Clik here to view.
Widescreen upgrade for Birdbox 1
Over the weekend I upgraded my first Birdbox webcam to the improved design I used for the Woodpecker nest box camera, with a wide angle lens to capture the whole floor, and splayed IR LEDs to avoid...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Targus USB 2.0 Micro Webcam
My Targus Micro Webcam just arrived a few weeks back - the link is for Amazon where it is currently £8, you can get at a similar price on Misco too, but I got lucky on eBay for just £4 while looking...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sparrows Nesting
After the disappointment of no residents in Bird Boxes 1 & 2, and the evicted blue tits in Bird Box 3, I was delighted to find Bird Box 4 in use - even if it wasn't by woodpeckers, but by sparrows....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Raspberry Pi with two webcams
Provided they are plugged directly into the Raspberry Pi's two USB ports directly, I've been able to connect it to two web-cameras at once, and stream the pictures using the open source Motion software...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Power Over Ethernet for Raspberry Pi
This weekend I tested powering my Raspberry Pi and two webcams via a simple passive Power Over Ethernet (PoE) adapter. Success! It was only a 2m ethernet cable, but I hope to use about 40m in order to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
ChipsBnk USB SD card reader
Last month bought an SDHC USB adapter (£1.75) and a triple set of own-brand 8GB Class 10 SD cards (£12.99) from 7dayshop.com claiming to support up to 20MB/s. One card wouldn't even mount but found...
View ArticleClik here to view.
24V passive POE for Raspberry Pi
Today my 24V power supply arrived - the final part I needed to try a 24V passive power-over-ethernet (POE) solution down a 40m cable to drive my Raspberry Pi and two webcams. Good news - it...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pharos/Microsoft GPS-360 on Raspberry Pi
I bought a Microsoft GSP-360 USB dongle on eBay as an impulse purchase, toying with the idea of running a Raspberry Pi in my car for live map display or at least route tracking for contributing road...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Navit GPS on Raspberry Pi
I've got a USB GPS dongle working with my Raspberry Pi, so I started exploring mapping software that I could run on it if I were to mount the RPi in my car with a little screen - the simple low...
View ArticleClik here to view.
TomTom Bluetooth Remote & Raspberry Pi
A while back I bought a TomTom Bluetooth remote control (here's a good review) with a view to using it with a Linux home theatre computer (HTPC) running XBMC or similar. As far as the computer is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mouse in the house!
I've been working on using a Raspberry Pi using passive power over ethernet to monitor webcams in the birdboxes at the bottom of the garden, using the software Motion to capture images or stream video....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Webcam telescope image of Jupiter & Moons
It is winter again, and the upside to it getting dark before 5pm is many more chances for astronomy. This week I had my SkyWatcher telescope out again, and captured a few images of Jupiter and its...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tasco 1603EF focus motor on SkyWatcher SK1309EQ2 telescope
Since I was having trouble with astrophotography focussing my telescope via the webcam, I decided to try out a motorised focus control - sometimes misleading called an automatic focuser. I found the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Raspberry Pi down the Garden
I'm now installed a Raspberry Pi with two webcams at the bottom of the garden using passive power over ethernet with a 40m cable. In the autumn I tested this indoors to catch invading mice, but now the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mouse recorded by Raspberry Pi Compost-cam
The compost-cam (my Raspberry Pi powered webcam in a compost heap) has confirmed there are regular mouse (or mice) visits, I've even spotted a visitor via the live webcam feed from motion.Mouse eating...
View ArticleClik here to view.
SkyWatcher Explorer 130M with Canon EOS DSLR
This weekend I borrowed a Canon EOS 1000D to try out for prime-focus astrophotography when connected directly to my SkyWatcher Explorer 130M (SK1309EQ2) telescope using a T-ring adapter.Moon using...
View ArticleClik here to view.
SkyWatcher Explorer 130M with Canon EOS (Take 2)
I borrowed a Canon EOS 1000D for the weekend, and was lucky to get some clear sky both on Friday and again tonight (Sunday). On Friday I was mostly working out focus travel issues, what modifications...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Trapezium (Orion Nebula) using Xbox Webcam
I first tried imaging the Orion Nebula (M42) with the Xbox webcam on my SkyWatcher 130M telescope last year, and managed to resolve the Trapezium star cluster. Sadly I can't find the original images,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
PS3 Eye Camera for astrophotography
I was inspired to try out the PlayStation 3 Eye camera for astrophotogaphy after seeing this amazing Orion M42 nebula image taken using a PS3 webcam on a SkyWatcher 130P (an hours worth of 4s exposures...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Raspberry Pi motion sensitive Trail-Cam
My Raspberry Pi at the bottom of the garden is now monitoring an unmodified XBox webcam pointing at a fence break, rather than the mice visiting the compost heap. This uses the Motion software to...
View Article