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MntGoat
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# Posted: 4 May 2019 10:32pm
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I have an off grid cabin that I've invested a lot of money into. I am at the point where I worry about security when I am not there.
I'd like to have three cameras monitoring the property that I can access through the internet. I have a 4g wireless hotspot with 50 gigs a month of data. I have two deep cycle batteries and plan to add a solar panel to charge them.
Thinking arlo cameras, they are all 12 volts, if you cut the plug transformer off.
Anyone running a similar off grid camera system?
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MntGoat
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# Posted: 5 May 2019 12:16am
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If anyone wants to recommend a site that discusses more than a 200 square ft shack please let me know
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darz5150
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# Posted: 5 May 2019 01:24am - Edited by: darz5150
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Quoting: MntGoat If anyone wants to recommend a site that discusses more than a 200 square ft shack please let me know
No recommendations there. I like this site. Lots of people here have some nice "Shacks" bigger than 200 sq ft.
There are tons of security systems that will keep you informed if you are worried. However if your "shack" is that remote. There is no camera in the world that has ever stopped a crime.
Take a minute and google internet linked security systems, and then buy a good insurance policy. I would also keep a ,copy of the insurance policy away from your shack. In case they burn it down after seeing so many cameras.
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Brettny
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# Posted: 5 May 2019 08:29am
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I just put in an IP based 4k lorex system. Very clear and can pull vehicle license plates from the video of a well placed camera. It is wired via ethernet cable but if you have trees you can use this to your advantage. Wires can be burried and ran ip the back of trees.
They also can be set to motion detection and have no monthly fee. I use these at my home with normal power. Off grid i would consider trail cameras.
The police cant do alot with a persons description. A vehicle license plate how ever could leed them right to the location/person.
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justinbowser
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# Posted: 5 May 2019 03:14pm
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I have 5 cameras at our house and use Blue Iris software. I think it can be configured for remote access.
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justins7
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# Posted: 8 May 2019 10:09am
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We've recently had a long (and ongoing) discussion about cameras on this forum. (I use two Spypoint Link EVO's and a Reolink Go). I suggest searching for and reading this thread.
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justins7
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# Posted: 8 May 2019 10:10am
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http://www.small-cabin.com/forum/1_8145_0.html
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hueyjazz
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# Posted: 8 May 2019 11:57am
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I agree if cabin is remote you can't stop a crime. Capturing images of offenders pretty much requires you record images. You eat up a ton of bandwidth if your cameras are always transmitting. You'll want to record on motion. If you have camera outdoors motion can be tree branches blowing and moving.
Very important is camera placement. You want to position cameras so that can capture license plates and people entering structure.
The sight of security cameras is a bit of a deterrent by itself but if you see where a camera is, you can also stay out of field of view or at least make yourself unrecognizable to it.. I would hide some cameras that aren't visible. There's lots of decent cameras out there now. Some have their own solar panels incorporated into them.
Trail cams might be a cheaper and easier solution.
I have a great solution at my camp. The person that lives by the right of way into the woods has five huge Belgian shepherds that are always out. Nobody gets by them without their acknowledgement. And you think twice about entering lane.
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paulz
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# Posted: 22 Mar 2022 05:01pm
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I was given a cheap Chinese back up camera (CCBUC) that was replaced with a better one. Didn't need it on any vehicles, my neck still works. Soo, I just hung the display in the cabin, ran 250' of coax cable I had laying around down the hill to the camera in the yard, which is blocked from direct view by trees. I still have to play with adjustments but it gives a view all the way to the gate. It's mainly so my wife can keep an eye on me and quit texting me every half hour, but this morning I saw a bunch of turkeys passing through. It has wireless transmitters that were on the vehicle but the range was only about 30'.
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MJH
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# Posted: 22 Mar 2022 05:18pm
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Quoting: MntGoat Thinking arlo cameras, they are all 12 volts, if you cut the plug transformer off.
I've got Arlo cameras at home. They're ok, but they're limited... there's a decent lag from motion detection to recording, and if you're trying to save battery the recording time is limited. So, I get a lot of 10 second clips that start as the Amazon guy or gal has already left a package at my step, as turned around, and is almost out of camera view.
You can get around this by getting extra cameras or (their security lights) set up in more strategic locations so sense motion and trigger the cameas to start recoriding earlier... but that can get spendy if you're trying to do things on a budget.
If you can't run a more continuous camera, I'd probably try something like the Arlos but also have some trail cameras set up. The arlos can alert you if something worrisome is going on and perhaps the trail cams can get decent shots of what they might miss.
