Dummys guide to DIY Calving Camera

vanderbadger

agricamera wrote: »

Our Standard AgriCameras don't need fixed IP address at all, we've got some clever technology where you can just plug the camera into your router, download the app, type in your email address / password and your away. No need to touch the router :cool: and it works even if all inbound ports are blocked by your ISP.

The U360 aren't quite as clever yet but we are working on it.

I have a backup camera, it has this build in thing whereby it gives you a DDNS name regardless of what your ip config is or port config for that matter and the name seems to be resolvable, is your setup something like that?

agricamera

vanderbadger wrote: »

I have a backup camera, it has this build in thing whereby it gives you a DDNS name regardless of what your ip config is or port config for that matter and the name seems to be resolvable, is your setup something like that?

Essentially as soon as you plug the camera in it calls home to one of our servers.

When you go to watch the camera, either via the website or via the apps, it applies some logic and works out what the best way of connecting is.

If a local connection is available, (ie. you are in your house) the image stream will come straight from the camera.

If you are not in your house (ie. on 3G) and have a good signal a direct connection will be established to the camera via one of our servers. Once the connection is established the server can then drop out of the picture and the camera is in direct communication with your phone.

If you are not in your house and have a very poor connection, we fallback to a system similar to above but where we can manually control the framerate so even if you are on an extremely slow connection, you can still get images from the camera, just updating much slower.

We've also got a backup manual system if you don't have a internet connection.

All this happens automatically behind the scenes :cool:

With the number we have been sending out this past week I am very very glad we did not have to setup up DDNS and port forwarding for everyone :eek:

just do it

agricamera wrote: »

With the number we have been sending out this past week I am very very glad we did not have to setup up DDNS and port forwarding for everyone :eek:

I'm not surprised and good for you. It seems you've all the angles covered;)

Do you think you got many orders from boardies?

aidanki

out shed has medium quality lighting at night

just wondering could I wire a light such that it only turns on when I start up my PC and begin moving my camera around

micky mouse

It can be done as far as i know,some of the calving cameras can turn on and off lights

vanderbadger

aidanki wrote: »

out shed has medium quality lighting at night

just wondering could I wire a light such that it only turns on when I start up my PC and begin moving my camera around

ya i think it can be done, my camera has a relay with i think can be connected to lighting somehow

kevthegaff

u know the camera u bought vander, will that work with just 2 nanos linking the camera back to the house?

vanderbadger

kevthegaff wrote: »

u know the camera u bought vander, will that work with just 2 nanos linking the camera back to the house?

ya, one connects to broadband router in house, the other connects to camera

kevthegaff

vanderbadger wrote: »

this is the camera I have
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Axis-215-PTZ-CCTV-Camera-With-2-Indoor-Housings-Power-Supply-/170907314612?pt=UK_CCTV&hash=item27cadea9b4
i got it a bit cheaper but was looking for a long time on ebay..its a super camera, you could cover a massive shed if you had it centrally mounted, massive zoom you can read ear tag remotely no prob. I think its worth buying a good camera when you see how well they work

would this camera last 3yrs and more, im prob leaning towards it

vanderbadger

kevthegaff wrote: »

would this camera last 3yrs and more, im prob leaning towards it

i have mine in a couple of years, there before christmas the picture stopped working on it, i had bought it on ebay so wasnt sure if axis would support it, I contacted axis and they tried a few things and lucky enough it was still in warranty so they organised its return, it went back to some plant in Hungary and they shipped me a replacement camera so was happy with that..

gctest50

kevthegaff wrote: »

would this camera last 3yrs and more, im prob leaning towards it

If you can, get the outdoor housing for it down the page

aidanki

vanderbadger wrote: »

i have mine in a couple of years, there before christmas the picture stopped working on it, i had bought it on ebay so wasnt sure if axis would support it, I contacted axis and they tried a few things and lucky enough it was still in warranty so they organised its return, it went back to some plant in Hungary and they shipped me a replacement camera so was happy with that..

