Web Cam Project
X10 Pan & Tilt Modification
Revised 02-26-10

The objective of this project is to modify an X-10 Pan & Tilt mechanism so that it can be controlled by a PIC or PICAXE microcontroller.
The unit is normally operated by an RF remote control.  The modification will replace the remote control with a three conductor wire that will supply DC power as well as the data pulses that are needed to control the unit.
This modification will allow the pan & tilt unit to be placed at least 250 feet from the microcontroller that operates it.  The connecting cable only needs three wires, one for 12 volts, one for ground and one to carry the controlling data pulses.  In my tests I used Cat 5 twisted pair.  Two of the 8 wires in the cable were used for 12 volts, two were for ground and one carried the data pulses.  I also connected the data line's twisted pair companion wire to ground.

 

Initial Modification

A three conductor cable exits the bottom of the unit.  The cable normally connects to a small X10 power supply.  It terminates in a female 3 conductor 1/8" phone jack.  The tip of the plug carries 12 to 20 volts DC, the first ring is used to activate the unit when the proper house/unit code is selected.  The innermost connector is the ground connection.

That cable is circled in the photo below.  The red wire carries +12, the black wire is ground.  The white wire is normally connected to +12 volts when the unit is to be active.  To keep the unit working at all times the solder pad that the white lead normally connects to was shorted to the adjoining solder pad that carries 12 volts.  This was done under the board in the bottom corner where the label "SP" appears.
 
The white wire is now being used to carry data pulses that activate the processor on the control board (labeled "P10703K" in the photo here).  It is connected to pin 3.  As you can see the white wire was extended with a length of yellow wire which is soldered directly to pin 3.  It could also have been soldered to the yellow wire that is in the bottom left corner as it also goes to pin 3.

 
Here is another view of the connection.
In this photo we see (from bottom to top) the PIC circuit board that is being used for testing.  It holds a PIC 16F684 microcontroller, a 5 volt regulator and a few indicator LEDs.  The other circuit is the Radio Control receiver that was removed from the Pan & Tilt unit.  The yellow wire had gone to the yellow wire on the main circuit board.  The white wire connected to +5 volts and the black wire to ground.

So that I could continue to experiment with the radio control I temporarily connected the yellow data wire from the remote control receiver to the data wire that goes to the pan & tilt head.  Once that connection is made the unit works once again with the factory remote control.

To put control back in the hands of the PIC I just disconnect the remote control receiver's yellow wire and solder the other yellow wire in its place.
Software

The software listing below is the first working version of the software.  It is written in PIC Basic Pro and is for the 16F684 processor.

It simply steps through five different commands, left, right, center, up & down.

 
' d. bodnar -02-25-10 -Version 1.0 to test pulses to X10 Pan & Tilt Ninja Device

DEFINE DEBUG_REG PORTA  
DEFINE DEBUG_BIT 0         ' PIN 8 on 16f88
DEFINE DEBUG_BAUD 9600 
DEFINE DEBUG_MODE 1     ' Set 'DEBUG mode: 0 = true, 1 = inverted
ansel=0                 'use pins as digital rather than analog
CMCON0= 7               'Disable comparator - makes portc LEDs work properly
DEFINE OSC 8            'use 8 mhz oscillator
OSCCON = $70            'set clock speed 
INTCON = %00001100       '00xx11xx to be CCP1 mode

SerialOut       VAR porta.0      'pin 13
NotUseda1       VAR porta.1      'pin 12
NotUsedc0       VAR portc.0      'pin 10 
NotUseda3       VAR porta.3      'pin 4
NotUseda4       VAR porta.4      'pin 3  
LEDPin11        VAR porta.2      'pin 11
LEDPin2         VAR porta.5      'pin 2
NotUsedc2       VAR portc.2      'pin 8   
NotUsedc3       VAR portc.3      'pin 7   
NotUsedc4       VAR portc.4      'pin 6  
Signal          VAR portc.5      'pin 5  ' output to pin 3 on Pan & Tilt processor

Loop        	VAR BYTE
Temp            VAR BYTE
Temp2           VAR BYTE
A               VAR WORD
B               VAR WORD
K               VAR BYTE
Rpt             VAR BYTE
Counter         VAR BYTE
trisa            = %00000000     
trisc            = %00000000    

