First, an update. It’s been 10 days since I smoked my last cigarette. So it’s good progress!

Now, whenever I felt like I needed a smoke, I’d find something useful to do. And making a wired remote control for my Canon EOS 20D is something doable. Googled around a little and found this: Canon N3 remote release connector information. That shows you how the connector works and some tips about molding :) So I got my self these things to get me started:

• Audio connector female pins taken from an old CD-ROM (doesn’t fit that well to the connector’s pin so you have to adjust it a bit) [free, taken from a friend]
• Hard drying glue and a so called glue-gun [free, borrowed from the same friend]
• Lubricant, keeping the glue from sticking to your 20D’s rc jack [free, I already got some RP-7]
• Soldering tools [20K VND]
• Something for the switch. First thing that came to mind was an old ps/2 mouse. Second thing that came to mind was those out-of-date wired remote control cars for kids. These remote control only have two buttons to make the cars go forward and backward, which is perfect for this project. I just needed two, one for focusing and the other for shutter release. [20K VND but it took me two days to find a shop that still have these toys]

AND VOILA!

Total cost of the project: $3

Now I can sit back and enjoy some breath-taking experience with my 1m-long … remote. Hah!