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[donald mcmow]

I have a simple macro:

Select Camera
Take a snapshot
Delay 5 seconds
Take a snapshot
Turn off camera

The problem I have noticed is that the
delay does not appear to be executed as the
snap shots appear to be taken one right
after the other. The reasoning behind my
taking 2 snapshots is that I have noticed
lines (static - black or white) going
through the picture on one and I thought it
would solve this problem by taking 2
pictures. One of the pictures is usually a
good one.

[kentcook]

Donald

I duplicated your macro, but couldn't
duplicate the problem.  I added a third
snap, changed the delays, but all the snaps
have the proper time stamp (matching the
delay setting between snaps).

Xp Pro, sp2
AHP 3.185 - Wired cams on C1-C5

[WinS]

Donald

I have four motion sensors triggering macros
to start snapshot recording.  Like your
macro; turn on cam, snap, delay, snap, etc.

Watching the AM, it takes ~ 7 seconds before
the "A on" is sent.  As a result the first
and sometimes second snapshot is missed and
not recorded.  I have 9 snapshots with a 3
sec delay between, and capture 7 images
(usually).  Based on the timestamp, the first
and second images are lost.

You could add a delay between the "cam on"
and the snap, or add more delay between the
first and second snap, but in any case I
think we are stuck with a slow start to the
image taking process, and must work around.

Earlier releases did not have this delay in
trigger vs event.  I believe X10 added it to
overcome other problems with signaling.
Maybe the delay could be "optioned out" for
macros used for cam control (future release)?

[WinS]

Donald
Another thing I observed is that if the macro
does not use "select camera" and the cam's
module "on" is used in it's place, 3 or 4
seconds is shaved from the time the macro is
triggered and the time "A on" is sent.  I
also found, however, a higher incidence of
image freeze in this setup, so I live with
the "select camera" delay.  BTW, my macros
are not the same as the cam's unit code since
I have better reliability as is:

Cams: A1...A4
Macros: B9...B12

I hope any or all of this is useful to someone.

[X10 Pro]

I'm taking a look at this today. The "Select
Camera" command has some additional logic
that just using the camera module's On
command, and that might account for some of
the difference in performance between the two
commands. The "Select camera" command checks
against the list of all cameras and sends
appropriate Off commands (including RF
commands, if a Vanguard is in use) before
sending the needed On command.

There are some difference in the power
supplies of the cameras, as well, which makes
switching a little tricky sometimes. If a
camera is slow to switch on, it's easy to end
up with a bad snapshot.