56 Comments

1. 

   Stuart C on July 9, 2016 at 2:51 am

   Hello Naturebytes,

   I’m after different inserts, how much do they cost? Does your out of stock include the inserts? As well as the Raspberry Pi I received with my kit I also have an original model B (not the 256MB), a 3 and on it’s way to me, a Zero. For this reason and because I’m intrigued by 3D printing (!) I’ve downloaded your STL files, however, are you aware there aren’t any insert STLs? If you are out of stock as regards the inserts would I be able to get someone online to print for me any inserts I require from some STL files?

   Out of interest, how much would a 3D printer suitable to print the whole case cost? I’m assuming it’s very expensive?!

   Thanks

   • 

     Naturebytes on July 12, 2016 at 3:42 pm

     Hi Stuart C,

     That’s a very good point. We’ll upload the insert STL files so you can print your own. We plan to sell them indepentently (the Zero insert for example) in the near future for anyone without a laser cutter or 3D printer. An Ultimaker 3D printer would cost anything between £1,000 – £2,000.

2. 

   Stuart C on July 9, 2016 at 3:09 am

   Hello again,

   I know it isn’t hard but I’ve changed the writing of the pictures back to the memory card rather than the flash drive and as someone else has said previously it really does speed the process up. This also means I can attach a WiFi dongle to the USB and together with samba share because my PC uses the same WiFi, I can now view, on my PC, the pictures after each is taken without having to disturb my camera.

   Regards

   • 

     Naturebytes on July 12, 2016 at 3:42 pm

     Excelletn Stuart. Do let us know if you spot anything on interest.

3. 

   Pablo on October 10, 2016 at 8:46 am

   First of all, thanks so much to let these incredible designs.
   I miss one more piece: Camera Surround. It is not.

   And one question if you don’t mind: What do you put between front and PIR/Camera Surround to protect them?

   Thanks so much again
   Best Regards
   Pablo

   • 

     Naturebytes on October 10, 2016 at 3:34 pm

     Hi Pablo,

     Thanks for getting in touch. Are you trying to 3D print the case? The material we use is a POLY IR – a special IR filter sheet that protects the camera but allows infrared light to pass through.

     • 

       Pablo on October 11, 2016 at 8:44 am

       Yes. I am very interested in the project. I have designed some python routines to get photographs and videos and the case is pretty good. The only thing I have to design is one piece to fit the this special sheet to the case (something similar to PIR Surround STL), because I have not found it in the zip file you provide.
       Thanks for your answer.
       Best Regards
       Pablo

4. 

   Jaison on November 17, 2016 at 12:37 pm

   Hi all,
   I was wondering if there are any forums or repositories (e.g. GitHub) – perhaps not directly affiliated with NatureBytes where people are discussing their experiences with the code and the overall design?
   Cheers,
   Jaison

   • 

     Naturebytes on February 5, 2017 at 9:05 pm

     Hi Jaison,

     Take a look at the Naturebytes GitHub that is now active. There are updated commits adding functionality and we’d love for you to join us and enhance the code to benefit the community.

     Kind regards,

     Naturebytes

5. 

   Frank on January 9, 2017 at 5:40 pm

   Hello Naturebytes,
   When can I buy the case separately and when is the Zero insert available?

   Best Regards
   Frank

   • 

     Naturebytes on February 5, 2017 at 8:57 pm

     Hi Frank,

     We have an update available (new insert that is shipping with the current case) that supports a Zero. Drop us an email at info@naturebytes.org for more information.

6. 

   Stuart C on January 19, 2017 at 12:25 am

   Hello,

   I’ve brought my second camera but I’ve made some simple wooden ones to experiment with, I don’t want to damage my purchased cases experimenting so I’m also interested in the POLY IR sheet. Could I ask where you get yours from?

   Thanks.

   P.S. I’d also be interested to know where you get your batteries from as I’m looking to use solar power for one of my wooden ones. (I’ve previously set up one of my two purchased ones for solar power, the photo was retweeted a while back).

7. 

   michael campion on March 31, 2017 at 1:14 pm

   Hi,
   i wish to use a PIZERO in the Naturebytes enclosure can you send me and software update and stl file for the insert

   regards
   Michael Campion

8. 

   Colin on June 21, 2017 at 1:01 pm

   I have constructed the kit but all my pictures are grossly overexposed. Apart from adding an ND filter, is there a software cure for this.

   Why is the bush at the base not threaded for a standard tripod mount?

