DIY IR Remote Control for Nikon D70

The circuit allows the control of D70 remotely to release the shutter or do a bulb exposure while avoiding camera shake and could also be employed with other Nikon SLRs as long as they as supported by the ML-L1 or ML-L3.

A PIC12F675 microcontroller is used by the circuit since it was the cheapest DIL-8 packaged with 2V-5V and suitable for the task. Other PICs should work too with the need to modify 2 or 3 lines in the code so the controller is set up properly or use the PIC12F629 as a direct replacement.

One schematic contains the programming header and has the information on which microcontroller are needed for programming the chip. For in-circuit programming and debugging, the pin header is used which can be removed from when finishing the remote control circuit. Longer battery life is the result of a higher resistor value but also decreases IR range. The IR types of LEDs are very directional which makes it a bit tricky to use when holding it very close to the receiver of camera.

A 40kHz modulated pulse sequence must be generated by the firmware into the IR LED.