GlimpseCatcher User Manual 1.00
Contents
1. be used for time lapse photography or other time controlled processes Scope of supply The scope of supply consists of following elements Fully assembled GlimpseCatcher incl Arduino Uno mail delivery GlimpseCatcher Arduino Code readily installed on Arduino Uno without source code mail delivery GlimpseCatcher GUI in language as selected for Windows without source code email delivery Present user manual email delivery The necessary Arduino drivers and the Microsoft NET frameworks if not installed anyway yet may be downloaded for free from the Internet Arduino http arduino cc en Main Software Microsoft http msdn microsoft com en us netframework Note It is not necessary to install the complete Arduino software The actual driver only is sufficient Disclaimer The GlimpseCatcher is a purely private hobby project and no commercial product for the mass market On request at GlimpseCatcher gmx net it can be offered and produced in individual units and in very restricted quantities Each individual unit is carefully checked and tested to the best of the developer s knowledge and belief A guarantee a warranty or a responsibility for the use or the functionality can not be given or taken over by the developer The same applies to the present user manual All liability for potential damages or other consequences which may be the result of the use of the GlimpseCatcher is excluded may they be of2. is the correct one In this case it needs to be considered that some wrong ports may hang up the program Other wrong ports may only need some seconds until control of the program is possible again Therefore if using this trial method ifthe program does not react anymore after 10 15 seconds end program via the Task Manager and restart again 7 After selection of the correct interface the interface selection will be deactivated All other fields will be activated and the values currently configured in the GlimpseCatcher will be displayed For any further start ofthe GUI only the now determined interface needs to be selected again Description The GlimpseCatcher is based on the Arduino Uno platform It has been designed in a universal way meaning that no particular requirements of the external equipments i e power supply have been considered Instead it provides a galvanic separation of all device and camera flash outputs via optocoupler SFH610A 70V 50mA 150mW In principle cameras and flashes may however be connected directly provided that they do not operate on too high a voltage Equipment which requires higher currents or which has other specific requirements should be installed via correctly dimensioned downstream external circuits Email GlimpseCatcher gmx net 6 16 GlimpseCatcher User Manual 1 00 As an example 12V solenoid valves may be connected with an external circuit as per the following drawing GlimpseC
3. 00 10000 20000 of oo NOT USED START BUTTON me op mm sou TRIGGER 1 mw om NEN Lo o TRIGGER 2 a TRIGGER 1 a m mos NOT USED m en __ gt Tropfhohe 50cm Siphonhohe 100cm r W GlimpseCatcher p NEN IT Disc m t u Wasser mit Guarkernmehl und Lebensmitt w byC D a About le The GUI is divided into 4 colored areas which as far as they are present on the GlimpseCatcher itself correspond to the same colors there The red area contains the parameters for the individual devices i e solenoid valves Via a selection list the start event for the respective device may be defined Available selections are NOT USED START BUTTON TRIGGER 1 or TRIGGER 2 All configured timings always relate to the start event defined for the respective device which means either the pushing of the start button or the appearance of trigger 1 or trigger 2 The moments of the appearance of the individual start events apply equally to all devices cameras or flashes which are configured for the particular start event For example the moment of pushing the start button is of course exactly the same for all devices cameras or flashes which shall react on this The same applies to the appearance Email GlimpseCatcher gmx net 10 16 GlimpseCatcher User Manual 1 00 moments of trigger 1 and trigger 2 Therefore it is possible to work completely without light barrier trigger or
4. 1 8 millisecond The cycle time of an absolute maximal configuration 6 devices 6 cameras flashes is approx 460 microseconds according to tests meaning that the average variation towards the specified values would be approx 230 microseconds approx 1 4 millisecond After each complete process execution the maximum cycle time of this process execution is displayed Regarding the minimum it must be taken into account what is reasonably feasible for the particular connected equipment Some solenoid valves for example do not operate Email GlimpseCatcher gmx net 4 16 GlimpseCatcher User Manual 1 00 reliably anymore with timings below 20 milliseconds Other equipment flashes may allow considerably lower timings Simple and clear configuration of the GlimpseCatcher on the PC Configured values will be maintained even if the GlimpseCatcher is temporarily switched off Complete configurations may be saved on the PC together with an additional descriptive text i e information like dropping height distance between airgun and balloon and be loaded again at a later time into the GlimpseCatcher Development and tests have mainly been made under Windows XP some less extensive tests have also been made under Windows 7 The GUI may appear slightly different depending on the Windows version The current window size of the GUI is 1 500 x 840 pixels On smaller screens it may be necessary to scroll Currently only one general des
