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Building an Off-Grid All Sky Camera

All-Sky Camera DIY Remote Astrophotography Off-topic
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Kelly Wood avatar
Kelly Wood avatar
Hi All,

Posted this at Cloudy Nights as well, but thought I'd put here for anyone interested in esoteric astronomy projects. In the category of "why on earth would anyone want to do this?" I thought I'd share my experience with a very specific problem. How to put together the hardware and software to install a remote-accessible all sky camera at a site with no power, no internet, is 4 hours away, and can only be accessed by snowmobile 4 months of the year? It was quite literally a fever dream. I had a medical issue early in the summer that had me laid up in the hospital for a while (ask me how I know I'm allergic to sulfa antibiotics). Bored out of my mind and feeling terrible, I started thinking about stuff I'd do when I got better. This was high on the list. And, ultimately, it worked. I ended up writing everything up on my (frankly) boring website if anyone is interested to see the process: 

https://tinypatchofsky.com/building-an-off-grid-all-sky-camerapart-1

https://tinypatchofsky.com/building-an-off-grid-all-sky-camera-part-2

https://tinypatchofsky.com/building-an-off-grid-all-sky-camera-part-3

https://tinypatchofsky.com/building-an-all-sky-off-grid-camera-part-4


Final install looks like this:



Oh, and if there are any electrical engineers out there who see that I've done something completely idiotic, I am all ears! Other suggestions for things to do differently also welcome. There are some smart cookies on this forum, or at least folks way smarter than me.

All the best,
-Kelly
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EdFromNH avatar
EdFromNH avatar
That was a great read.  I was hoping to do this one day, and will definitely refer to this when I do.  Thanks for sharing.
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andrea tasselli avatar
andrea tasselli avatar
Cool stuff!
Kelly Wood avatar
Kelly Wood avatar
That was a great read.  I was hoping to do this one day, and will definitely refer to this when I do.  Thanks for sharing.

Thank you! It was a fun project and I fully support others' efforts at windmill tilting.

-k
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Continuum - Laurent Lucas avatar
Continuum - Laurent Lucas avatar
It was an inspiring read, thank you.
t-ara-fan avatar
t-ara-fan avatar
Nice project.  I built the same sort of thing, starting with the Jacquin software, then writing my own.  How about a few random comments:
  • I have 4x 100W panels (eight years old) , a new Renogy MPPT charger, and a pair of 6V 480Ah batteries. And in the winter it STILL runs out of juice on occasion.
  • I am a bit north of where you are, so I get a bit less sunlight.
  • I use a RPi4 in the AllSkyCamera and an ZWO ASI178MC camera with 1.55mm f/2 lens. I am on the plains and I get a full 180° FOV.
  • I went with the camera + Pi in a 4" PVC tube design. With a 5W dome heater resistor that I can turn on and off depending on dewpoint. The 5W heater can keep up with and melt several inches of snow overnight.
  • Since I expect long periods at -20°C I put the batteries in a heated enclosure.   A box made of pink styrofoam sheets, with 4" walls.   A "dumb" thermostatically controlled heater (12W) keeps the interior of box at +20°C when it is -25°C outside.    It takes power to keep the batteries warm, but I think it is a net win.
  • I just got a Starlink. 40W steady power burn.  So I will add a relay to switch it off except when in use.
  • Snow will settle on your solar panel. I was surprised but 1/4" of snow kills their effectiveness. I suggest orienting it vertically for snow. And in the summer you will have such longer days that it will work.
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Nick Grundy avatar
Nick Grundy avatar
Thanks for sharing! I'd love to hear how you end up dealing with the remote control of the 12v dew heater. I also built a fairly simple enclosure from a 4in ABS pipe, but it's downfall was no dew heater.
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t-ara-fan avatar
t-ara-fan avatar
I added a sensor for external temperature and humidity.  And a sensor for the temp up inside the dome.  A 5W heater is used to keep the dome temp a certain number of degrees above the dewpoint, and at a minimum temperature.  The setting I use is "the higher of +10C and (dewpoint+10C).
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Geoff Collinson avatar
Geoff Collinson avatar
That's a wonderful project.
I have a much smaller allsky camera I take to dark sky sites during autumn holidays. Mind last few ended up being cloudy weeks.
It's powered by a powerbank that can run a stick pc and dew heater for about 36 hours, so it has to be recharged indoors.
The cams a zwo178mc running under AllSkEye software.