How to make a "real" HV20 wired Lanc.... at DVinfo.net

Chris Soucy · June 1st, 2007, 07:09 PM

Ok folks, I've just finished making and fitting my DIY Lanc to the HV20 - it uses the standard WL - D87 remote controller and a bit of ingenuity, but provides both standard IR operation when not tethered, along with all the D87 functions when connected via cable from over 50 feet away (and behind the camera). No light pipes required.

How many of you would be interested in how it's done?

Cheers,

Chris

Stuart Brontman · June 1st, 2007, 07:39 PM

Count me in! I need lanc control if I try and do a stereoscopic video. I might use the "lanc shepard" which controls 2 cameras at once.

Please let us all in on the technique.

Thanks.

Johan Bunis · June 2nd, 2007, 03:34 AM

Sounds realy intresting for me.. :)

Tim Homola · June 2nd, 2007, 05:25 AM

Come on ... Spill the beans! ... please :)

Nathan Shane · June 2nd, 2007, 06:44 AM

Yeah...count me in too and spill the beans, I'm going out to buy an HV20 this afternoon.

Javier Paradinas · June 2nd, 2007, 09:12 PM

That's maybe useful for a DIY figrig. Go ahead! Thanks in advance,

Chris Soucy · June 3rd, 2007, 01:44 AM

Sorry all, been out on a shoot all day so running waaaay late with everything.

To work:

The lanc is based on the standard IR remote. I didn't want to trash my one and only, so bought a second (cheap as chips, $29 NZ - about, oh, $20 US or less). As this process does involve making some "hard" changes to your remote and the ever present chance that a mistake totals it completely, you may want to get a second one for this procedure as well. Of course, once you start on this, you can wave your Canon Warranty on it bye bye! So be warned.

[Before I go any further, does anyone know what the upload limits are on photos here? I searched but failed to find, and this will be heaps easier with the accompanying photos].

Anyway, for part 1 I'll stick to a brief overvew of what I did, you can decide from that whether you're prepared to try it AND have both the tools and soldering experience to complete it.

In essence, very simple - the IR sensor on the camera is on the lower right front (Duh!). Not much good from behind or at distance. Need to get an IR feed to sensor. Have looked at previously posted "lightpipe" systems and though highly ingenious, (thanks to all) not really suitable for me with a dual 360 degress underslung P/T head requireing extremely flexible and secure links.

Ok, so use an IR sender attached electronically and use super thin cable. Which sender?

OK, here's where your first choice is:

You can make this easy, use the sender led from the remote, remove it from the circuit board and attach it using "blue tack" to the IR sensor on the camera and hard wire it back to the controler. Easy to do, and works, but remote is now stuck to camera on indeterminate length of cable and no longer works as proper hand held remote.

OR

Fit a 2.5mm panel mount phono socket onto the remote case and wire it into the led circuit so that when the "remote" led is plugged in, the "local" led is not, and vice versa.

What "remote" led if we're not using the one from the remote control itself? (I hear you ask!)

Easy, get hold of a trashed remote from practically anything (or, preferably a good remote from something else that has been trashed) and use the led out of that. You can probably also get a perfectly good new one from Radio Shack (do they still exist?) or whomever your local electronic components shop is.

Parts List for entire job:

1 X WL - D87 Canon Remote (intact) & battery
1 X IR LED (from wherever)
1 X 2.5mm plastic** panel mount phono socket (Mono) with "break" contact
2 X 2.5 mm Phono plugs (Mono)
1 X 2.5 mm Phono Line socket (Mono)
About 6 inches thin single core hookup wire ( I mean tiny!)
About 6 inches thin "single core with shield" cable
As much single core and shield as you need to get from remote to camera in worst case scenario - almost unlimited length.

Tools:
Soldering Iron (fine tip) & Solder
Small pliers
Tweezer heatsink
Small side cutters
Sharp knife
Drill and say 1/16" and 1/8" drill bits (1 - 3 mm ish)
Slot screw driver
Electrical tape (if it matches the camera colour, so much the better)
Small amount of "Blue Tack" (like plasticine but for office use - usually blue)

The "single core and shield" I used was one side of a figure 8 pair (used for double shielded feeds) simply zipped apart, presto, 1 core! You can use double core without a shield but you may have trouble finding anything small enough, the stuff I used is only about 1/16"/ 1/8" in diameter.

********************************************************

OK, that's gonna have to hold you lot till tomorrow, as I've work to do - anyone feeling brave and wants more, just post and let me know, this really is simple but does require stuff that probably isn't on the average bods "I can do that" list these days.

Cheers,

Chris

PS: Tip for remotes.