5. GlimpseCatcher User Manual 1 00 GlimpseCatcher User Manual 1 00 CATCH THE GLIMPSE Email GlimpseCatcher gmx net 1 16 GlimpseCatcher User Manual 1 00 Table of contents T tr d ctiO DRE S E TTE 3 SCOPE GI SHDDIV oben ee ee 3 MUS Gl AUNT RT T M 3 M in Te AUIS ca een DM 4 ler ino me EEE 6 DESEHD UDE e te BREENEDREEERNERBERENEREERAURNCE FERRHRUFSTERTHEN cup ie du eee er rene terre ern SEEEL NEN AEBENEURSEESEREER 6 Operation Me TT NO 9 Operation of the timing control process uueesssnnnersssnnnnerssnnnnnensennnnnensennnnneneonnnnner ernennen 9 Operation of the CDTELEUEBEIDEL ce eic t d atate ara ttis Dac eesan an beue an 10 VRS word uses heo DIR RCGNUM I UAE NUM UU NU NUM 14 P 110 gt esie TC 15 Email GlimpseCatcher gmx net 2 16 GlimpseCatcher User Manual 1 00 Introduction The GlimpseCatcher is a configurable control unit for time controlled processes in the range from microseconds to half an hour for each individual time phase It was developed as a purely private hobby project for photographic applications in the field of high speed photography i e with regard to drop photography Besides drop photography it may of course be used for every other type of high speed photography like for example ballistic photos In addition it may
6. atcher External circuit Optocoupler SFH610A i Resistor i e 1 k Ohm P 7 Device Diode 1 6 i e 1N4007 E i i i ri H L 9 8 H P NS P 5 a af L4 i px pk Hi H Power supply v Pov Ta e ed T i e 12V ud Transistor i i e BD137 If the GlimpseCatcher itself is connected to a suitable power supply the external circuit as per the following drawing may be used as an alternative In this case no separate power supply is required for the solenoid valves GlimpseCatcher External circuit B 8 d B B 8 8 B i 6 Hi B MEE u B B 8 Q 8 I 8 i Hi 9 8 g Hl 8 Hi B Hi Resistor gt vut i e 1 k Ohm puseudst uaa 1 Device l Diode aS hs 16 i e 1N4007 8 3i 8 8 8 8 9 m i 9 v Im E Optocoupler I i H SFH610A gt i Ba i H i ff Solenoid valve ac bossocsscssuad Transistor i e BD137 All necessary contacts are made available on wire clamps This includes the contacts which are needed for the immediate use devices cameras flashes triggers as well as the contacts which are needed or may be used for a potential integration into a housing display LEDs GND start button Vin In detail these are the following contacts Email GlimpseCatcher gmx net 7 16 GlimpseCatcher User Manua
7. criptive text per configuration may be specified It is intended to implement additional short descriptions for each individual device camera flash in a future release The file format for saving configurations is already designed accordingly Thus currently saved configurations may be used in a future release the additional short descriptions may then be added Tt is intended to decrease the window size in a future release in order to avoid scrolling on smaller screens In this context it may be possible that the size of the current field for the general descriptive text may be increased in size Function to activate devices permanently until revocation flush function to empty siphons or to clean solenoid valves This function does not apply to cameras and flashes Integrated galvanic separation of all control outputs via optocoupler SFH610A 70V 50mA 150mW Basically the GlimpseCatcher represents the actual control unit and has therefore been designed in a universal way to allow for the connection of very diverse external equipments Particular requirements of the external configuration i e power supply therefore need to be realized externally possibly as part of the corresponding connectors cables In principle cameras and flashes may however be connected directly provided that they do not operate on too high a voltage Equipment which requires higher currents or which has other specific requirements should be installed via correctly d
8. e again After normal or forced ending the red Active LED goes out If the start button is pushed for minimum 5 seconds while there is no active process the GlimpseCatcher executes the flush function In this case all device outputs NOT the camera flash outputs will be permanently activated This may be used to empty siphons or to clean valves The flush function does not have a normal ending but is exclusively ended by Email GlimpseCatcher gmx net 9 16 GlimpseCatcher User Manual 1 00 pushing the start button once again The red Active LED behaves identical to the normal timing control process Operation of the configuration The following screenshot shows the appearance of the GlimpseCatcher GUI under Windows XP There may be slight deviations under other Windows versions Development and tests have mainly been made under Windows XP some less extensive tests have also been made under Windows 7 The GUI may appear slightly different depending on the Windows version The current window size of the GUI is 1 500 x 840 pixels On smaller screens it may be necessary to scroll It is intended to decrease the window size in a future release in order to avoid scrolling on smaller screens In this context it may be possible that the size of the current field for the general descriptive text may be increased in size START BUTTON TRIGGER 1 sooo moo of am C LS NEN EINE TRIGGER 1 NOT USED START BUTTON 15000 200
