Harbortronics Time-Lapse Package User Manual

Time-Lapse Package

User’s Guide

Dual Battery Option Shown. Zoom in for details...

Harbortronics Inc

5720 144th St NW, Suite 200

Gig Harbor, WA. USA 98332

253-858-7769 (Phone)

253-858-9517 (Fax)

http://www.harbortronics.com/

Sales & Service: [e-mail]

Technical & Customizing: [e-mail]

Time-Lapse Package

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Overview ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 3

Quick Start ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 3

Items included: ................................................................................................................................................................................. 3

Configuring the DigiSnap ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4

Connecting to a terminal .................................................................................................................................................................. 4

Configuring for Advanced Time-Lapse .......................................................................................................................................... 4

System Components ............................................................................................................................................................................. 5

Digital Camera .................................................................................................................................................................................. 5

Enclosure ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 7

Mount Assembly ............................................................................................................................................................................... 7

Camera Mount .................................................................................................................................................................................. 9

Mechanical Package ......................................................................................................................................................................... 9

Battery Pack Assembly .................................................................................................................................................................... 9

Solar Panel ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 10

Circuitry Panel ............................................................................................................................................................................... 11

Tools and Accessories ..................................................................................................................................................................... 12

Standard Package ................................................................................................................................................................................ 12

Specifications ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 13

Service / Warranty ............................................................................................................................................................................... 13

Philosophy: ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 13

Legal: ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 13

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Overview

The Time-Lapse Package is a complete system for documenting construction projects, animal behavior monitoring, analyzing
environmental changes, or other long-term outdoor photographic tasks.

This equipment will yield significantly higher resolution and higher quality images than can be achieved with “web camera”
equipment, and is designed to be completely autonomous... no connection to AC power, computers, networks, or video recorders are
needed. You own the equipment, and there are no monthly charges!

Except for a few mounting screws to suit your particular application, everything you need is included, and the system can be installed
in a as little as a few minutes.

Quick Start

1. Flip the toggle switch to the ON position. This will apply power to the camera and the controller.

2. Once the power is connected, the DigiSnap should immediately blink amber once, and then a few seconds later will quickly
blink four times green.

3. Turn the camera on, using the rotating power switch on the top of the camera.

4. Press the * button on the DigiSnap, and the camera should take a picture! This verifies that everything is connected and
working properly. Each time you press the * button, it should take a picture.

5. The DigiSnap controller is already configured at the factory to take pictures on a daily schedule. The following
configuration was used for testing, and you may want to reconfigure the settings for your application.

The DigiSnap is set to take pictures starting 1 minute after the power is turned on, and every day afterwards at the same
starting time. 10 Pictures will be taken per day, at an interval of 1 hour between shots.

Items included:

Fiberglass Housing, glass window.
High capacity internal battery pack.
5 Watt Solar Panel.
Harbortronics Solar Charger.
Harbortronics Battery Converter.

Harbortronics DigiSnap 2100.
Pentax K200D Digital SLR and 18-55mm Zoom lens.
A pair of 4 GB memory cards.
Hex wrench, cables, manuals and accessories.

Here are all of the parts, before we assemble them!

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Configuring the DigiSnap

Now that you’ve verified that things are working, you may want to configure the DigiSnap for your particular application. The first
time you do this can be trying, but once you’ve gone through the process once, it’ll be easy the next time. If you get stuck, give Mark
a call!

The DigiSnap should already be configured properly for the camera. All you should need to configure are the time-lapse settings
within the DigiSnap, and set up the camera for your application.

Take a look at the DigiSnap 2000 manual, which is on the CD Rom supplied with the equipment. This should help you to understand
how the DigiSnap works with a terminal window, and what sort of operations the DigiSnap can perform.

Connecting to a terminal

If you have a desktop PC, you probably have a serial port on the back of your computer. Use the supplied beige cable (labeled Null­Modem), to connect the DigiSnap to your serial port.

If you have a newer laptop or a Mac, you may need to buy a USB to Serial converter, and install it's drivers. These are available at
any computer store from $15 and up.

You now need to run a program to open up a terminal window. If you are running Linux, you already know how to do this! If you
have a windows PC you can use the DigiSnap_Terminal.exe program supplied on the CD Rom.

If you are using a Mac, you can download a shareware program called ZTerm, or you may already have a terminal program installed
with your particular OS. The particular COM settings needed are listed in the DigiSnap 2000 manual.

Once you have your terminal program running, and ‘connected’, cycle the power on the DigiSnap (flip the toggle switch off and on
again), and you should see it present a menu on the screen. You can select the different menus or particular commands. Once you
have configured the DigiSnap via a terminal, the settings are saved forever, or until the next time you change them using this same
procedure.

If you have problems getting the 'terminal' working with the DigiSnap, please refer to the “Terminal Instructions” article on the CD­Rom. If you suspect any problem with our equipment, please call us!

Configuring for Advanced Time-Lapse

The majority of outdoor monitoring applications will use the Advanced Time-Lapse (ATL) feature of the DigiSnap controller. With
ATL, the camera can be made to take pictures only at specific times of the day, such as during daylight hours. Please refer to the
DigiSnap 2000 manual on the CD-Rom for specific details regarding the configuration menus.

Please note that the DigiSnap controller does not have a 'real-time' internal clock. When you power it up, so it will presume that it’s
midnight. This doesn’t mean you can’t use ATL, it just means you have to be a bit more clever. You can set up the ATL start times
with an offset, anticipating what time of day you are going to start the system, or you can simply have configure the DigiSnap to start
taking pictures at 00:01 (1 minute after midnight), and power up the system when you want it to start taking pictures. The DigiSnap
will then start keeping time, and taking pictures on a daily schedule.

We would be happy to pre-configure the DigiSnap for your particular application, to ease your project by one more step. Also, feel
free to call us at your convenience for help in configuring the time-lapse sequence. Although the process is straightforward for some
people, others need a bit of hand-holding the first time... we understand this!

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Standard Configuration. Zoom in for details...

System Components

Digital Camera

While there are several camera models that could be used in the system, through much deliberation we have chosen the Pentax
K200D. Prior to the K200D, we shipped hundreds of systems using the K100D series cameras. Note that some of the pictures here
may show the older K100D series. Most customers prefer that we supply the camera, and this is our strong preference as well, but we
can also provide the system without a camera.

There are a host of considerations to evaluate when choosing a camera model for time-lapse photography, particularly in the field.
The ultimate goal of your project is to collect a series of images over a long period of time, regardless of the environmental
conditions. Shutter life, image quality, power consumption, and of course reliability are major concerns. We have done this research
for you, and believe we have found the optimum camera for the application.

As in many endeavors, “details count!”. For instance: some customers have asked to use their own Nikon SLR camera. While the
cameras would certainly be perfectly suited to capturing images, there are some difficulties accommodating most Nikon SLRs in

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