Wifi Security Type Camera to Monitor Water Level Remotely
May 24, 2017 9:23 AM
I'm looking for a camera that I can put on the outside of a shed at my cabin that will allow me to view the lake remotely from my iPhone. No other bells of whistles needed.
I have a cabin that's about 6 hours away from me. The lake is expected to flood and I would like to be able to monitor the water level as it gets closer to my cabin. I want to mount a wifi camera on the shed and be able to just check in from my phone to get a view of the lake. There is wifi up there though I will probably need to get an extender for this purpose.
It seems like most wifi security cameras have things like motion sensing, recording, ITTT channels, etc. I don't want or need any of those things. I just need a video stream I can activate and view from my phone and that's it.
Never purchased anything like this before. Any suggestions?
Thank you!
I have a cabin that's about 6 hours away from me. The lake is expected to flood and I would like to be able to monitor the water level as it gets closer to my cabin. I want to mount a wifi camera on the shed and be able to just check in from my phone to get a view of the lake. There is wifi up there though I will probably need to get an extender for this purpose.
It seems like most wifi security cameras have things like motion sensing, recording, ITTT channels, etc. I don't want or need any of those things. I just need a video stream I can activate and view from my phone and that's it.
Never purchased anything like this before. Any suggestions?
Thank you!
Yes, I have power.
posted by Lutoslawski at 9:39 AM on May 24, 2017
posted by Lutoslawski at 9:39 AM on May 24, 2017
I don't think that Logitech camera is weatherproof for outdoor use. That's probably going to be your biggest barrier, though you may be able to find a weatherproof enclosure you could put it in.
There are cheap simple cameras out there, like Foscams. But a lot of those have a pretty shoddy security track record. I'd only recommend using those if you feel confident that you know how to lock them down and prevent security issues.
posted by primethyme at 11:00 AM on May 24, 2017
There are cheap simple cameras out there, like Foscams. But a lot of those have a pretty shoddy security track record. I'd only recommend using those if you feel confident that you know how to lock them down and prevent security issues.
posted by primethyme at 11:00 AM on May 24, 2017
Nest Cam Outdoor does what you need. If you don't bother with the subscription service it's basically what you describe.
posted by GuyZero at 11:06 AM on May 24, 2017
posted by GuyZero at 11:06 AM on May 24, 2017
Just a thought: there may be other ways to get good info without a camera pointed at the lake. For example, http://www.uslakes.info/ has lake level info for about 1700 lakes in the USA, updated several times a day, including some rather small lakes. Even if your lake is not aggregated on that site, your county or state may publish lake levels in a timely manner. If you give us the name/location of the lake, we may be able to help find workable alternatives.
Also I wonder how often the storms that cause floods may cause the internet to go down at that shed site, keeping in mind that severe weather does mess with wi-fi, let alone whatever lines the ISP uses to supply your cabin, etc.
posted by SaltySalticid at 12:34 PM on May 24, 2017
Also I wonder how often the storms that cause floods may cause the internet to go down at that shed site, keeping in mind that severe weather does mess with wi-fi, let alone whatever lines the ISP uses to supply your cabin, etc.
posted by SaltySalticid at 12:34 PM on May 24, 2017
Arlo cameras might do what you need - they are wifi, and I think they have both wired and wireless ones. We use them at the house - we have them set up outside, with motion detecting, but also have them inside, where I can just log in and activate it to view the stream (bunny room!).
Although they do have batteries, I have found the battery life to be pretty good (in Georgia weather, at least). The batteries don't do as well in cold weather, so if you are somewhere colder, you might want to go with something else.
posted by needlegrrl at 2:51 PM on May 24, 2017
Although they do have batteries, I have found the battery life to be pretty good (in Georgia weather, at least). The batteries don't do as well in cold weather, so if you are somewhere colder, you might want to go with something else.
posted by needlegrrl at 2:51 PM on May 24, 2017
Forget the expensive Nest and Logitech cams - the Yi Home Camera works great and is less than forty bucks. The price on Amazon seems to oscillate between $35 & $40.
No monthly plan required. Can record to a memory card if you plug one in. Can notify you when something happens if you want.
I have several. My favorite is the slightly more expensive ($80) 1080p model with hardware panning.
posted by w0mbat at 3:56 PM on May 24, 2017
No monthly plan required. Can record to a memory card if you plug one in. Can notify you when something happens if you want.
I have several. My favorite is the slightly more expensive ($80) 1080p model with hardware panning.
posted by w0mbat at 3:56 PM on May 24, 2017
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Do you have power to the shed?
posted by gregr at 9:25 AM on May 24, 2017