Mounting the Raspberry PI Camera

Once the parts of the clock have been assembled you are ready to mount the Raspberry PI camera to the inside.

These steps are optional and only needed if you are using the Camera module.

Step 1 - Attach the Camera Ribbon

One end of the ribbon goes in the connector on the end of the RPI. The other goes into the camera module.

1. The first step is to pull open the retaining connector on the PI. This is the black part of the end and it pulls back from the PI (parallel to the board). You need to use your fingernail to pull it back from each edge. It should come back by a few millimeters
2. Once it is back this should open the camera slot to allow the ribbon to be pushed in. Push the narrow end of the ribbon in with the black side facing upwards. It will only push in a few millimeters
3. After the ribbon is pushed in you can push the retaining connector back in to lock the ribbon in place

The connector should hold the ribbon firmly in place although be aware that you can still pull it out if you pull hard enough.

After this you can do the same to the camera module.

4. Repeat the above steps for the camera module - first opening the retaining connector
5. Push the ribbon in, making sure to connect it so the metallic pins align with the pins on the camera board (the ribbon should be black side up)
6. After the ribbon is in place push back the retaining connector to seat it in place

Step 2 - Confirm the Camera Operation

It is important to confirm that the camera is installed and working correctly before proceeding because it will be hard to test later. It is easy to have connected the ribbon the wrong way around so this step is key.

The first stage is to boot into the PI either by connecting the HDMI cable or by SSH'ing into it.

1. Connect to the RPI either with the HDMI cable or by SSH
2. Run the validate script to check that the camera is detected

$ cd /home/clock/workspace
$ ./scripts/validate.sh

You should see something like the following. Make sure the camera is detected.

If the camera is not detected then check the cable orientation - make sure the metallic pins on the cable align with the pins on the connector to the RPI and the camera module.

Step 3 - Mount the Camera

You can now mount the Camera module to the back. There is a small plate 3d printed into the back which aligns with the four holes in the camera board and a small hole in the back for the camera lens to poke through.

1. Push the camera board onto the four alignment pins with the camera ribbon on top and so that the camera lens points out of the hole on the back
2. The pins are quite tight but should hold the board in place. You do not need to push the board completely onto the pins. The pins are designed to hold the board away from the wall of the clock back