   • 

     Naturebytes on June 21, 2017 at 4:33 pm

     Hi Colin,

     Thanks for getting in touch. The camera modules are set to factory settings (i.e we don’t software define any specific values), however your module may be extra sensitive. We can therefore change a value in the code. Look for this line in the nbcamera.py script and modify the -t value to 2000 to give it more time to settle. There was a conversation about this here.

     # Using the raspistill library to take a photo. You can show that a photo has been taken in a small preview box on the desktop by changing --nopreview to --preview
cmd = 'raspistill -t 300 -w 1920 -h 1440 --nopreview -o ' + photo
print 'cmd ' +cmd

     Let us know if you need any further assistance. An M6 screw fits the thread on the base. Here’s a quick reference link – http://www.westfieldfasteners.co.uk/A2_ScrewBolt_SlotMush_M6.html

     Kind regards,

     Naturebytes

9. 

   Erwin on July 1, 2017 at 7:56 pm

   Hello,

   My Pi won’t start anymore after I charged the battery. The battery light after charging is green, but when I flip the switch on the LiPo Rider to on, nothing happens.
   When I connect a power to the LiPo board and don’t remove the little USB cable between LiPo and Raspberry, it boots. So it’s nog the USB cable.
   Is there easy way to check if the batteries are good?

   • 

     Erwin on July 2, 2017 at 10:22 am

     Checked the battery and it provides a solid 4.14V So what can cause the Pi won’t boot?

     • 

       Erwin on July 2, 2017 at 11:46 am

       After disconnecting the LiPo board completely and reconnecting, the Pi now show a (blinking) green LED, no red LED. The battery seems charged, how is this possible?

       • 

         Naturebytes on July 2, 2017 at 5:49 pm

         Hi Erwin,

         Thanks for troubleshooting the issue. From what you have described, the LiPo Rider is at fault (most likely the IC has failed). Can you drop jon@naturebytes.org an email and we’ll get in touch to solve the issue for you.

         Kind regards,

         Naturebytes

10. 

    Jack on July 27, 2017 at 5:39 pm

    Hi Naturebytes.

    My grandson and I have just assembled our kit and tested it. Working well.
    A couple of quick questions:

    Can I fit an exterior switch to turn camera on and off without opening the case? I was thinking of putting it in the battery to Lipo rider lead.

    Can I swap the camera module for a raspberry pi NoIR module to take night time photos in conjunction with an IR illuminator, or will the illuminator trigger the PIR sensor?

    Thanks
    Jack

    • 

      Naturebytes on August 2, 2017 at 11:25 am

      Hi Jack,

      Many thanks for getting in touch. Apologies that we didn’t spot your comment earlier. We have a prototype IR illuminator in the works, so you may be interested in using this together with a PiNOIR. If you use a standard IR illuminator you will still be able to take photos. Our unit waits for a trigger and then powers on the IR unit for a second or so whilst the photo is taken.

      I’ll email you instructions to add a switch too. We did use one in the first version of the kit but removed it due to an hardware issue.

      Kind regards,

      Naturebytes

      • 

        istes on September 10, 2017 at 2:13 pm

        Hi Naturebytes, I am also interested to the IR illuminator setup, can you please send me some instructions or infos about your project?
        I’ve just assembled a simple unit using components I already had at home and your software, it works well but only at daylight.

        • 

          Naturebytes on September 10, 2017 at 9:39 pm

          Hi Istes,

          Thanks for getting in touch. We’re currently trialing a number of different IR LEDs to determine which configuration offers the best illumination, but also optimal power. Are you using a stand alone IR illuminator (i.e usually designed for security cameras) together with the PiNOIR camera?

          Kind regards,

          Naturebytes

          • 

            istes on September 11, 2017 at 11:15 am

            Thank you for the reply, I’m using a Raspberry Pi Model A + Pi-Camera v1.3. At the moment I don’t have the Pi-Noir and any IR illuminator so I’m wondering which is the best solution, buy something or an homemade IR. I don’t know if i need to change the camera to the pi-noir version or even Pi-Camera can works.

          • 

            Keith Madderson on March 18, 2018 at 8:32 am

            I have just bought the wildlife camera kit and would like to take photos of our night-time visitors – hedgehogs! Can you send info about any additional kit that would be required to take pictures after dark. Does the PiNOIR camera work without IR transmitters?

