IP Calving Camera monitor < €200

SoJoMo

FYI – this is my setup that cost less than €200
All the usual health warnings apply as your mileage may vary etc
Info on cameras etc came from http://www.gadgetvictims.com/search/label/ip%20camera

Calving shed\pen is around 120 metres from house\broadband router with another shed in between.
Network\LAN cables have to be less than 100 meters between devices.
I used cheap unshielded solid core Cat5e outdoor cable.
I ran about 50 meters of cable from house \router to middle shed and crimped RJ45 plugs at both ends.
I ran about 70 meters of cable from middle shed to the calving pen also crimped with plugs.
The unshielded cable ran over or near a mains electricity cable a couple of times and behind halogen light. It also ran for 40 metres about 6 inches below electric fencer wire i.e. it was not affected by electrical interference.
In the middle shed I installed a 5 port switch with the house LAN cable connected. The switch was plugged into a wall socket.
Because the camera is not close to a power point I decided to run its electricity power over the network cable. I did this by using a POE injector\splitter. In the middle shed I connected the switch to the injector and the injector to the cable going to the calving pen. The injector was plugged into a wall socket. At the calving pen the 70m network cable was attached to one end of the POE splitter and at the other end a short network cable went to the network point of the camera and a 21.mm DC power extension cable went to the camera power input.
I can now view and control the camera from a computer on my home network, the web as well as from my android phone using IP Cam Viewer
The camera has IR Cut which switches off the IR LEDs during the day to improve daylight picture (some of the cheap IP cameras don’t have this). It has 3x Optical zoom which is surprisingly good and useful (none of the other cameras have this) and Night vision which works OK and as good as any of the other cameras.

Camera
Dericam PTZ
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dericam-PTZ-Wireless-IP-Camera-3X-Optical-Zoom-Night-8M-/220814252334?pt=UK_CCTV&hash=item33698e192e
€87
OR
Foscam – 65
Foscam copy – 50
Take a chance - 40

NetworkCable
Solid core UTP Outdoor CAT5e – 300metres
http://cgi.ebay.ie/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320992942023
€31

Power Over Ethernet
TP-Link POE Injector\Splitter
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0038X3RVA/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE
€22
2.1mm DC extension cable – 3m
http://www.ebay.com/itm/3M-Power-Extending-Cable-for-IP-Camera-Power-adapter-/320721457471?pt=US_Security_Cameras&hash=item4aac7d113f
€6

Switch
Netgear FS105 Prosafe 5 Port Fast Ethernet
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00009015U/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_9?ie=UTF8&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE
€25
OR
D-Link desktop switch
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000FNFSPY/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00
€10

Cable Tester
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000PJ8OJA/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE
€12

Crimping tool
€20 in Maplins but borrow a good one if you can or bring in the cable (measured to your needs) to an IT shop and get them to crimp it.

Solid Core RJ45 Plugs
€5 in Maplins for 10 or 20

I got free delivery of the Amazon items by making sure that they were “Super Saver Delivery” items and that the order came to over £25.
The camera, DC extension and CAT5e cable all include price of delivery.
I could have gone for a WIFI switch in the shed but the camera would still have needed a cable (for power) so I went for the robust metal casing Netgear switch. Also 100mb is the max speed of the switch, camera and the cable so that all fits fine.
I now have the infrastructure to add more cameras if I need with 180metres of cable left. Each camera added would cost between €50 and €120.

So costs:

Dear:
Camera 87
Cable 31
POE 22
DC Extension 6
Switch 25
Cable Tester 12
RJ45 Plugs 5

TOTAL 188

Cheap:
Camera 50
Cable 31
Switch 10
Guy to crimp 20

TOTAL 111

pgjk

Great post, dont like dericam myself, but it is the cheapest one with optical zoom.