Solar wifi security camera
- Thread starter RedBeard
- Start date
namesgolden
Solar Enthusiast
How's your current wireless network?
How's the land? Do you have LoS from your outdoor AP's to the area you want cams?
I would suggest camera clusters, wired PoE cams with a wireless backhaul. Mikrotik makes good AP's, dahua makes good cams, and there are many small PoE switches with 48v DC input.
a total ubiquiti system (cams, AP's and switches) would be more "unifi-ed"
How's the land? Do you have LoS from your outdoor AP's to the area you want cams?
I would suggest camera clusters, wired PoE cams with a wireless backhaul. Mikrotik makes good AP's, dahua makes good cams, and there are many small PoE switches with 48v DC input.
a total ubiquiti system (cams, AP's and switches) would be more "unifi-ed"
TheDroidsYouAreLookingFor
New Member
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- Dec 30, 2019
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I actually do this for a living. LTS or Hikvision would be your best bet for cheapest option. For line of sight i would recommend ubiquiti 5ghz bridges (Customer end points work great and cheap). If you are outside the city limits 2.4ghz might get yoy a little more bang for your buck depending on trees ect. Heavy trees, bushes, non line of sight the 900mhz line is your best bet.
In wireless the lower the frequency the farther it will reach but with reduced capacity. Higher frequency will give you more data rates but also in some cases rain or fog can cause outages (20-40 ghz networks)
If you dont actually need to monitor the camera but just want it recording and to have the ability to check up if something happens. Bosch's starlight line of cameras can literally see color in the dark. No ir blaster no bs just awesome performance. It also has the ability to record directly to onboard micro sd card. It also has built in zones so you can ignore the tree moving and possibly the road so you only record when something matters. It will also auto overwrite in case it fills up.
Not sure what else you are wondering about but im sure you have an idea on pwering this. Cameras are around 3-15 watts 3 being analog dc cameras and 15 being with infared blasters included.
Also remember that while Pan tilt zoom cameras are "neat" you can usually put in 4 cameras thay will cover everything it could zoom into at once for the same price.
Also ethernet has a 300 ft limit or so but analog cameras can do much much more.
In wireless the lower the frequency the farther it will reach but with reduced capacity. Higher frequency will give you more data rates but also in some cases rain or fog can cause outages (20-40 ghz networks)
If you dont actually need to monitor the camera but just want it recording and to have the ability to check up if something happens. Bosch's starlight line of cameras can literally see color in the dark. No ir blaster no bs just awesome performance. It also has the ability to record directly to onboard micro sd card. It also has built in zones so you can ignore the tree moving and possibly the road so you only record when something matters. It will also auto overwrite in case it fills up.
Not sure what else you are wondering about but im sure you have an idea on pwering this. Cameras are around 3-15 watts 3 being analog dc cameras and 15 being with infared blasters included.
Also remember that while Pan tilt zoom cameras are "neat" you can usually put in 4 cameras thay will cover everything it could zoom into at once for the same price.
Also ethernet has a 300 ft limit or so but analog cameras can do much much more.
RedBeard
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- Jan 1, 2020
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I'm currently working on upgrading my network. Going to upgrade to a nighthawk mofi4500 sim router with external antenna. Land has some trees and I'm looking at 500' range. Thank you for your input.
namesgolden
Solar Enthusiast
For a perm install skip the nighthawk and get a lb1120 (better yet a lb1121 because it has Poe)
If you get the 1121 (or a 1120 and Poe to 12vdc adapter) you could possibly install it in a weatherproof enclosure outside, possibly needing some cooling mods. They have external antenna jacks.
I have the $35/mo att iPad plan. Works great.
You're gonna have to buy a few outdoor rated wAP's. Tplink and mikrotik make good cheap gear, tplink is more novice friendly.
Consider carefully using the mobile network to transmit video data. For example a very low resolution 640x480 video compressed to the max would still require around 1Mbs to stream, if this were streaming 24/7 that'd be 10.8GB per day (1Mbs / 8 = 0.125MBs x 60 x 60 x 24 hours = 10.8GB/d). You would need an unlimited data plan to make this viable. I really do believe you'd be better off with a local network.
A good solution would be a directional wireless back-bone (properly setup these have working distances in miles) with a wireless mesh-network covering your land.
You'll likely need commercial grade RF kit (e.g. ingress protection) but your cameras could be DIY kits based on, for example, a Raspberry Pi. A Pi would set you back maybe $30, with kit, housing etc maybe $100. Tons of these projects on t'interweb and very low power e.g. 2-3W.
dre
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- Sep 20, 2019
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as @namesgolden mentioned earlier take a look at Ubiquiti, for what you are planning, they are a one stop shop. AP's, Long range Wireless bridges, POE IP Cameras, even intergrated MPPT Solar Charge Controllers with switches. Only thing you'll need to buy outside of them is solar panels and batteries.
Johnmahon
What's Your State of Charge?
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- Nov 2, 2019
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@RedBeard - I have been using Reolink Argus Eco with the solar panel accessory and I love it - not that expensive either. You just need to be in WiFi range. They also have a solar powered cellular option as well. Visit: https://reolink.com/product/reolink-go/
squirrell.
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- Jan 1, 2020
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We have installed a CCTV security camera in our house (living room and bedrooms). Not very sure the range, I will confirm it later.
I have had this one working about 100 ft from the house without problem so far this winter:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07W3SVQ6N/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The free app lets me look at it on my phone from anywhere at anytime and includes a batter SOC which has been around 100% despite multiple cloudy days. No problems with the WiFi hookup so far either.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07W3SVQ6N/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The free app lets me look at it on my phone from anywhere at anytime and includes a batter SOC which has been around 100% despite multiple cloudy days. No problems with the WiFi hookup so far either.
One option is the "ABC Security System," which offers advanced surveillance features for large areas like your 6-acre property. Another popular choice is "XYZ Monitoring Solutions," known for its robust perimeter monitoring capabilities. Also, consider consulting with professionals in hospital security. They deal with extensive property monitoring and could provide valuable insights.
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