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jhp
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# Posted: 23 Mar 2022 09:16am - Edited by: jhp
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I personally run a mix of trail cameras (some cellular, some not) and cheap WIFI cams.
With the cams I have if you have Internet access they will record and upload clips/alerts to the cloud and ping your phone for you. They all have basic features like record on motion/sound, send alerting, detection zones, etc. You can even review footage remotely and make configuration changes. If you don't, after initial set up they will just record locally to a SD card. You can set them to record continuously to the card as well.
They're cheap enough that you can get a bunch and hide some / leave some in in plain sight. Remote cabins you definitely have to approach the problem in that you'll probably never stop a crime from happening, best case is that you have the whole thing documented in HD from multiple angles.
Anyway, check out the other threads linked and Wyze cams:
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neckless
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# Posted: 27 Mar 2022 11:59pm
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look in to blink will solve all u problems
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NorthwoodsGuy
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# Posted: 4 Apr 2022 04:36pm
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Make sure you checkout both Ring and Nest cams. We've got the Nest (google) cam on our cabin and it is pretty slick. The battery lasts months, and it can detect human and animal movement. They can give you nice peace of mind when you are away and faster response time should anything unfortunate happen.
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paulz
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# Posted: 4 Apr 2022 06:05pm
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Ring, Next, Blink, all require wifi right?
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jsahara24
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# Posted: 5 Apr 2022 09:17am
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Quoting: paulz Ring, Next, Blink, all require wifi right?
I believe so, I have Blink and it definitely does. I am happy with them.
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paulz
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# Posted: 5 Apr 2022 09:49am - Edited by: paulz
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Thanks. Being off grid (solar) power only, when I'm not here (when the cameras are useful) I turn all power off. Gives some peace of mind, one, knowing there is no load on the batteries and also no chance of an appliance malfunction. I do leave the wifi on at my grid house in the city, and should probably get one of those cameras, particularly since most of my expensive crap is still there and I'm usually not. There I have retired next door neighbors who are always around.
Another issue at the cabin is one of my cellular cams protects my shop, which is out of the cabin's wifi range, at about 300ft. away.
I actually have the three cell cams (they have their own batteries) pretty well dialed in, finally. They do get slow on the photo reporting on bad reception days, and also have no live video feed capability, which I gather the wifi cams do. That would be nice to have.
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jsahara24
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# Posted: 5 Apr 2022 10:25am
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Understood....I have a mesh network (orbi) setup that jumps the WIFI around my property nicely, I have a projector setup that runs a firestick up in my barn party room.....but that's another draw on the battery system that I don't need to worry about being on grid....
I got an email from spypoint, they are coming out with a video game camera....I have a few of the regular cell photo ones out in the woods and on my field driveway to keep an eye on things....would be nice to get videos of movement or just be able to turn them on at will like the blink cameras....
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NorthwoodsGuy
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# Posted: 6 Apr 2022 03:17pm
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Quoting: paulz Ring, Next, Blink, all require wifi right?
Yes. We have a decent sized PV array, so I don't mind leaving the WiFi on. The camera has a battery that lasts 5+ months, so the only draw on the battery is the WiFi. We are using T-Mobile's 5G ISP device.
The cellular connected trail cams and their connection fees are getting cheaper and cheaper. Some have like $5/month fees.
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paulz
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# Posted: 7 Apr 2022 10:22am
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Yes I pay $5 a month I think for the cell cams, it's on autopay.
I'm going to get a wifi camera for the house, at least for starters. I guess of the three brands mentioned the price, quality and features are all about the same? And no monthly fee (beyond the cost of internet service).
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jsahara24
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# Posted: 7 Apr 2022 01:10pm
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Quoting: paulz And no monthly fee
Id double check that, unless you get the ones that are hardwired to a computer/DVR I think they are now charging a fee.
When I got my blink wireless cameras, there was no fee. Now I believe they have instituted a monthly fee, thankfully I am grandfathered in (for now).....
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paulz
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# Posted: 4 Nov 2022 09:04am
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Quoting: paulz I'm going to get a wifi camera for the house,
Well, that was last April and I still haven't gotten one. And learned almost nothing about them. My neighbor has Blinks and loves them, says the service is still free for some amount of storage.
Another local guy has NIB Kamtrons for sale, look like the same thing. These are both battery powered right, so you have to take down and recharge?
I've recently seen ads for cameras that screw into AC light sockets, I guess that's what powers them.
Anyway for starters, I can get something for around $30?
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travellerw
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# Posted: 4 Nov 2022 10:24am - Edited by: travellerw
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Now that I finally have a solar setup, I have installed cameras. Its all somewhat temporary as I didn't finish the setup before the snow arrived. Sigh, more jobs in the spring.
