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CamDo Time Lapse System MANUAL
1. Introduction
This manual describes how to get started with your CamDo Blink Time Lapse Controller for your GoPro HERO4 or HERO3+
Black camera (NOTE: HERO3+ Silver cameras may work but are not officially supported by CamDo due to the general
unreliability of the HERO3+ Silver cameras as they get older). Blink is a low power, WiFi enabled GoPro time lapse and
scheduler accessory that unlocks the full potential of the GoPro camera. Blink allows users to control when and how the
camera will trigger based on a daily schedule, motion detection, or other custom made triggers. Configuration is
handled through an easy-to-use web interface via a smartphone, tablet or laptop. Read our Quick Start Guide to get
started and this more detailed User Manual for further details. You can also view helpful instructional videos in the
"Support" section.
2. What's included
A. CamDo Blink
B. Wired Remote
C. USB OTG Cable (for future updates)
D. X-Band Motion Detector (optional purchase)
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Summary of Contents for CamDo 180199
- Page 1 1. Introduction This manual describes how to get started with your CamDo Blink Time Lapse Controller for your GoPro HERO4 or HERO3+ Black camera (NOTE: HERO3+ Silver cameras may work but are not officially supported by CamDo due to the general unreliability of the HERO3+ Silver cameras as they get older).
- Page 2 3. Blink Overview...
- Page 3 1. miniUSB: Blink's USB interface is used for firmware updates (See section Updating Blink for more information). See Section 5. Powering Blink for available power configurations. 2. LED: This provides feedback to the user during operation, as well as for firmware updates. See section LED Status Indicator for an explanation of the different LED indicators.
- Page 4 Red flashes once: Error writing schedules to internal storage. Remove power and try again. If red blinks continue to occur, please contact CamDo customer support. Red flashes twice: WiFi error. Remove power and try again. If red blinks continue to occur, please contact CamDo customer support.
- Page 5 If you have a Blink with a black case, you can choose the following power options: Remove the internal GoPro battery and plug Blink into the camera. Then plug your USB power cable into Blink. Blink's USB port does not charge the GoPro battery. If the GoPro battery is removed and the camera is powered through Blink's USB port, it allows for Blink to reset the GoPro if Blink detects that the camera has become unresponsive.
- Page 6 If you have a Blink with a white case, you only have one option: Keep the internal GoPro battery in the camera and plug Blink into the camera. Then plug your USB power cable into the GoPro Camera's USB port to keep the GoPro battery charged. 5.3 HERO3+ Black Camera If you are using a HERO3+ Black camera, you also only have one option for powering Blink: Keep the internal GoPro battery in the camera and plug Blink into the camera.
- Page 7 NOTE: Some phones and computers have WiFi settings that will automatically connect to a known WiFi network with the strongest internet signal rather than staying connected to Blink. Since connecting to Blink's WiFi network does not provide external internet access, some devices will not stay connected. You might need to temporarily adjust the WiFi settings or remove any saved networks in the area for the period required to set up the new shooting schedule of Blink.
- Page 8 6.3 Creating an Android shortcut 1. After you have connected to Blink with your Android phone, navigate to http://192.168.1.1 in the Chrome web browser. 2. Click on the small triple dot icon in the top right corner. Then click on “Add to Home screen”.
- Page 9 7. User Interface The following outlines the key features of the powerful Blink web based User Interface (UI).
- Page 10 A. Firmware Version: Displays the firmware version of Blink. CamDo support may ask for this information in the event of a support request.
- Page 11 B. Camera Status: Status information such as the camera type, battery level, and remaining SD space are displayed here. By default, these will show ‘-’ at startup until Blink establishes communication with the camera. Note that this information is only updated when the camera is turned on by either synchronizing the camera time (firmware v2.00 or later), a schedule or the Manual Test Controls .
- Page 12 H. Enable: The Enable button toggles the schedule. Blue means the Schedule is active and will trigger the camera at the defined intervals. The drawer on each Schedule also turns blue as a quick way of determining which Schedules are active.
