
- Advanced command set for remote control via serial port
- Configurable keepalive for cameras without defeatable sleep mode
- More precise servo trim
This section is for the original version of the controller based on the 8 pin 12F675 processor.
V1.66 (12/1/2003)
- Fixed problem configuring 12F675 processor that would prevent the processor from waking up after a flight. Minor but it needed to be fixed.
- Shutter could sometimes close on power up taking an unwanted picture.
V1.65b (2/15/2002)
- Added a servo control option. If the Servo Mode parameter is greater than zero the controller uses that value for the extent to move the servo from the zero position.
V1.60 (8/2/2001)
- After the controller completes the flight program it goes to sleep and turns off the status LED. It used to keep it on but this drains the battery. It makes little difference with a 9V or other large battery but when using a 12V lighter battery power conservation is important.
- Fixed a horrible bug in the internal status saving routine. Due to the limited EEPROM data memory in the PIC 12CE673 the status word was overwriting the launch detect parameter. This could cause the controller to require 2.4 seconds of thrust in order to detect launch. Obviously this may not always be the case. This problem affects all 8pin parts prior to version 1.60. If you have an 8pin chip please contact me for a free replacement.
V1.53 (6/25/2001)
Changed the duty cycle of the armed and standby mode LED flashing. The LED stays on for shorter periods of time and won't run down the batteries as fast.
V1.52 (8/21/2000)
- Added an /I (initialize) command in terminal mode. This resets the flight status from the values stored in the nonvolatile memory. The should really not have a noticable affect and is primarily for debugging.
- Fixed a problem with the serial EEPROM write routine for 12CE673 parts. This only affected unreleased 12CE673 parts. The 16F84 parts are not affected.
V1.51 (8/20/2000)
- Fixed a problem with the serial EEPROM I/O routines for 12CE673 parts. This only affected unreleased 12CE673 parts. The 16F84 parts are not affected.
- Fixed a small problem with resetting the flight status properly at launch. If your part successfully displays the number of pictures taken immediatly after flight when disarmed then your part is not affected.
V1.5 (6/6/2000)
- Ported the code to work with the PIC 12CE673 too. This is an 8 pin PIC and makes for a smaller circuit. It also does not require the external ceramic resonator that the 18 pin (16F84) does. The 12CE673 is not reprogrammable so it cannot be upgraded.
- The timer now reports the firmware revision to the serial port on initialization.
- Added new commands to the serial command mode:
/R - Displays the current flight parameters in human-readable format
/N - Accepts a new set of flight parameters using a very simple user interface suitable for a dumb terminal
/V - Reports the current firmware revision
/S - Tests the shutter - Fixed a bug in the serial timing routines. The bit delay was slightly too long. If the CPU clock was slightly out of spec there could be sporadic communication errors with some computers
V1.4 (3/14/2000)
First release version.
Upgrades
Upgrades for the 8 pin chips are available for $10 apiece. There is no longer a trade in program but since no one took advantage of it it shouldn't disappoint anyone. Upgrades for the older 18 pin chips are still available by special oder.