9. e used directly one after the other which is the normal process to optimize results The timing control process always has priority If the red Active Led is lit a timing control process is in course and no configurations via the GUI must be done If this happens nevertheless the modifications of the configuration will be temporarily shown on screen they will on termination of the active timing control process however be corrected again to the initial values The opposite case in which a timing control process would be started during the execution of a configuration is except in the case of loading a complete configuration file relatively unlikely Also in this case the timing control process has priority meaning that as soon as the start button will be pushed the current configuration of this moment will be executed which will in this case be the potentially incomplete or only yet partially transmitted configuration file Summarized The GlimpseCatcher should only be re configured when the red Active LED is NOT lit Operation of the timing control process A timing control process is started by a single short push of the start button The process will then be executed according to the configuration as per this moment As long as the process is active the red Active LED is lit The process ends in a normal way after complete execution incl potentially configured repetitions or it may be ended prematurely by pushing the start button onc
10. ever is that the event as such will happen for each repetition of such a configuration While for certain external setups this triggering event is automatically created again for example falling drop which closes the external circuit this may not be the case for other setups for example shot through wire tinsel filament in front of the muzzle of an airgun As trigger activations during individual process runs are ignored the external setup may if required be restored again during this waiting time provided it is adequately chosen In this area also the minimum and maximum cycle times of the most recently executed timing control process are displayed This allows a conclusion regarding the timely precision with which this process has been executed Due to the GlimpseCatcher architecture the configured values can not be met at 100 The average variation towards the configured values may be considered to be approx half of the indicated maximum cycle time For this also refer to chapter Main features The beige area contains miscellaneous other functions In this area the interface via which the GlimpseCatcher is connected is for example selected For this also refer to chapter Installation The button About provides information regarding the installed GlimpseCatcher version separately for GUI and Arduino Code In addition the registration data are displayed The button Save allows to save the complete current config
11. ext will change color from black to gray This in order to indicate that the descriptive text does not correspond anymore to the current configuration In order to be nevertheless easily available for adaptations and another save of a modified configuration it is not completely deleted After a further save it will again be displayed in black as it willthen correspond again to the now current configuration Loading of a configuration into the GlimpseCatcher is not instantaneous but requires a short time The proportional progress will be displayed in the lower status line During loading all functions of the GUI are deactivated The start button on the GlimpseCatcher should not be pushed during this time for explanation refer to beginning of chapter Operation General operation of the GUI is as follows Moving from one input field to another is done either by the TAB key or by clicking into any other field All values except for the field Number of repetitions are expressed in microseconds The input is right justified to allow for clearer arrangement To improve clarity further black strokes below the input fields indicate groups of 3 digits ones thousands millions Each input will be checked for correctness An incorrect value will be rejected with indication of the reason in the bottom status line and the previous correct value will be displayed again Incorrect inputs are for example empty fields non numerical values or
