WiFi camera to monitor the dogs and thieves

[mutt]

Has anyone setup a WiFi camera to monitor the rv while away? We have two dogs and have to leave them often. Wifey is worried about electrical failure and no A/C with dogs could be bad. Plus there are thieves.

mutt

[jevanb]

Cameras are 115v if you have a power failure then they go inop also. You might find DC cameras and are you willing to watch the app all day while you are away? Take the dogs with you and I have never met or heard of someone getting broken in to while camping.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[BiigDaddy]

If you have an old smart phone laying around you can use it as a wifi camera. Install an app called "Alfred" on both phones. You can monitor the dogs, talk to the dogs, and as long as you leave the phone in the camper plugged in you will see if it's charging. No charge, no power. It's a great free app and should meet your needs.

[mutt]

Originally Posted by jevanb

Cameras are 115v if you have a power failure then they go inop also. You might find DC cameras and are you willing to watch the app all day while you are away? Take the dogs with you and I have never met or heard of someone getting broken in to while camping.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

Thanks

[mutt]

Originally Posted by BiigDaddy

If you have an old smart phone laying around you can use it as a wifi camera. Install an app called "Alfred" on both phones. You can monitor the dogs, talk to the dogs, and as long as you leave the phone in the camper plugged in you will see if it's charging. No charge, no power. It's a great free app and should meet your needs.

BiigDaddy

Thanks I will check out Alfred. I have a few smartphones laying around. I also have a laptop with good battery in case of ac failure.

[mutt]

Originally Posted by BiigDaddy

If you have an old smart phone laying around you can use it as a wifi camera. Install an app called "Alfred" on both phones. You can monitor the dogs, talk to the dogs, and as long as you leave the phone in the camper plugged in you will see if it's charging. No charge, no power. It's a great free app and should meet your needs.

The Alfred looks very promising. I m charging a spare andriod phone now.

[BiigDaddy]

I think you'll really like it, and the fact you can talk to the dogs through the wifi connection is awesome. Glad you found it helpful.

[Evereddie]

Somewhere in the picture of the video camera or smartphone you setup include a thermometer so you can monitor temps.

The downside of any system including Alfred is that you need a WiFi or data connection. You might have to invest in a Hotspot.

EDIT. Just saw a gizmo that you can buy called Elertus. Sends alarms to your smartphone if temps go high. Once you buy it, no subscription fee. Uses a laptop and wifi. BTW, I wouldn't trust the wifi in any campground since the same power outage that knocks off your AC will knock off the parks wifi. Definitely use your own Hotspot.

[qwkzotc]

Another thought is the VueZone system from NetGear. The base unit plugs into 120V AC using a 5V 1Amp adapter. The cameras all connect to the base station using batteries. Caveat is that the base station hooks to the internet via Ethernet so you also need a plug off of a router or a wifi/Ethernet adapter.
If concerned about the AC power going away then get a 12V to 5V adapter and connect it to your batteries or portable 12 V power such as a JNC-660.
Netgear is phasing in a new video monitoring system called "ARLO". I am not sure of the power requirements for it.
An added benefit is these can have motion detection send an email and/or text to you and even upload a picture or short video. That would be to monitor the doors, not the pups unless you want a ton of pictures of them.
As others have said, getting the wifi is a separate challenge.


A side note is to leave some of these on at home while you are traveling. If I have wifi or email via cellular I know immediately if someone approaches my doors (or power panel) or enters my house.

[mutt]

Originally Posted by qwkzotc

Another thought is the VueZone system from NetGear. The base unit plugs into 120V AC using a 5V 1Amp adapter. The cameras all connect to the base station using batteries. Caveat is that the base station hooks to the internet via Ethernet so you also need a plug off of a router or a wifi/Ethernet adapter.
If concerned about the AC power going away then get a 12V to 5V adapter and connect it to your batteries or portable 12 V power such as a JNC-660.
Netgear is phasing in a new video monitoring system called "ARLO". I am not sure of the power requirements for it.
An added benefit is these can have motion detection send an email and/or text to you and even upload a picture or short video. That would be to monitor the doors, not the pups unless you want a ton of pictures of them.
As others have said, getting the wifi is a separate challenge.


A side note is to leave some of these on at home while you are traveling. If I have wifi or email via cellular I know immediately if someone approaches my doors (or power panel) or enters my house.

qwkzotc,

Great suggestion. I was looking at some netgear products last night. I do have a wifi router that I use with my mifi. Thanks again

mutt

[paulj4400]

Might want to check app manything free app use iPad as camera and phone to watch.

[pmsherman]

Foscam makes combination wired/wireless monitoring cameras that can be run directly off of 5V DC. They have pan/tilt motors built in and send their output using a web page that's accessible from any web browser. They also have a special mode with a low data transmission rate for use with a cell phone as a viewer. The cameras also have IR LEDs that will provide lighting at night. When set up for security monitoring, they can send you an email or text message your phone, which includes a snapshot of the triggering event.

All this for only $70 - a good deal. I've been using one of these for a few years at a remote astronomical observatory and have never had any problems with it other than having it shut down when the AC power failed. That was fixed this past January when I added a $4 DC-DC switching power supply to supply 5V from the 600+A 12V solar battery pack.

Note: Using the Foscam at a campground will require reconfiguring it after you arrive. You'll need to set it up to mate with the campground's wifi system which will require a temporary private network. I carry a small router with me to do this type of thing. You also should not be able to access the web page when you're not using the campground's wifi network for your viewing device. Alerts from the Foscam will still get to your cell phone/email account.

Phil

[mutt]

Originally Posted by pmsherman

Foscam makes combination wired/wireless monitoring cameras that can be run directly off of 5V DC. They have pan/tilt motors built in and send their output using a web page that's accessible from any web browser. They also have a special mode with a low data transmission rate for use with a cell phone as a viewer. The cameras also have IR LEDs that will provide lighting at night. When set up for security monitoring, they can send you an email or text message your phone, which includes a snapshot of the triggering event.

All this for only $70 - a good deal. I've been using one of these for a few years at a remote astronomical observatory and have never had any problems with it other than having it shut down when the AC power failed. That was fixed this past January when I added a $4 DC-DC switching power supply to supply 5V from the 600+A 12V solar battery pack.

Note: Using the Foscam at a campground will require reconfiguring it after you arrive. You'll need to set it up to mate with the campground's wifi system which will require a temporary private network. I carry a small router with me to do this type of thing. You also should not be able to access the web page when you're not using the campground's wifi network for your viewing device. Alerts from the Foscam will still get to your cell phone/email account.

Phil

Thanks you for the information. A coworker uses the similiar setup for baby monitor.
I will had the component t9 my research.

I am an IT guy so carry arouñd a WiFi router to create my private network. The router runs about $20 añd is great.