Does it work? To find out, turn on HV20, point lens at yourself, flip screen so you can see it. Fire remote (ANY remote) at lens. If remote is working, you will see it flashing on the screen. You can now test any remote in town and earn a fortune on the side.

Cheers.

Stuart Brontman · June 3rd, 2007, 08:42 AM

Yes, I would love to see more about this. I'm brave enough to give it a go. Why Canon left out lanc control on this camera is beyond me.

Toby Bates · June 3rd, 2007, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stuart Brontman

Yes, I would love to see more about this. I'm brave enough to give it a go. Why Canon left out lanc control on this camera is beyond me.

You gotta remember that this is a sub 2k(aus) "consumer cam". I doubt that the average Joe would even know what a Lanc was.

Stuart Brontman · June 3rd, 2007, 10:17 PM

A consumer cam that's much better than I think Canon intended - at least picture-wise. But I agree, most buyers of this camera have little idea of what you can coax out of it. I saw someone using one the other day, whipping it around on ultrafast pans as he tried to get every inch of the Chicago skyline. I pity the people that have to watch that!

Chris Soucy · June 4th, 2007, 01:35 AM

OK, well, tonights episode of "Build the lanc" is cancelled due to incompatible time commitments (in a nutshell, have been off shooting again all day and if "her indoors" doesn't get some serious quality time I'll never hear the end of it).

However, till Part Deux arrives (hopefully tomorrow) here are some thoughts:

1. The build parameters were based largely on what I could source easily here in Dunedin (not the planets greatest metropolis) and so the final build will to a large extent depend on what you can get hold of yourselves.

2. I did not make clear in Part 1, there are NO electronic connections to the camera itself. The connections are "physical" in that they are temporarily attached and can be easily removed, (grab and pull will do it) so the only component that is compromised is the remote itself. Unfortunately this system only gives you what is available on the remote, but, hey, it's still a lot better than nothing!

3. Just to get some of you wondering, (as I have only just discovered this and it has to be worth further investigation), DID YOU KNOW that the HV20 remote actually works some of the functions of the A1? I mention this only because a large number of bods seem to have both (as do I), but I seriously do not have time to thoroughly investigate to what extent each remote works with the "wrong" camera. It would be real cool if the A1 remote actually "did" the focus on the HV20 (yeah, fat chance!). Anybody want to give it a try?

And with that, gotta go. Will seriously attempt to get this sorted tomorrow - any requests etc just post.

Cheers,

Chris

Taky Cheung · June 4th, 2007, 09:50 AM

I used a cheap TOSLink cable ($3) to pass through the IR signal from the remote to the front of the camera. It works very well. You also don't need to break anything. Here's the post

http://dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.ph...n+missing+lanc

Chris Soucy · June 5th, 2007, 02:28 AM

well, first to respond to Taky:
I had no problems with your design, it just simply wouldn't work for me. I had to work with what was available here and would do what I wanted it to do. The Toslink's available here would in no way allow the range of movement required, hence the different approach. If you had read the start of the thread you would have picked up on that (I hope).

Gonna have to delay part 2 yet again as have been posting over on the "General HD/ HDV" forum on another favourite topic, but for anyone interested, here's a snippet:

The IR remote is held together by 6 protruding lugs (three each side) that stick out from the top plate and engage in suitably placed indentations in the bottom plate of the controller. If you remove the battery holder and use a bit of leverage (gently) at that end, you can gauge just where the first lug is on either side. The application of a slot screwdriver to that location to lever the bottom casing away from the lug will free it quite easily. Continue with the other 2 lugs on any one side and, hey presto, it just opens!

And that's it for tonight, sorry. Gotta go.

Cheers,

Chris

Chris Soucy · June 7th, 2007, 12:48 AM

Well, this was to be accompanied by photos, but as one or other of the systems involved seems to be having a "hissy fit" I have no idea whether they're there or not. Gonna close this post and see if piccies appear as if by magic in it before posting any more.

Cheers,

Chris

Chris Soucy · June 7th, 2007, 12:52 AM

Well, DVinfo won't allow me to upload the piccies for some reason, so for the moment that's the end of the tutorial (actually that's not strictly true, they have uploaded [in spades] it just won't let me attach them to this post, for reasons known only to the designer of the system).

When (if) this gets sorted, I will return.