          • 

            Naturebytes on March 18, 2018 at 11:40 am

            Hi Keith,

            You can certainly switch the camera for a PiNOIR, but you’ll need to provide a seperate IR light source to illuminate the scene where you hope to capture photos of the hedgehogs. There are various stand alone IR lights available. We do have an add-on in development that will fit to the top of the kit to add IR but we don’t have a release date for that just yet.

            Take a look at Joanna Turner’s tweet below as she is using the kit with a stand alone IR source to capture badgers, hedgehogs and oven otters here in the UK. She may be able to share her setup with you.

            https://twitter.com/jturner0101/status/958666554186588160

            Kind regards,

            Naturebytes

11. 

    Jack on August 2, 2017 at 1:37 pm

    Thanks

12. 

    Paul on September 20, 2017 at 11:50 am

    Is it possible to purchase just the case (along with lens covers etc.) rather than the whole kit as I’ve have spare raspberry pi’s / camera’s etc. at home?

    I know I can 3D-print the actual case, but where can I purchase (i.e. the POLY IR sheet)?

    Cheers

    Paul

    • 

      Naturebytes on November 20, 2017 at 11:17 am

      Hi Paul,

      We are in discussions with suppliers at the moment to do this, but at the moment it is only available as the complete kit at The Pi Hut. How many are you interested in?

      Where are you based so that we can advise a bit more specifically on materials for 3D printing? We use POLY IR 2 from Fresnal Technologies (http://www.fresneltech.com/). Please let us know if there is anything else we can help with.

      Kind regards
      Naturebytes

13. 

    Ash on September 27, 2017 at 11:22 pm

    Hi Naturebytes,
    My son and I have been discussing the possibility of incorporating capability that would enable the camera unit to send images via text, or send a notification text when photos are taken.

    Is this something you’ve experimented with?

    Cheers,
    Ash

    • 

      Naturebytes on November 20, 2017 at 11:07 am

      Hi Ash,

      It can definitely be done, but we don’t have any guidance. There are quite a few guides online about what hardware and code is needed.

      Kind regards
      Naturebytes

14. 

    Firdosh on November 24, 2017 at 1:57 pm

    Hi, Will the updated software version work on the pi 3B?

    • 

      Naturebytes on December 15, 2017 at 10:03 am

      Yes, all the kits and all the software support all Raspberry Pi models.

15. 

    Pat McCarthy on January 19, 2018 at 5:34 pm

    Hey
    I recently tried to purchase the Naturebytes kit from the PiHut shop and I was told they were out of stock. Any idea when they will be available again?

    • 

      Naturebytes on January 23, 2018 at 5:50 pm

      Hi Pat,

      I just checked online and it appears they are still in stock. Which country are you tying to buy from? If you have more trouble let us know and we can follow up.

      Thanks

16. 

    artur on January 27, 2018 at 10:27 am

    Hi there.
    Thanks for the great kit. Asembly manual is briliant, unfortunatelly there is not enogh information about software. I bought and built my kit nearly a year ago. It has not worked. I’ve checked few times all connecting – everything was Ok but still no pictures.
    I’ve put away the camera for months untill last week. I’ve decided to fix it. First I pluged the SMD card to a working RaspberyPi board. And suprise – on card was NOOBS. Then i went to Naturebytes page to read everything about software installed into the kit. Finaly I found and installed proper software for kit and camera is working fine. May conclusion: You should put more information about script and software installed on Camera Kit. There is lack of “Support” page on Naturebyte with easy access. The movie on YouTube is great but you should provide an easy- writen step by step testing procedure.
    It was great exercise for me to fix it. I’m not an IT engeneer. Many thanks for great kit. Best regards Artur Ferenc

17. 

    Naturebytes on February 27, 2018 at 1:49 pm

    Hi Artur,

    Many thanks for the feedback. We agree and believe a support forum should be established to help users and to also post a much more comprehensive FAQ / guidance page.

    We hope to update the support video on YouTube too as it was created the first version of the kit and there have been a few software tweaks since.

    All the best,

    Naturebytes

18. 

    Chris Brewer on March 25, 2018 at 5:34 pm

    Hi,

    I think I may have corrupted my img file on the supplied micro SD card.

    Is there anywhere from where I can download the latest img file?

    In a reply to a query on 19 June 2017 (naturebytes.org/cam-kit-software-update) it was indicated that the download was at

    http://naturebytes.org/downloads/imgs/naturebytes_211_pihut.zip

    but this link appears no longer to be extant.

    Thanks, Chris Brewer

    • 

      Naturebytes on March 26, 2018 at 9:11 am

      Hi Chris,

      The link above is valid and works for us. Do you want to try again downloading the zip file? It may be your local computer blocking the file type as it’s a zip.

