Raspberry-Timelapse

Video result

Click to play on youtube :

My hardware installation

Prerequisites

To make this project, you'll need:

Raspberry pi 3 model B (40€)
SD cart (12€)
Alimentation (15€)
Camera 8MP V2 (35€)
Cable Camera 60cm (3€)
A wifi connection
Patience and passion

Total : 105€

Raspberry pi installation

Install Raspbian

https://www.raspberrypi.org/learning/hardware-guide/equipment/

Install php 7.1

https://www.noobunbox.net/serveur/auto-hebergement/installer-php-7-1-sous-debian-et-ubuntu

Check if it is ok by typing in terminal php -v.

Wi-Fi autoconnect

sudo editor /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf Append as many networks as you want - some examples:

# Secure Wi-Fi example:
network={
    ssid="{your-ssid}"
    psk="{your-key}"
}

# Open Wi-Fi example:
network={
    ssid="muenchen.freifunk.net"
    key_mgmt=NONE
}

Fix IP

Type in Raspberry terminal : sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces then set this content :

# interfaces(5) file used by ifup(8) and ifdown(8)
# Please note that this file is written to be used with dhcpcd
# For static IP, consult /etc/dhcpcd.conf and 'man dhcpcd.conf'
# Include files from /etc/network/interfaces.d:
source-directory /etc/network/interfaces.d
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback
iface eth0 inet manual
allow-hotplug wlan0
iface wlan0 inet manual
wpa-conf /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf
allow-hotplug wlan1
iface wlan1 inet manual
wpa-conf /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf

Then sudo nano /etc/dhcpcd.conf and put at the end of file this content :

# Configuration ip fix wlan :
interface wlan0
static ip_address=192.168.1.201/24 #replace 201 by your wish
static routers=192.168.1.1
static domain_name_servers=192.168.1.1

More details on this step here

Check if your ip is well fixed

Reboot then check your local ip : hostname -I

Reboot again and recheck your local ip

If it is not same : have patience and good luck.

Install VNC server on the Raspberry

To easily access to your Rspberry every time, you should install VNC. You have to install VNC server on your Raspberry and VNC viewer on you desktop. Follow this good tutorial :

https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=123457

Install VNC viewer on your desktop

https://www.realvnc.com/en/connect/download/viewer/

Launch VNC viewer and add a new connection to 192.168.1.201:1

Important note : Be sure te be on same wifi network on both side.

Install smtp

Follow this good tutorial :

https://hotfirenet.com/blog/1704-envoyer-mail-depuis-le-raspberry-pi/

Copy project files

Copy all project files to your Raspberry in /home/pi/timelapse/.

Chmod file /home/pi/timelapse/takepicture.sh to 777.

Chmod file /home/pi/timelapse/sendpictures.php to 777.

Chmod directory /home/pi/timelapse/pictures/ to 777.

Customize config.php

Customize constants contained in config.php

Set cron tab

On your Raspberry, type in terminal crontab -e and add line :

0 14 * * * /home/pi/timelapse/takepicture.sh 2>&1
0 0 1 * * php /home/pi/timelapse/sendpictures.php 2>&1

Enjoy

Your Raspberry pi will take a picture every day, and send you by mail pictures every month.

DocFX / Raspberry-Timelapse