BlinkX Quick Start Guide

Introduction

Congratulations on purchasing your new CamDo BlinkX! This quick start guide will show you how to connect to a GoPro HERO5/6/7/8 Black camera and create a schedule so you can start capturing amazing footage. You can also view helpful instructional videos as part of the BlinkX Support section of our website.

NOTE: BlinkX is not powered from the GoPro battery and requires a separate power source to function. BlinkX should be connected to a 5Volt 2Amp power supply and fully manages power to the camera with the GoPro battery removed. If you are using our SolarX system, either USB port on the included V50 battery is perfect. If you are using the older V44 battery pack, the BlinkX needs to connect to the 2000mA USB port labeled 'For Tablets' and the battery pack's Always On mode needs to be enabled.

Step 1 - Firmware preparation

IMPORTANT: Make sure BlinkX is running the latest firmware version to ensure the reliability and performance of your system. Click here for the download and installation instructions.

Prepare the GoPro camera for use with BlinkX.

BlinkX may not work with some older versions of GoPro firmware. Ensure the GoPro camera is updated to the latest firmware version available. This update can be completed by using the official GoPro App for iOS or Android. You can also visit the GoPro website here.

Turn on the GoPro camera and adjust the default capture settings. BlinkX can switch between camera modes but will use the default resolutions, frame rates, and Protune settings for each capture mode that have been set from the GoPro camera menu. If programming a 'Camera WiFi Window' scheduled action, you must first pair the GoPro camera to your device using the GoPro App before BlinkX can activate the camera's WiFi signal.

Format your SD card using the GoPro camera by navigating through the GoPro preferences menu. If your SD card has previously been used on another device, first preform a 'full-format' (not 'quick-format') of the SD card using a computer and SD card reader to fully purge all data. Any information on the SD card about another device can affect the performance of the GoPro camera. 'Full-formatting' the SD card can be done as shown in this YouTube video link. To be compatible with the GoPro, make sure to format to FAT32 for SD cards 32GB or less, and exFAT for SD cards 64GB or higher.

Note that the GoPro requires an SD card with a minimum read and write speed of 30MB/s (U3 rating) for reliable operation - use our SD card speed tester here. We recommend the use of an SD card of 64GB or less for the best performance from your equipment.

Use the GoPro preferences menu to set the Beep Volume, LED, Auto Off, and Touch Display settings to avoid having to touch the camera once setup. To conserve power be sure to set the touch display brightness to 10% and the screensaver time to 1 min. Remove the GoPro battery from the camera after adjusting settings.

Step 2

Carefully remove your camera's side door.

Step 3

Connect the camera port of BlinkX to the GoPro camera using the USB C cable that came with BlinkX.

NOTE: BlinkX will only work with the CamDo custom USB C cable. Using any other may not trigger the camera or damage the camera or BlinkX.

Step 4

Connect the power port of BlinkX to a micro USB power source and wait for the LED to flash green twice, indicating that BlinkX is receiving power. The USB power source should be rated for 2Amps output at 5Volts and the power output must remain always active. If using our V50 battery pack, the 'Always On mode' is automatic and no configuration is necessary. If using an older V44 battery pack, make sure to enable the 'Always On mode'. The Always On mode is important to prevent the battery pack from automatically turning off due to inactivity (low power output) when the camera is off between triggers to conserve power. Note that most standard USB battery packs only have the automatic off operating mode and will not work with BlinkX.
The GoPro battery should be removed from the GoPro camera to enable the BlinkX safety reset feature that allows for the system to recover in the event of a camera crash.

Step 5

Turn on the WiFi signal of BlinkX by holding down the wifi button on the case for 3 seconds. BlinkX's LED will flash cyan three times to indicate WiFi has been turned on. The LED will continue to flash blue every 5 seconds confirming WiFi is active. If there is no activity for 5 minutes, WiFi will automatically turn off to save power.

Step 6

With a smartphone, laptop, or other wireless device, connect to the BlinkX wireless network 'BlinkX_XXXX', where 'XXXX' is the MAC address of BlinkX. If prompted for a password, the default password to connect is: 1234567890

Step 7

Open any web browser, such as Chrome or Safari, and navigate to http://192.168.1.1 in the search bar. You will be presented with the following interface.

Step 8

If the Camera Time is incorrect, click the SYNC TIME button to update.

Step 9

Modify a schedule to suit your capture requirements. Each of the schedules can be hidden/revealed by clicking on the drawer. In this example, we will create a schedule to take an image every 5 minutes, Monday through Friday, 8am till 5pm.

To create the schedule, complete the following:

• Set the 'Start Date' and 'End Date' of your schedule.
• Click to highlight the days of the week to enable the schedule for that day.
  - (As can be seen in the example image below, Mo, Tu, We, Th, Fr are highlighted in blue indicating they are active)
• Set the active 'Start Time' and 'End Time' for the day's schedule.
• From the 'Select a mode' menu, use 'Select your interval' to set the length of time between each camera trigger.
  - (5 mins interval in this example)
• From the 'Select an action' menu, set the camera's capture mode.
  - (in this example regular Photo mode is selected)

That’s it! Follow the same procedure to set additional Schedules as needed.

Step 10

Once any schedules have been modified, be sure to click the 'Enable Schedule' button for each new schedule. A quick way to tell if a schedule is enabled is by the dark blue colour of the drop-down box. The alarm clock icon will also have a tick in the middle of it.

Step 11

Click 'Save All'. The page will refresh and your enabled schedules are now saved. The status box will report when the Next Active Schedule is due to be triggered. Clicking 'Reset Schedules' will reset all schedules to their default values and disable them.

Additional Information

For more detailed information on BlinkX, see the BlinkX User Manual here.
BlinkX Troubleshooting information can be found here.