Wireless webcam and Pi

I'm looking at installing a wireless webcam (with IR for night vision) on the outside of the house, and using motion sensing software on my Pi to capture any excitement that happens.

Any recommendations for a camera that is "Pi Friendly" ?

TIA

Adrian

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Adrian
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The camera module? Around £20-25 if you can find one...

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Cheers 
Dave.
Reply to
Dave Liquorice

£40 plus on eBay - that's supply and demand for you. The next batch is due in around 3 months.
Reply to
Rob Morley

One site had "expected Jul 2013" ... keep an eye on CPC/Farnell/RS I guess. Doesn't seem a bad module HD at 30 fps, 5 M pixel, removeable IR filter, the "optics" will be the big weak point.

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Cheers 
Dave.
Reply to
Dave Liquorice

Farnell do seem to be 'on the ball' far more than other suppliers WRT all things Pi.

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W J G
Reply to
Folderol

The video I've seen has been quite impressive - 60fps at 720p should be quite good for action. As for removable IR filter - yes, with a scalpel and some luck. :-)

Reply to
Rob Morley

In message , Adrian writes

Thanks for the suggestion of the Pi Cam, but it isn't wireless. What I'm looking for is a suitable camera that can connect to my Pi wirelessly (camera on the outside of the house, Pi on the inside, safe and snug).

Adrian

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Adrian

Don't go for a cheap unbranded one from China on ebay, they are crap. Sensors not even VGA resolution, never mind 720P, IR not working, crashes every 30 seconds. Luckily I got a full refund including return postage. Go for a branded model and expect to pay a minimum of £60.

---druck

Reply to
druck

True enough but I'm not quite sure where the Pi will fit into the system with a wireless cam. Don't they come with their own web server/FTP/email alerts etc...

So you also want a weather proof housing and how are you going to power the camera?

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Cheers 
Dave.
Reply to
Dave Liquorice

I have used one from D-Link, DCS-930L. No IR but it has a big brother which does infrared too. The camera is actually a Linux device and it does motion detection by itself and can send stills over when it does. I had it send to RPi over FTP.

As I recall, it wasn't big on actually sending live video in a documented form to anything, just a web browser equipped with their closed Java applet and D-Link's cloud thingy. Too bad really, it's a decent device otherwise.

Reply to
Anssi Saari

My understanding is that they tend to run a continuous feed. What I want the Pi for is to "read" that feed and only save it to disc (I've got a 2TB disc attached to the Pi) when something happens, hence running the motion sensing software.

Battery powered external cameras are available, what I'm hoping to do is to avoid getting one that doesn't work very well (thanks for the warnings elsewhere in the thread), and does work well with a Pi. The

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page doesn't cover that sort of camera.

Adrian

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Adrian

I understood your idea to put the Pi and the camera and some power supply to the outside, and send the data from the Pi via WLAN inside the house...

Since I misunderstood you, and you meant it the other way, I feel free to suggest exactly this to you ;-)

Any WLAN adapter connected via USB, any Web-Cam connected via USB, or the already mentioned Pi-Cam should work in this scenario.

Best regards, Kurt.

Reply to
Kurt Stege

How long is the battery life? At a very meager 1 W load a 12 V 7 Ahr SLA battery will be as a flat as a hedgehog on a motorway after just

3 1/2 days (if that).

I'd expect a wireless camera to be rather more than 1 W though, maybe

5 or about 16 hours from that 7 Ahr battery. A 110 AHr leisure battery might manage 10 days at 5 W. But that battery will be roughly 9" square on the end and over a foot long and at least a couple of tens of kilogrammes in weight. You'll need two as well one on charge, one in use...
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Cheers 
Dave.
Reply to
Dave Liquorice

I'd have thought that PoE was the simplest solution for an external IP camera - it's not much trouble to drill a hole through the top of an external wall into the roof space.

Reply to
Rob Morley

Ahr

just

Quite but the OP wants wireless... B-)

Is there a proper (802.3af 802.3at) PoE kit for the Pi?

That depends on your walls. 18" thick random/rumble stone and no facia/soffit is not quite so easy. Very difficult to get to the wall plate from the inside and on the outside it's behind the eaves of the roof and the gutter.

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Cheers 
Dave.
Reply to
Dave Liquorice

The OP wants wireless for the data, the proposed location is at the opposite end of the house to the router (leaving aside running cables through ceilings in a tidy fashion), so wireless is the preferred option. However, it might not be too difficult to run a power source to it. I'm hoping to mount it close to the gable end, and there is a gap between the wall and roof (blocked with gauze to discourage visitors), but running a low voltage cable through ought to be easy, there is power in the loft. I suppose a short ethernet lead to a power socket with a EoP set up might work.

Adrian

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Adrian

That's not a serious problem, just pick a "hidden" corner, perhaps the one behind the door. You don't *need* a drill, a small flat bladed screwdriver twisted round and round will make a hole through plaster board no problem.

If you need to drop a floor, from say loft to ground, the boxed in internal soil stack can make a handy and hidden vertical route.

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Cheers 
Dave.
Reply to
Dave Liquorice

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