Cellular cameras

rms59 · Nov 2, 2023

No matter what cameras I look at I can't find an answer so this forum is my last hope.

I have a cottage 50 miles away from home that is closed up for the winter so it has no electricity, internet or wifi. I want to buy a solar powered cellular camera that I can access a live view from home on my pc or cell phone but only occasionally or when I notice a storm in the area then I want it to go back to standby. I'm not interested in motion detection, recording to cloud or sd card, lights, or alarms. I just want a live video when I ask for it.

So, my question is this: Is there a solar powered cellular camera that can stay on standby until I access it, and how much cellular data do they use when just idling?

Thanks in advance

Richard

Broachoski · Nov 2, 2023

I would look into the live stream trail cameras.

dsc7050 · Nov 3, 2023

rms59 said:
No matter what cameras I look at I can't find an answer so this forum is my last hope.

I have a cottage 50 miles away from home that is closed up for the winter so it has no electricity, internet or wifi. I want to buy a solar powered cellular camera that I can access a live view from home on my pc or cell phone but only occasionally or when I notice a storm in the area then I want it to go back to standby. I'm not interested in motion detection, recording to cloud or sd card, lights, or alarms. I just want a live video when I ask for it.

So, my question is this: Is there a solar powered cellular camera that can stay on standby until I access it, and how much cellular data do they use when just idling?

Thanks in advance

Richard

you can try this 4G solar camera (

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C6T8M837?ref=myi_title_dp

), for this camera you can turn off the motion detection and Recording function.

rms59 · Nov 4, 2023

dsc7050 said:
you can try this 4G solar camera (
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C6T8M837?ref=myi_title_dp
), for this camera you can turn off the motion detection and Recording function.

Thanks. Yesterday, I bit the bullet and bought this one because of the reviews which is pretty close to the one you attached. I will post what I find out when I hook it up.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5MFN9CJ?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

TonyR · Nov 4, 2023

rms59 said:
I will post what I find out when I hook it up.

Looking forward to it!

Ssayer · Nov 4, 2023

I tried this one for about 3 days and returned it:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C9MDKGYL

That data gets used up WAY quicker than you might think. So, better be getting out your wallet to pay for more...

danweber1 · Nov 4, 2023

Arlo has a cellular one that works well. It can be paired with a solar panel. I know arlo is frowned up on this forum but I have one at my cabin for the same purpose and it works well for what I need.

rms59 · Nov 5, 2023

danweber1 said:
Arlo has a cellular one that works well. It can be paired with a solar panel. I know arlo is frowned up on this forum but I have one at my cabin for the same purpose and it works well for what I need.

Hopefully the one I ordered comes today but how much data does your camera use when idle? Just curious.

danweber1 · Nov 5, 2023

rms59 said:
Hopefully the one I ordered comes today but how much data does your camera use when idle? Just curious.

That's a good question. It's on an unlimited data plan so I never bothered to pay attention

dudemaar · Nov 5, 2023

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1662642-REG/hikvision_ds_2xs2t47g0_ldh_4g_c18s40_colorvu_4mp_solar_powered_network.html

JDfromDB · Nov 5, 2023

I am going to use a couple of these to monitor my new house build:
CelluCORE™ 20 Solar Cellular Trail Camera | Bushnell

I don't have them yet so can't give a review, but the online reviews seem good and they are fairly cheap.
They are only for still images. They have another model for live view but it doesn't come with the solar panel, they sell that as an option.

dudemaar · Nov 5, 2023

Dahua also has a setup, but not as a kit. Maybe @EMPIRETECANDY can get these. ?

https://material.dahuasecurity.com/uploads/cpq/prm-os-srv-res/smart/formal/Product/HQ/1.0.99.46.10008/Datasheet/PFM378-B100-WB_datasheet_20211018.pdf

rms59 · Nov 6, 2023

Well, the camera I ordered from Amazon came in. It's well built and has some weight to it and I'm impressed with the quality for $107. Came with a 300MB sim card and after setting it up it worked right off the bat. It pan and tilts and gives an SD or HD video. I was able to turn off motion detection and cloud service but nothing allows me to turn off data. I have the App on Android set up so it only works when the Apps is being used instead of all the time so I hope it shuts down the data stream. With all the messing around I did I consumed 20MB of the 300MB gifted to me. (Only good for 30 days) I will check it again once tonight, then leave it for 12 hours before I check it again for data usage. I will get back.

