ddserver with Raspberry Pi 3 and Zero W

Open discussion about photography, qDslrDashboard
Jarrod
Posts: 15
Joined: 27 Aug 2017, 14:40

ddserver with Raspberry Pi 3 and Zero W

Post by Jarrod »

Played around with the MacOSX version of qdslrdashboard last night over USB and was duly impressed. Nice software! My end goal is to wirelessly control my Canon 60D with qdslrdashboard running on iOS.

Now that the TL-MR3040 is selling for $60+ I start to think about instead buying Raspberry Pi with the Kuman lithium powerpack daughterboard accessory (or similar) and have something I can use for other projects too :-)

Is ddserver working on that platform and will that get me what I need? My understanding is that I would need to install openwrt, ddserver, configure all that and then connect to the RPi wifi from my iOS device running qdslrserver app. Do I have that right and is there a howto somewhere? Or should I just go for one of the wireless routers that has all that sorted out already in your firmware image? I'm somewhat experienced with Linux/UNIX so that shouldn't be an issue.

If I got this all working could I make an image to share with you for d/l on your site?

TIA

Jarrod
Last edited by Jarrod on 31 Aug 2017, 15:39, edited 3 times in total.
hubaiz
Site Admin
Posts: 2003
Joined: 27 Jan 2015, 18:58

Re: ddserver with Raspberry Pi 3?

Post by hubaiz »

You just need to compile DDServer on Raspberry Pi.
You can find it here with instructions for compiling: https://github.com/hubaiz/DslrDashboardServer
Jarrod
Posts: 15
Joined: 27 Aug 2017, 14:40

Re: ddserver with Raspberry Pi 3?

Post by Jarrod »

Thank you for the quick reply. I'm going to try this, and post to the RaPi FB group that I belong to so maybe you get a couple more customers :-)

Do you think this will work on the wifi version of RaPi Z or does it not have enough video RAM? I don't have hardware yet so still deciding what to get...
hubaiz
Site Admin
Posts: 2003
Joined: 27 Jan 2015, 18:58

Re: ddserver with Raspberry Pi 3?

Post by hubaiz »

qDslrDashboard will not work on Raspberry Pi Zero W (slower CPU and less memory)
DDServer will work on Raspberry Pi Zero W but you will need some sort of USB hub (or adapter) to be able to connect your DSLR with USB.
Jarrod
Posts: 15
Joined: 27 Aug 2017, 14:40

Re: ddserver with Raspberry Pi 3?

Post by Jarrod »

FYI I now have ddserver working on both Pi 3 and Zero W. Tested with the Mac client and also just purchased the iPad client :-)

I power the Zero W with a battery plugged into the micro-usb power port. The camera (Canon 60D) is plugged into the single micro-usb data port. Seems to work well enough - I'll have to work on sourcing some shorter cabling solution...

Been playing around with different features for a few hours. Overall it is working OK but there have been a couple of head scratching moments - I think mainly due to the iPad falling to sleep causing issues where I couldn't reconnect without killing/restarting qDSLRDashboard. Then I found the "don't turn screen off" option and haven't had that since :-)

Right now both devices are connected to my router. Will need to work out some way to get a point-to-point connection going for when I'm out in the field. If you have ideas for how to set that up on the Pi Zero W, please share!

Thanks, this has been a fun project to get going.
imkimc
Posts: 2
Joined: 22 Sep 2017, 00:37

Re: ddserver with Raspberry Pi 3 and Zero W

Post by imkimc »

Jarrod,

Did you ever figure out how to get the direct connection to work? Setting up the OpenWRT should work but there is scant documentation for the Zero W - and as Hubaiz said, the 512mb memory limit is also a worry... I'm really interested to see how the performance is through WiFi versus the USB cable. The Nikon WiFi adapter is pretty darned slow.

Kim
hubaiz
Site Admin
Posts: 2003
Joined: 27 Jan 2015, 18:58

Re: ddserver with Raspberry Pi 3 and Zero W

Post by hubaiz »

There is no problem with the RPI Zero W memory, the MR3040 has even less memory and ddserver runs on it without any problem.
You can compile ddserver on RPI Zero W by following the instructions at: https://github.com/hubaiz/DslrDashboardServer

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sudo apt-get install build-essential pkg-config libusb-1.0-0-dev
g++ -Wall src/main.cpp src/communicator.cpp `pkg-config --libs --cflags libusb-1.0` -lpthread -lrt -lstdc++ -o ddserver
After you compiles you run it with:

Code: Select all

sudo ./ddserver
Setting up the wireless as access point on RPI Zero W: https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentati ... s-point.md
Note that the instructions are for the Raspbian Jessie
mwu49
Posts: 3
Joined: 13 Sep 2018, 20:46

Re: ddserver with Raspberry Pi 3 and Zero W

Post by mwu49 »

hello

i try to install the ddserver but after the first step...

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pi@raspberrypi:/ $ sudo apt-get install build-essential pkg-config libusb-1.0-0-dev
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
build-essential is already the newest version (12.3).
libusb-1.0-0-dev is already the newest version (2:1.0.21-1).
pkg-config is already the newest version (0.29-4).
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
the second can't find the files. what i do wrong?

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pi@raspberrypi:/ $ g++ -Wall src/main.cpp src/communicator.cpp `pkg-config --libs --cflags libusb-1.0` -lpthread -lrt -lstdc++ -o ddserver
g++: error: src/main.cpp: No such file or directory
g++: error: src/communicator.cpp: No such file or directory
pi@raspberrypi:/ $
hubaiz
Site Admin
Posts: 2003
Joined: 27 Jan 2015, 18:58

Re: ddserver with Raspberry Pi 3 and Zero W

Post by hubaiz »

Did you clone the repository and cd in the cloned folder?

Code: Select all

	git clone git://github.com/hubaiz/DslrDashboardServer
	cd DslrDashboardServer
mwu49
Posts: 3
Joined: 13 Sep 2018, 20:46

Re: ddserver with Raspberry Pi 3 and Zero W

Post by mwu49 »

i want to run the ddserver on a pi zero w. i didn't find an openwrt image for the pi zero. therefore i set up the access point on a raspbian light after the description at https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentati...s-point.md set up via a windows pc with putty.

that worked (sudo service dhcpcd restart is not allowed to be executed.).

unfortunately i couldn't connect the accessponit to the internet afterwards, so that i could install the ddserver afterwards.
now i try to install the ddserver before.

i'm a beginner and just execute the commands i find on websites.

the command you posted leads to an error.

Code: Select all

git clone git://github.com/hubaiz/DslrDashboardServer package/DslrDashboardSer ver
-bash: git: command not found
i think this command is for a linux pc. it copies the necessary files from the internet to the memory card with the openwrt image!?
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