Nikon D60 interface

[mau_butti]

This is not a real feature request but a request for documentation.

As Dave Hansen observed in his blog (http://dave-hansen.blogspot.com/2008/06/status-file.html), there is a one byte file on the card named status wich somehow represents the uploading status. If you only documented that I would be glad to modify the CHDK (http://chdk.wikia.com) firmware extension for Canon cameras to visualize the status on-screen (and possibly waiting for downloads to be over to power off the card)

[berend]

mau_butti,

That file is a vestigial development extension and not a supported feature, not even utilized by the Nikon D60 integration. The one-byte values you can read out of the correspond roughly to the card states of idleness, associating, verifying encryption key, waiting for DHCP configuration and actively uploading, but I can almost guarantee it will disappear in a not-so-distant firmware release. Dave's other work in communicating with the card via the control files is far more relevant if you want to do CHDK integration work.

Berend

[buttim]

Thanks for replying. I successfully played with Dave's code and CHDK too. But I found no way to ask the card it's uploading status. Does "query status" command exist? The only command code not considered by Dave that seems to do something is 'e' , if I remember well. Is this the Holy Graal of CHDK integration?

I hope you will publish some sort of open specification but even if you decide differently, well.... you did a really great job!

[berend]

'e' is erase firmware. There's a bit of an interlock that protects it, but I'd still stay away from that one...

It's been a while since I looked at Dave's work, so I'm not sure how complete it is, but yes, a "query status" command does exist and it returns exactly the same one-byte status as you (or he) may have observed in the status file. 's' is the command byte for it. One day we may publish an API, but right now too much is in flux to be able to support it, so I'd be happy to help the community informally as much as time allows through platforms like this.

Good luck,

Berend

[buttim]

Thought this was a sort of "Network status" used in testing a new access point. Dave's code interprets the result as one of the following values:

not_scanning
locating_network
verifying_network_key
waiting_for_DHCP
testing_connection_to_EyeFi_server
success

What we (the CHDK and Eye-Fi users) would need (badly!) is more an "uploading status".
I even tried to figure it out of the card log; but accessing it seems to be a cause for connectivuty loss, so this doesnt seem a viable solution.

How does the D60 decide when to power off the card?

[berend]

What you list as "testing connection to Eye-Fi server" above is that only if the operation in-progress is a new network profile addition via the Eye-Fi Manager (or a Turing-equivalent thereof). The next status level, "success," is reached only in that operation as well.

In normal operation, that status corresponds to "card is actively uploading (or is within its one-minute timer countdown after the last upload)." This is exactly the mechanism used by the D90 to control the power management. The D60's power management is far simpler than that and is not worth explaining/discussing for your CHDK work.

Berend

[buttim]

Thanks! That's a really useful info. So if the card has nothing to upload or has given up trying the status should be 0, otherwise one of the other values, right? I will start to experiment as soon as possible and let you know of the results.

[mau_butti]

It works! The only problem I noticed is when the transfer gets interrupted for some reason. In this case the status remains "4", the same as when the card is actually downloading. Is there some sort of timeout? How long is it? Is there a way to know if there are uploads pending even when no Wlan is accessible? (In this case the status remains 0)