Cheers,

Chris

June 1st, 2007, 07:09 PM	#1
Chris Soucy Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Fairfield, Dunedin, New Zealand Posts: 3,682 Images: 18	How to make a "real" HV20 wired Lanc.... Ok folks, I've just finished making and fitting my DIY Lanc to the HV20 - it uses the standard WL - D87 remote controller and a bit of ingenuity, but provides both standard IR operation when not tethered, along with all the D87 functions when connected via cable from over 50 feet away (and behind the camera). No light pipes required. How many of you would be interested in how it's done? Cheers, Chris

June 2nd, 2007, 09:12 PM	#6
Javier Paradinas New Boot Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Salamanca (Spain) Posts: 11	Great That's maybe useful for a DIY figrig. Go ahead! Thanks in advance,

June 3rd, 2007, 01:44 AM	#7
Chris Soucy Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Fairfield, Dunedin, New Zealand Posts: 3,682 Images: 18	OK, here's part 1 ('cos I'm short of time).... Sorry all, been out on a shoot all day so running waaaay late with everything. To work: The lanc is based on the standard IR remote. I didn't want to trash my one and only, so bought a second (cheap as chips, $29 NZ - about, oh, $20 US or less). As this process does involve making some "hard" changes to your remote and the ever present chance that a mistake totals it completely, you may want to get a second one for this procedure as well. Of course, once you start on this, you can wave your Canon Warranty on it bye bye! So be warned. [Before I go any further, does anyone know what the upload limits are on photos here? I searched but failed to find, and this will be heaps easier with the accompanying photos]. Anyway, for part 1 I'll stick to a brief overvew of what I did, you can decide from that whether you're prepared to try it AND have both the tools and soldering experience to complete it. In essence, very simple - the IR sensor on the camera is on the lower right front (Duh!). Not much good from behind or at distance. Need to get an IR feed to sensor. Have looked at previously posted "lightpipe" systems and though highly ingenious, (thanks to all) not really suitable for me with a dual 360 degress underslung P/T head requireing extremely flexible and secure links. Ok, so use an IR sender attached electronically and use super thin cable. Which sender? OK, here's where your first choice is: You can make this easy, use the sender led from the remote, remove it from the circuit board and attach it using "blue tack" to the IR sensor on the camera and hard wire it back to the controler. Easy to do, and works, but remote is now stuck to camera on indeterminate length of cable and no longer works as proper hand held remote. OR Fit a 2.5mm panel mount phono socket onto the remote case and wire it into the led circuit so that when the "remote" led is plugged in, the "local" led is not, and vice versa. What "remote" led if we're not using the one from the remote control itself? (I hear you ask!) Easy, get hold of a trashed remote from practically anything (or, preferably a good remote from something else that has been trashed) and use the led out of that. You can probably also get a perfectly good new one from Radio Shack (do they still exist?) or whomever your local electronic components shop is. Parts List for entire job: 1 X WL - D87 Canon Remote (intact) & battery 1 X IR LED (from wherever) 1 X 2.5mm plastic panel mount phono socket (Mono) with "break" contact 2 X 2.5 mm Phono plugs (Mono) 1 X 2.5 mm Phono Line socket (Mono) About 6 inches thin single core hookup wire ( I mean tiny!) About 6 inches thin "single core with shield" cable As much single core and shield as you need to get from remote to camera in worst case scenario - almost unlimited length. Tools: Soldering Iron (fine tip) & Solder Small pliers Tweezer heatsink Small side cutters Sharp knife Drill and say 1/16" and 1/8" drill bits (1 - 3 mm ish) Slot screw driver Electrical tape (if it matches the camera colour, so much the better) Small amount of "Blue Tack" (like plasticine but for office use - usually blue) The "single core and shield" I used was one side of a figure 8 pair (used for double shielded feeds) simply zipped apart, presto, 1 core! You can use double core without a shield but you may have trouble finding anything small enough, the stuff I used is only about 1/16"/ 1/8" in diameter. ****************************************************** OK, that's gonna have to hold you lot till tomorrow, as I've work to do - anyone feeling brave and wants more, just post and let me know, this really is simple but does require stuff that probably isn't on the average bods "I can do that" list these days. Cheers, Chris PS: Tip for remotes. Does it work? To find out, turn on HV20, point lens at yourself, flip screen so you can see it. Fire remote (ANY remote) at lens. If remote is working, you will see it flashing on the screen. You can now test any remote in town and earn a fortune on the side. Cheers. Last edited by Chris Soucy; June 3rd, 2007 at 01:58 AM. Reason: Less haste, more speed!

