Raspberry Pi Camera in Remote location

Support Raspberry Pi
1

Hi, I am looking to install a Raspberry Pi and camera in a remote location.

Does anyone have any experience with setting up one of these? What Pi is best and which cellular transmitter is best? Unfortunately I am out of LoRa / SigFox range so will need maybe a Hologram particle cellular setup, or could I plug a Telstra SIM into a GPy for example?
Similar to this:

I would only be looking to receive an image once a day to monitor the water level of a trough.

Any ideas on best setup would be great.
Thanks Paul

2

Hi Paul,

You could use the exact parts listed in the tutorial if you like. We carry the Hologram Nova shown in the tutorial:

For the Pi, you could use a standard Pi Zero, since you would not need the Wifi and Bluetooth offered with the W. For ease of connecting to the board I generally recommend the Pi Zero WH.

Here is a good kit:

3

Hi Stephen, Thanks for getting back to me.

Just wondering if there are any other options I could go with to use say a Telstra BYO Sim or would this complicate the setup? I have concerns with transmitting photos with the hologram data package ($$$). I could reduce the photo size before sending correct (30kb image would be adequate)?

Work Flow example is -
Pi Cam take photo @9am —> Pi reduce file size —> transmit packet via Cellular / MMS or Email.

This can be done? (Sorry I’m a little fresh to this area)

Also any recommendations on Power / Sleepy Pi? I would be there once a week so I could change over a power pack to avoid setting up solar.
Thanks.

4

Hi Paul,

There is not a way to put the Pi into a Sleep Mode that I am aware of. They tend to be kinda power hungry devices as well. You can have an external circuit turn on the device once a day and have your program auto run at startup.

I’m not sure about other Cell network connections. Some dongle-types don’t work directly with the Pi, so be sure to do your research first!

Cellular devices are very power hungry as well. So you will likely end up needing a pretty hefty battery.

Try this:


and this:

The power boost can be switched electrically, which might be helpful. You can get a super low power circuit to switch it on once a day perhaps.