      Kind regards,

      Naturebytes

19. 

    Hylke Foeken on May 10, 2018 at 10:24 pm

    Hello Naturebytes,

    Thank you for this great kit! Is there an STL available for the Birdfeeder Arm?

    Kind regards

    • 

      Naturebytes on May 11, 2018 at 8:05 am

      Hi Hylke,

      We’ll get in touch via email and find you the files.

      Kind regards,

      Naturebytes

      • 

        Erwin on December 19, 2018 at 8:04 am

        I would love to get these stl files for the birdfeeder arm too!

        • 

          Naturebytes on December 19, 2018 at 10:22 am

          Hi Erwin,

          We will try and get this to you, we just need to check for compatibility and guidance.

          Thanks,
          The NB Team

20. 

    Greg Moore on December 18, 2018 at 2:52 pm

    Can you suggest how audio capture might be added along with the video?

    Thanks, Greg

    • 

      Naturebytes on June 30, 2019 at 9:00 pm

      Hi Greg,

      We recommend looking at the SOLO Raspberry Pi project (https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/2041-210X.12678)

21. 

    Jesus on December 20, 2018 at 9:07 am

    Hello to the whole team:
    While I’m waiting for Santa Claus for the box of naturebytes, I’m studying how the system works. That’s why I have two questions:
    one.-
    Can I use the files in the following link ?:
    https://github.com/naturebytes/Naturebytes-RaspPi-Dev
    two.-
    If yes, what would be the correct procedure to load it in the latest V2.2 version of Christmas that I have installed?

    My congratulations for this project and
    Thanks in advance

    Jesus Serrano
    http://www.videonatura.info

    • 

      Erick Truter on February 23, 2019 at 3:11 pm

      Yeah, I’m struggling to get the Pi 3A+ to work with the image from 2016. The latest version of stretch works fine. I managed to figure out setting up the scripts via the Github page. I’m happy to share the instructions.

      • 

        Naturebytes on June 30, 2019 at 9:07 pm

        Hi Erick,

        Apologies for the late reply, your comment was in our spam folder and we didn’t spot it. There is a Pi3 release on the resources page that we have added to help solve this issue.

        naturebytes.org/wildlife-cam-kit-resources/

        Kind regards,

        Naturebytes

    • 

      Jesus on April 12, 2019 at 4:46 pm

      I find it unserious, waiting for an answer so long. I am very disappointed and I begin to regret having bought the NatureBytes box. My question was very simple, your answer is very void.

      Jesus Serrano
      http://www.videonatura.info

22. 

    Greg on December 31, 2018 at 3:22 am

    Hello Naturebytes,

    My camera is set up indoors flawlessly streaming video while I work on getting everything sorted out the way I’d like. Is there information somewhere that would help me save the video on my desktop computer (Linux box) on a dedicated drive that would simply overwrite itself when full? My computer skills are weaker than I’d like so just getting this far is rewarding. Thanks for making this great software available!

    Cheers,

    • 

      Naturebytes on June 30, 2019 at 9:03 pm

      Hi,

      Apologies for the late reply, out anti-spam plugin had placed your comment in spam and we didn’t see it. We would recommend using the Live View image that is on our resources page. This will let you save and download videos without any further coding, otherwise a custom edit to the location in the nbcamera.py script when connected over ethernet to a local NAS box on your home network would do the trick too.

23. 

    Paul Bennett on January 11, 2019 at 10:23 pm

    Hi all. I just bought a case from PiHut, but it’s missing what is presumably a rubber bung for the hole in the back. It’s not going to be very waterproof if the case has a huge opening. Any idea how I can resolve this?

    Thanks.

    • 

      Naturebytes on January 29, 2019 at 4:23 pm

      Hi Paul,

      If you could drop us an e-mail to info@naturebytes.org we will see what we can do.

      Thanks
      Grace

24. 

    ALEC DUFFIELD on January 22, 2019 at 1:03 pm

    Hi
    Have you finished the mods to allow switching of the external pir ?

    Thanks

    Alec

    • 

      Naturebytes on June 30, 2019 at 9:03 pm

      Hi Alex,

      We haven’t yet released an external PIR but hope to still explore this in the near future.

25. 

    Erwin on October 20, 2019 at 9:27 am

    How long does the battery in the RTC last? It looks like the battery in my RTC is drained, since it does not remember time after I set it. This battery is not replaceable (soldered tot the board) is it?