autotrigger cameras with wireless mouse and chdkptp

[dtic]

This is for people that scan using cameras with chdk connected to a computer through USB.

A simple way to trigger the cameras automatically is to use a wireless mouse. Place the mouse so that a part of the platen turns the mousewheel as the platen moves down towards the book. A script on the computer reacts to the mouse scroll event by sending a chdkptp shoot command to the cameras. You won't need to press a button or footswitch manually to take the photos.

Where you position the mouse will depend on your platen and scanner design. I tied a large zip tie to one side of the platen and cut the protruding part of the zip tie down until roughly 2 centimeters stuck out from the platen. I then padded the protruding "finger" with some tape. Finally I positioned a mouse so the scroll wheel is turned by the finger when the platen moves up/down. The "finger" bends enough to not halt the platen but is still firm enough to scroll the mouse wheel. Any usb wireless mouse should work as long as the mouse wheel sticks out a little bit from the rest of the mouse body.

The scripting in Windows can be done with autohotkey to send commands to chdkptp which triggers usb connected cameras running CHDK to shoot. The latest versions of chdkptp supports saving each image from the camera directly to the harddrive of the connected computer (only supported for some CHDK supported cameras so far).

The autohotkey hotkey to set up is WheelDown. Add a half second or so of delay (the Sleep command) to give the platen time to come down on the page before the shot is taken.

[nafraf]

This is for people that scan using cameras with chdk connected to a computer through USB.
The scripting in Windows can be done with autohotkey to send commands to chdkptp which triggers usb connected cameras running CHDK to shoot. The latest versions of chdkptp supports saving each image from the camera directly to the harddrive of the connected computer (only supported for some CHDK supported cameras so far).

To support jpeg remote capture, filewrite task is required in CHDK port, the list of cameras supporting it is here: http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CameraFeatureTable