roof. The field of view is slightly greater than 180 degrees in the
horizontal direction.
Figure Two: All Sky Camera Image
The image illustrated was taken using a monochrome sensor.
The unit is also available with a color CCD sensor. Note: with a
monochrome sensor the daylight images are not particularly good –
the sun and bright clouds saturate large portions of the field of view.
With a color sensor the sun has a strong blooming streak top to
bottom in the image, which mars the aesthetics of the image, but it
still works well for cloud detection.
The new All Sky camera has some very interesting features
that make it much more versatile than our previous offerings. First of
all, it has an RS-232 link to the PC for control and image download.
While this interface is very slow in comparison to USB, it will
tolerate 150 foot (30 meter) cable runs. Or, you can throw away the
cable and use a bluetooth wireless link with an optional inexpensive
adapter. And, the unit is low power and can be powered by a solar
array (also optional) so you don’t need any wires AT ALL running
from your PC to the camera! The beauty of this is now the unit can
be located where it has a good view of the sky, instead of good access
to a power plug or PC. Your roof is now the preferred location,
above the trees and neighbor’s houses.
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