[TowerTalk] Tower Cam 2.4Gig and noise (was Tower Cam)

Roger K8RI on Tower k8ri-tower at charter.net
Sat Apr 9 16:09:34 EDT 2005


I've thought of putting up a tower cam, but modifying a cam corder.  I 
managed to pick up a digital one on close out.  20:1 mechanical zoom.  I 
hope to use pan, tilt, and zoom controls, but it's going to take a cable.

2.4 Gig video won't work here. Too many 2.4 Gig devices trash the image and 
the signal from the camera interferes with phones and networks contrary to 
what they claim.


> Sure,  http://www.hatzakis.net/webcam/webcam.html
>
> I thought I sent this yesterday... sorry to tie up list traffic...
>
> The setup is an X10 wireless camera with a pan/tilt base.  The 2.4g video

The X10 company put so many pop-ups on my computer I swore I'd never 
purchase any thing they ever made. <:-))  Of course pop-ups don't show on my 
browser any more and I use text only mail.

But, a good tower cam can not only show other people interesting scenery, 
but can provide good security as well.  Of course if you have close 
neighbors with a bit of paranoia it can lead to problems.

2.4Gig is a problem around here even for using phones.
The old cordless phones and baby monitors were as well, until I demonstrated 
to one neighbor their phone conversations were coming in on my radio. 
(6-meters).  True it was a bit outside the band, but I knew I was trashing 
the phones and took the easy way out.  The did make mention of hearing a lot 
of noise on the phones at times, but couldn't understand it and wondered if 
the interferrence was working both ways.  I just replied, "well... it is 
possible", however with the thought of me being able to hear them they were 
getting new phones. <:-))

When I first fired up the 756 Pro on 6-meters I saw a whole bunch of signals 
just below the bottom edge of the band and figured that was what they 
probably were.  One check confirmed it.  I really had no interest in 
listening to the neighbors phones or baby monitors, but just letting them 
know I could hear them coming in on my radio was enough to get them changed.

Although those old cordless phones were pretty limited in range a 7-L yagi 
at 115 feet could hear them from quite a distance.

I still have one interferrence issue that comes and goes.  It goes from 
barely readable to nearly S-9 between 060 and 180. It's a broad peak with 
rapid drop offs at either end.  On the spectrum scope it shows as a series 
of grouped spikes the appearance and spacing doesn't seem to change 
reguardless of the scope resolution be it  +/- 12.5 KHz, or 100KHz

Roger Halstead (K8RI and ARRL 40 year Life Member)
N833R - World's oldest Debonair CD-2
www.rogerhalstead.com


> receiver hooks into a 'Video to USB' converter (came with camera).  Once 
> the
> driver is installed, it becomes a Windows Imaging device and used an
> off-the-shelf web cam software to upload it every 1/2 minute.  The quality
> isn't great, but it's not bad... !!   And water proof (once I put a 
> plastic
> bad around it with a little cutout for the lens...  If you're interested,
> I'll try to post the set-up on my web site over the weekend.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: S. Markowski Jr. [mailto:km9m-zig at comcast.net]
> Sent: Saturday, April 09, 2005 7:21 AM
> To: Michael
> Subject: Tower Cam
>
> Hi Mike, If you wouldnt mind sending some further info regarding the
> wireless wx/cam on-line, it would be appreciated... sounds/looks
> interesting.
> 73,
> Zig - KM9M
>
>
>>That was real bright of me.  I send all the info except the URL.  Here it
>>is.  The DAVIS wx data is now on-line...!   Only problem is it is kinda
>>dark.  Sign on tomorrow..!
>>
>>
>>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> See: http://www.mscomputer.com  for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless 
> Weather Stations", and lot's more.  Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with 
> any questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
>
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