Raspberry Pi Camera for Astroberry

[gajjer]

Hi all

well, I am trying to find out why my Raspberry Pi camera V1 will not work with Astroberry. I have gone round and round Google and my head is spinning with dead ends. I was hoping to run Oacapture and do some planetary stuff.

However, when I try to select the camera it tells me it can't connect. Fair enough. Am I right in thinking that there are only INDI drivers for V2 cameras?

I'm not a software person so be gentle with me.

cheers

Gaj

[MarkAR]

Does the camera work using commands in terminal or python ?

Guide here:

https://projects.raspberrypi.org/en/projects/getting-started-with-picamera

If it does you can probably just save the video clips to do planetary.

[RadekK]

What INDI driver did you try?

[7170]

One assumes the camera interface is enabled in raspi-config (under interface options) in astroberry? It is disabled by default by the looks of it (at least it is on v2.02).

[JamesF]

It is possible that you will find, should you get the camera to work at all, that it doesn't work with oacapture yet.  I don't have the v1 camera, but I do have the v2 and have been working on getting it to function correctly recently.  It's been a pig of a job, but I think I've got there now.  The older camera might just work, or might be afflicted by the same problems (actually a coding bug), in which case it should work with the next release of oacapture.

James

[gajjer]

Thank you all for your responses.

MarkAR: The camera works if I use commands in terminal. It's specifically Astroberry I am having problems with and particularly Oacapture.

RadekK: I'm not sure how I identify the driver. In the INDI Control Panel of Kstars it seems to indicate V4L2 CCD , indi_v4l2_ccd. See my comments below to JamesF

7170: Yes it's enabled and works in Python3.

JamesF: Thanks to Amazon and a secure pension, I have managed to get a V2 camera. I can get it to run in Ekos. It takes pictures and streams video. It still does not work with Oacapture. I am glad you think it is a pig of a job James. I don't feel so stupid now. I'm gradually finding my way round the Pi and Astroberry which is a struggle being mainly an analogue man with digital experience. 

The behaviour with the V2 camera is pretty much what was happening with the V1 camera. With the drop down Camera menu there are the following options and responses:

(V4L2) bcm2835-isp-capture0 : locks up

(V4L2) bcm2835-codec-isp      : unable to connect camera

(V4L2) bcm2835-codec-decode : unable to connect camera

(V4L2) bcm2835-isp-capture1 : locks up

(V4L2) bcm2835-isp-output0 : unable to connect camera

(V4L2) bcm2835-codec -encode : unable to connect camera

(V4L2) bcm2835-camera0 : unable to connect camera

(V4L2) bcm2835-isp-stats2 : unable to connect camera

There is no other equipment connected to the Pi. The board is a Pi version 4.

If there is any other information I can give you, please ask and I will do my best. It's a new set-up and not yet seen first light, so if you want me to try something and it goes belly up, I'm not loosing anything.

I have posted something on the INDI site also. Just so you know it's not a pandemic!

Thanks everyone for your input

Gaj

 

 

 

[RadekK]

Oh, you meant oaCapture support for Raspberry Pi cam... I thought you meant indi/kstars/ekos support. oaCapture handles devices on its own and does not use indi drivers. I do not know if it supports libcamera - a new API used for HD cam. See this note on introducing new API https://libcamera.org/entries/2020-05-05.html

Try using camera with other software eg. INDI/Kstars/Ekos using RPi Camera (indi_rpicam) driver. If it works, you can capture video using Ekos CCD and Live View button located below Sequence List.

[JamesF]

At the end of the month, I (kind of) run out of work.  We're currently negotiating over continuing part-time for a couple of months, but whether that happens or not I hope to be spending more time on oacapture than the necessity of paying my mortgage has allowed me over the last few months.  My intention is that a new release will happen well before the end of the year and that it will have support for the RPi cameras at that point.

James

[Sam1986]

Any movement on this? I too would like to connect a HQ cam to oacapture. 

 

Thank you

Sam

[StevieDvd]

13 hours ago, Sam1986 said:

Any movement on this? I too would like to connect a HQ cam to oacapture. 

 

Thank you

Sam

@JamesF has not been on the forum since 2021 and I have not seen any updates to the oacapture program on https://www.openastroproject.org/oacapture/