DEBUG 10,13,"X-10 Pan & Tilt Test V1.0",10,13
DEBUG "(c) d. bodnar 02-25-10",10,13
Counter =0
Rpt = 125
Top:
FOR Temp2=1 TO 5
TOGGLE LEDPin11
DEBUG 10,13
    SELECT CASE Temp2
   CASE 1
   DEBUG "left",10,13
     A = $9560 'left
   CASE 2
       DEBUG "right",10,13
     A = $9661 'right
    CASE 3 
       DEBUG "center",10,13
     A = $A16C 'center
    CASE 4 
       DEBUG "up",10,13
     A = $9762 'up
    CASE 5
       DEBUG "down",10,13
     A = $9863 'down
    END SELECT

Counter=Counter+1
DEBUG "@ Top ",#Counter," Case ",#Temp2," cmd ",#A,10,13
B = $0006 'always
IF A <> 0 THEN 'we have a valid command
    FOR K = 1 TO Rpt
 	TOGGLE LEDPin2
 	GOSUB Sendcmd
 	DEBUG #K," "
 	PAUSE 10
    NEXT K
   DEBUG 10,13
ENDIF

PAUSE 1500

NEXT Temp2
GOTO Top:




'***Ninja command protocol****
'The start sequence is a 2.4ms pulse followed by a 1.6ms space. A 1-bit is a
'0.6ms pulse followed by a 1.6ms space and a 0-bit is a 0.6 ms pulse followed
'by a 0.6ms space. Only 20 bits of data are sent. A 0-bit marks the end of
'the frame. Repeats follow with no gap.
'See: http://davehouston.net/cr14a-rf.htm
'based on Bob Gardners code http://gardnerswebsite.com/ninjamods/index.html 
' modified for PicBasicPro
Sendcmd:
 LOW Signal
 PAUSEUS 2400
 HIGH Signal
 PAUSEUS 2400
 LOW Signal
 PAUSEUS 1600

FOR Loop = 15 TO 0 STEP -1
    HIGH Signal
    PAUSEUS 600
    LOW Signal
     IF A.0(Loop) = 1 THEN
        PAUSEUS 1600
     ELSE
        PAUSEUS 600
     ENDIF
NEXT Loop

FOR Loop = 3 TO 0 STEP -1
 HIGH Signal
 PAUSEUS 600
 LOW Signal
 IF B.0(Loop) = 1 THEN
    PAUSEUS 1600
 ELSE
    PAUSEUS 600
 ENDIF
NEXT Loop

 HIGH Signal
 PAUSEUS 600
 LOW Signal
RETURN

END
 
The code below works well with EZCom2Web, the servo tilt/pan and the X-10 tilt/pan 
'12-7-10 - revised to send pulses to x-10 pan/tilt unit
'IMPORTANT - set Config on programmer software to Oscillator INTOSCIO to use
    'pins 2 & 3 (makes them I/O rather than for oscillator)
' WORKING WELL (12-7) with Servo & X-10!!!!!!!!!!!
'11-28-2010 WORKING WELL WITH NEW GREEN BOARD UNIT

'11-26-10 - revised for proper order of cameras on green board
    'Servos working in test mode - range from 50 to 500 on pulsout for 180 degrees
'06-28-2010 - test for Web Cam - receives data from web server & sends back status
' via serial port @ 2400 baud

'notes 11-23-10 - working but sending data back to web server only after 3 refreshes
    'need to get that working better
    ' the good news is that the PIC gets the data on the first hit - nice!

