off-grid cam with a raspberry pi pico - taking a picture every few hours

[dhubs]

hi there and good day dear friends


first of all lemme tell you that i am soo glad to be part of this awesome forum
i am very very happy to be here -

its a awesome place to share ideas and experience. Your work is so great - keep it up!!!!



Is it possible to build a off-grid cam with a raspberry pi pico that takes a picture every few Hours

well i think that in the area of Raspberry Pi-off-grid projects, power management plays a crucial role. It's not just about keeping the off-grid-device up and running; No - ist much much more. i think that it's all about ensuring optimal performance, stability, and longevity of the off-grid-project.


well my friends told me that i can do this with an ESP32-CAM. Cheap. Simple. Low power. Established design and software. but i wonder if it is not possible to do this with a Zero or Pico

i am pretty sure that i need to install a library or app for the photo taking. probably we can get motion or I think there's even a camera app included in most pi distributions.
even better if the Pi has a camera. very important - to make sure that the Pi has a battery. what if i have really long times between recharges - well if so then i should have a look into different battery technology or even a solar panel that charges a battery every day for the Pi to drain.

look forward to hear from you

best regards

[michaelk]

https://www.raspberrypi.com/document...es/camera.html
https://www.zdnet.com/home-and-offic...what-you-need/

[dhubs]

good day dear MichaelK

thank you for the reply. This is a great hint!

Glad to be here - in your awesome forum.

Have a great day !!!

Greetings

[Demanding Truth]

When you do get your off grid camera system up'n running, it's crucial it is protected from drastic temperature changes and moisture.. That's what destroys thousands of expensive surveillance camera systems annually... The guys staffing this town's dump told me that their whole surveillance camera system went down the moment winter began.. They told me that the town doesn't plan to replace the $15,000 system again...

The worst thing for a camera is it to switch it On when it's frozen.. That kills sensitive mosfet transistors hard and fast...
I would establish a solar powered heating/cooling system that maintains the cameras at a constant 70-degrees F.
Maybe the 12-volt DC tellurium chips from electric car coolers might be the solution..? Wire them up to 12-volt DC they cool.. Reverse the polarity they warm.. Whenever I find a tossed out 12-volt cooler I save the tellurium chip.. BUT! Do Not handle a cracked or broken tellurium chip without rubber gloves, a good dust mask, and being upwind of it.. One tiny breath of tellurium dust, your breath will be garlic smelling for 20-years.. Avoid the infamous 'tellurium curse'...

Seems the system surveillance would need a thermostat controlled switching circuit tellurium chip.. Not easy to build from scratch unless you are an electronics wizard hobbyist, but there are many bored wise electronics hobbyists out there begging for new project ideas in their youtube videos and websites...

Same warning goes for our consumer electronic products: phones, mp3 music players, car video players, car radios, watches, GPS, and such left in the car to freeze or overheat .. Warm the car up before you switch those toys On.. They can't handle repeated sudden drastic temperature changes and moisture, is why I always seal a frozen electronic device in a clean dry baggie before bringing it into the house from freezing temperatures, and let it warm-up to room temperature before turning it On.. Then it lasts forever.. Without the baggie, moisture collects inside it on its circuits while it's warming up.. That moisture shorts sensitive ultra-modern transistors causing them to weaken and suicide inside... Treat your electronics like a baby...


Another tip to save your electronics from early death: If you are renovating/repainting the home's interior, and are sanding putty, all your electronics must be first sealed in plastic bags before starting the sanding to keep that destructive dust out.. That dust kills electronics hard and fast... Professional painters should know and do this...
Never ever vacuum up drywall sanding dust with a vacuum cleaner nor shop-vac.. It will kill the vacuum within a few months.. It destroys the motor's bearings so fast.. When I was a pro-painter I saved-up old vacuum cleaners from garage sales, flea-markets, and the dump.. I destroyed a junk vac every two months vacuuming-up that horrid drywall dust 'powdered sandpaper'.. In a few weeks their bearings would be screaming, then the motor would overheat and smoke, and that was the end of it...

If your new vac isn't vacuuming, take it to the coin car-wash, take it apart a bit, and pressure-wash the filth off and out of all of it.. Switch it to On, then plug it in from a distance.. Do not touch it when it's wet.. Let it sit running outside for about ten-minutes in the sun to get the water out of the motor, unplug it, and let all it dry in the hot sun for a couple days.. Reassemble it, and run it 15-minutes to dry the filters.. It'll probably work again like new...

Never have a notebook computer or tower resting near a furnace vent.. The computer's fans will suck-up the airborne dust causing the computer to overheat and self-destruct...
Before you clean, vac, sweep, or raise dust in the room, turn all electronics Off so the fans don't pull-in airborne dust... A little responsibility comes with owning and using sensitive electronics...
Some corporations spend nearly half a $million on clean rooms for their computers and phone systems to keep out the killer dust so they won't be replacing it all in ten-years...


Good luck with your camera Dhubs...