Raspberry Pi with ASI120MC camera

[stash]

HI Dave ,

 

"Shame about the GPU not supporting external USB cameras" - not gospel !

 

Have you tried guvcview which may or not work with the ASI120MC but its worth a try http://guvcview.sourceforge.net/

 

Amazing what you find while looking for something else. 

 

Did think of adding "Egyptian Sand Dance" music and using two hands with a red hats 

 

P.S I tried PIPP and got a dark screen with some outline no matter what options I used 

Edited March 26, 2014 by stash

[+TasKiNG]

gnuvcview couldn't see the ASI120MC tried a few more too and non of them could see it. Looks like we are limited to oacapture.

 

I had a play around with open-phd but as is usual with linux software there were no binaries and I couldn't get it to compile. 

Going to have another go tonight but starting to think about other options like a micro-itx board running windows or whether a windows tablet would work with the ASI120MC.

[stash]

The Ultimate set up for me would be this little beut http://www.ebuyer.com/409027-mb-boxdc3217by-ucff-ddr3-106-tbolt-box-boxdc3217by or its bigger brothers - all in a 4x4x2 inch block - tad expensive  with ssd etc etc

 

Need ZWO to bring out the Linux version they said they were working on.

Edited March 28, 2014 by stash

[+TasKiNG]

The Ultimate set up for me would be this little beut http://www.ebuyer.com/409027-mb-boxdc3217by-ucff-ddr3-106-tbolt-box-boxdc3217by or its bigger brothers - all in a 4x4x2 inch block - tad expensive  with ssd etc etc

 

Need ZWO to bring out the Linux version they said they were working on.

 

That looks neat.

 

I was thinking about something like this :-    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/310903911133

 

Also just found a EPIA-M  17x17cm mobo in the shed so this might be an option if I can hook up a low powered small LCD to it

 

Bit bigger than the pi though :-

Edited March 28, 2014 by TasKiNG

[stash]

Worth a try - not that much bigger - what about the weight or are thinking just trail the wires from the ZWO to the box ?

[xanthic]

http://sourceforge.net/projects/iastrohub/files/

This project might also be worth a look at. I think it started on Pi.

[+TasKiNG]

iAstroHub looks interesting, thanks

 

Had another look at open-PHD on the pi again last night and actually read through the compile instructions ( they were well hidden )  

 

I had installed the main dependancies but it seems you also have to compile and install xwWidgets too. 

I set it compiling 4 hours a go and it's still going

Hopefully open-phd will compile then.

I'll try it later tonight and let you know how I get on.

Ive also downloaded VirtualDub and its Debayer plugin so got that to try too.

I'm pretty happy now with the video capture and can live with the lower fps so if I can get the auto guiding working too i'll have achieved what I set to to do.

[stash]

Great news - The Best Of British for the compile etc.

[+TasKiNG]

Great news - The Best Of British for the compile etc.

 

Thanks Clive,

 

The compile went really well and I now have PHP2 running on the pi but unfortunately it cannot see my camera even with indiserver running indi_asi_ccd.

I plugged in my Philips webcam which works fine on the pi in all of the webcam programs I have tried but it was not listed in PHD even though it is set to the standard /dev/video0 device.

 

Here is PHD2 running in simulation mode:-

 

Edited March 29, 2014 by TasKiNG

[stash]

how madning nearley as good as me tonight with the weather. clouds in out then clear then can't see for the dew(don't have dew heaters) but my wife has kindly donated her old hair dryer which i G E N T L E Y  waft from about 3ft to speed up the drying. Been toying using my old Canon AE1 case as a PI case so that I can screw onto the Telescope and maybe use the old 200 zoom lens to see what the PI camera can do.

 

Sounds like you are inching towards the final tape. 

[+TasKiNG]

I use my wife's hairdryer too for removing the dew. Luckily she goes to bed early so doesn't know

You'll have to post a pic with the pi in the AE1 case.

 

Still not got open-phd to see the ASI120MC. I did manage to compile ZAACA to see if it was faster than oacapture. 