'Need To:
'	revise for changes in new board
'	set up to work from pot only as well as PICAXE from pot and serial control
'	serial working using EZCom2Web software from laptop via pins 7 & 12

DEFINE DEBUG_REG PORTA  
DEFINE DEBUG_BIT 0         ' PIN 8 on 16f88
DEFINE DEBUG_BAUD 9600 
DEFINE DEBUG_MODE 1 ' Set 'DEBUG mode: 0 = true, 1 = inverted
ansel=0                 'use pins as digital rather than analog
CMCON0= 7               'Disable comparator - makes portc LEDs work properly
DEFINE OSC 8            'use 8 mhz oscillator
OSCCON = $70            'set clock speed 
option_reg.7=0          'turn on weak pull ups
wpu = %00100000         'weak pull ups on pin GPIO.5 only 
INTCON = %00001100        '00xx11xx to be CCP1 mode

SerialOut       VAR porta.0      'pin 13
xxxxxx          VAR porta.1      'pin 12
Camera1         VAR porta.2      'pin 11 
Camera2         VAR portc.0      'pin 10 
Camera4         VAR portc.1      'pin 9
Camera3         VAR portc.2      'pin 8  ' 
NotUsed4        VAR porta.3      'pin 4
Signal          VAR porta.5      'pin 2 - to pan/tilt unit
NotUsed3        VAR portc.2      'pin 3
Servo1          VAR portc.4      'pin 6  ' Small servo - up/down
Servo2          VAR portc.5      'pin 5  ' Large servo - left/right
SerialIn        VAR portc.3      'pin 7
SerialOut2      VAR porta.1      'pin 12
temp            VAR WORD
temp2           VAR WORD
Data2SendFlag   VAR BYTE        '=1 if there is data to send 0 if not
Loop            VAR BYTE
A               VAR WORD
B               VAR WORD
K               VAR BYTE
Rpt             VAR BYTE
Counter         VAR BYTE
 Delay	        VAR WORD
 Test		    VAR BYTE
 CommandIN	    VAR BYTE	'data from web page
 Loopie	        VAR WORD
 Loopie2        VAR WORD
 Cam1On	        VAR BIT	'=0 if off, =1 if on
 Cam2On	        VAR BIT
 Cam3On	        VAR BIT
 Cam4On	        VAR BIT
 ServoVar       VAR BYTE 'branch variable
 LeftRight      VAR WORD
 Tilt           VAR WORD
 TimeFudge	    CON 10 
 DelayS         CON 100'servo delay
Tilt = 350
 Data2SendFlag=0
trisa            = %00000000     
trisc            = %11000100    

DEBUG 10,13,"WebCam Servo&X10 Test",10,13
DEBUG "(c) d. bodnar v4.2 12-07-10",10,13
temp2=0 :HIGH Camera1:HIGH Camera3

Delay=2*TimeFudge
Cam1On=1:Cam2On=1:Cam3On=1:Cam4On=1 'turn on all cameras

Start:
''toggle signal:pause 500:goto start
GOSUB Check4SerialData:
                                                                       
IF Cam1On=0 AND Cam2On=0 AND Cam3On=0 AND Cam4On=0 THEN
	GOSUB AllLow:
ENDIF

'IF UseCamera1=0 and Cam1On=1 THEN
IF Cam1On=1 THEN
	GOSUB AllLow:
	HIGH Camera1
	GOSUB DLay'PAUSE Delay
ENDIF
 
'IF UseCamera2=0 and Cam2On=1 THEN
IF Cam2On=1 THEN
	GOSUB AllLow:
	HIGH Camera2
	GOSUB DLay'PAUSE Delay
ENDIF

'IF UseCamera3=0 and Cam3On=1 THEN
IF Cam3On=1 THEN
	GOSUB AllLow:
	HIGH Camera3
	GOSUB DLay'PAUSE Delay
ENDIF

'IF UseCamera4=0  and Cam1On=1 THEN
IF Cam4On=1 THEN
	GOSUB AllLow:
	HIGH Camera4
	GOSUB DLay'PAUSE Delay
ENDIF
DEBUG "@ end",10,13

'GOsub sendserialdata:
GOTO start:

AllLow:
LOW Camera1:LOW Camera2:LOW Camera3:LOW Camera4':pause 10 
RETURN
 
DLay:
FOR Loopie = 1 TO Delay
'debug #loopie
    'for loopie2=1 to 1 
        GOSUB Check4SerialData:
    'next loopie2
NEXT Loopie
RETURN   