- Page 13 3. Wait 10 seconds. After this time, Blink will turn on the camera, read the camera’s time, and turn off. Don’t worry if the camera’s time is inaccurate, we’ll set it later. 4. Turn on Blink's WiFi using the Wired Remote plugged into the Blink's 2.5mm port (Port 1) by holding down the button of the Wired Remote for 3 seconds.
- Page 14 6. Open a web browser and navigate to “http://192.168.1.1” in the search bar. You will be presented with the following interface. Remember to create a shortcut on your homescreen as described earlier in this manual.
- Page 15 7. Click the “Sync” button to update the camera’s time with the local time on your browsing device.
- Page 16 8. Modify a schedule to suit your capture requirements. In this example, we will create a schedule to take an image every 20 minutes, Monday through Friday, 10am till 4pm. To create the schedule, complete the following: 1. Tap the days of the week to enable the schedule for that day. As can be seen in the image below, M, T, W, T, F are highlighted in blue indicating they are active.
- Page 17 10. Once the schedule has been modified, be sure to click the “Enable” button. A quick way to tell if a schedule is enabled is by the dark blue colour of the drop-down box. If multiple schedules have been set, and there is a conflict between them, priority is given to the lower numbered schedule.
- Page 18 11. Click “Save All”. The page will refresh and your modified schedule should be shown in the appropriate drop-down box. Clicking “Clear All” will reset all schedules to their default values and disable.
- Page 19 9. Email Notifications Blink has the ability to setup a scheduled email notification every day*. In order to use this feature, Blink must be near an active WiFi network. This notification will send the following information: SD space remaining (HERO4 Only) GoPro Camera battery life (does not display external battery capacity) # of photos and video taken since last email # of motion detections triggered since last email...
- Page 20 A sample email notification is displayed below:...
- Page 21 Blink Email is a feature added in the Blink firmware v2.00.00. If the "Enable Email Notifications" checkbox is not displayed in the Blink User Interface, make sure your Blink is running firmware version 2.00.00 or newer. The Blink firmware version can be seen in the top right corner of the Blink User Interface and the Blink firmware can be updated by following the process shown here.
- Page 22 MTP server each day when Blink is connected to the internet to send the email notification. *NOTE: Email notifications requires a subscription in order to be activated. CamDo offers a trial subscription of 1 month when you first configure the notification.
- Page 23 Blink's Port2 (3.5mm stereo audio input for motion detection) can be used with either a sensor with digital 5V input/output such as a PIR or Accelerometer (not sold by CamDo) or our X-Band Motion Sensor (purchased separately).
- Page 24 11.1 Functionality When a Motion Detection schedule is active (See 7 Setting up a Schedule for more info), the camera will turn on and process the selected action any time it registers motion. If the Action is Photo or Multishot, the camera will just take a single image or burst images respectively.
- Page 25 11.3 X-Band Sensitivity The X-Band sensor comes with a sensitivity adjustment dial. On first run, ensure that the dial is turned all the way to the right. Blink is optimized to detect motion with the sensitivity of the X-Band sensor at it’s highest. If you notice the sensitivity is too high, you can dial it back until you find the best setting for your project.
- Page 26 As of firmware version 2.01.00, Blink is also compatible with PIR sensors and external interfacing. This means that a schedule can be programmed to accept an external input to trigger an action. The PIR/External selection will trigger the camera based on a digital high/low signal that can be provided by common PIR sensors, where high (+3.3V to +5V) indicates motion has occurred.
- Page 27 Tip : +5V power supply Ring : External Trigger Signal Sleeve : Ground...
- Page 28 12. Updating Blink Occasionally CamDo will release updates for Blink to improve performance as well as unlock additional features. Follow this procedure to ensure Blink is updated properly. The current Blink firmware version is indicated in the top right corner of...
- Page 29 5. Red flash: Any number of red flashes indicates an error has occurred. Remove power and try again. If red LED flashes continue to occur during the firmware update process, please contact CamDo customer support. 5. To verify the update, turn WiFi on with the remote and check the top right corner of the UI.
- Page 30 Note: The USB flash drive must be using the FAT32 file format to be able to perform the Blink firmware update and Blink does not support partitioned drives or other formats. The FAT32 file saving format is the default format for PC and used with most USB flash drives under 32GB. Large capacity flash drives might be using the exFAT format which is not compatible with Blink.