Relay Help

[GDW]

First, I apologize that I am quite the newbie at fully understanding electronic circuits. I appreciate any feedback I might receive.

I am trying to build a simple circuit that can activate the shutter on a Canon DSLR. Building a standard wired shutter release is very straight forward as basically you are closing the ground loop on a 1/8' stereo plug. Usually there's 2 loops on the stereo connector rings; one for focus and one for shutter. But in my case the camera will be manually focused and stationary so it's just a matter of firing the shutter. No issue there. However I am trying to automate this process by using a control unit which serves standard 110V in timed intervals. I need a dry circuit for this so as to protect the camera from any DC current, but not sure exactly what type of relay I need. Basically I need to close the ground loop to activate the camera shutter when the controller receives a quick jolt of 110V. It also needs to be fairly fail resistant so I suppose an industrial-grade relay is best.

Again I apologize if I am not using the correct terminology or explaining clearly enough, but any help appreciated.

[KMoffett]

Can you post the Canon model #, and a link to the timer you plan on using?

Ken

[GDW]

Hi Ken,

Sure. Here's the remote circuit (and again I only need shutter release, not focus):
http://www.doc-diy.net/photo/eos_wired_remote/

And here's the controller I am using:
http://www.frightprops.com/controllers- ... -0913.html

[GDW]

By the way, there are similar controllers from this company with different output profiles, so I can also use something like this:

http://www.frightprops.com/controllers- ... oo-jr.html

[KMoffett]

Almost any mechanical relay with a 120VAC coil will work. The smaller the better.

Ken