what type nanos are you using vander?

and will an ordinary router such as this do
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Belkin-Wireless-N-ADSL-Modem-Router-Wireless-802-11N-USB-Adaptor-F5D8633-/120993905177?pt=UK_Computing_Wireless_Routers&hash=item1c2bcc7a19

vanderbadger

aidanki wrote: »

what type nanos are you using vander?

and will an ordinary router such as this do
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Belkin-Wireless-N-ADSL-Modem-Router-Wireless-802-11N-USB-Adaptor-F5D8633-/120993905177?pt=UK_Computing_Wireless_Routers&hash=item1c2bcc7a19

i have nonostation 5's, my nano on the hse side is connected back to the modem by network cable, its a wireless modem but it has the 4 or 5 netowrk ports a bit like eircoms modem

aidanki

vanderbadger wrote: »

i have nonostation 5's, my nano on the hse side is connected back to the modem by network cable, its a wireless modem but it has the 4 or 5 netowrk ports a bit like eircoms modem

you get an installation CD with these I guess so you can set them up I suppose

vanderbadger

aidanki wrote: »

you get an installation CD with these I guess so you can set them up I suppose

not as such no, when they come out of the box they have an ip address already, this is so you can get onto them and manage them, there isnt much config really but you would need a small knowledge of ip address etc to manage

just do it

vanderbadger wrote: »

not as such no, when they come out of the box they have an ip address already, this is so you can get onto them and manage them, there isnt much config really but you would need a small knowledge of ip address etc to manage

And plenty tutorials on youtube to help you out

pakalasa

If you have power going from the house to the shed, like I do, could you use one of these?
http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/TPLINK-TLPA411KIT-AV500-500-Mbps-Powerline-Adapter-Starter-Kit/313256/7.16

It's a Powerline Adapter. It uses the electric line to transmit the internet signal, up to 300m. Easy solution if it worked. Only €50.

vanderbadger

pakalasa wrote: »

If you have power going from the house to the shed, like I do, could you use one of these?
http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/TPLINK-TLPA411KIT-AV500-500-Mbps-Powerline-Adapter-Starter-Kit/313256/7.16

It's a Powerline Adapter. It uses the electric line to transmit the internet signal, up to 300m. Easy solution if it worked. Only €50.

indeed.. i have a pair similar working in the house as my nanostation is at opposite end of house to broadband router so was easier than dragging a cable all over the shop, im not sure how well they would work over any kinda of distance though

sea12

Right I am going to buy a camera this week, still not sure which to order the Shri camera one or the one on line like just do it got.

Just do it

What is the quality of yours like. Is it in colour?
If u had a choice again which would u order.

timjack

have wireless camera with reciever 500mtr away on side of house fed to tv by cable what would i need to get on laptop .i have wifi

gctest50

If its is just plugged straight into the tv you need something to convert it to data so you can look at it on your laptop

One way is to buy a DVR : http://www.tvtrade.ie/dvr.html

Then you could also put up a few more cameras ( front of the house etc ? ) and keep an eye on them

youcangetalan

pakalasa wrote: »

If you have power going from the house to the shed, like I do, could you use one of these?
http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/TPLINK-TLPA411KIT-AV500-500-Mbps-Powerline-Adapter-Starter-Kit/313256/7.16

It's a Powerline Adapter. It uses the electric line to transmit the internet signal, up to 300m. Easy solution if it worked. Only €50.

powerline will possibly not work due to distance and there is possibly one fuse board for house and 1 for shed it can not work over multiple fuseboards or even extension leads wifi would suit u best

timjack

gctest50 wrote: »

If its is just plugged straight into the tv you need something to convert it to data so you can look at it on your laptop

One way is to buy a DVR : http://www.tvtrade.ie/dvr.html

Then you could also put up a few more cameras ( front of the house etc ? ) and keep an eye on them

Was told i need fixed line broadband for the dvr to work by a company in cork mine is through an aerial would this be right

youcangetalan

timjack wrote: »

