All sky camera V2

[Alex]

Given the terrible weather we have been having I though it time I finished version 2 of my all sky camera. This is the reault :-)

The camera consists of

• Raspberry Pi 4
• SSD Adapter and 1TB SSD to store the images. I don't trust SD cards so keep 7 days on the SD card and archive everything onto the SSD and my dedicated server
• IO Board. Its just easier to wire up
• Remote wifi switch to turn the pi on and off. This allows me to control the 5v to the Pi but leave the 12v side intact
• 12v to 5v convertor. This gives me both 12 and 5v. 5v at upto 3A which is perfect for the Pi
• Lightning detector. I love lightning so why not !
• Remote Cloud sensor. This will trigger cloud alarms when imaging
• Remote rain detector
• Remote dew detector.
• Dew heater, automatic or manual mode. In auto mode the software will determine if the heater is required and in manual mode its controlled via the user interface
• ASI 178MM camera. I tried a 120MC and it was pants !
• Lots of araldite ;-)

The Pi runs Thomas Jacquin's allsky software with some modifications and some custom code to manage the sensors and dew heater. The custom code records data from all of the sensors and my Netatmo wx station. The data is then displayed using some nice graphs :-)

My current camera has usb and power connections to it, the brains are in a box at the bottom of the pole. I have had issues with running usb 3 over long distances so decided to house everything up the pole this time and just run 12v to it.

 

The main control unit

 

The camera housing

 

The 3d printed pole mount

 

The user interface, Grafana with a few mods

 

There are more images on Flickr

 

 

[MarkAR]

Looks a really nice build. 

[Alex]

Posted by: @MarkAR

Looks a really nice build. 

Thanks - Its been a lot of fun whilst cloudy

[Gina]

Very interesting.  Which lens are you using?  I couldn't see a reference to it.  The ASI178 is a good camera though I use the colour version to show star colour.

[Alex]

Posted by: @Gina

Very interesting.  Which lens are you using?  I couldn't see a reference to it.  The ASI178 is a good camera though I use the colour version to show star colour.

Thanks :-)

 

The lens is a 1.55mm f2 Gives a good 180 degrees. I went for the mono to get detail. I started with a 120MC but I just wasn't reliable enough.

[Shand359]

i am in the process of building an allsky camera and im afraid yours is the BEST one ive seen. I would REALLY like to copy it if youd be willing to give me the details etc.... i have DM'd you from your original v1 post but this one looks great....