12. imensioned downstream external circuits Extremely compact form factor length approx 8cm width approx 5 5cm height approx 4 5cm with wire clamps for easy connection The GlimpseCatcher may be used directly or may easily be integrated by the user into an independent housing with plugs according to his choice All contacts which are needed for this incl display LEDs start button GND are made available on wire clamps Different language versions Currently available in German English and French Email GlimpseCatcher gmx net 5 16 GlimpseCatcher User Manual 1 00 Installation Installation of the GlimpseCatcher is as follows 1 Install all Microsoft NET frameworks may be downloaded for free from the Internet if not installed anyway yet 2 Connect the GlimpseCatcher to a free USB port 3 Install the Arduino Uno driver on request may be downloaded for free from the Internet 4 Determine the interface COMx to which the GlimpseCatcher is connected Under Windows XP this can for example be done via the Device Manager Settings gt Control Panel gt System Hardware gt Device Manager gt Ports COM amp LPT item Arduino Uno 5 Start the GlimpseCatcher GUI All fields with the exception of the interface selection are deactivated 6 Select interface If the interface has not been determined as described under point 4 it may simply be tried out among the displayed interfaces which port
13. it by shortly connecting 2 bare wire ends via a falling drop opening of the closed trigger circuit by shooting through a thin wire tinsel filament in front of the muzzle of an airgun closing of the open trigger circuit by impact onto a contact switch Automated repeatability of the process up to 5 000 times for the realization of videos or for the determination of the best suited timings for a particular scenario For each individual phase of each individual device camera or flash an increment may be defined by which the corresponding phase will be incremented at each repetition of the process In addition a constant waiting time in between repetitions may be defined i e in order to let the water surface calm again between several drop occurrences Optimized algorithm for the control of devices cameras and flashes in order to allow highest possible precision All timing specifications are done in microseconds The minimum time for an executable phase is 500 microseconds increments may be smaller The maximum time for an executable phase is half an hour 1 800 000 000 microseconds The precision depends on the number of actually used devices cameras and flashes and is the higher the less equipment is used The cycle time of a minimal configuration 1 device 1 camera 1 flash is approx 250 microseconds according to tests meaning that the average variation towards the specified values would be approx 125 microseconds approx
14. l 1 00 6 x connections for devices Marked in red identical to the GUI and numbered from 1 6 Each connection for devices is hardwired via a dedicated opctocoupler onto 2 wire clamps marked with and at the respective number 6 x connections for cameras and flashes Marked in blue identical to the GUI and numbered from 1 6 Each connection for cameras and flashes is hardwired via a dedicated opctocoupler onto 2 wire clamps marked with and at the respective number 2 x connections for triggers Marked in white and identified by T1 trigger 1 and T2 trigger 2 In order to make the triggers general purpose they are not designed for any particular device like for example a light barrier Instead they consist each of a 5V circuit hardwired onto 2 wire clamps each which is completed by a simple external jumper wire which can either be opened or closed These 5V circuits can be used directly i e closing of the wire circuit by shortly connecting 2 bare wire ends by a falling drop or opening of the wire circuit by shooting through a thin wire tinsel filament in front of the muzzle of an airgun If an external device shall be used as trigger like for example a light barrier the circuit needs to be opened or closed by a transistor which will be activated by this device In this case an adequate transistor for the particular device needs to be integrated into the external circuit it may possibly be built into the connecting plug of the c
15. low high speed photography at all In order to realize pleasing and beautiful photos there are also other prerequisites necessary like for example creativity patience precision good lighting setup Therefore after studying of the present user manual it s your turn now CATCH THE GLIMPSE Email GlimpseCatcher gmx net 14 16 GlimpseCatcher User Manual 1 00 Annex photos Email GlimpseCatcher gmx net 15 16 GlimpseCatcher User Manual 1 00 Email GlimpseCatcher gmx net 16 16
16. material health related or any other type Also no obligations of the developer are included with regard to future developments adaptations or support in general Email GlimpseCatcher gmx net 3 16 GlimpseCatcher User Manual 1 00 Main features The main features of the GlimpseCatcher are as follows Control of up to 6 devices in parallel i e solenoid valves with up to 10 phases per device i e 5 drops per solenoid valve The control may be individually configured per device either in timely relation towards the start of the process or towards one of 2 external triggers which will be triggered during the course of the process The corresponding intervals are defined in microseconds precision see further down Control of any combination of up to 6 cameras and or flashes in parallel i e several parallel flashes for a specific lighting setup several flashes in sequence for stroboscopic captures two cameras for stereo photos with any combination of up to 4 parallel sequential flashes The control may be individually configured per camera flash either in timely relation towards the start of the process or towards one of 2 external triggers which will be triggered during the course of the process The corresponding intervals are defined in microseconds precision see further down Two external trigger circuits which react each on the first appearing edge either rising or falling i e closing of the open trigger circu
