IP over a Cell Conection

[NCPI 0]

I am new here and hope to gain great Knowledge. I am currently trying to find a covert solution for Covert Cameras. I a looking for a solution to make a covert camera system that I can drop somewhere and monitor anytime. For instance. I want to watch a suspect area and I want to drop a covert cam and watch it remotely from the office or anywhere. Cam anyone point me in the direction to build this? I know it can be done but I want the best and most cost effective way.

 

Thank You

[Boogieman 1]

I am new here and hope to gain great Knowledge. I am currently trying to find a covert solution for Covert Cameras. I a looking for a solution to make a covert camera system that I can drop somewhere and monitor anytime. For instance. I want to watch a suspect area and I want to drop a covert cam and watch it remotely from the office or anywhere. Cam anyone point me in the direction to build this? I know it can be done but I want the best and most cost effective way.

 

Thank You

is it magically going to power itself?

[ak357 0]

I am new here and hope to gain great Knowledge. I am currently trying to find a covert solution for Covert Cameras. I a looking for a solution to make a covert camera system that I can drop somewhere and monitor anytime. For instance. I want to watch a suspect area and I want to drop a covert cam and watch it remotely from the office or anywhere. Cam anyone point me in the direction to build this? I know it can be done but I want the best and most cost effective way.

 

Thank You

is it magically going to power itself?

Common Boogieman

u know its can be done with 9 V battery which last for years

[NCPI 0]

I know there are power options. I need to know the best way to set it up.

[Boogieman 1]

I am new here and hope to gain great Knowledge. I am currently trying to find a covert solution for Covert Cameras. I a looking for a solution to make a covert camera system that I can drop somewhere and monitor anytime. For instance. I want to watch a suspect area and I want to drop a covert cam and watch it remotely from the office or anywhere. Cam anyone point me in the direction to build this? I know it can be done but I want the best and most cost effective way.

 

Thank You

is it magically going to power itself?

Common Boogieman

u know its can be done with 9 V battery which last for years

[Boogieman 1]

I know there are power options. I need to know the best way to set it up.

You dont give any detail...how big the device can be...how you plan on powering it...how long it needs to last...most importantly what is your budget...its not as simple as you make it sound...

particularly the part about watching it anywhere live..also consider that what you what to do is most likely illegal..

[cctv_007 3]

In theory, this could be done quite easily. All you need is a portable internet connection (cell with data), a network camera, and power. But as mentioned by boogieman, the practicality of it all is where the challenges come up. Power is the biggest issue.

 

A cell with data turned on sending a continuous data stream will not last very long, the camera itself needs power (12v @ 2-3w) will require a big battery. Then there's the issue of concealment. All these batteries will be hard to hide "in plain sight".

 

What you're looking for is something custom built for this type of application. It would likely be small, low power, have built-in SIM card slot and battery capacity for a "reasonable" viewing window.

 

You're looking for a Super Secret Stealth Spycam with remote viewing ... LOL! Anything worthwhile in this category will be big $$$.

[dcam 0]

Who says it has to be small , it can be concealed in something big that suits the environment . You would need more info about the environment you want to use it in, and there are lots of cheap covert cameras available if video quality is not important , does it have to be ip camera based ?

[MaxIcon 0]

Here's a post from someone who does this on a regular basis:

http://www.cam-it.org/index.php?topic=9372.msg55936

 

He makes self-contained units that require external power, but it's simple to add a power source if space isn't an issue.

 

This isn't going to be some tiny spy device that no one will notice unless you're willing to spend pretty serious money.

[thewireguys 3]

If size is not an issue this is not hard to do. Cell Router / POE switch / Server/computer and camera. Power and bandwidth are the tricky part

[need2shave 0]

If you have the capability to put it together, when it's all said and done and you pay the required ISP fees for the appropriate accounts, you'll probably find you paid more to try to reinvent the wheel than if you just bought from a company that specializes in these systems.

[MaxIcon 0]

After some thought on this, I believe one way to implement an affordable, compact, self-powered surveillance cam would be to use a cell phone. There are lots of how-to posts for doing this on wifi, so you'd just need an app to stream the data over the cell connection instead.

 

Battery life would be limited, low-light performance would be terrible, and you'd likely need some custom software to make it happen, but it would be much more compact than a Pelican case stuffed with gear.

[Boogieman 1]

After some thought on this, I believe one way to implement an affordable, compact, self-powered surveillance cam would be to use a cell phone. There are lots of how-to posts for doing this on wifi, so you'd just need an app to stream the data over the cell connection instead.

 

Battery life would be limited, low-light performance would be terrible, and you'd likely need some custom software to make it happen, but it would be much more compact than a Pelican case stuffed with gear.

in theory you can use an app like skype...and just set it to connect automatically when you call it - if that is possible..but the downsides as you explain make it practically useless you build it into a clock radio or something then put a charger in there and plug it in..

[buellwinkle 0]

Check out Brickcom cameras. The modes that start with a W for wireless. They have cellular radios and you stick in a sim card for remote access. Of course you will still need power as these don't take the magical 9v batteries AK357 has.

[MaxIcon 0]

How about magical CR123 batteries?

 

A typical CR123 is rated at 3V, 1300 mAh. You'd need 4 of them to power a 12Vdc camera. Using a camera that draws 6W, that's 500 mA, so you could run for 2+ hours. The Brickcom may need more power for the cell circuit, and to get more life you could run more batteries in parallel, though that increases the chance of catastrophic flaming failure on CR123 batteries unless you hand-match them.

 

Likewise, a 12V 7Ah UPS battery would be bulkier, but would power a 6W cam for 14-ish hours, depending on the voltage drop curve.

 

You can get much larger 12V batteries, of course, so if the Brickcom works as a standalone cell video source, all you'd need is the cam, the battery and some cabling, and an appropriate case.

[ak357 0]

Of course you will still need power as these don't take the magical 9v batteries AK357 has.

 

I guess you are one of those who believe me

That funny

Edited March 20, 2015 by Guest

[cavcom 0]

Look into cradle point routers , there not cheap about 600 bucks. I have about 15 over Verizon 4g and they work great but if your gonna view/watch them a lot data would not be cheap.

[myiicu 0]

A portable 24/7 covert ip camera is a very difficult task.

 

True covert (invisible to the human eye) 940nm IR illuminators are costly, not very small, and consume power.

 

Pinhole cameras are usually not good for both low light and bright light scenarios.

 

Cameras that perform well in low light/bright lights will have larger lens and more circuitry to handle the dynamic range making the solution less covert...