Model Y Sentry: Raspberry Pi Zero W (or) Raspberry Pi 4 Model B (2GB DDR4)

[sam2020]

Raspberry Pi Zero W (or) Raspberry Pi 4 Model B (2GB DDR4)

Which one would work better for model Y?
does PI4 using only one USB port for power and recording video? Does Pi 4 works without power supply other than USB? or any other known issues not recording due to car going to standby?

pi Zero vs Pi 4 advantages for model Y? Any one using it right now?

 

[patmurphey]

This combination was recommended to me, a high endurance 256G SD card with USB adapter found to work seamlessly in a Tesla:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07P4HBRMV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XTQZS4F/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[quadroplexor]

I use pi zero w. It’s works well when it works. Lately it seems to be getting corrupted. The full up Pi 4 probably will take too much power than your car can provide. To run the Tesla pi software you don’t need a lot of horse power, it’s just emulating a drive. Also make sure your plug into the correct usb on the pi both will power but only one will work with the car.

 

[sam2020]

This combination was recommended to me, a high endurance 256G SD card with USB adapter found to work seamlessly in a Tesla:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07P4HBRMV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XTQZS4F/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&

I use pi zero w. It’s works well when it works. Lately it seems to be getting corrupted. The full up Pi 4 probably will take too much power than your car can provide. To run the Tesla pi software you don’t need a lot of horse power, it’s just emulating a drive. Also make sure your plug into the correct usb on the pi both will power but only one will work with the car.

I use pi zero w. It’s works well when it works. Lately it seems to be getting corrupted. The full up Pi 4 probably will take too much power than your car can provide. To run the Tesla pi software you don’t need a lot of horse power, it’s just emulating a drive. Also make sure your plug into the correct usb on the pi both will power but only one will work with the car.

Thanks, I see pi 4 has USBC power, does this stay on all the time when the car is locked in parking lot? And how much power supply does it use?

And what about pi zero, power usage and does it stay alive all the time

 

[DaveORD]

Thanks, I see pi 4 has USBC power, does this stay on all the time when the car is locked in parking lot? And how much power supply does it use?

And what about pi zero, power usage and does it stay alive all the time

If your Tesla has sentry mode enabled, then the USB ports will be powered.

If your Tesla goes to sleep, then the USB ports will turn off but if your Tesla is going to sleep, then sentry mode is not on so you would you need USB power?

The amount of power used by a PI Zero for sentry USB storage will pale in comparison to the amount of power used by sentry mode itself, so I would not worry about that.

 

[Gizmotoy]

I use pi zero w. It’s works well when it works. Lately it seems to be getting corrupted. The full up Pi 4 probably will take too much power than your car can provide. To run the Tesla pi software you don’t need a lot of horse power, it’s just emulating a drive. Also make sure your plug into the correct usb on the pi both will power but only one will work with the car.

Is this the project you're using? marcone/teslausb

 

[qdeathstar]

oooh me likey

 

[sam2020]

oooh me likey

Yes that's the one

 

[Kofther]

That’s the right project. I tried for weeks to get the reliability solid but too often it would disconnect or Tesla would report USB too slow. You can configure the app with your Tesla credentials so that the car won’t sleep until the uploads to your server are complete.

I agree with quadroplexor. When it works it works well. I ended up going back to an SSD.

Check out this thread.

USB Storage Slow? · Issue #239 · marcone/teslausb

 

[quadroplexor]

I might stick with it for awhile even when it goes a week or so at a time not working. I setup alerts via IFTTT and it’s kinda nice to watch the videos on my file share soon after I get home.

 

[helvio]

Is this the project you're using? marcone/teslausb

It pairs wonderfully with this one:
ppamidimarri/TeslaCamMerge

 

[sam2020]

If your Tesla has sentry mode enabled, then the USB ports will be powered.

If your Tesla goes to sleep, then the USB ports will turn off but if your Tesla is going to sleep, then sentry mode is not on so you would you need USB power?

The amount of power used by a PI Zero for sentry USB storage will pale in comparison to the amount of power used by sentry mode itself, so I would not worry about that.

Thanks,
Any recommendations on where to connect using Pi 4 B (2 GB)? does any one have power issues? Pi comes with USBC power supply https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/raspberry-pi-4-model-b/?resellerType=home. I am assuming i can connect to either of them USB A & USB C and it uses API to keep the power on for USB all time?

Also does it only record when park or can it also be used to record while driving as well using that github page marcone/teslausb

 

[quadroplexor]

Thanks,
Any recommendations on where to connect using Pi 4 B (2 GB)? does any one have power issues? Pi comes with USBC power supply https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/raspberry-pi-4-model-b/?resellerType=home. I am assuming i can connect to either of them USB A & USB C and it uses API to keep the power on for USB all time?

Also does it only record when park or can it also be used to record while driving as well using that github page marcone/teslausb

It emulates a drive to the car so sentry mode will write to it when it needs. You can save dash cam when you drive (or honk) and even play music off of it.

