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Welcome to the bcmeter.org Wiki
The bcMeter wiki is the technical documentation hub for the bcMeter platform — an open-source optical absorption photometer for measuring Black Carbon (BC) aerosols in real-time.
Whether you are setting up a new device, configuring measurements, or building your own unit, this wiki covers everything you need.
Getting Started
- Introduction — What is bcMeter, how it works, hardware variants
- Setup — Hardware requirements, first boot, WiFi configuration
- Interface — Web dashboard overview, status indicators, chart controls
Using bcMeter
- Configuration — All settings: network, measurement, device, email
- Maintenance — Filter changes, calibration, data management
- Troubleshooting — Common issues and solutions
- Best practices — Environment, sampling, signal quality
Technical Reference
- Developer mode — Hidden developer settings, hardware tuning
- API reference — REST API endpoints for automation and integration
- CSV data format — Column definitions and data structure
- Serial commands — USB debug interface (ESP32)
Building a bcMeter (V1 Legacy)
The following pages document the Raspberry Pi-based bcMeter V1. The current platform uses ESP32.
- Working principle — Optical measurement principle
- Bill of material — Component list and costs (V1)
- Device assembly — Hardware build instructions (V1)
Software
The bcMeter platform consists of two codebases:
- bcmeter-esp32 — Production firmware (ESP32-S3). Closed source, CC BY-NC 4.0.
- bcmeter-dev — Open-source reference implementation (Python/FastAPI). Functionally equivalent, runs on Raspberry Pi or any Linux system.
Both share the same web interface and REST API.
Contact
- Technical inquiries & devices: Jonas Dahl — jd@bcmeter.org
- Black carbon science & air quality: Axel Friedrich — af@bcmeter.org
- Project website: bcmeter.org