It was slower and stored each frame as a .png file so have deleted it

 

We had friends over for tea tonight and one brought a Panasonic Toughbook CF-U1 for me to try.

With it being windows, I installed the ASI120MC drivers and fire capture and it worked really well although the FPS was no better than the pi which was a bit strange considering that it is a 1.3GHz pc.

 

Here's a pic :-

Edited March 30, 2014 by TasKiNG

[stash]

"FPS was no better than the pi" that is very strange the only thing different is that its an Atom processor -wonder if it uses a different instruction set and has to emulate some of the intel 8086 code especially graphics - wouldn't have thought so as they are both Intel. The Atom is not fast as it was designed for "low power" not speed.

 

I presume the ZWO you have works ok on a Std PC - just in case the camera is faulty - long shot !

Edited March 30, 2014 by stash

[+TasKiNG]

good point. I'll try the camera on my desktop pc and see what I get.

[+TasKiNG]

Just tried the ASI120MC on my desktop PC and i'm happy that it is working ok.

 

1280x960 Colour  ---  27 fps

640x480 Colour  --- 99 fps

1280x960 Unbayered --- 27 fps

640x480 Unbayered --- 99 fps

 

So just limited by the USB2 speed

[stash]

Just tried the ASI120MC on my desktop PC and i'm happy that it is working ok.

 

1280x960 Colour  ---  27 fps

640x480 Colour  --- 99 fps

1280x960 Unbayered --- 27 fps

640x480 Unbayered --- 99 fps

 

So just limited by the USB2 speed

glad to hear its not the Zwo

[stash]

Finally finished mod to old AE1 to attach PI and to attach to Bresser for prime amd using old zoom as "normal" camera on guide rail of Bresser.

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9aHac2P5RgVbEFIdC1nNmpMNTQ/edit?usp=sharing 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9aHac2P5RgVeDlZb2hvMFFWLWc/edit?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9aHac2P5RgVWTAwOW1YSkhad3M/edit?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9aHac2P5RgVb29YWVhQTVpQbVU/edit?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9aHac2P5RgVTUJ5Nk1fbjM3N00/edit?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9aHac2P5RgVdDdUb1otODk5TVE/edit?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9aHac2P5RgVc2RhZ2toU3V6d0U/edit?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9aHac2P5RgVTWlQYmg2MGtPX1E/edit?usp=sharing

 

Will next need to try it out to see it works at all.

 

Still fun and other than power supply (9-24v) no wires

[+TasKiNG]

Great project. That looks really neat. 

I like the idea of using the AE1.

Look forward to seeing pics.

 

I tried the ASI120MC a couple of nights ago and used the PI and the Toughbook. Both worked well but for jupiter I could have done with a faster fps.

Playing with WinJUPOS at the moment to to try and Derotate the video.

[stash]

Unfortunately first attempt didn't work - I had put the ribbon cable to PI cam back to front   what a plonker. Still no damage tested after putting cable in the correct way and BEFORE reassemble and it still works.

 

Will upload some pics when I get a chance and it works.

 

Forgot to say the Cannon gives me a Flip mirror so I can see thru the viewfinder on the AE1 and when I press the shutter button it flips up (as it always did!). Just need a manual remote shutter cable until I can automate the shutter  thru the PI - thats the plan.

 

How did the PI compare to the Toughbook in terms of FPS etc ?

Edited April 6, 2014 by stash

[+TasKiNG]

You were lucky then. When I connect things back to front they always start smoking

I recorded unbayered 1280x920 on both the pi and the toughbook using sharpcap2.
pi recorded at around 7 fps but toughbook was better this time at 11 fps.
 

Here's what I finished up with :-

 

Edited April 6, 2014 by TasKiNG

[stash]

Forgive my lack of AP knowledge (thats 0%)  but is that pic a merge of both sets of data (i.e. PI and T/Book) or the output from one set up. It would have been nice(for me!) to have seen the two pic's side by side unprocessed and then the same processed.