Ssayer · Nov 6, 2023

Yep, that's what I was warning about. The data usage is a killer.

rms59 · Nov 6, 2023

Ssayer said:
Yep, that's what I was warning about. The data usage is a killer.

I hear you but the cottage has no electricity or internet and Comcast is the only ISP in the area. So I'm looking at the cost of Data vs the cheapest ISP at $70 a month for a camera I only want to check occasionally. I'll be back.

wittaj · Nov 6, 2023

Hopefully you can turn off auto-update so that it doesn't periodically check and then download and screw you over.

We had someone here once that updated their camera and it then started phoning "home" using 60MB/hr and costing him thousands of dollars in data overages when he got his next mobile bill.

CCTVCam · Nov 8, 2023

Can't you get a SIM card with an unlimited data bundle in the US? Quite common over here. That said, they often impose reasonable usage limits.

eg. Comparison site (hopefully you can view this in the US):

https://www.moneysupermarket.com/mobile-phones/sim-only/unlimited-data-sim-only/?contractLengths=&minMinutes=100&maxMinutes=&minData=50000&maxData=&minTexts=0&maxTexts=&minMonthlyCost=0&maxMonthlyCost=85&minUpfrontCost=0&maxUpfrontCost=450&deviceCondition=&includeExistingCustomersHandset=false&includeResellers=true&networks=&manufacturers=&only5G=false&merchants=&handsetColours=&modelInternalStorage=&unlimitedData=true&unlimitedMinutes=false&unlimitedTexts=false&giftCategories=

Disclaimer: Obviously these deals probably won't be available to persons residing outside the UK.

Surely there's something similar in the US?

Another option would be for a camera that only streams on alerts.

elvisimprsntr · Nov 8, 2023

Arlo: Arlo Go 2 Wireless Security Camera with LTE & Wi-Fi Connectivity | Arlo

Solar Panel: Arlo Solar Panel Charger for Ultra, Pro 3, Pro 4, Go 2 & Floodlight Cameras | Arlo Accessories

SpeedTalk has reasonable embedded device plans: SpeedTalk Mobile Wireless – Speed Talk Mobile Wireless SIM Card Plans

rms59 · Nov 8, 2023

CCTVCam said:
Can't you get a SIM card with an unlimited data bundle in the US? Quite common over here. That said, they often impose reasonable usage limits.

eg. Comparison site (hopefully you can view this in the US):
https://www.moneysupermarket.com/mobile-phones/sim-only/unlimited-data-sim-only/?contractLengths=&minMinutes=100&maxMinutes=&minData=50000&maxData=&minTexts=0&maxTexts=&minMonthlyCost=0&maxMonthlyCost=85&minUpfrontCost=0&maxUpfrontCost=450&deviceCondition=&includeExistingCustomersHandset=false&includeResellers=true&networks=&manufacturers=&only5G=false&merchants=&handsetColours=&modelInternalStorage=&unlimitedData=true&unlimitedMinutes=false&unlimitedTexts=false&giftCategories=

Disclaimer: Obviously these deals probably won't be available to persons residing outside the UK.

Surely there's something similar in the US?

Another option would be for a camera that only streams on alerts.

I wouldn't be interested in anything unlimited for fear the camera goes nuts like wittaj said above.

rms59 · Nov 8, 2023

So far.....

This is a little detailed but I temporarily mounted the camera in my backyard then accessed, viewed and panned the video for around 30 seconds each time. This would be the frequency of use when I move it to the cottage after testing. So far the camera is impressive but i don't know how accurate the data reporting is when I ask for a usage query which is right below the live video image in the app. I'm going to play with it in my backyard for another week before moving it to the cottage an hour drive away.

As far as data and cost of the camera...... I rather go inexpensive in case it gets stolen and stay away from unlimited plans. The camera ran be $107 and if I get a fixed data refill it will be around $80 for 12GB/180 days. This is a lot better than Comcast $70 a month. I'll be back with updates...

Monday Nov 6th
10am - 300MB available (starting data from the included EIOTCLUB sim card.
7:30pm 269MB remaining after playing with it several times during the day.
10:00pm 268MB remaining.

Tuesday Nov 7th
7:00am - 268MB remaining (no drop for 8 hours overnight)
11am - viewed and panned for a minute. 267MB remaining
4:30pm - viewed and panned. 265mb remaining.
6:30pm - Viewed several miles from home. 265mb remaining
10:00pm - 263mb remaining.

Wednesday Nov 8th
8:00am - Viewed 263mb remaining. No drop overnight.
11:00am - Viewed and panned 263mb remaining.

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