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Solar powered time-lapse camera

A project log for "Solar Pi Platter"

A Li-Ion charger for Solar or USB with PMIC/RTC, 5V boost converter and USB Hub that can run Linux for only $5 more!

dan-julioDan Julio 07/20/2017 at 03:120 Comments

Just a note about a fun project with the Pi Platter that might be of interest to others.  A simple script uses the features of the Pi Platter to make a stand-alone time-lapse camera.  The script runs from /etc/rc.local, gets the time from the Pi Platter's RTC, takes a picture and then sets a wakeup alarm for five minutes in the future and then shuts down the Pi and powers-down to conserve power.  A switch connected to one of the Pi Platter's analog inputs can be used to disable the time-lapse photography system and allow the Pi to boot to a command prompt for off-loading pictures.

A complete write-up including OS configuration and the script can be found at my website.

The script also collects battery and charging data and during the week I ran this in the Colorado summer, a 4400 mAh battery was kept completely charged, even on overcast and rainy days using a 9W 6v panel.


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