Is there this type of camera technology available??

[srukke 0]

Is there any technology available that would allow me to install a camera in a remote cabin that does not have 110v power. It does have a phone installed and a 12v electrical system that runs off solar panels. I would like to be able to remotely monitor my cabin from my home PC. Is this possible? Better yet is it possible to have a motion activated camera that will transmit video to my home PC? There is no cell service available either so any transmitted signals would be through the phone line. I'm probably reaching here. This is in the US if it matters.

[videotiger 0]

Yes. StarDot Technology's video servers and possibly their IP cameras along with a dial-up modem should be able to do this.

 

The servers have a serial port on them for modem connection. They also have alarm inputs so you can connect motion sensors which can trigger image capture.

 

I have four of their Express6 servers, but I have only used them in LAN mode, and not the dial-up modem mode.

 

I have mine set up using several of their features, including periodically taking and ftp'ing snapshots to a webpage, as well as near-real time viewing on demand.

 

You'll have to carefully budget whether your solar-based power system can support the power requirements of this setup though.

[srukke 0]

Great info. Yes the solar power is the main issue. I was hoping for something that's low power consumption. Is anything available that can be powered off the phone line or is this even possible?

[jjsafeware 0]

Great info. Yes the solar power is the main issue. I was hoping for something that's low power consumption. Is anything available that can be powered off the phone line or is this even possible?

running a IPcam on phone-line provided power is not possible. and for a Stardot system, get ready to add a 0 in your budget.

[SEANHAWG 1]

12V DC electrical system? How many amps is it putting out? I think that would be the thing to find out to see if you can power multiple pieces of surveillance equipment or not. I did run across a thing the other day that allows you to view cameras over a telephone line. But you would have to have enough amperage to power your:

 

your camera

DVR or VCR (if you want one)

and the Phone Line Transmitter Device

 

You would have to make sure all these devices run off 12V DC. And then the problem you face is trying to jimmy rig their power cords to your 12V power supply. My initial thoughts are that your solar powered power supply will either send too much or too little amperage to power everything correctly.

[videotiger 0]

The StarDot Express6 draws about an amp at 12 VDC. Likewise for a decent day/night camera. You also need to budget in the power for a standalone Hayes-compatible (ATx command set, serial port) modem.

 

Too much current shouldn't be an issue; I assume your solar panels charge up a bank of storage batteries. Efficiently providing regulated voltage for the server, camera, and modem can be accomplished with the proper selection of switching regulators. If you just want one camera, you're already looking at nearly a 2 - 3A constant current draw off of your solar panels and storage batteries. That's viable, but it's a BIG solar array.

 

However I'm sure you won't be able to steal enough energy from the phone line, which is measured in milliamps. POTS analog phone lines are current devices (works by modulating the current flow) for the voice modulation and to determine when your phone is onhook or offhook. If you draw too much current, the telco will interpret that as the phone going offhook.

 

Good luck! I wonder if something like a wildlife camera (integral digital camera, motion detector, battery powered) could be coupled to a dial-up modem to accomplish this. Unlike the setups we've described so far, wildlife cameras are designed for ultra low standby and operational power draws.

[ak357 0]

 

However I'm sure you won't be able to steal enough energy from the phone line, which is measured in milliamps. POTS analog phone lines are current devices (works by modulating the current flow) for the voice modulation and to determine when your phone is onhook or offhook. If you draw too much current, the telco will interpret that as the phone going offhook.

 

 

You right about ph lines

if I remember correct The DC-resistance of typical telephone equipment is in 200-300 ohm range

and current flowing through the telephone is in 20-50 mA range.

[Soundy 1]

You would have to make sure all these devices run off 12V DC. And then the problem you face is trying to jimmy rig their power cords to your 12V power supply.

That should be no more problem than wiring them into any standard 12V power can. A terminal block designed for car audio installs would facilitate things - something like this:

 

 

For that matter, you could just use the distribution board out of any regular Altronix/Enforcer/National/etc. power can:

 

http://www.altronix.com/index.php?pid=2&model_num=PD8

 

My initial thoughts are that your solar powered power supply will either send too much or too little amperage to power everything correctly.

