dropController V3 User manual

dropControllerV3. User manual 1.2
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dropController V3
The dropController is a solenoid valve controller used for water drop
photography. It is available DIY, as a kit or as a fully assembled device.
Full details for building your own device can be found at www.dropcontroller.com
Control is performed from either a Windows program over USB or an Android
app over Bluetooth.
This manual uses images from the Windows program but the Android app
has the same functions.

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Contents
Page
GettingStarted 3
GettheApp 3
Open the Windows App for the First Time 3
Connect the Windows App to the dropController 4
TheFourTabs 6
Settings 7
Settings on the Setting Tab 8
MirrorLockUp 8
TriggerPulseTimes 9
Leonardo 9
Sounds 9
DeviceVersion 9
ValveDrain 10
LoopMode 10
ResetAll 10
DropsTab 11
DropDataSettings 12
NumberofDrops 13
Triggers 14
CameraTrigger 14
FlashTriggers 15
TheSTARTbutton 16
SingleSequenceMode 17
LoopModeandDeltaValues 19
DeltaValues 21
DeltaValueLimits 24
DropDataCheck 25
GraphTab 26
AboutTab 28
FirstDrops 29
Milk 30
CameraSetUpandFocus 30
Ambientlight 32
MakeSomeDrops 33
WorthingtonJets 35
TallerWorthingtonJets 37
First Collision 38

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Getting Started
This guide covers connecting and using the dropController device only. It
presumes you have a dropController already set up with the firmware
installed. If you have not, check out the website.
Get the App
If you haven’t already done so, download the latest Windows app. Go to
https://www.dropcontroller.com/downloads/ and scroll down to the
Windows Program section. Click the link for the latest version to start the
download. The download is a zip file containing a folder.
After downloading, unpack the zip archive
and place the folder somewhere
convenient. Mine is on the desktop. There
is no need to install the program; it is run
from the folder.
Open the folder and you should see the
actual program.
Starting the Windows App for the First Time
Double click the dropController file to start
it.

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The program will start and you should see
the main Drop Data screen.
When the Windows app runs for the first time it creates 2 text files;
dropData.txt and settings.txt.
These files hold the apps settings and on start the
app will load the settings from the previous session if
they are available.
Connect the Windows App to the dropController
Power the dropController and connect it to a computer. No need to connect
valves or flashes at this time. The yellow LED should be blinking. This
indicates it is on but not connected to the app.
In the app, jump to the Settings tab.
At the top left you can see the connection controls.

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To connect, in the drop down menu select the COM
port the dropController is connected to.
In my case it is on COM 4.
The R button refreshes the list of COM ports
click Connect
After the app connects the Connect button will say
Dis-connect.
If the app cannot connect it
will give you an error
message. Just try again.
If you go back to the Drops tab, the large
START button should now be green.
On the dropController, the yellow LED
should be on (not blinking).
You are now connected and ready to start.

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The Four Tabs
The dropController app has 4 Tabs; Drops, Settings, Graph, and About.
The Drops tab is where you set the drop times and sizes. The drops page
also has the controls for the camera trigger and flash triggers.
The Settings tab contains the general settings (things that normally only
need doing once), the connection controls, and the valve drain controls.
The Graph tab shows a chart of the drop settings. This helps visualize the
drop sequence.
The About tab gives basic information about the app version and, after
connection is made, the dropController firmware version.

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Settings
I’ll start with the Settings Tab simply because there are certain things that
need to be set before starting with drops.
Connecting to the dropController device has already been covered. In
addition to making a connection you can dis-connect and test the connection.
Clicking the Test Connection
button checks to see if the
dropController is still connected.
This is a debugging function
which I left active because it can
be useful.
Clicking Dis-Connect breaks the
connection to the dropController.
After dis-connecting, the yellow
LED on the dropController device
returns to blinking.

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The Settings on the Settings tab.
Mirror Lockup OFF/ON
Trigger Pulse times.
Times are in milliseconds.
Leonardo NO/YES
Sound OFF/ON
Mirror Lockup
Mirror Lockup is the action of flipping the mirror inside a camera up out of
the way. Mirror Lockup may or may not be available on your camera, check
the user manual. If you have a mirrorless camera you probably don’t have
mirror lock up ;-)
On a regular DSLR/SLR there is a small mirror between the lens and the
sensor/film that directs the image to the view finder. When the shutter
button is pressed the mirror flips up out of the way, the shutter is opened,
the photo is taken, and then the mirror drops back down. The mirror moving
up can cause minor vibrations. Mirror lock up allows the mirror to be moved
and the vibrations to stop before the shutter is opened.
Most cameras require 2 shutter button presses for mirror lock up; the first to
activate mirror lock up, the second to take the photo.
When Mirror Lockup is ON, a pre-shutter release
signal is sent to the camera. This is the signal to
move the mirror. The delay is the time in
milliseconds to wait until the shutter trigger signal is
sent. 1000ms (1 second) is a good time to wait.

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Mirror Lockup must be activated on your camera. If it is not the camera will
take the Mirror Lockup signal as a shutter release signal and take a photo.
Trigger Pulse Times
The trigger Pulse Times are the times the trigger signal is active. It is not the
time the trigger is performed.
These are not the times the signals are
triggered but how long the trigger signal is on.
Times are in milliseconds and 50ms is a good
default time. Leave them at 50ms unless you
have issues.
Leonardo
The Leonardo OFF/ON settings is for DIY dropControllers that use non
ATMega 328P Arduinos.
I recommend using an ATMEGA328P based Arduino such as the Nano but
other types of Arduino can be used. Some though, require slightly different
controls. For example, the Arduino Leonardo requires additional commands
for serial communication to work. This control turns on the additional
commands.
Sounds
Turn annoying sounds on and off
Device Version
The dropController App can be used with version 2 and version 3 of the
dropController device.
Select the device version you have.
When using the app with a version 2
dropController certain functions and controls are
not available.

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The dropController V2 device is no longer being developed. Bugs are still
being fixed when required.
Valve Drain
The Valve Drain controls allow you to open and close any of the solenoid
valves. This is handy when you want to enpty the resovoirs/bottles and for
cleaning.
Loop Mode
Loop Mode is explained in the Drops Tab section later.
Reset All
Reset All resets the settings and drop data. It’s like a return to factory
default setting.
Click a button to open the valve. Click
again to close it.