Check4SerialData:
CommandIN=0
SERIN serialin, 6, 100,SkipOutNoData2,["ZZZ"],CommandIN    'REM 4=N2400  , 6=9600
CommandIN=CommandIN-64
DEBUG 10,13," I heard ",#CommandIN
'1 2 3 4 turn off cameras
IF CommandIN=1 THEN 
	Cam1On=0
ENDIF	
IF CommandIN=2 THEN 
	Cam2On=0
ENDIF	
IF CommandIN=3 THEN 
	Cam3On=0
ENDIF	
IF CommandIN=4 THEN 
	Cam4On=0
	'debug "did 4 off",10,13
ENDIF	
'5 6 7 8 turn on cameras
IF CommandIN=5 THEN 
	Cam1On=1
ENDIF	
IF CommandIN=6 THEN 
	Cam2On=1
ENDIF	
IF CommandIN=7 THEN 
	Cam3On=1
ENDIF	
IF CommandIN=8 THEN 
	Cam4On=1
ENDIF

IF CommandIN=9 THEN
Delay = 1*TimeFudge	'1 second
ENDIF
IF CommandIN=10 THEN
Delay = 2*TimeFudge	'2.5 seconds
ENDIF
IF CommandIN=11 THEN
Delay = 5*TimeFudge	'5 second
ENDIF
IF CommandIN=12 THEN
Delay = 10*TimeFudge	'10 seconds
ENDIF
DEBUG 10,13,"CAMs = ",#Cam1On,#Cam2On,#Cam3On,#Cam4On," Dlay= ",#Delay,10,13 ," /10ths"

IF CommandIN>=13 AND CommandIN<=20 THEN 
    GOSUB  specialservocommands:
ENDIF
IF CommandIN>=21 AND CommandIN<=35 THEN
    GOSUB specialX10commands:
ENDIF
'toggle camera1:toggle camera2:toggle camera3:toggle camera4
Data2SendFlag=1
'gosub skipoutnodata2
RETURN
SendSerialData:
DEBUG 10,13,"Cams = ",#Cam1On,#Cam2On,#Cam3On,#Cam4On,"  Dlay= ",#Delay,10,13
SEROUT SerialOut2,6,["Cameras = ",#Cam1On,#Cam2On,#Cam3On,#Cam4On,"  Delay= ",#Delay,"/10ths","<br>","Left/Right = ",#LeftRight," Tilt = ",#Tilt]',10,13]

RETURN

SkipOutNoData2:
IF Data2SendFlag=1 THEN
    GOSUB sendserialdata
    Data2SendFlag=0
ENDIF
DEBUG"."',#temp2,10,13
'goto start
RETURN


SpecialServoCommands:
DEBUG 10,13,"@SSC Cmd= ",#CommandIN,10,13
ServoVar=CommandIN-13 ' BRANCH statrt @ 0
BRANCH ServoVar, [PanRight, PanLeft, TiltUp,TiltDown,pond, railroad,DWpad, DWend]



PanRight: 'M 13     
LeftRight=LeftRight+20
DEBUG"@ Pan Right ",#LeftRight,10,13
IF LeftRight > 480 THEN
    LeftRight=480
    RETURN
ENDIF
FOR temp=1 TO 10
  PULSOUT servo2, LeftRight
  PAUSE DelayS
NEXT temp
RETURN

PanLeft:    'N 14    
LeftRight=LeftRight-20
DEBUG"@ Pan Left" ,#LeftRight,10,13
IF LeftRight <=20 THEN
    LeftRight=20
    RETURN
ENDIF
FOR temp=1 TO 10
  PULSOUT servo2, LeftRight
  PAUSE DelayS
NEXT temp
RETURN

TiltUp:    'O   15
Tilt=Tilt-50
DEBUG"@ Tilt Up ",#Tilt,10,13
IF Tilt < 220 THEN
    Tilt=220
    RETURN
ENDIF   
FOR temp=1 TO 10
  PULSOUT servo1, Tilt
  PAUSE DelayS
NEXT temp   
RETURN

TiltDown:   'P   16
Tilt=Tilt+50
DEBUG"@ Tilt Down ",#Tilt,10,13
IF Tilt > 480 THEN
    Tilt=480
    RETURN
ENDIF    
FOR temp=1 TO 10
  PULSOUT servo1, Tilt
  PAUSE DelayS
NEXT temp
RETURN