It's not possible to "send too much amperage". Current is determined by load across voltage - devices will DRAW the amperage they require, up to the maximum provided by the power source.

[rory 0]

is there DSL in the area? If so wouldnt you be able to just use any 12VDC IP camera and any 12VDC DSL modem?

 

http://www.netgear.com/products/home/wired-routers-and-modems/wired-modems/DM111P.aspx

just cut the adapter and connect that to the 12VDC source. make sure it provides enough AMPs.

 

You can join them anyway you like, beanies, butt splice connectors, terminal strips, tape, whatever .. r adio shack sells everything you need. Eg.

 

and as mentioned altronix has power products that could help also.

[SEANHAWG 1]

It's not possible to "send too much amperage". Current is determined by load across voltage - devices will DRAW the amperage they require, up to the maximum provided by the power source.

 

I have heard this too but we have some multiplexers that require 2.5 amps 12V DC power and we when plug them in with a 12V DC 5 amp power supply, they just act real funky and the alarm beeps constantly. We sell our multiplexers without power supplies and we get about 2 or 3 reports a month of people using power supplies that have too much amperage and when they use the power supply with the correct amperage, it solves the problem. What could be causing this?

[Soundy 1]

It's not possible to "send too much amperage". Current is determined by load across voltage - devices will DRAW the amperage they require, up to the maximum provided by the power source.

 

I have heard this too...

This is not some internet rumor, this is BASIC electrical theory. I=P/V, I=V/R, etc. Ohm's Law.

 

but we have some multiplexers that require 2.5 amps 12V DC power and we when plug them in with a 12V DC 5 amp power supply, they just act real funky and the alarm beeps constantly. We sell our multiplexers without power supplies and we get about 2 or 3 reports a month of people using power supplies that have too much amperage and when they use the power supply with the correct amperage, it solves the problem. What could be causing this?

I would expect there's something else at play... like maybe, the 2.5A supplies are non-regulated where the 5A ones are, and the muxes are really happier with something a little over 12V. You can't FORCE extra current into a load.

[SEANHAWG 1]

I didnt really think it was a rumor, actually it was an electrician customer of ours who told first me this when this problem started happening. He had the same problem, called me up and told me that the multiplexer was defective, in which he was using a 5 amp DC 12V, I told him that perhaps it was overamped, he then replied what you just told me. So I sent him out another multiplexer and the same thing happened. He then tried a 2.5 amp and it worked fine. I am not denying the amperage draw theory, I was just wondering why they did that. It happens on our little quad processors that only require 1.0 amps too. Perhaps it is the regulated and non-regulated thing you were talking about.

 

Also, here is a question I have been wondering about. Say there is a camera that is installed in a thermostat regulated heated and fanned housing. The power supply being used is a 24 VAC power supply and the power supply powers the camera and housing simultaneoulsy. Whenever the fan or heater kicks on, I assume it pulls more amperage out of the power supply, but is there also a voltage drop as well when this happens?

[ak357 0]

 

I have heard this too...

This is not some internet rumor, this is BASIC electrical theory. I=P/V, I=V/R, etc. Ohm's Law.

 

but we have some multiplexers that require 2.5 amps 12V DC power and we when plug them in with a 12V DC 5 amp power supply, they just act real funky and the alarm beeps constantly. We sell our multiplexers without power supplies and we get about 2 or 3 reports a month of people using power supplies that have too much amperage and when they use the power supply with the correct amperage, it solves the problem. What could be causing this?

I would expect there's something else at play... like maybe, the 2.5A supplies are non-regulated where the 5A ones are, and the muxes are really happier with something a little over 12V. You can't FORCE extra current into a load.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I can bet his 5A supply have poor caps meaning bad filter for DC

[Soundy 1]

Also, here is a question I have been wondering about. Say there is a camera that is installed in a thermostat regulated heated and fanned housing. The power supply being used is a 24 VAC power supply and the power supply powers the camera and housing simultaneoulsy. Whenever the fan or heater kicks on, I assume it pulls more amperage out of the power supply, but is there also a voltage drop as well when this happens?

