Installing OS onto a Raspberry Pi

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Ahoj! In this section, you will flash (or install if you wish) an OS Linux onto your SD card or USB flash key and boot your Raspberry Pi for the first time.

Install the OS by flashing the image

Flash the image onto a microSD card or a USB flash drive

NOTE: The process is the same for types of storage; only the target differs.

1. Download the Trixie image for Raspberry Pi 4 or Pi5, and save it on your PC in any directory. The Trixie RMS image is here. 

 RMS_RPi5_RPi4_Trixie_20260116.img.xz is 2.5 GiB (2,735,084,084 bytes)
 Checksum: 235281AB4E8E9449BAC2D2AD107B605D

A second image option (only for Pi4) is Bullseye RMS, but this Operating System (OS) version has been placed on retired status by the Raspberry Pi organization. As a result, there may not be new OS patches or updates. The only reason to choose Bullseye for Pi4 would be that you require remote access using AnyDesk, RealVNC Server, NoMachine, or TeamViewer. The Bullseye RMS image is here. 

 RMS_RPi4Bullseye_10260116.img.xz is 3.0 GiB (3,223,859,108 bytes)
 Checksum: BD56C691A2E8EA0081CAD5218BD57D22

Both Trixie and Bullseye support RustDesk remote access with file transfer. Trixie includes Raspberry Pi Connect for remote access and file transfer but Bullseye is not able to run this software from the Raspberry Pi organization. Both images support VNC connections, providing PC and Pi are on the same local network (LAN). Only Bullseye supports file transfer using VNC.

Trixie and Bullseye RMS images offer Samba share directories ~/RMS_data and ~/shared. You can map these shares so they appear as local drives on your PC, and use these drive mappings to transfer files.


If you encounter problems with any of the images, contact the Technical Support group at https://globalmeteornetwork.groups.io/g/techsupport.


2. Download Raspberry Pi Imager v2.0 (or newer) here.

3. Start Raspberry Pi Imager and flash the RMS image 

 - Select your Raspberry Pi device
 - Under Choose operating System, Scroll down to Custom Image, and locate the RMS image you downloaded.
 - Select your storage device (the storage media you plan to use on the Pi)

IMPORTANT: Depending on the image you are flashing, you may be asked if you want to change a few things before continuing. DO NOT change the username and password. These are embedded in the image. You can change wifi options, or change them later after you have booted the Pi. 

 - Choose Write image, then Expect to see this warning: "You are about to ERASE all data on: xxxxxxxxx Storage Device USB Device"
 - Click on the button "I UNDERSTAND, ERASE AND WRITE"
 - The write pass will be followed by a verify pass
 - Finally you should see Write complete!

4. Eject the USB flash drive, then remove microSD card/USB flash drive.

If you encounter errors during flashing, you can verify the checksum (CRC) of your download to make sure it was downloaded correctly. If the checksum of the image is good and errors persist when flashing, your target storage media may be bad.

Balena Etcher and Rufus are other flashing software options for RMS images. If you have issues flashing an image and have confirmed a good checksum for your download, try using different flashing software. Balena Etcher can sometimes generate false error messages at the end of the flash operation. Raspberry Pi Imager works fine when flashing the same downloaded image.

5. Insert the microSD card/USB flash drive into your Raspberry Pi. Raspberry Pi should already be connected to a TV or monitor, a keyboard, and mouse connected.

If a TV or monitor is not connected, refer to these instructions.

6. Wait for the boot. If the boot takes too long to begin, refer to the next section. If the Pi booted successfully, follow the on-screen instructions.

Pre-2021 Raspberry Pi 4 bootloader update - USB flash drive ONLY

If you encountered a problem booting Raspberry Pi 4 from a USB device (common for all USB devices, not only flash disks), the most probable reason is that your Raspberry Pi 4 is from an older batch and you must update its bootloader.

The procedure is simple, and you need a small capacity, blank microSD card to store about 1MB of data. The process is nicely described in the raspberry pi official documentation.

NOTE: If you are looking for an extensive USB booting guide, click here.

The preinstalled RMS software images incorporate an auto-update feature, which updates the RMS software to the current release whenever you boot Raspberry Pi RMS. Your station always runs the most recent set of updates!

The first boot

This is how the first boot of the Trixie RMS image should look:

First boot Trixie.png

Now is a good time to send an email to denis.vida@gmail.com. Include a short introduction that includes your country, then tell him you are building a camera and you need a camera/station code. You use a camera/station code when you set up the RMS software, after your camera is fully installed and positioned.

After you have received your Camera/Station ID from GMN, you will need to establish a network connection on your Pi.

For typical single camera installs, the camera is connected to the Ethernet port of the Pi, and a wifi connection is used to connect the Pi to your Local Area Network (LAN). To establish a wifi connection: 

- left-click on the network icon located between the Bluetooth icon and speaker icon in the upper righthand part of the task bar.
- find the wifi network you want to use and then provide the wifi network passphrase to validate your wifi connection.

If successful, the Network icon should change to an active wifi icon.


Once you have a Camera/Station ID from GMN, and know the Latitude, Longitude, and Elevation of your camera to within about a meter, you are ready to go through the setup steps in the RMS_FirstRun window on your screen. These steps include:

1. Expanding the file system (if you flashed this SD card yourself).

2. confirming your Pi is connected to the Internet.

3. Changing the default password for security reasons.

4. Generating a new SSH key.

5. Editing the RMS config file to supply your Camera/Station ID, Latitude, Longitude, and Elevation.

Once you have successfully completed the steps in RMS_FirstRun, the Terminal window will display information telling you that the system is waiting to begin capturing data for the coming night.

Remember to send the public SSH key to GMN, as outlined in the RMS_FirstRun instructions you saw earlier.

Welcome to GMN, you are all set to begin collecting meteor data!


(Optional) Install the software from scratch

This installation is only for knowledgeable users who want to complete more advanced tasks. If you the procedure in the previous section, do not continue with the sections that follow.

NOTE: When you set up a Raspberry Pi, you should use the prebuilt image, which includes all necessary software installed and ready to use. If you decide to install the software on the RPi from scratch, follow the instructions on this page.

Next, you will focus your camera and assemble the bits and pieces for the first test.

Back to the signpost page.

Boot without a TV or monitor

If you do not have a TV or monitor connected to the Pi when you set it up, you must use VNC, a remote-access tool.

1. After you burn the microSD card, insert it into the Pi and switch on the power.

You should see the lights on the Pi flicker for a minute or two. If the lights do not flicker, it is possible the microSD card image did not properly burn.

2. If the lights flicker as ecpected, wait at least three minutes after the lights stop flickering before you proceed.

NOTE: There are several stages to the initial boot, so it will take a while.

3. While you wait, download VNC Viewer.

You do not need to create an account or subscribe, so ignore the buttons and links. After a few seconds, the download will start.

4. To connect to the Pi using VNC, you must know either its name or its IP address.

NOTE: If you did not set the hostname when you burned the microSD card, (this is an option that may available in Raspberry Pi Imager), its name is probably raspberrypi.
To find its IP address using the manufacturer name, run Advanced IP Scanner. This tool starts with Raspberry Pifind.

5. Open VNC Viewer and enter the name or IP address into the box at the top.

After a few seconds, you see a login dialog box.

6. The default username is rms and the initial password is rmsraspberry. Change these credentials as soon as you log in.

Now, you should now see the Pi desktop and the RMS_FirstBoot window.
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