Can’t speak to powering the pi 4. You may need to use a 12v adapter plus the usb and as I mentioned earlier a pi 4 is overkill. Pi zero plus a 6 inch usb cable is nice and clean install.

 

[DaveORD]

A Pi Zero might work okay being powered via the passenger side USB 2.0 (5V 500mA 2.5W max) but the Pi 4 will need more power than that, so either you power that via the driver's side USB-C connector, or some other means. Are you using the built in wireless charger? If not, then unplug that from USB-C side and use that to power and provide data. I do not use the wireless charger and I have plugged in a USB-C hub instead to provide power and data for sentry mode video storage because the drive I am using needs more power than the USB 2.0 can provide.

As for the use case for the Pi Zero and recording, this is just a pseudo flash drive, so using a Pi Zero or a flash drive does not change how the car will act and store videos. There is no reason to use a Pi 4 for that purpose, that is like a sledgehammer for a finishing nail, only creating more problems than it solves. Stick with a Pi Zero if you are going to pursue the RPI as a flash drive emulator.

 

[sam2020]

A Pi Zero might work okay being powered via the passenger side USB 2.0 (5V 500mA 2.5W max) but the Pi 4 will need more power than that, so either you power that via the driver's side USB-C connector, or some other means. Are you using the built in wireless charger? If not, then unplug that from USB-C side and use that to power and provide data. I do not use the wireless charger and I have plugged in a USB-C hub instead to provide power and data for sentry mode video storage because the drive I am using needs more power than the USB 2.0 can provide.

As for the use case for the Pi Zero and recording, this is just a pseudo flash drive, so using a Pi Zero or a flash drive does not change how the car will act and store videos. There is no reason to use a Pi 4 for that purpose, that is like a sledgehammer for a finishing nail, only creating more problems than it solves. Stick with a Pi Zero if you are going to pursue the RPI as a flash drive emulator.

Thanks for detailed explanation.

 

[gunthermic]

That is a good solution

 

[sam2020]

I created an image, installed successfully and device rebooted but i noticed when i connect o the USB driver and power on it continuously flashes but i can Wifi into the device or ssh into the device from home wifi just fine.

I also verified the logs and it shows successful installation and rebooted ok. Any idea why its flashing continuously (green) 2 times or so every second.

 

[helvio]

I created an image, installed successfully and device rebooted but i noticed when i connect o the USB driver and power on it continuously flashes but i can Wifi into the device or ssh into the device from home wifi just fine.

I also verified the logs and it shows successful installation and rebooted ok. Any idea why its flashing continuously (green) 2 times or so every second.

I wish I had a direct answer to your question, but I think it's best that you see the instructions here, they also have a table with the LED status indicator states. Only you know the whole story so it's hard to make a guess, but mine would be that you need to give it some time. It takes like 10-15m to fully configure the drive.
marcone/teslausb

Another tip, make sure you have a power+data MicroUSB cable. I've had a few Power only and before I realized, I was already nuts!

 

[sam2020]

I wish I had a direct answer to your question, but I think it's best that you see the instructions here, they also have a table with the LED status indicator states. Only you know the whole story so it's hard to make a guess, but mine would be that you need to give it some time. It takes like 10-15m to fully configure the drive.
marcone/teslausb

Another tip, make sure you have a power+data MicroUSB cable. I've had a few Power only and before I realized, I was already nuts!

Here is my configuration if it helps (16G drive)

export ARCHIVE_SYSTEM=cifs
export ARCHIVE_SERVER=192.168.0.6
export SHARE_NAME=teslafiles
export SHARE_USER=sampletsla
export SHARE_PASSWORD='linuxsmbsharepassword'
export CAM_SIZE=80%
export MUSIC_SIZE=20%
export musicsharename=teslafiles/music
export SSID='home-Link'
export WIFIPASS='password'
export HEADLESS_SETUP=true
export SAMBA_ENABLED=true
export SAMBA_GUEST=true
export AP_SSID='teslawifi'
export AP_PASS='evpassword'
export AP_IP='192.168.66.1'
export TIME_ZONE="auto"

 

[helvio]

Here is my configuration if it helps (16G drive)

export ARCHIVE_SYSTEM=cifs
export ARCHIVE_SERVER=192.168.0.6
export SHARE_NAME=teslafiles
export SHARE_USER=sampletsla
export SHARE_PASSWORD='linuxsmbsharepassword'
export CAM_SIZE=80%
export MUSIC_SIZE=20%
export musicsharename=teslafiles/music
export SSID='home-Link'
export WIFIPASS='password'
export HEADLESS_SETUP=true
export SAMBA_ENABLED=true
export SAMBA_GUEST=true
export AP_SSID='teslawifi'
export AP_PASS='evpassword'
export AP_IP='192.168.66.1'
export TIME_ZONE="auto"

Unfortunately I don't think we can do much with that. Try posting the log file instead, it should be here:
/boot/teslausb-headless-setup.log