Remote Farm Installation

[BigTel 0]

I am hoping for a little help from this forum on an installation I want to try. I need to rig up a CCTV monitoring system on my farm, in the lambing pens, to allow me to monitor the sheep while I am not there. I have a power supply there, but no internet access. I would like to set something up to allow me to access the CCTV pictures while away from the farm on a web browser or my smart phone.

 

I am looking for a little advice on which system would work, how to set up some sort of 3G modem to transmit the pictures etc.

 

Has anyone set up something similar which works?

 

Any advice would help me.

 

Thank you.

 

BigTel

[daveshoot 0]

If you have 3G, I guess you're saying you DO have internet access, but only via GPRS cell, right? (I have a similar situation).

 

If so, the problem you'll face is the data cap that is part of those plans. "Unlimited" access never really was, and now they have more explicit 5 Gb (or 2 Gb) limits, which is really going to limit the amount of live video you can monitor. A workaround might be to monitor through stills.

 

If you clear this up it will help the smarter guys suggest some alternatives.

[BigTel 0]

Yes, and no..! I do not have any telephone lines (hard lines) but I was thinking the 3G dongle method may be the only way. I have not brought one yet though as I was looking for advice on which system would work using it.

[Neutech 0]

Do you have Broadband at your farm house?

How far is farm house from Shed/Pens?

 

Where are you located?

 

There are solutions out there Tel but until we see where you live etc its kinda hard to provide solutions Bud

[BigTel 0]

Hi there - I am situated in the rural Midlands in the UK and there is no broadband access or phone line at the farm. My house is 'miles' from the sheds, as I do not live at the farm. This is why I am looking for some way to send periodic photo / video feed via a 3G dongle. Or if there was a way to remotely trigger the system to take a photo when I wanted to 'see' what is going on.

 

I am really after some idea what system will work in this type of situation. Would a standard CCTV system work? A PC based web cam? A mobile phone rigged up to a pole in the sheep pen??

[Neutech 0]

Ok first thing is check 3G network coverage at the location and see which if any offer full 3G coverage

Can you see your Farm from your house even if its miles away?is it line of sight?

Have you Broadband in your house?

[BigTel 0]

Hi yes I have broadband in the house - but it is miles away, with no line of sight. I will try and check what 3G coverage I have. Is there a website for doing that?

[Kawboy12R 0]

https://www.google.ca/search?q=cellular+coverage+map+uk&rlz=1C1GGGE_enCA502CA502&oq=cellular+coverage+map+uk&aqs=chrome.0.57.19049&sugexp=chrome,mod=10&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

[BigTel 0]

Thanks for the link.

 

I have just checked and 3G mobile is classed as very good in my area.

 

So now I know I can get 3G, what can I use to monitor my pens?

[Kawboy12R 0]

I'd say just about any DVR with remote capabilites. Just plug your USB 3G stick into a computer for net access and plug the DVR into a switch attached to the computer. Might even get away with plugging the DVR into the network port in the back of the computer. Setup the DVR for remote access via some kind of free dynamic dns server (dyndns or something) just like anybody with wired internet access would, and you should be good to go. Tell your cell company salesguy what you want to do with it and make sure that the internet stick won't go to sleep when not in use for a long or something inconvenient like that. Set up the DVR for a slooow framerate so that when you connect to check on the stock you don't overwhelm your upload speed. 1 fps might even do it. Again, ask your cellular provider what they recommend. Not sure how long or how often you'd want to check on your stock either, but I bet staying connected to the dvr from your home 24/7 would scare you over the long run for bandwidth costs though. It shouldn't be too inconvenient or expensive to connect a few times a day though. Certainly beats driving out every time you're worried. Also, I'd set up the dvr, computer (or laptop), and usb 3G stick first at home or at your favourite nerd's place so you aren't out in the boonies. If you buy the dvr from a local cctv shop they might even set it up to work in their shop and you could just move everything out to the farm and plug it in out there already to go. Just run camera wires from wherever you stick the computer to the pens.

 

Either that or call a place that sells cell-enabled game cameras and see if any can be set up to email you a pic at home every, say, half hour or whatever and compare the hardware and operating costs to the computer/3G stick/DVR/camera solution.

[daveshoot 0]

ATT has a Sierra Wireless mobile wifi hotspot that I have been using (actually 4G capable) with fairly good results, but not for CCTV yet. It's how I am reading this site at the moment. I'm sure there are other similar products.

 

This gives you your connection, and a wi-fi hotspot, all in one. You should then be able to use it with IP cams. This device is powered by USB and has an internal battery. If you had an NVR locally you could probably run it off that.

 

Here it is, along with some hype:

 

 

You still have a 5 Gb cap on any GPRS plan available, so the next hurdle is how to minimize your usage. The wi-fi side is "free" but the internet use goes up quickly with live video. I suppose the trick would be to use sensors of some kind to tip you when to connect for remote views.

[Neutech 0]

Thanks for the link.

 

I have just checked and 3G mobile is classed as very good in my area.

 

So now I know I can get 3G, what can I use to monitor my pens?

 

Contact Vodafone, 3, o2 etc and ask them to check the coverage at that area, pick one that works and buy a Dongle, take it up to the pens with a laptop and check what speed is like and if there is a 3G service, once you have done that and are happy then have a look at an ip camera and connect to a suitable router that can take usb dongle or if you wanted to cover 2 / 3 / 4 pens then buy a cheap 4CH DVR and hook up 4 cameras to it but no Hard Drive is needed so your using it like a web server.

[BigTel 0]

Thanks for the advice on the dongle - I have checked and I will try and get one next weekend. Maplin have a number of good CCTV units which I will see if I can link up with the dongle. I will have a chat with the sales guy in there and see what he says.

 

By the way, we had our first lambs over the weekend...I had better get the camera set up quick..!! (see attached)

[Kawboy12R 0]

Haha, cute! Good luck with the project. I'm sure more than one of us would like pics and updates on how the project went as well.

[Kneepuck 0]

If you have no luck with that, I can tell you that I have set up a wireless network, using a standard router and 2 directional gain antennas, over 1 mile away. It worked very well. I have heard of people doing this with very focused beam antenna's supposedly up to 200 miles. They had tall towers, I guess. Here is the best part. You can make an antenna with a very high gain factor, very directional, out of a tin can, a short piece of copper wire and a connector. The specs are available, just google them. The set I made worked quite well, better than the factory made $147.00 job, for sure!

Not really something a pro would offer, but it works.

[BigTel 0]

Sounds interesting. I don't think I have a clear line of site between points though for my application.

 

I am just waiting on some bits to arrive that I have ordered - hopefully I will get something set up soon and I will report back on how it works...or doesn't..!