Baby Monitoring Troubles

October 14, 2008 5:59 PM

How can I monitor my babies without a baby monitor?

I have two babies who sleep in the same room in our house. I also have an office in our garage which is about 30 feet from the house. I need a way to monitor them when they are sleeping and I am working, but all the baby monitors I've tried have failed (including the ones that have extended range). The best I've gotten is being able to kind of hear them but having to tolerate loud white noise the entire time the monitor is on. I know the white noise is common in monitors, but in my office it really has to be loud for me to hear the kids (I don't have this problem in the house).

Is there some wireless way I can hear them that will 1) work and 2) be quiet (silent?) when monitoring? I have tried searching online and have come across the idea of using a Walkie Talkie, but the ones that specifically say they can be used to monitor are not for sale in the US and I can't tell if the ones sold in the US will work. I don't know if this is a good solution.

I keep thinking there must be some way to mic their room and have it "play" on my computer (I use a PC) but I'm way out of my league in understanding what possible solutions there might be or how to even frame the issue for searching. Any help/ideas would be appreciated.

posted by orsonet to technology (11 answers total)

Does it have to be wireless? A wired solution would mostly eliminate white noise. A cheap microphone and the cheapest audio cable you can find would probably still have far less background noise than a good baby monitor.
posted by winston at 6:14 PM on October 14, 2008

You could buy some walkie talkies and rubber band/duct tape the button down.

I don't know how baby monitors work, but you might run into the problem of the walkie talkies running out of power.
posted by 47triple2 at 6:22 PM on October 14, 2008

The family I used to nanny for had a webcam hooked up as a baby monitor. I don't know about the logistics of doing that wirelessly, but it could be an option.
posted by iliketolaughalot at 6:35 PM on October 14, 2008

A mic (and perhaps webcam) that runs to a computer in the house, or a laptop in the room, and voice/video chat software that can run continuously connected to your office computer?
posted by adamk at 6:37 PM on October 14, 2008

A old Laptop running skype would work if you have network in both places.
posted by bottlebrushtree at 6:49 PM on October 14, 2008

We have the Fisher Price Sounds n Lights Monitor, and it transmits from our house to our garage, which is about 50 feet away. Plus, with the lights, you can keep the sound low and still notice if the baby cries.
posted by MrsBell at 6:51 PM on October 14, 2008

How about a Wireless Wifi Webcam? Looks like you could get it for less than a hundred bucks.
posted by jenkinsEar at 7:27 PM on October 14, 2008

You could do it with separate telephones. Either cell phones, two land lines or one cell phone and one land line.
posted by ShooBoo at 9:13 PM on October 14, 2008

I like using the computer network for this. Use this as an opportunity to set up some kind of intercom system.
posted by gjc at 5:16 AM on October 15, 2008

Have you tried the Philips DECT monitors? They're a bit pricey, but MUCH better than the other ones. It should be able to handle this with no problem.
posted by Caviar at 1:04 PM on October 15, 2008 [1 favorite]

if you have two cell phones with the same provider, the calls in the network are usually free.

Another option. Most new cordless phone sets that come with a base an several extension units have "room monitor" or "intercom" feature. The sets that operate on 5.8 or 6.0 GHz frequency have a very long range.
posted by olegchet at 7:09 PM on October 16, 2008