Jonguide: Make an old HD Hero into a wifi babe

Don't want to drop $500 on new gopro 3 but want to turn your camera on and off with wifi remote? Here's how...

Picked up a nice package deal from Wunduh on an original HD Hero with shit ton of extras. I know these are somewhat dated by the 2 and 3 but I'm no pro and its plenty for me and my use for posting vid on the web. I really did want to use the wifi combo to remote start record on camera without having to flounder around on camera while on helmet. (e.g. Is it on? Did the light blink?) If you are only using a chest strap, maybe you dont need the wifi. But its also great if you put the camera on front of your sled or car etc. Basically the wifi combo purchased direct from Gopro will set you back about $80. Funny they are selling on ebay for North of $80 but you can order it direct off gopro site for $80. Go figure? But with deals on this forum, ebay, etc for Hero and Hero2 you can slip into the whole package for < $200 + - without dropping $500 on the new hero 3.

I am sicker than a dog right now with flu/cold and spent the afternoon trying to get the system up and working. I used the gopro videos , printed instructions and more to get this together and it damn near ate up about 5 hours of my life. I'm sure some of you that work with these things can do it really quick. (not me) This thread is for gopro jongs like me who suffer with most things tech. I did this on a macbook.

!! Make sure all batteries for camera, wifi backpack, and remote are fully charged !!

Here is online manual for Original HD
http://gopro.com/wp-content/uploads/...ENG-110110.pdf

This process is also laid out here:
http://gopro.com/support/wi-fi-bacpa...roduct-update/

1. First confirm you have the Orginal HD Hero and not a "Hero2" the model number on my original is on bottom of camera and it is YHDC5170

2. Download the new Cineformstudio (you will need this for sure)
http://gopro.com/software-app/cineform-studio

3. Download new firmware for your camera from gopro to your desktop
http://gopro.com/software-app/cineform-studio

4. Once you have the firmware.bin file on desk top. Hook up the camera portion with SD card to your computer via usb cord

5. Move firmware.bin file onto the top layer of your SD card. ( I had 3 layers of files on sd and I finally got it right on the last one. Appears to be the first layer you encounter where the firmware.bin needs to go)

6. disconnect the camera from usb. Turn camera on while holding down the top shutter button. Once camera is on, never letting go of top shutter button , press the front power button 3 times. If you have downloaded firmware.bin to the correct root level you will see the word "UP" on camera front screen. Then release all buttons , the led light will flash and camera will power off. Getting to this point took me hours. The root of my problem was with not having the firmware.bin in the correct place on the SD card.

7. You are halfway home...Now to download most recent firmware for the wifi backpack and the remote (worn on wrist part) Put the wifi backpack on the gopro and turn it on, then plug the wifi backpack portion into the usb

8. Open up Cineformstudio search through the top utility bar until you find one that has "Device Window" as a sub heading. Click that one.

9. follow the directions on screen for updating firmware for first the wifi back pack and then the remote. Change the name and password for your wifi channel. The remote will take a while to sinc and will say "busy" on remote screen for a long time. Finally it will be done.

Remember this process will not work unless you complete each task in order. Do not get frustrated. I was searching for phone numbers and emails for gopro before I finally gave up and retraced my steps. The most important thing is to make sure you get every acknowledgement that you have successfully completed each task.

My biggest hangup was updating the camera firmware file. I was sure that wunduh had given me a bad unit. You must get the camera to display the word "UP" and let it shut off by itself. This means you did it right. If you cant get there, you have firmware.bin on wrong level of SD card directory and camera doesnt know wtf to do.

Hope this saves you some time and frustration. I will note that you can also go through this process for the Hero 2 and just need to follow those instructions as you come to them.

Good luck !

GSA Bound