Frederic

I have acquired a Nokia 770 - so now have some more questions before I go and purchase the items needed to make it work with the Merlin head.

My thoughts are that if I find I don't like it this system, and end up with Klaus' Panocontrol system instead, I will probably be able to find someone who does.

fma38 wrote:

For the Bluetooth adapter, you can use these:

http://www.aircable.net/mini-os.html
http://www.aircable.net/serial.html

(the first one does not have dip switches to set the baudrate; you need to connect to it through BT line, and enter to monitor mode to change that param. The serial3 is easier to configure, as it has dip switches. But it is more expensive).

This one should also works fine:

http://www.tronisoft.com/2749.php

Tronisoft option is about half the cost of the serialOS version of Aircable which has the dip switches and cheaper than the lower cost Aircable.

Is there any advantage to the Aircable? If one uses, say a PC, to connect to the Tronisoft product to adjust setings do those change settings get saved or would one have to change the settings again every time - if so can that be done easily from a Nokia 770?

fma38 wrote:

They can all be powered through the serial line (pin 9). They don't need any special cable: just plug them to the serial-TTL converter.

About Nokia, if you use the 770, you will need to flash the firmware to upgrade it with the same OS as in the N800. This is not very complicated (need the firmware and the flasher). Papywizard successfully runs on all devices (except for the Help > About > License which does not show on N800, I don't know why, but it is not very important).

About the serial-TTL interface, I'm still waiting; as soon as I have (good) news, I will post a note. This interface will be based on this product:

http://www.tronisoft.com/4201.php

It only needs a RJ11/RJ12 cable, and 2 resistors. See:

http://www.autopano.net/forum/p27797-20 … -41#p27797

OK, I think I could probably manage to make that modification or get a friend to do it - are the resistors easy to get hold of?

I guess one would then preferably mount the module in a some sort of small box - what is the height of that Tronisoft module?

If you have mounted this module in a box could you upload a photo to show how it could be done please?

..........

I think I would also like to be able to use my old Thinkpad laptop running Windows 2000 as a Papywizard host - does Papywizard run with Windows 2000?

I believe you have not yet managed to get a Bluetooth connection to work from Windows version of Papywizard is that correct? 

In theory should any Windows compatible Bluetooth device work with Papywizard?

Last edited by mediavets (2008-10-11 20:47:17)

Frederic

Would these resisters be OK?:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/10-x-220-Ohm-Resi … m153.l1262

Or these:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/10pcs-220-OHM-1-4 … m153.l1262

Or these:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/10pcs-220-OHMS-1- … m153.l1262

Last edited by mediavets (2008-10-11 22:48:08)

Hi Andrew,

I have posted some photos of the module in the box:

Some suggestions:

-As you can see I have used somme connectors for testing ... but I recommend  youto weld cables directly on circuit to avoid poor contacts.
-I also recommend to put a second "Colson" on the cable outside the box, the cable is then immobilized and cannot practise of tracion on his link.

Claude

Claude

fma38 wrote:

One point: be very carefull with screws to maintain the PCB: the upper side of the PCB is at 5V level, and the lower side is grounded. So, if the screw remove the green isolating film, there will be a short circuit! It happened to me Prefer using nylon screws...

Thank you so much for the pictures that will help me a lot.

I guess there is a hole in the left end of the box so you can get at the D-sub but it doesn't show in this picture?

I am having difficulty finding a box that it that small but has 30mm internal height. Your box must be about 70x40x30mm internal dimensions?

Do you use some sort of spacers on the bolts - between the underside of the circuit board and the base of the box?

Frederic

From reading the BTLink BT device manual it appears to me that it does hold settings once changed but I plan to confirm this with Tronisoft before buying it.

I had wondered about buying a longer box and to put the BTLink device inside as well with just the aerial outside.

Do you need any ventilation for the box - or does it not get that warm inside?

........

Is there a photo of the whole setup - Merlin with camera and box monuted somewhere on the forum?

Last edited by mediavets (2008-10-12 17:55:01)

Andrew,

Yes this is a rectangular aperture on the side of the box in front of the connector.
My box is 80 x 50 x 25 inside and 85 x 53 x 30 outside.

For the Tronisoft module only the "inside" measurements of the box should be minimun: 55 x 50 x 25 .
This is of course without the Bluetooth.

The problem by integrating Tronisoft module and BT module inside a box is that you couln't see the leds; in normal time this should not be a problem but when something goes wrong it should be interresting to see the leds signals...

This could be solved by boxes like RETEX serie 102 (see http://www.retex.es/paginas/home_in.html or more precisely http://www.electronique-diffusion.fr/pr … s_id=71898)

I don't use spacers but the suggestion of Frederic for the plastics(or nylons or plastics srews) is the best.

Claude

mediavets wrote:

With this lens how much can you pitch up the camera?