June 4th, 2007, 01:35 AM	#11
Chris Soucy Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Fairfield, Dunedin, New Zealand Posts: 3,682 Images: 18	Hi all........... OK, well, tonights episode of "Build the lanc" is cancelled due to incompatible time commitments (in a nutshell, have been off shooting again all day and if "her indoors" doesn't get some serious quality time I'll never hear the end of it). However, till Part Deux arrives (hopefully tomorrow) here are some thoughts: 1. The build parameters were based largely on what I could source easily here in Dunedin (not the planets greatest metropolis) and so the final build will to a large extent depend on what you can get hold of yourselves. 2. I did not make clear in Part 1, there are NO electronic connections to the camera itself. The connections are "physical" in that they are temporarily attached and can be easily removed, (grab and pull will do it) so the only component that is compromised is the remote itself. Unfortunately this system only gives you what is available on the remote, but, hey, it's still a lot better than nothing! 3. Just to get some of you wondering, (as I have only just discovered this and it has to be worth further investigation), DID YOU KNOW that the HV20 remote actually works some of the functions of the A1? I mention this only because a large number of bods seem to have both (as do I), but I seriously do not have time to thoroughly investigate to what extent each remote works with the "wrong" camera. It would be real cool if the A1 remote actually "did" the focus on the HV20 (yeah, fat chance!). Anybody want to give it a try? And with that, gotta go. Will seriously attempt to get this sorted tomorrow - any requests etc just post. Cheers, Chris

June 5th, 2007, 02:28 AM	#13
Chris Soucy Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Fairfield, Dunedin, New Zealand Posts: 3,682 Images: 18	Hi all............ well, first to respond to Taky: I had no problems with your design, it just simply wouldn't work for me. I had to work with what was available here and would do what I wanted it to do. The Toslink's available here would in no way allow the range of movement required, hence the different approach. If you had read the start of the thread you would have picked up on that (I hope). Gonna have to delay part 2 yet again as have been posting over on the "General HD/ HDV" forum on another favourite topic, but for anyone interested, here's a snippet: The IR remote is held together by 6 protruding lugs (three each side) that stick out from the top plate and engage in suitably placed indentations in the bottom plate of the controller. If you remove the battery holder and use a bit of leverage (gently) at that end, you can gauge just where the first lug is on either side. The application of a slot screwdriver to that location to lever the bottom casing away from the lug will free it quite easily. Continue with the other 2 lugs on any one side and, hey presto, it just opens! And that's it for tonight, sorry. Gotta go. Cheers, Chris

June 1st, 2007, 07:39 PM	#2
Stuart Brontman Contributor Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 228	Count me in! I need lanc control if I try and do a stereoscopic video. I might use the "lanc shepard" which controls 2 cameras at once. Please let us all in on the technique. Thanks.

June 2nd, 2007, 03:34 AM	#3
Johan Bunis New Boot Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Stockholm Posts: 13	Sounds realy intresting for me.. :)

June 2nd, 2007, 05:25 AM	#4
Tim Homola Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 30	Come on ... Spill the beans! ... please :)

June 2nd, 2007, 06:44 AM	#5
Nathan Shane Regular Crew Join Date: May 2007 Location: Addison, Texas Posts: 178	Yeah...count me in too and spill the beans, I'm going out to buy an HV20 this afternoon.

June 3rd, 2007, 08:42 AM	#8
Stuart Brontman Contributor Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 228	Yes, I would love to see more about this. I'm brave enough to give it a go. Why Canon left out lanc control on this camera is beyond me.

June 3rd, 2007, 10:17 PM	#10
Stuart Brontman Contributor Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 228	A consumer cam that's much better than I think Canon intended - at least picture-wise. But I agree, most buyers of this camera have little idea of what you can coax out of it. I saw someone using one the other day, whipping it around on ultrafast pans as he tried to get every inch of the Chicago skyline. I pity the people that have to watch that!

June 4th, 2007, 09:50 AM	#12
Taky Cheung Inner Circle Join Date: May 2007 Location: Los Angeles, USA Posts: 2,114	I used a cheap TOSLink cable ($3) to pass through the IR signal from the remote to the front of the camera. It works very well. You also don't need to break anything. Here's the post http://dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.ph...n+missing+lanc

June 7th, 2007, 12:48 AM	#14
Chris Soucy Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Fairfield, Dunedin, New Zealand Posts: 3,682 Images: 18	OK, how to..................... Well, this was to be accompanied by photos, but as one or other of the systems involved seems to be having a "hissy fit" I have no idea whether they're there or not. Gonna close this post and see if piccies appear as if by magic in it before posting any more. Cheers, Chris

June 7th, 2007, 12:52 AM	#15
Chris Soucy Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Fairfield, Dunedin, New Zealand Posts: 3,682 Images: 18	Oh oh, Well, DVinfo won't allow me to upload the piccies for some reason, so for the moment that's the end of the tutorial (actually that's not strictly true, they have uploaded [in spades] it just won't let me attach them to this post, for reasons known only to the designer of the system). When (if) this gets sorted, I will return. Cheers, Chris