Only a very slight drop, depending mainly on the size of the wire and the total length of the run. In most cases, it shouldn't be noticeable, and would probably be barely measurable.

[Soundy 1]

I can bet his 5A supply have poor caps meaning bad filter for DC

Quite likely. Or they could be poorly-designed switching-mode supplies, which would have a similar effect of putting a bunch of ripple on the line.

 

SEANHAWG: what this means is, without proper filtering, the actual voltage output of an AC/DC supply is a bumpy line that will actually vary between the peak voltage (probably upwards of 18V or so) and as low as 0V, 120 times per second, looking much like the second graph below. A capacitor across the supply smooths this ripple, although it won't usually remove it completely. If the 5A supplies don't have sufficient filtering, the result would look... well, like this, but not as bad.

 

 

Switching-mode (or pulse-width-modulated) power supplies would look even worse without filtering, as they essentially just flip the full voltage on and off rapidly.

 

Some devices may have additional filtering on the power input that would mitigate the problem... sounds like these MUXes do not.

[ak357 0]

I can bet his 5A supply have poor caps meaning bad filter for DC

Quite likely. Or they could be poorly-designed switching-mode supplies, which would have a similar effect of putting a bunch of ripple on the line.

 

SEANHAWG: what this means is, without proper filtering, the actual voltage output of an AC/DC supply is a bumpy line that will actually vary between the peak voltage (probably upwards of 18V or so) and as low as 0V, 120 times per second, looking much like the second graph below. A capacitor across the supply smooths this ripple, although it won't usually remove it completely. If the 5A supplies don't have sufficient filtering, the result would look... well, like this, but not as bad.

 

 

I don't know if I would call "ripple"

because PWM operate on lot higher frequency then 60 Hz

but that whole another story

pulsating DC, harmonics and so on.....

just to name few problem

[Soundy 1]

I can bet his 5A supply have poor caps meaning bad filter for DC

Quite likely. Or they could be poorly-designed switching-mode supplies, which would have a similar effect of putting a bunch of ripple on the line.

 

SEANHAWG: what this means is, without proper filtering, the actual voltage output of an AC/DC supply is a bumpy line that will actually vary between the peak voltage (probably upwards of 18V or so) and as low as 0V, 120 times per second, looking much like the second graph below. A capacitor across the supply smooths this ripple, although it won't usually remove it completely. If the 5A supplies don't have sufficient filtering, the result would look... well, like this, but not as bad.

 

 

I don't know if I would call "ripple"

because PWM operate on lot higher frequency then 60 Hz

but that whole another story

pulsating DC, harmonics and so on.....

just to name few problem

True. The effect is the same though: if the MUX has poor filtering on the power input, it could explain why it doesn't get along with some power supplies, regardless of amperage rating.

[SEANHAWG 1]

OK Thanks!

[videotiger 0]

It's not possible to "send too much amperage". Current is determined by load across voltage - devices will DRAW the amperage they require, up to the maximum provided by the power source.

 

I have heard this too but we have some multiplexers that require 2.5 amps 12V DC power and we when plug them in with a 12V DC 5 amp power supply, they just act real funky and the alarm beeps constantly. We sell our multiplexers without power supplies and we get about 2 or 3 reports a month of people using power supplies that have too much amperage and when they use the power supply with the correct amperage, it solves the problem. What could be causing this?

 

Actually this scenario is possible with poorly-designed switching supplies. Some switchers need a minimum load to keep the switching regulator operating in a stable manner. But typically I'm talking about a switching power supply which can supply 20A, and we're putting under an amp of load on it. Better switchers don't have a minimum load design, and stay stable.

 

From the spec's you give, it's possible that the power supply is either not regulated, or the "5A" rating is a surge rating, and the actual steady state capability is significantly lower.