D&C GLug - Home Page

[ Date Index ] [ Thread Index ] [ <= Previous by date / thread ] [ Next by date / thread => ]

Re: [LUG] remote sensing

 

On Mon, 13 Jun 2016, Tom wrote:

On 13/06/16 10:32, Gordon Henderson wrote:
On Mon, 13 Jun 2016, Tom wrote:

Just been down the veggie patch - the wind has blown the netting off the cabages and the pigeons and crows(!!) have had a field day.
Its a good 100yd from the house with no power.
It did occur to me it should be possible, now the raspberryPi zero has a camera connector, to knock up a small solar panel, battery and pi/camera to monitor activity in the patch and then send me a photo on motion detect via long range wireless.
Any ideas?

Just do it.

Might want to use a PIR for the motion detect so the camera isn't running all the time. (Camera runing = more juice) Not sure if PIRs will detect birds though.

Hardest part will be making a waterproof box for it all. Use a 12v lesuire battery with an SMPS converter + panel. Ought to last the best part of a week with no sun...

Gordon

I need to see over further than a pir can reasonably work alas. Its not just 'waterproofing' - condensation will be a problem round here!

That's less an issue than you might think... (He says after many years experience with outdoor wireless kit). You make sure all cable entrys are at the bottom and you keep it powered on. The times we had issues were when something was powered off for a while...

I'm hoping supply of the new zero will level out soon so I can get one and a camera and see what sort of load it takes.

Just noticed Pimoroni are out of stock, but give them a few days. Production is ramping up for them...

You can get a solar usb charger 20w for around Â40 and I would imagine that, and battery pack and controller to switch the power on and off sensibly would be a start!

Go for it.. But the bigger the battery you can use the better...

Why's Devon so green, I hear tourists ask.. They don't come here when it rains, I reply...

Gordon
-- 
The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG
https://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list
FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/listfaq