Product Support
Welcome to product support. Please find your allsky camera support, downloads and related documentation here.
Select your topic:
SkyCamOne HAT FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions | |
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Installing SkyCamOne HAT software
Go to Software Installation
How can I replace RPi.GPIO (LibGPIO) with Blinka?
Via SSH or directly on the prompt (with screen and keyboard), enter the following lines:
pip3 uninstall -y RPi.GPIO
sudo apt-get install -y i2c-tools libgpiod-dev python3-libgpiod
pip3 install --upgrade adafruit-blinka
You can also choose to run our software installation. See the Software Installation page for details.
How do I connect my 12V power supply?
Connect the positive lead of your 12 volts power supply (usually red) to the left side of the 12V IN terminal, and the negative lead (usually black) to the right side terminal.
Connecting a 12V dew heater
Although the SkyCamOne HATs are designed to run 5V dew heaters only, there is a way of connecting and using 12V dew heaters with your HAT.
You will need a 5V relay to do that.
This search on Amazon provides several usable relay modules. You need one of these.
You will connect the coil (activator) of your relay to the DEW HEATER screw terminal of your SkyCamOneHAT (mind polarity!) and your 12V dew heater will be connected to the SkyCamOne HAT 12V OUT screw terminal, but with the relay switch end in between.
The 12V OUT screw terminal provides a solid 12V output, which is not controllable from the software. It is always on. By adding a relay in between your 12V OUT and your dew heater, you make it controllable.
In your allsky software, configure the dew heater as normal, but in ON/OFF; do NOT use PWM – the rapid oscillation of PWM will kill your relay.
Although we provide the explanation here, we consider this a non-supported setup. Apply at your own risk.
My dew heater does not really get hot. It gets a little warm but nothing more
- The dew heater needs a little more power. You probably have the Raspberry Pi powered via USB-C, but have not connected any additional power like the 12 Volts in or the Power over Ethernet (PoE).
Prefereably, do not use the USB-C to power your Raspberry. Your SkyCamOne will provide more than enough power to your Raspberry once you connect either one (12V or PoE) and you will find that the heater works much better! - Did you verify that your dew heater is rated at 5 volts? Many dew heaters are 12 volts devices and will hardly warm up when connected to 5 volts.
If your dew heater is in fact a 12V heater, you can connect it to the 12V OUT terminal, however it will be always on. Consider this a temporary workaround.
When I run sko-fantach.py or sko-fan.py, I get an error "lgpio.error: 'GPIO busy'"
This is because SPI is enabled.
To make sure the correct interfaces are enabled and SPI disabled, do the following;
Via SSH or directly on the prompt (with screen and keyboard), enter the following lines:
sudo raspi-config nonint do_i2c 0
sudo raspi-config nonint do_spi 1
sudo raspi-config nonint do_serial_hw 0
sudo raspi-config nonint do_ssh 0
sudo raspi-config nonint do_camera 0
sudo raspi-config nonint disable_raspi_config_at_boot 0
What software can I use for my all sky camera?
There are multiple “flavours” of all sky software. The two most commonly used flavours are INDI Allsky and TJ Allsky.
The above links lead you to their respective GitHub pages where you can download the software and where you will learn how to install and use it.
INDI Allsky
Setting up your SkyCamOne HAT with INDI Allsky
TJ Allsky
How can I boot from a NVMe SSD drive?
We have a guide on our GitHub explaining how to configure your NVMe drive.
You can find it here.
My NVMe SSD drive does not work
We have seen a few cases where the NVMe drive is not working.
We can recognise this by the facts that the LED lights next to the SSD on the SkyCamOne HAT do not light up and that the SSD cannot be found from software.
We have identified two primary causes in all these cases;
1. The used flat cable to connect the SkyCamOne HAT with the Raspberry Pi is faulty (excess solder on one of the connectors on the cable causes short – factory fault), or
2. You are under powered (not enough power), in particular with PoE setups. PoE switches many times do not supply enough power to each network port for the Raspberry/SkyCamOne HAT to function correctly. Try a good quality PoE injector with at least 20W or switch to 12V power.
SkyCamOne HAT for Raspberry Pi 5
Documentation | |
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Quick Start Guide This is the latest version of the quick start guide as contained with your packaged product. | Download from our GitHub |
Installation Helper This is an installation helper or tutorial by Chad Zimmerman explaining how to connect your SkyCamOne HAT for RPi5 and get it running. | Get it on GitHub |
Videos | |
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Connecting your M.2 SSD A short video tutorial on how to connect your M.2 SSD drive to your SkyCamOne HAT. | Watch on YouTube |
Downloads | |
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Python Test Scripts (October 2024) A collection of Python test scripts which will help you test all the functions of your HAT. Download hosted on our GitHub. | skycamonehat-5-main.zip |
3D CAD file (March 2025)
The SkyCamOne HAT for RPi 5 in STEP format. | RPi HAT 5 Rev.C 2025 STEP.zip |
SkyCamOne HAT for Raspberry Pi 4B
Documentation | |
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Quick Start Guide This is the latest version of the quick start guide as contained with your packaged product. | Download from our GitHub |
Downloads | |
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Python Test Scripts (January 2025) A collection of Python test scripts which will help you test all the functions of your HAT. Download hosted on our GitHub. | skycamonehat-4b-main.zip |
3D CAD file (March 2025)
The SkyCamOne HAT for RPi 4B in STEP format. | RPi HAT 4B Rev.B 2025.step |
SHT31-D environment sensor
Videos | |
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Short (September 2024) A short video showing the size and layout of this amazing sensor. | Titan Astro SHT31-D environment sensor |
Important note | |
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Uses I2C address 0x44 or 0x45 (selectable by soldering the address pad on the back) Dimensions: 14.3mm x 21.3mm x 2.6mm / 0.5″ x 0.7″ x 0.1″ Weight: 0.9g |
Downloads | |
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3D CAD file (March 2025)
The SHT31-D sensor in STEP format. | SHT31-D Rev.B_.step |
Dew Heaters
Downloads | |
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3D CAD file (March 2025)
The S size Dew Heater in STEP format. | Dew Heater S 2025 v2.step |
3D CAD file (March 2025)
The M size Dew Heater in STEP format. | Dew Heater M 2025 v2.step |
3D CAD file (March 2025)
The XL size Dew Heater in STEP format. | Dew Heater XL 2025.step |
Important note | |
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Our dew heaters run on 5 Volts and are specifically designed to use with our SkyCamOne HATs.
Connect these with a two-wire cable to the DEW HEATER screw terminal on your SkyCamOne HAT. Polarity is NOT important.
Connecting a 12 volt dew heater to your SkyCamOne HAT will work, but it will not get as hot. |