17. orresponding device 1 x connection for start button Marked in yellow and hardwired onto 2 wire clamps If the GlimpseCatcher will be integrated into a housing an external push button may be connected here which takes over the function of the integrated start button which will not be available anymore in this case x Vin output Marked in yellow If in addition to the USB port the GlimpseCatcher will also be connected to an external power supply i e 12V the corresponding voltage is available on this wire clamp When integrating the GlimpseCatcher into a housing this wire clamp may for example be used to supply 12V solenoid valves internally via the same voltage which is supplied by the power supply 1 x 5V output Identified with 5V and used as anode for the green On Off LED marked in green according to the corresponding functionality in the GUI This LED indicates whether the GlimpseCatcher is switched on meaning whether it is connected to power x ground output Identified with GND and used as cathode for both LEDs marked in green according to the corresponding functionality in the GUI 1 x status output Identified with Active and used as anode for the red Active LED marked in green according to the corresponding functionality in the GUI This LED indicates whether a process is currently active or whether the GlimpseCatcher is inactive The LED is lit both during a normal time control process as well as during the flu
18. rst repetition on The complete time control process finishes after all configured repetitions have executed except if it would be prematurely finished by another push of the start button During the complete process duration the red ACTIVE LED is lit Email GlimpseCatcher gmx net 11 16 GlimpseCatcher User Manual 1 00 In case the number of repetitions is set to a value higher than 1 the time between repetitions will be taken into account In this case between each repetition the process will wait for the configured fix duration before the next run is started After expiration of this waiting time basically the start event START BUTTON executes automatically again If no waiting time between individual runs is required this value may be set to 0 Such a waiting time may for example be used in case of drop photography in order to let the water surface calm again between several drop occurrences In case of repetitions with start events TRIGGER 1 or TRIGGER 2 it must be taken into account that at each repetition the devices cameras or flashes which are configured accordingly again need this event in order to be activated The type of the appearing edge does not matter for example during the first run the opening of the circuit may execute the trigger while during the second run the closing of the circuit may execute it Activations of trigger 1 or trigger 2 during the waiting time in between repetitions will be ignored What matters how
19. sh function which is activating all devices Note The integrated LEDs have an internal protective resistor sufficient for 12V although there are always only 5V connected to them also in case of an external 12V power supply When integrating the GlimpseCatcher into a housing these clamped LEDs may either be Email GlimpseCatcher gmx net 8 16 GlimpseCatcher User Manual 1 00 reused or in case own normal LEDs are used they need to receive an external protective resistor Furthermore there are a USB connection and a power supply connection For usage the GlimpseCatcher needs to be connected via the USB port In addition an external power supply fulfilling the Arduino Uno specifications recommended range 7 12V may be connected In this case the applied voltage is available on the Vin wire clamp Besides the described LEDs there is also the start button on the GlimpseCatcher which is used to start all processes The general operation will be described in the next chapter Operation The GlimpseCatcher has 2 separate modes which may must not be used in parallel One mode consists of the actual timing control process incl flush function which is exclusively controlled via the start button In this mode timings which were previously configured will be executed The other mode consists of the configuration which is exclusively controlled via the GUI Both modes may must not be executed in parallel of course they may b
