This section describes how to set up a Raspberry Pi Zero W or Zero 2 W as standalone system.
This will allow you placing the Raspi camera anywhere, independently from an accessible Wi-Fi.
It will act as hotspot to which you can connect from a mobile client to gain access to raspiCamSrv.
The subsequent descriptions can, in principle, also be applied for other Raspberry Pi models.
During the setup of such a system, the Raspberry Pi requires a cabled network connection because the Wi-Fi adapter will be configured as hotspot and is, therefore, not available for access by the configuration client.
Connections to a display, keyboard and mouse are not required.
Required cables and adapters:
- USB A to Ethernet adapter
- Micro USB/Male to USB A/Female cable
- Power supply with Micro USB plug
Follow the instructions for Install using Imager.
- Model
Make sure to select the correct model - Bullseye or Bookworm?
raspiCamSrv can be used with both systems.
Whereas there were still some issues for early versions of Bookworm on Pi Zero systems, this is no longer the case with the current version. - Full or lite system?
It is recommended to install the full system although the desktop environment will not be required. - OS Customisation
Make sure to Configure wireless LAN, although the Wi-Fi Adapter will later not be run in client mode,
however this will assure that the Wireless LAN Country will be set.
- Connect the camera (the small CSI-2 port of Pi Zero and Pi 5 require a special cable)
- Insert the microSD card into the card slot
- If available, encapsulate the Pi into a case
- Connect the network USB cable through an ethernet adapter to a switch of your local network
- Connect the power supply
The system may take some time until it is visible within the network.
From a client device connect via SSH
ssh <user>@<hostname>
...
sudo apt update
sudo apt full-upgrade
The process of configuration is slightly different, depending on the cosen OS:
For installation, you will need to connect through ethernet.
Then, follow the raspiCamSrv Installation Procedure
Follow the Service Configuration instructions
After rebooting, first test using the client connected with ethernet cable.
If this is successfull, you can shutdown and unplug the ethernet cable
After restart, connect from a mobile client to the hotspot and connect to raspiCamSrv from a browser window.