Was told i need fixed line broadband for the dvr to work by a company in cork mine is through an aerial would this be right

WHETHER IT IS FIXED LINE OR WIRELESS LIKE YOURS UL NEED EITHER A FIXED IP OR BUY A DVR WHICH WILL SUPPORT DYNDNS WHICH U CAN SET UP FOR ABOUT 50 EURO OR NO-IP.ORG WHICH IS FREE

just do it

sea12 wrote: »

Right I am going to buy a camera this week, still not sure which to order the Shri camera one or the one on line like just do it got.

Just do it

What is the quality of yours like. Is it in colour?
If u had a choice again which would u order.

What better way to answer than with a few images! These are screenshots from my smartphone.

The first is the cows due to calf. To the right of this pen is the calving pen. The light is at the back of the calving box so this pen is not fully lit. The picture is good enough for you to know if something is happening. But note the how the black cow is hard to make out. Also sometimes I've to watch a cow for a while to figure out if she's passed the water bag or not. It can be hard to distinguish from the tail.


In this one I've the infra-red turned on. It helps a small bit. I haven't tried leaving the shed light off and just this on.


Here's the calving pen to the right of the image above. You can see this very clearly as it is well lit.


So to answer your questions: Quality is poor but sufficient. It's in colour. When this gives up (and I only expect to get 1-3 years use from it) I will definitely get a better model. Beyond that I can't recommend which one to go for.

sea12

just do it wrote: »

What better way to answer than with a few images! These are screenshots from my smartphone.

The first is the cows due to calf. To the right of this pen is the calving pen. The light is at the back of the calving box so this pen is not fully lit. The picture is good enough for you to know if something is happening. But note the how the black cow is hard to make out. Also sometimes I've to watch a cow for a while to figure out if she's passed the water bag or not. It can be hard to distinguish from the tail.


In this one I've the infra-red turned on. It helps a small bit. I haven't tried leaving the shed light off and just this on.


Here's the calving pen to the right of the image above. You can see this very clearly as it is well lit.


So to answer your questions: Quality is poor but sufficient. It's in colour. When this gives up (and I only expect to get 1-3 years use from it) I will definitely get a better model. Beyond that I can't recommend which one to go for.

Thanks just do it.

I will have a further think about it. If its hard to see the black cow it may be hard to see sheep lambing.

Thanks for replying

just do it

sea12 wrote: »

Thanks just do it.

I will have a further think about it. If its hard to see the black cow it may be hard to see sheep lambing.

Thanks for replying

If your looking at sheep a better quality camera with zoom is probably merited. Another option that I'm toying with is having a second camera. For having said all that if you watch it for long enough (3-5mins) you can deduce what you need to.

pakalasa

just do it wrote: »

......

What model of camera is this 'Just Do It"?
How did you send the signal from the shed?

Also to help others, including myself :rolleyes:, could people try and give model nos when they talk about cameras etc. It's very hard to follow this thread with all the different cameras being discussed.

Dozer1

Went with the same cameras as just do it for my inlaws and like he said picture quailty isn't amazing but its definitley sufficient.

One difference we had was there was a good distance between the shed and the farm and only broadband available is the three national one.
we got a 3 ready to go sim and modem same as the one we have in our own house and set that up in a waterproof box in the shed and the cameras are setup wirelessly.

in fairness it great, it'll save the inlaws going to 6 miles each way just to check a cow.
Black cows are a bit of a problem but better lighting is being put up which will help.

a big thank you to Vander and just do it, between their posts made the job way easier

just do it

pakalasa wrote: »

What model of camera is this 'Just Do It"?
How did you send the signal from the shed?

Also to help others, including myself :rolleyes:, could people try and give model nos when they talk about cameras etc. It's very hard to follow this thread with all the different cameras being discussed.

All the details are further back in the thread around November. I'm on the smartphone at the moment so it's not so easy to flick back and forth to locate the posts.