DSUSB and Nikon D80

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psalter
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DSUSB and Nikon D80

Post by psalter » Sun Apr 11, 2010 9:20 pm

I just purchased your DSUSB and Nikon 4 pin cable for use with my Nikon D80. However, I am having some problems:
DSUSBcheck will open the shutter, but the close shutter button does nothing. I can only release the shutter by pulling the cable from the camera in bulb mode, or the shutter will close after the shutter speed set in the camera elapses. The light can be controlled properly, the autofocus does nothing. I am not worried about the autofocus line though. The same problem occurs in DSLRShutter.

With ImagePlus, in the Nikon camera mode, and DSUSB selected, it will not trigger the shutter at all.

I normally run with Windows 7 64bit professional, however, the same thing occurs with Vista.

Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Paul

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Re: DSUSB and Nikon D80

Post by dpanderson » Sun Apr 11, 2010 9:46 pm

Since you mentioned that the shutter will close after the shutter speed set in the camera elapses, I am guessing that you don't have the shutter set to B (bulb) mode. I don't know the specifics of the D80, but most cameras can be set for automatic operation up to 30 seconds of shutter, then they must be set to bulb mode and use a remote trigger to go to longer shutter times. Try setting your camera to bulb mode to see if the DSUSB works properly.
Doug Anderson
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psalter
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Re: DSUSB and Nikon D80

Post by psalter » Tue Apr 13, 2010 2:54 pm

Doug,

I did have the camera set to bulb, but the shutter will not close until I pull the shutter cable from the camera. The elapsed time was another test that I was running with the camera set to a specific shutter speed.

Thanks,
Paul

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Re: DSUSB and Nikon D80

Post by dpanderson » Tue Apr 13, 2010 4:47 pm

OK, glad to hear that you were in Bulb mode.

Even though this post pertains to a Canon camera, please look it over as it explains the signals coming out of the DSUSB:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=371#p1410
Using DSUSBCheck, try different sequences of asserting and deasserting the Wakeup and Shutter signals to see if anything works. If that doesn't bear any positive results, then I will probably send you another DSUSB and cable to try.
Doug Anderson
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psalter
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Re: DSUSB and Nikon D80

Post by psalter » Tue Apr 13, 2010 6:56 pm

Hi Doug,

I tried every combination of assert, deassert, open and close I could think of, but the shutter would not close until the plug was pulled or the camera was turned off.

However, I did happen on to something interesting. This is sort of confusing so bear with me. This is all with DSUSBCheck.

Test Part 1
I click open shutter, shutter opens, pull plug from camera, shutter closes, reinsert plug, shutter opens again without me hitting any buttons on camera or software.

Test Part 2
I click open shutter, shutter opens, click close shutter (no camera response), pull plug, shutter closes, reinsert plug, shutter stays closed, until open shutter is pressed again.

Summary, it seems to me that the DSUSB is doing something to release the shutter, however something between the plug and the camera is forcing the shutter to stay open, until the plug is removed or the camera is turned off.

Note: the above only happens if the power is on while the plug is pulled. Shutter will not reopen after recycling power as opposed to pulling the plug.

Some additional testing, per the remote cable modification tests stated in your shutter remote modification document, I used an audio cable with an 1/8" mini plug on one end and 2 RCA plugs on the other end (gold plated), and my Heath 2372 multimeter in diode mode, I saw the following between the tip and shield of the RCA plug. One RCA plug was the shutter, the other RCA plug was the AF.
Open Shutter: 0.38 to 0.45
Close Shutter: off scale
Assert AF: 0.38 to 0.45
De-assert AF: off scale

I have searched the net, and the D80 manual, and have tried various settings on the camera to no avail.

I had hoped to use the wired remote version, but do you think the Infrared version would be have a better chance of working considering the above information.

Thank you for your continued support on this matter.
Paul

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Re: DSUSB and Nikon D80

Post by dpanderson » Tue Apr 13, 2010 8:42 pm

Your Test 1 and Test 2 make sense. With DSUSBCheck, when you press Open Shutter, the shutter signal is asserted (i.e. the electronic switch to ground is closed) until you click the close shutter button. It seems odd that pulling the plug out (which is like opening the switch) lets the shutter close, but when you open the switch by clicking the Close Shutter button, it does not close the shutter. The only thing I can think of is that the DSCBL-13 is not wired correctly.

Please send an email with your shipping address to doug@ShoestringAstronomy.com. I'll send another cable to you to try.

From your diode check measurements, it looks like the DSUSB is working properly.

The DSUSB-IR1 is an option, but the wired solution should work. If you would rather trade your DSUSB for a DSUSB-IR1 and get on with using rather than troubleshooting, let me know by email.
Doug Anderson
Shoestring Astronomy
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Re: DSUSB and Nikon D80

Post by psalter » Sun Apr 18, 2010 2:25 pm

Doug,

I received your replacement cable and everything seems to work now. Just for further information on setups:

DSUSBCheck the sequence for shutter operation is Assert AF, open Shutter, Deassert AF to close shutter. Close shutter button really doesn't do much.

DSLR Shutter works, but have to use the NIKON D200 option of AF during exposure.

ImagePlus Camera Control 3.83, bulb exposure works, but again, need to use the Nikon D200 settings under the bulb capture tab. The D80 settings do not work for me.

Thanks for sending the replacement cable, what should I do with the old one?

Thank you,
Paul

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Re: DSUSB and Nikon D80

Post by dpanderson » Sun Apr 18, 2010 2:55 pm

Glad to hear that fixed the problem, and my apologies for the error on our part.

When you have time, please return the first cable to us.
Doug Anderson
Shoestring Astronomy
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