90 up and 90 down (sorry, Frédéric . . . )

Frederic

fma38 wrote:

For the Bluetooth adapter, you can use these:

http://www.aircable.net/mini-os.html
http://www.aircable.net/serial.html

(the first one does not have dip switches to set the baudrate; you need to connect to it through BT line, and enter to monitor mode to change that param. The serial3 is easier to configure, as it has dip switches. But it is more expensive).

This one should also works fine:

http://www.tronisoft.com/2749.php

They can all be powered through the serial line (pin 9). They don't need any special cable: just plug them to the serial-TTL converter.

I see that aircable BT adapters draw about 10ma but the Tronisoft BTlink adapter uses 90ma. I guess that is a bit of a drawback to this device? Will it have major impact on battery life with the Merlin?

I have also found these two adapters - LM Technologies LM058 and LM048 - these seem on the face of it to be rather similar to the BTLink and also use about 90ma:
http://www.merlinwireless.co.uk/merlinb … 4a27768784

http://www.lm-technologies.com/ci/index … s/wireless

OTOH LM058, LM048 and BTlink seem to be rather easier to configure than the aircable miniOS, having read the manual for that product I still don't understand how you configure it.

Last edited by mediavets (2008-10-13 12:01:52)

Ok, here is the page:

http://www.autopano.net/wiki/action/vie … l_adapters (english)
http://www.autopano.fr/wiki/action/view … oth-série (french)

Feel free to add informations.

Last edited by fma38 (2008-10-13 14:28:01)

The MiniOS is less powerfull, so drains less current... take 50mA as an average for all modules (90mA for LM is also a peak value) and you'll be safe.

BTW, the Tronisoft BTL-478 and LM058 seem to be the same product (same internal chip ?).

I think that the LM048 is a good choice. Then, I would suggest the MiniOS, for its price, size, consumption, but it is a little bit harder to configure (well, not that much )

Last edited by fma38 (2008-10-13 13:13:11)

fma38 wrote:

BTW, the Tronisoft BTL-478 and LM058 seem to be the same product (same internal chip ?).

Apparently not the same product - this is what Trinisoft said when I asked about the difference between their BTLink and the LM058:

"Apart from the different housing, the different price and the fact we specialise in Bluetooth, USB & Serial market, not much. This is a High Quality BTLink device and due to our automated & efficient stock handling and processing are able to offer a considerable discount on selling to consumers and also offer much better trade prices without affecting technical support or product quality.

However the BTLink units are newer as we only received our new batch in September hence uses the latest firmware and we have a JIT ordering system which we are able to provide newer batches every time.

The BTLink devices are all CE, RoHS and FCC certified.

We used to stock the LM Technologies branded version, but we were dissatisfied with the service we received and the fact that they were trying to force us to stick to a very high selling price which then in turn dissatisfied our customers hence purchased BTLink devices and are able to offer and also beat their quotes on these Bluetooth to Serial Adapters. A Bluetooth to Serial does not need to be £50 and can provide the same service, quality and delivery speed to consumers and traders for £30 or lower.

BTLink shall also be providing a HyperTerminal replacement within the next few weeks which shall also aid our users in setting up or using the BTLink devices.

I hope this has given you an insight and you can decide whether a Standard Bluetooth to Serial can be justified at a selling price of excess of £40~£50 unless it has more features then our devices e.g. A rechargeable battery or provides DSR/DTR. "


But yes they use the same chipset - the CSR BC04 chipset.

fma38 wrote:

I can reach 90° only if I move the camera/lens on the sliding rail, so I'm out of NPP position. If I stay at NPP, I can't go more than 40° up (because of the body of the camera, and also because of the connector).

The circular mount was designed by Trekker317. Thierry, did you make a version with correct holes positon?

This appears to be a major limitation of the Merlin head for pano photography with longer focal length lens on a DSLR IF one wishes to set the NPP properly?

I would agree that perhaps few people would us a Merlin head for 360x180 panos shooting when panos are destined for on-line display because they would probably choose to use a FE and then this would require  only a few shots and a manual pano head would be more appropriate, and also they would have a smaller nadir with a manual pano head.

So it seems to me that the main use of a Merlin head will be for shooting partial panos at higher resolutions - such as landscapes from a high viewpoint?

If that assumption is correct is the limited upwards pitch that can be achieved - such as +40 in your case with a 17-40 lens on a Canon 30D  - while retaining a correct NPP a real limitation, or am I making too much of this issue?

Perhaps if shooting distant landscapes for example then it does not matter very much whether the NPP is set correctly?

Last edited by mediavets (2008-10-13 18:37:19)

"
10 mm 40D vertical ( N + 3 rows )
16 mm equiv. lenses
nadir
4  picts @ - 60°
8  picts @    0°
4  picts @ + 60°
no zenith
"

This is my usual setting with Canon 40D and 10-17 mm

No zenit, no problem... BUT my setting of the Merlin is different, no change except displacement of the Merlin vertical head from his base (10 mm)

Claude