Pond:     'Q  17
DEBUG "@ PND",10,13
LeftRight= 80 'lower #s cause servo to vibrate @ end
FOR temp=1 TO 20
  PULSOUT servo2, LeftRight
  PAUSE DelayS
NEXT temp
GOTO Start

Railroad:   'R  18
DEBUG "@ RR",10,13
LeftRight= 200
FOR temp=1 TO 10
  PULSOUT servo2, LeftRight
  PAUSE DelayS
NEXT temp
RETURN

DWpad:   'S  19
DEBUG"@ DW Pad",10,13
LeftRight= 345
FOR temp=1 TO 10
  PULSOUT servo2, LeftRight
  PAUSE DelayS
NEXT temp
RETURN

DWend:  'T  20
LeftRight= 400
DEBUG"@ DW End",10,13
FOR temp=1 TO 20
  PULSOUT servo2, LeftRight
  PAUSE DelayS
NEXT temp
RETURN

'**********Ninja command protocol**********
'The start sequence is a 2.4ms pulse followed by a 1.6ms space. A 1-bit is a
'0.6ms pulse followed by a 1.6ms space and a 0-bit is a 0.6 ms pulse followed
'by a 0.6ms space. Only 20 bits of data are sent. A 0-bit marks the end of
'the frame. Repeats follow with no gap.
'See: http://davehouston.net/cr14a-rf.htm
Sendcmd:
 LOW Signal
 PAUSEUS 2400
 HIGH Signal
 PAUSEUS 2400
 LOW Signal
 PAUSEUS 1600

FOR Loop = 15 TO 0 STEP -1
    HIGH Signal
    PAUSEUS 600
    LOW Signal
     IF A.0(Loop) = 1 THEN
        PAUSEUS 1600
     ELSE
        PAUSEUS 600
     ENDIF
NEXT Loop

FOR Loop = 3 TO 0 STEP -1
 HIGH Signal
 PAUSEUS 600
 LOW Signal
 IF B.0(Loop) = 1 THEN
    PAUSEUS 1600
 ELSE
    PAUSEUS 600
 ENDIF
NEXT Loop

 HIGH Signal
 PAUSEUS 600
 LOW Signal
RETURN

END

specialX10commands:
DEBUG 10,13,"@SSC Cmd= ",#CommandIN,10,13
ServoVar=CommandIN-21 ' BRANCH starts @ 0
BRANCH ServoVar, [leftX10, rightX10, upX10,downX10,mem1, mem2,mem3, mem4, Center, Sweep]
 

leftX10:
   DEBUG "l",10,13
     A = $9560 'left
GOTO X10_done:
rightX10:
       DEBUG "r",10,13
     A = $9661 'right
GOTO X10_done:
upX10: 
       DEBUG "u",10,13
     A = $9762 'up
GOTO X10_done:
downX10:
       DEBUG "d",10,13
     A = $9863 'down
GOTO X10_done:  

Mem1:
       DEBUG "M1",10,13
     A = $9964 'Memory 1
GOTO X10_done:
Mem2: 
       DEBUG "M2",10,13
     A = $9B66 'Memory 2
GOTO X10_done:
Mem3: 
       DEBUG "M3",10,13
     A = $9D68 'Memory 3
GOTO X10_done:
Mem4:
       DEBUG "M4",10,13
     A = $9F6A 'Memory 4
GOTO X10_done: 
Center: 
       DEBUG "c",10,13
     A = $A16C 'center
GOTO X10_done:
Sweep:
       DEBUG "Swp",10,13
     A = $A36E 'sweep
GOTO X10_done:
X10_done:

'counter=counter+1
'''debug "@ Top ",#counter," Case ",#temp2," cmd ",#a," Repeat= ",#rpt,10,13
B = $0006 'always
'a=$9762'up
'a=$9863'down
'a=$A16C'center

Rpt = 25

IF A <> 0 THEN 'we have a valid command
 FOR K = 1 TO Rpt
' toggle ledpin2
 GOSUB Sendcmd
 DEBUG #K," "
 PAUSE 10
 NEXT K
 DEBUG 10,13
ENDIF
RETURN