Wirefree - Solar Solutions

[dalepa]

Starting a new nature project.

Here's my requirements.

1. 100% wire free solution
2. Solar
3. WIFI (Ubiquity APs in place)
4. Mobile: Can be moved daily
5. Cost under $150




Test Case 1 - 3/18/2019

System : Reolink Argus 1 with Solar
Swap BirdCam: Will be placed in the marsh (see red dot in pic) to catch the feeding Herons and Egrets, Rails, etc..

Order Date 1/18/2019 Amazon Prime $139 (went on sale the next day for $108) ​

Update 3/19/2019​

Amazon Next Day Free Shipping: 5/5

Amazon makes it too easy to buy​

Initial Setup - 5 minutes 5/5

Download the app, plug in the battery, point the camera at the app and done.​

WIFI Signal Strength - Poor -1/5

Hopefully outdoors via Ubiquity APs will be much stronger or this experiment will fail quickly. Will know this weekend.​

Video Quality - Above Average 4/5
APP - No issues. Like the cloud Clips. 4/5
Solar - No Issues. Connected and it charges 5/5
Day 1 Summary

The real test will be this weekend when running 300ft line of sight from the Ubiquity APs. The Wyze Pan Cam has no issue with 500ft, so i'm expecting close to the same. If not, this project will fast fail. It will be great to be able to place this Cam places where no cam has gone before...​

Day 2 Summary

Decided to hook up the Reolink at the front door and get some test footage and alerts before moving into the swamp this weekend. So far, the cam has worked as expected with alert footage just as good as the hikvision turret using blue iris just above the riolink.
Maybe riolink had issues in the past, but they seem to be on a roll with several new products.​

Update 3/23/2019

The Reolink Augus is up and in the marsh and about 200ft away clear line of sight from the Ubiquity AP. The AP reports the wifiexperience 100% and signal as 62%. No problems yet streaming HD from this location.




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[pozzello]

Thanx for the review. My brother-in-law wants to put a cam or two on an empty lot near the back of his house where the kids play,
so i've contemplating a similar device, tho my gut say to just run a long outdoor rated ethernet (about 100 feet from a switch & wifi AP in the garage,
down an and across an alley) Any data on whether the included solar panel can keep the cam charged indefinitely? Or does
it simply extend the lifespan and require recharging after X days? Also, are you using it with any sort of NVR or VMS (BI?) or do you have to use the Reolink app to view/record?
You mention a Hikvision on BI, but not if this cam is also working with BI... thanx.

 

[dalepa]

An outdoor cable run is always preferred if possible. I wanted a wirefree solution thats was portable, basically to scout out wildlife locations for a future cable run. The argus 2 with solar appears to keep the battery fully charged, however there are some downsides. It only works with the riolink app and its made for secuity events, so other features found in Blue Iris are missing. The app is very limited and very basic and has a wide angle lens which works best on tight areas like porches.

But its wirefree, and thats great to scouting out locations before running cables.

 

[Dodutils]

don't you get a lot of false positive because of the moving weeds and the water movements/reflections ?

 

[pozzello]

curious, are you purposely misspelling RioLink so 'someone' doesn't come along and proclaim it 'junk'?...

 

[bob2701]

curious, are you purposely misspelling RioLink so 'someone' doesn't come along and proclaim it 'junk'?...

Now who would say that?? LOL

 

[dalepa]

don't you get a lot of false positive because of the moving weeds and the water movements/reflections ?

No, just the opposite. No getting many alerts at all

 

[dalepa]

The reolink is working nicely as a scouting cam.

Using the cam to see how the view looks from the purple martin house. So far, it looks promising.

 

[dalepa]

Starting to see some results. The argus 2 works pretty much as designed. There are a few weird issues, but so far not bad. The battery stays above 90% with the solar cells.

I woukd like to find a cam with a low minimum focal distance, like 1-3in. The argus appears to be about 8-12 inches. Suggestions welcome