AllSky Capsule | Assembly.

Don't Panic!

This guide is 99% images.

Index.

BME680.

The BME680 is held in to the AS-C-BASE with two M2 8mm Screws.

RJ45 Extension Cable.

This panel-mount cable fits into the AS-C-BASE.

TSL2591 Lux Sensor.

The sensor is affixed to AS-C with two M6 8mm Screws.

Before installing the sensor, solder wires to +,-, Cl & Da.

Throughout this guide I am using the following cable-coding.

  • Red - Vin
  • Black - GND
  • Blue - i2c Data / Fan Control / UART
  • Green - i2c Clock / UART

GPS Module.

The  GPS module is also fixed in with two M2 8mm Screws.

I have soldered 0.1" Pin-Headers to the GPS Module.

The Raspberry Pi.

In this instance, I am using an 8gb Raspberry Pi 5.

I have installed the official Active Cooler.

Secure the RPi with four M2.5 20mm Stand-offs.

GPIO Highjacker.

The GPIO Highjacker was developed specifically for use with the MountOne Astrographs with the aim of making the GPIO more accessible and improving the wiring. Full story on the Blog Post. 

The GPIO Highjacker breaks out power (5v & 3.3v), i2c, five UARTS and provides headers to input 5V from DC/DC converters while still allowing the use of HATs. 

I am using a GPIO Header Extension (5mm x 51mm x 19mm) with the GPIO Highjacker.

Full details | GPIO Highjacker.

Before installing I have soldered in the included strip of 0.1" Pin-Headers.

PoE HAT.

This project requires a PoE HAT. In this case, I am using the Waveshare PoE M.2 HAT+ (C). This design is compatible with many other PoE HATs. The Waveshare HAT was chosen as the design includes an M.2 socket and is compatible with the Active Cooler.

The HAT is installed with four M2.5 4mm Screws.

System Fan.

In the top of AS-C is space for a 30x30x15 5v axial fan. This fan is required to keep the system cool and prevent overheating. The particular fan I am using is a Sunon MF30150V1-1000U-A99. If you can find the 3-wire -H99 variant, one does not then need the solid-state relay. The 5v fan is able to move a significant 6 CFM of air.

The fan is fixed in place with three M3 20mm Screws For Plastic.

Note that there are only three screw-holes in the fan, and only three screw-holes in AS-C.

Camera Module.

The Raspberry Pi  HQ Camera and Arducam LN051 lens need setting up before installing into the Capsule. The lens needs focusing. This can be done after installation, but I found it easier to do so beforehand.

Four M2.5 8mm Screws For Plastic are used.

Feed the 30mm FFC through the AS-C from the top, and plug into CAM0.

Fan Control.

The System Fan requires a relay. For this I am using the Pololu Isolated Solid State Relay/Switch - SPST. 

It should be pretty obvious how to wire it, if it isn't, send me a message,

There is a hole in the AS-C for it and the cables.

I am using 0.1" connectors.

The Wiring.

It is best to follow the wiring guide-lines for the components you are using. The GPIO Highjacker pin-header is labelled, and there is a look-up table here.

I have connected the GPS to UART4, the Fan Relay to UART0 Tx,  the Fan Power to the IN connector (power comes from the PoE HAT so those pins are spare), and the i2c connects to the i2c Cl & Da pin-headers.

Wiring is routed through the channels out to the bottom of the AS-C. I have made a breadboard to increase the number of available parallel i2c pin-headers.

Seals.

Lastly, the two seals need fitting. The first one is for the glass and goes over the top of the AS-C.

The second seal is fitted to the bottom of the AS-C. The smaller inner seal is for the fan exhaust to prevent any air leaking back inside and recirculating.

Power Up.

Before final assembly, we need to check everything works.

Confirm your wiring is correct, and then plug in a PoE'd cable.

Confirm lights, and not magic smoke.

At this point, one can either assume all is good, or open a terminal  and check you have connectivity to all devices.

One could quite possibly skip to the software setup right now.

Otherwise, the AS-C-BASE  is affixed to the AS-C with six M5 20mm Screws For Plastic.

There are two additional M5 20mm Screws For Plastic which are used to secure the Capsule to a 50mm pole, or to the tripod adapter.

Tripod Mounting.

A single 1/4-20 UNC Rivnut is pressed into the AS-C-TRIPOD.

While we are still working on the AllSky Capsule, I am using a small desk tripod.

The Top.

AS-C-CAM sits at the top and covers the camera. It is printed in black to minimise any reflections.

Extra clearance around the lens allows air to flow past and down inside via the System Fan, and eventually out the exhaust.

It simply slides in and does not require any screws. Be careful not to trap any cables.

The Glass.

The glass dome sits over the top and rests on the seal.

Next we'll configure the software.

Glamour Shots.

Continue to the AllSky Capsule Software Documentation.

Back to the Main Documentation.