frankAllSkyCam - AllSkyCam software
Here is what you need to install, after ensuring to satisfy requirements (see below):
pip3 install frankAllSkyCam
installation is done, but you still need to configure some parameters, according to your preferences. To do so, launch the program:
python3 -m frankAllSkyCam
It will create some folders and the config.txt file. Now, you can start the configuration. Edit the single config.txt like this:
nano /home/pi/frankAllSkyCam/config.txt
details below. Enjoy !
1. Pre-requisites
Prepare a clean SD card with the last version of raspbian. Lite version, without desktop is fine.
Ensure everything is updated:
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
check you have pip installed (should be already in your Raspberry Pi distribution):
sudo apt install python3-pip
Install ImageMagick:
sudo apt-get install libmagickwand-dev
frankAllSkyCam uses the libcamera software (included in the last Raspberry OS). The former version (raspistill) is not supported. If you want to check if you have libcamera installed, just type this command:
libcamera-jpeg -o test.jpg --immediate -n
you should see the libcamera operating and, at the end, you should find test.jpg in your current folder.
Supposing you are fine with the pre-requisites, let's start !
2. Install frankAllSkyCam
pip3 install frankAllSkyCam
Now you have need to launch program, so that installation will be complete.
The first execution will create some folders:
/home/pi/frankAllSkyCam
/home/pi/frankAllSkyCam/img
/home/pi/frankAllSkyCam/log
/home/pi/frankAllSkyCam/sqm
and will generate a couple of files:
/home/pi/frankAllSkyCam/config.txt
/home/pi/frankAllSkyCam/index.html
/home/pi/frankAllSkyCam/logo.png
/home/pi/frankAllSkyCam/compass.png
/home/pi/frankAllSkyCam/moon.png
config.txt contains your preferences.
moon.png is used to show the moon-phase as picture on the allsky image.
logo.png and compass.png are self explicatory and you may sobstitute it with your favourite logo and compass.
Now you just need to configure your preferences. See below.
2. Configure your system
To configure your system, edit the single config.txt file:
/home/pi/frankAllSkyCam/config.txt
To edit the config.txt, you could use the nano editor:
nano config.txt
I would suggest to configure at least the following parameters:
inte = <name of your AllSkyCam that will be printed on top-center of the allSky images>
latitude = 44.73
longitude = 9.31
time_zone = Europe/Rome
in case you own the SQM-LE, ensure use_sqm =y and put the IP address and port of the SQM-LE:
use_sqm = y
ip_address = <ip_address_of_the_SQM_LE>
port = 10001
write_log = n
It's time to decide if your Raspberry Pi will work also as a web server.
1. Use your Raspberry as a web server
Then, you need to have Apache (or other web server) installed. To do so, type this command:
sudo apt install apache2 -y
create the images folder in your web server. Example:
sudo mkdir /var/www/html/img
After the installation, you will find a very basic index.html page to show just the allSky image.
Just move the index.html file into your local web server:
sudo mv /home/pi/frankAllSkyCam/index.html /var/www/html/
If you want a "real" website, please download it from this repository website folder. It's just html + Javascript. No php needed.
2. You will use an external web server.
In this case, you may want to upload your AllSkyCam.jpg to an external webserver (e.g., via FTP) To do so, you need to configure your FTP parameters in the config.txt file (see below)
isFTP=True
FTP_server = <your_ftpserver.com>
FTP_login = your_user
FTP_pass = your_password
FTP_uploadFolder =your_upload_dir
FTP_filenameAllSkyImgJPG = allskycam
FTP_fileNameStarTrailJPG = /startrails/starTrail.jpg
FTP_fileNameTimelapseMP4 = /videos/frankAllSkycam
According to the above configuration, the allskycam, startrail images and timelapses videos will be uploaded on a remote website, via FTP.
Of course, if you do not want to use a remote FTP just set isFTP=False
An additional parameter will enable / disable the generation of the timelapse:
nightTL = True
fullTL = True
allskycam_night.mp4 will be generated if nightTL = True
allskycam_24h.mp4 will be generated if fullTL = True
There are many other options. The config.txt file is self-explanatory and you can customize many things, including logo, compass, extra-data you may want to print on your AllSkyCam image
3. Test to check if it works:
from command line, just type:
python3 -m frankAllSkyCam
if it works, you should find the generated JPGs:
- via browser, test http://<your_raspberry_IP>
- /home/pi/frankAllSkyCam/img/<img_folder_with_date>/
- on your remote FTP, in case you have configured it
4. Last step.
If everything works, just make everything automatic. Type this command:
python3 -m frankAllSkyCam.crontab
it will install all the jobs !
Enjoy it !
For expert users
You may want to customize your exposure time, depending on SQM values. Pairs "(SQM value, exposure in secs)" are stored in this file:
/home/pi/frankAllSkyCam/sqmexp.csv
(e.g., nano /home/pi/frankAllSkyCam/sqmexp.csv)
So, if you wish to adjust it, you just need to change the exposure for every given SQM value. If you wish, you can also add more pairs (sqm values, secs).
The software would predict the exposure duration by interpolating among existing values (polynomial regression grade=3).
You may want calibrate your exposures and combine it with your desired --gain and --awbgains options (in config.txt)
In any case, the max exposure value will not exceed the esp_secs parameter in config.txt