For this winter, I ended up going with Eufy PTZ indoor cameras. I pointed them out the windows of the cabin for a pretty darn good view. They are pointed in multiple directions with at least one able to pickup a license plate. I have tested the draw and they are each using 0.3A@5V (about 1.5W). The 5G router draws about 0.7A@5V (3.5W). So minimal draw on the batteries overnight and easily covered by the one 320W panel I have up. I just leave the cabin powered up on the inverter (its been 3 weeks and no issues). The cameras record "events" on an internal SD card, but can be configured to send them to the cloud (for a fee).
Its really nice to have some eyes on the cabin anytime I want. Sometimes I just login and stare at the image like I'm looking out the window. Its a nice break from work.
Oh ya.. I paid about $40 each. More than the cheapy Chinese cameras, but these are 2K with the ability to pan/tilt. Plus Eufy is sort of an established brand these days (we have one of their vacuums).
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paulz
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# Posted: 4 Nov 2022 02:30pm
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Quoting: travellerw I have tested the draw and they are each using 0.3A@5V
So they are wired to wall chargers?
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travellerw
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# Posted: 4 Nov 2022 04:21pm
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Quoting: paulz So they are wired to wall chargers?
Yup, just the standard wall bricks that came with them. I measured on the 5V side so there is probably some losses unaccounted for, but it would be pretty negligible. There is also some loss for the inverter.
I'm so happy I went straight 120V in the cabin. It just makes stuff so easy.
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paulz
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# Posted: 4 Nov 2022 04:40pm
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Yeah you did the right thing. When I got my cabin standing I had no idea about power. Grid power too far away, solar blocked by endless trees. I just started dragging car batteries in for lights and things, then tried small solar kits and that grew and grew, but much of the 12vdc stuff still exists.
Anyway these cameras would be for my house on the grid, as I leave the wifi on. I still turn all the cabin power off when not there, including the wifi. My wifi is also 12vdc (supposed to be wall bricked) provided by the fiber company. There is a power box and a router, about 25W I believe.
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paulz
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# Posted: 29 Aug 2024 10:29pm
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BUMP. A woman was telling me yesterday about her Ring camera at her house. I have noticed them before, just the Ring doorbell. Sends an image of the guy to your phone, records the conversation or movements? Anyone have one? What’s all involved? Battery or AC?
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ICC
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# Posted: 30 Aug 2024 01:20am - Edited by: ICC
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I think Ring requires an internet connection and paid cloud storage to get best use of it. No local file storage IIRC. Not sure on the details since I first looked at Ring. There are a few models. I yhink all have a battery but some can be hard wired.
I have used Soliom+ cameras with on board memory cards in the past and liked them. Small solar panel charging of onboard battery. They also require internet for notifications; cloud storage optional though.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have used Synology NAS for a long time. (Network Attached Storage). https://www.synology.com/en-global/dsm/solution/what-is-nas/for-home
As well as being a superb storage and backup system the Synology NAS also support a variety of surveillance cameras. Last year they added their own branded cameras.
More money than a Ring, but it is also a NAS and you own it lock, stock and barrel, and no monthly subscriptions. With an internet connection it is accessible from anywhere just like a Ring and others. Real time 2 way audio as well as realtime video. I use that at home with an array of cameras around the place. Wired and wi-fi cameras. At the cabin I use the Soliom I had at home before, but without internet it is just going to show what has happened in the past.
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Nobadays
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# Posted: 30 Aug 2024 12:47pm
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Quoting: ICC I have used Soliom+ cameras with on board memory cards in the past and liked them.
This is what I use at the cabin. My only complaint is they notify me when shadows move, it's a windy day or big moths fly by them.
Have you found a way to make them less sensitive? I have mine on the lowest sensitivity setting already.
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ICC
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# Posted: 30 Aug 2024 01:51pm
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Yes, I have had a Solim triggered by a large bug crawling across a wall into the camera range. And birds triggering as they investigate making a nest on top of the camera head. Windy days are a nuisance and well documented with video clips. Howerver, that is better than some of the other cameras I have tried. Some don't trigger and start to record fast enough. Boxes magically appear on the porch. No delivery person ever seen.
I have repositioned some to a higher position and positioned looking at more of a downward angle. That has cut out much of the wind blown tree activations. That does restrict what a camera sees, though and may result in a person wanting more cameras.
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Tim_Ohio
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# Posted: 30 Aug 2024 02:02pm
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I've got a friend whose cameras, solar and all other accessories were the target of the robbery. They didn't want anything else...imagine that, chuckling.
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