PI Critter Cam Day 16: Better Pictures

I set up the critter cam yesterday afternoon after adjusting the setup.py file in the pi-timolo folder to rotate the pictures 180 degrees and take pictures at a 1080 x 1920 resolution.  Luckily, a bird came by to test out the new settings.

The picture looks MUCH better!  However, we have a couple issue where it's taking and keeping a TON of pictures and it's overwriting all of the previous pictures.  

So, within the setup.py file, I'm going to change the threshold setting to 50, which should make the picture taker less sensitive.  I'm also going to change motionnumon to False so it'll use a date/time stamp to name the file.  I'm also change motionnummax to 0 in case it's using that setting as justification to delete stuff out there.  

We'll set it out again tomorrow morning to see how it does.  This time, I'll try setting it on the ground.

PI Critter Cam Day 15: New Enclosures

After realizing that the previous enclosure wasn't going to work, I dug through my scrap wood bin and slapped together a few 2x2s to build a makeshift food holder.  I decided to use one of those birdfood suet bricks, which seemed easier to manage. 

I also sacrificed one of my sandwich boxes that I take to work to house the Raspberry PI, drilling a small 3/8" hole for the camera.  I sandwiched tack between the lunchbox and the PI in a feeble attempt to keep the water out. I used a clamp to attach the box to the birdfood holder.  

It's certainly not the most sophisticated design, but should work as a temporary solution.  Here's what we have.  

You can see the camera poking out from this angle with the new battery and PI inside.

I let it sit out all afternoon and it actually took some bird pictures, albeit upside down.    Yet, it's exciting to see this thing actually work!

NOTE:  I took the suet container out, just leaving the food brick.  I was worried the birds couldn't get to the food.  I should've moved that thread rod too!

Also, the battery held up really well.  The PI ran all day as there were some night pictures in the folder.  Although, I'm not sure exactly how long as I haven't been including the wifi dongle in the box to conserve battery, which messes up the PI's clock. 

 So, our next goals:  Get the pics right side up and see how much longer the battery lasts with higher quality pics and the wifi left running.

Pi Critter Cam Day 14: A Step Back

Well, things didn't go as planned. 

Every time I start the Pi, it'll take a few pictures, but soon stop working.  This is according to the TOP application accessible through the terminal that, I think, acts like a Task Manager and shows all the running applications.  pi-timolo shows up for about 15 minutes or so, then disappears from the list of active programs.  Somethings amiss.  

I tried reinstalling pi-timolo, but that didn't help.  

I then tried updating the Raspian operating system using the instructions at raspberrypi.org, which essentially has me run two lines in the terminal.

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
And that's pretty much it.  After it finished doing the update and performing a reboot, pi-timolo was able run all night without crashing.  Hooray!

However, the birdseed holder and Pi container are other issues.  I've got another sandwich box that I plan on using with some scrap wood.  I think the USB battery I'm using is also shot.  So, I bought another one.  I'll put everything together tomorrow and see if we can finally get this thing working...