 

Just to give me an idea - i guess the FPS was not the only difference in settings or were they the same (i.e. Gain ,sat etc)

 

Have been looking more detail at the QHY5  as it does seem to have better Linux support but that doesn't mean the raw data isn't better from the QHY5 than the ZWO - although the same "James" is involved in both ZWO & QHY development so not so sure. 

 

I understand the logic of suppliers supporting M/S Windows (it was the same as IBM years ago - "no DPM gets fired who buys IBM" (or something) but with Android (linux in disguise) over taking Windows in numbers and phones having more power than PC's of only a couple of years ago (alright a decade) I think they are missing a trick. Same for Mac/Iphone etc but they(Apple) are too locked down - shame on them -  IMHO 

 

"You were lucky then. When I connect things back to front they always start smoking" - yep same here normally (lucky this time)  but even main stream manu get it wrong - ICL many years ago sent out Lan board that when plugged in went bang and lots of purple (yes it was purple) smoke was given off - a capacitor was soldered the wrong way round - so much for Q&A

 

As for you picture I would be very pleased if I got that - but I know you mainstream AP's are always hunting perfection

 

Hey even the Hubble uses Bayering.

[stash]

Update - Looks like my camera is too far back as I can't get a focus on distant objects - works great as a giant microscope  .

 

Plus as I didn't remove(just in case it worked with it)  the PI's fixed length Lens (set at infinity) I guess the lens and Telescope are conflicting. I can see 70% of the focal tube and it looks like 007 (thunderball or Diamonds are forever ?) camera shoot in opening bit of film.

 

So next I am going to attempt to adjust the lens manually (I am assured the thread is glued but will move) - if that fails remove the lens completely - Hoping not to break the mount 

 

Same problem when using any Cannon lens - great microscope using 200mm zoom 

 

All good fun.

[+TasKiNG]

The Jupiter pic was from the T/book set only.

I took quite a few frames and stacked them. The AVI file was around 1.5 Gigabytes.

To save space I have deleted the source data but will post some before and after shots next time. 

 

After experimenting with the settings in SharpCap2 I have found that I should have kept the gain low and adjusted the exposure as this would have given me a less noisier image.

The downside of increasing the exposure is that it will lower the fps but winjupos should sort out the rotation from a long capture period.

 

Ok on your focus problem. I would try removing the lens.

[stash]

"I would try removing the lens" - yes have come to the same conclusion so I will have to order a new PI Cam - I always screw up lens removal on Web Cams   

 

Is it possible to use the Image histogram in sharp cap to help get the exposure correct or am I talking a load of crap 

 

"long capture period" - how long is long?

 

Hopefully u should get a good run 2morrow(tues) eve/night 

[+TasKiNG]

I've not played around with the histogram function yet so will give it a try.

 

I found an AVI file from the other night (from tough book). This one was for around 3 mins which gave 2000 frames.

 

so here's a comparison of the image at different points in the image processing:-

 

A single captured 'Unbayered' frame

 

A single frame bayered using PIPP

 

Derotated with WinJupos and the best 300 frames stacked using Registax 6

 

With Registax Wavelet transform

 

Tweaked in photoshop

 

Will hopefully be clear night tomorrow so will have another go with less gain this time to improve the noise.

Edited April 7, 2014 by TasKiNG

[stash]

I've not played around with the histogram function yet so will give it a try.

 

I found an AVI file from the other night (from tough book). This one was for around 3 mins which gave 2000 frames.

 

so here's a comparison of the image at different points in the image processing:-

 

A single captured 'Unbayered' frame

 

A single frame bayered using PIPP

 

Derotated with WinJupos and the best 300 frames stacked using Registax 6

 

With Registax Wavelet transform

 

Tweaked in photoshop

 

Will hopefully be clear night tomorrow so will have another go with less gain this time to improve the noise.

Looking like you are moving forward 

 

Removed lens and PI cam still working starting to see pics thru 50mm cannon lens using app PIvision - still playing with settings and cannon lens - will try in day light and then perhaps scope tomorrow night if all goes well.