Wifi Outdoor Solar Powered Optical Zoom Motion Camera quest

[T-Halen]

I know these types of requests are common here, but I'm having trouble finding something that looks reliable.

Details:

• 42 degrees north in the USA
• 600 feet away from building in a parking lot
• Parking lot lights only have power till 12:30a-1am each night
• Need to be able to see action (people/cars) to 150 feet away with IR

So, I'm looking for something with a solar panel, optical zoom, motion detection, local storage, and wifi (so I can pull recordings from the camera).

Based on what I've been reading, I would like to stay away from Arlo, ReoLink, and other app based solutions.

Any ideas? Thanks!

 

[wittaj]

Yeah it doesn't exist unless you spend big bucks and custom your own system.

Wifi and cameras do not go together.

There are always ways if you don't want to run an ethernet cable.

You need power anyway, so go with a powerline adapter to run the data over your electric lines or use a nano-station.

Maybe you are fine now one day with wifi cams, but one day something will happen. A new device, neighbors microwave, etc.

Cameras connected to Wifi routers (whether wifi or not) are problematic for surveillance cameras because they are always streaming and passing data. And the data demands go up with motion and then you lose signal. A lost packet and it has to resend. It can bring the whole network down if trying to send cameras through a wifi router. At the very least it can slow down your entire system. Especially once you add distance or walls into the mix.

Unlike Netflix and other streaming services that buffer a movie, these cameras do not buffer up part of the video, so drop outs are frequent, especially once you start adding distance. You would be amazed how much streaming services buffer - don't believe me, start watching something and unplug your router and watch how much longer you can watch NetFlix before it freezes - mine goes 45 seconds. Now do the same with a camera connected to a router and it is fairly instantaneous (within the latency of the stream itself)...

The same issue applies even with the hard-wired cameras trying to send all this non-buffer video stream through a router. Most consumer grade wifi routers are not designed to pass the constant video stream data of cameras, and since they do not buffer, you get these issues. The consumer routers are just not designed for this kind of traffic, even a GB speed router.

So the more cameras you add, the bigger the potential for issues.

Many people unfortunately think wifi cameras are the answer and they are not. People will say what about Ring and Nest - well that is another whole host of issues that we will not discuss here LOL, but they are not streaming 24/7, only when you pull up the app. And then we see all the people come here after that system failed them because their wifi couldn't keep up when the perp came by. For streaming 24/7 to something like an NVR or Blue Iris, forget about it if you want reliability.

150 feet away with IR is a high powered PTZ unless all you care about is detect.

And yes there are lots of threads about this. Here is a sampling:

Plenty of threads discussing it. A consumer grade camera will not cut it and you would have to build your own with battery packs taking up the size of half a VW lol. The cost to do it right far exceeds the cost of running wire or a dedicated RF system.

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[T-Halen]

Thanks for all of that wittaj. I had seen your replies to other threads here, and read through much of that material. Not finding what I was after, I started a new thread. If wifi is the deal killer, then 4GLTE it is. I'm not morally opposed to it, but didn't feel like I needed it. I don't even need alerts, just need to be able to get the motion-detected video off the camera.

The other option I have is a roof mounted outdoor IP camera with a great night-vision and zoom to see what's going on 600 feet away, but the angle from the building would allow a vehicle to block the view, thus this option wasn't my best.

 

[wittaj]

We have the camera for you LOL

https://www.amazon.com/EmpireTech-Sensitivity-Auto-Tracking-Recognition-SD8C845FG-HNF/dp/B0BRQ6ML1K/ref=sr_1_76?imprToken=eNnu.Pmf5hsW5hcTVECAQg&linkCode=w61&m=A329YQ83EBQGJF&marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER&qid=1673474777&redirect=true&s=merchant-items&slotNum=0&sr=1-76

But yeah, if you want it for anything of value, the current wifi/solar cams just won't cut it for you. 600 feet away will bring the wifi down, so you would have to have its own wifi separate from the rest of your system.

 

[T-Halen]

But yeah, if you want it for anything of value, the current wifi/solar cams just won't cut it for you. 600 feet away will bring the wifi down, so you would have to have its own wifi separate from the rest of your system.

Thanks for quoting me the most expensive EmpireTech camera listed on Amazon. Unfortunately it's out of stock, and doesn't appear to be solar powered.
I realize that my existing wifi isn't going to make it 600 feet, but that's an easy problem to solve. Finding a camera solution is why I came here.

 

[wittaj]

If you want something better than the quality that an Arlo or Reo provide, then you will have to either rig something up like some folks have done for remote setup (basically involving car batteries and big solar panels) or figure out how to get power to that location.

If you had power at the location, then you could use a nano-station back to your building.

 

[T-Halen]

If you had power at the location, then you could use a nano-station back to your building.

If had constant power, this thread wouldn't exist.

 

[wittaj]

Since you didn't provide more details, we have no idea if you own the parking lot lights and if power would be available from those or if it is something completely different...

Many people have come here with the same question, only to find out that they thought they needed wifi because they couldn't run a data cable, but they had power at the location and found out by posting a similar thread that they could PLA or nanostation and thus not have to go wifi.

 

[T-Halen]

What is PLA?
I tried a trail cam solution, but the motion detection wasn't sensitive enough to pick up people more than 20 feet away.

 

[wittaj]

PowerLine Adapter that sends data over existing electrical wires.

 

[MARIO ALESSI]

I installed a couple of these in parking lots where business were destroyed after the hurricane hit south Louisiana two years ago. Remote Surveillance Camera Systems | LiveView Technologies

that system connected over cellular.



you could design your own “System”
Enclosure
batteries
pole
charge controller
solar panel
point to point wifi (ubiquiti)

you will to charge the deep cycle batteries during the sunlight and have enough power in them for the night and all the times the clouds cover them during the day.

 

[samplenhold]

See the thread below.

While it is not exactly what you are looking for, the solution to his particular problem could probably help you. It is solar with battery, and you could connect any cam that has an SD card for storage. Then use your WIFI to connect to the cam to view after the fact. Just viewing the captures after the fact negates the issue that most of us here have with a 'WIFI camera'.

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