[TowerTalk] Cams

[Grant Saviers]

Search for "1080p IP camera" on amazon and ebay.  Pretty good video 
quality. Ethernet wired and 802.11, various focal lengths, w/wo pan tilt 
zoom, night sensitivity, IR leds, etc etc.  Prices and capabilities are 
all over the map.  I chose two different IP67 weatherproof cameras, one 
for top of tower, mounted on a 40m beam boom checking out the view and 
another at the shack looking at the whole tower.  Full 4K video IP 
cameras are also available, $200 and up.  However, that is lots of data 
to handle if full 30fps video.

The problem I found is poor (Chinese, like awful) documentation.  I went 
with POE which is probably a bad choice for a number of reasons - noise, 
cable length, hard to filter.  I couldn't make them work, and a more 
techie (ex uSoft) ham couldn't either.  It took a network guru friend 
the better part of a day to make two different models work.  Both are 
1080p same pixels but one has better video so there are things not in 
the specs.

I recently tried a Blink cloud home monitor system, IP 802.11 cameras.  
Again, hopeless install problems as their software sucks (they don't do 
the security basics correctly and have incomplete 802 specs).   $169 for 
two cameras and access point.  They did call back and support got it 
working.  I don't need to wonder how that business model works: small 
profit minus the cost of 2 hours of engineering support from Boston.  
Good thing the VC's are paying, otherwise they'd be broke.

Grant KZ1W


On 5/28/2017 12:51 PM, Don W7WLL wrote:
> If I may I'd like to take the external ethernet protection question a 
> step farther.
>
> I want to mount a cam outside on the west end of my rooftop. Most 
> camera's that seem to be within a reasonable price range have poor 
> resolution specs or very restricted features. Don't know how police 
> can get much from many of the images that show up on TV which are of 
> such low resolution. The images seem almost useless.
>
> Would be interested in input from any of you who have done a 24/7 
> setup with a reasonably high resolution but moderately priced cam. I'd 
> also like the ability to do timelapse. Wire connection seems best 
> considering all the RF in the vicinity. I want to primarily orient 
> view to the west out over the ocean. Do have to contend with lots of 
> wind, rain and salt air.
>
> Frankly, I know little about this subject, other than what small 
> amount I've read. Experience of others would be a better input means.
>
> Suggestions from any of you on the best place to start or info on some 
> successfully working setups would be appreciated. Since this is quite 
> a bit off from tower stuff, we probably should take this to a direct 
> contact vs cluttering TowerTalk.
>
> Don W7WLL
>
>
>
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