20. similar equipment simply due to the fact that the relative timings and durations of various events to each other may be defined in relation to the moment of the pushing of the start button shutter lag of the camera delay of the flash For events which have strongly varying appearance times or which may not be defined in relation to other events trigger 1 and trigger 2 are available For each device it is possible to configure 10 phases arranged in 5 lines one below the other of 2 phases each 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 During the uneven phases the output is not switched OFF during the even phases ON it is switched Of course it is possible to set phase 1 to 0 which allows that an output will be switched without waiting time directly after pushing the start button or activating the trigger To each of these phases correspond incremental values which are arranged on screen in the same way than the actual phases in the 3 resp 4 column These values are only needed in case several process runs shall be executed field number of repetitions higher than 1 In this case during each process run the respective phase time will be incremented by the incremental value This allows to realize very complex scenarios which very likely will quickly not be fully understandable anymore for a human It is therefore sensible to only set one single or a low number of these increment values to a value different from 0 at the same time This allo
21. uration into a file on the PC In the text field next to it additional descriptive text may be specified which will be saved together with the configuration The data are saved in a gcd file GlimpseCatcher data which may be loaded again into the GlimpseCatcher at a later time After selection of a file the save is instantaneous meaning it does not require any major amount of time Currently only one general descriptive text per configuration may be specified It is intended to implement additional short descriptions for each individual device camera flash in a future release The file format for saving configurations is already designed accordingly Thus currently saved configurations may be used in a future release the additional short descriptions may then be added Email GlimpseCatcher gmx net 12 16 GlimpseCatcher User Manual 1 00 The button Load allows to load a previously saved gcd configuration file back into the GlimpseCatcher A potentially saved descriptive text will also be displayed again in the GUI This text is however only available on the PC in the ongoing execution of the GUI and is not transmitted into the GlimpseCatcher This explains that further to a restart of the GUI or further to switching off and on again the GlimpseCatcher the parameters are displayed again not the additional descriptive text however If after loading of a saved configuration a parameter will be changed the displayed descriptive t
22. values outside of the limits of the respective field Following limits apply for the different fields Number of repetitions 5 000 Time between repetitions 0 or 500 1 800 000 000 Phase durations 0 or 500 1 800 000 000 Increments 0 1 800 000 000 Note that inputs which taking into account the configured number of repetitions would lead to an individual phase bigger than half an hour 1 800 000 000 are not accepted either Vice versa the same applies for the input of a number of repetitions which taking into account configured phase increment values would lead to an individual phase bigger than half an hour A correctly changed value will automatically be adapted within the GlimpseCatcher on leaving the corresponding field For this reason it must be taken care that especially if changing a larger quantity of values i e all phases of a device the last field must also be Email GlimpseCatcher gmx net 13 16 GlimpseCatcher User Manual 1 00 left after the change Therefore after each change of a value leave the corresponding field either by using the TAB key or by clicking into any other field Closing words The operation of the GlimpseCatcher is probably easier as it may appear when reading the present user manual The manual was intended to be complete and has therefore turned out quite large Also not to be forgotten is that the GlimpseCatcher only provides the technical possibilities to al
23. ws for example to create videos an automated sequence with slightly different timings or to run a sequence in order to determine the best suited timings for a particular scenario It is intended to possibly generate a data file in a future release which indicates the exact values for each individual photo of a repetition sequence If the start event is set to NOT USED the corresponding fields will be grayed out in order to emphasize that the corresponding device is currently not in use The configured values are kept however in order to be quickly available again if the device is used again The grayed out fields may be changed The normal checks apply on input of values in these fields The blue area contains the parameters for the individual cameras flashes The same remarks as for the device area apply with the exception that cameras or flashes only have 2 phases a delay until activation and an activation duration The green area is used for the general timing control process Here it is possible to define the number of repetitions which a process shall run according to the configured parameters At each repetition the increment values for the individual phases will be taken into account If all increment values are set to 0 the process will be executed absolutely identical at each repetition If there are increment values different from 0 the respective phases will be incremented by their respective increment value from the fi
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