Wireless cameras with BlueIris?
- Thread starter slinkyrich
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looney2ns
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I suggest you consider the Amcrest IP2M-841 (re-branded Dahua) . It's ONVIF compatible, provides RTSP, is 1080p, IR, 2-way audio plus mike in/speaker out, has pan/tilt/digital zoom, wired or wireless and has alarm in/out, great with Blue Iris, VLC, etc. Available in white, black or silver for under $60. I got an e-mail 7/30 that it's on sale thru amazon for $48 with promo code # VD2FPSNC (not sure if that's still valid).
I have installed it and it's lower-res cousin (720p) , the IPM-721 at 5 locations in 3 years with no hiccups. It runs about $48.
EDIT 4/1/21: V3 of the IP2M-841 does NOT provide relay I/O nor jacks for an external mic and speaker.
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looney2ns
IPCT Contributor
looney2ns
IPCT Contributor
Promo still valid as of this post.
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SouthernYankee
IPCT Contributor
That's the 3MP
see https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0145OQ...m/images/I/41rW8gy303L.jpg&sb-ci-a=B0145OQXCK
for a lightning deal
I knew that...I guess I should have said "you're VERY fast for an old fart" instead of "you're TOO fast for an old fart."
IOW, not only are you fast for an old fart you're too fast for THIS old fart!
J Sigmo
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To use a WiFi cam like these in a secure way, are you guys able to set these to a static IP address, and then just block that IP from the internet using the parental controls in, for example, an Asus router?
I have the max of 16 things already blocked in my router, so I'm going to put all of my POE cams on a separate Ethernet controller in my BI PC. But I've been lazy, and putting that chore off.
Once I get the POE cams all segregated that way, it will free up some IPs on the main subnet for blocking, so I could play with one of these wifi cams that way.
I may have to get one of these with the promo code just to play with, perhaps in my garage. They look interesting, especially for that price.
If nothing else, it may motivate me to finally get the cams on the separate ethernet port and subnet.
I have the max of 16 things already blocked in my router, so I'm going to put all of my POE cams on a separate Ethernet controller in my BI PC. But I've been lazy, and putting that chore off.
Once I get the POE cams all segregated that way, it will free up some IPs on the main subnet for blocking, so I could play with one of these wifi cams that way.
I may have to get one of these with the promo code just to play with, perhaps in my garage. They look interesting, especially for that price.
If nothing else, it may motivate me to finally get the cams on the separate ethernet port and subnet.
J Sigmo
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I did get one of these cameras, and indeed, I was able to set up its wireless IP address by first connecting it via ethernet. After setting up the wireless settings, I was then able to block it from accessing the internet using the parental controls in the router.
The router has a limit of 16 devices that can be restricted, which is disappointing, since one ends up with so many devices on a home network these days. So I freed up some capacity by installing a second ethernet port in the BI PC and putting a lot of my cams on that second subnet that has no direct access to the internet (the router can't see them).
The wireless cam must, of course be on the original subnet so the router's wifi can reach it, and I have a couple of other cameras whose POE switch is daisy chained off of a cable run and additional switch that must remain on the main subnet to accommodate some devices that require internet access (media PC, satellite TV box, etc.), and I didn't feel like running another ethernet cable to that point... yet.
So getting that camera did get me off my butt to set up the second ethernet network, which I've been needing to do for some time.
The camera works well, actually. I put it in my garage to start. The PTZ is nice. And even though the zoom is only digital, I'm actually a bit surprised that it can be useful, especially when viewing from a phone, when you just need some magnification on a small screen.
You can tell the camera is made by Dahua because the web server interface "site" looks very similar to other Dahuas.
I appreciate the recommendations from @looney2ns and @TonyR. It's a pretty neat camera for the price, especially with the promo code to get $10 off.
It's kind of nice to be able to just plop a cam somewhere to test locations without needing to run an ethernet cable to it.
It is powered by a 5V USB charger type supply, so it would be easy enough to use a 12V sealed lead acid battery and a car charger to temporarily fire it up at a location where I don't even have power.
Thanks, guys.
The router has a limit of 16 devices that can be restricted, which is disappointing, since one ends up with so many devices on a home network these days. So I freed up some capacity by installing a second ethernet port in the BI PC and putting a lot of my cams on that second subnet that has no direct access to the internet (the router can't see them).
The wireless cam must, of course be on the original subnet so the router's wifi can reach it, and I have a couple of other cameras whose POE switch is daisy chained off of a cable run and additional switch that must remain on the main subnet to accommodate some devices that require internet access (media PC, satellite TV box, etc.), and I didn't feel like running another ethernet cable to that point... yet.
So getting that camera did get me off my butt to set up the second ethernet network, which I've been needing to do for some time.
The camera works well, actually. I put it in my garage to start. The PTZ is nice. And even though the zoom is only digital, I'm actually a bit surprised that it can be useful, especially when viewing from a phone, when you just need some magnification on a small screen.
You can tell the camera is made by Dahua because the web server interface "site" looks very similar to other Dahuas.
I appreciate the recommendations from @looney2ns and @TonyR. It's a pretty neat camera for the price, especially with the promo code to get $10 off.
It's kind of nice to be able to just plop a cam somewhere to test locations without needing to run an ethernet cable to it.
It is powered by a 5V USB charger type supply, so it would be easy enough to use a 12V sealed lead acid battery and a car charger to temporarily fire it up at a location where I don't even have power.
Thanks, guys.
DLONG2
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- May 17, 2017
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Can you expand on the use of a battery for powerless locations? I am unable to picture how that would work.
YW, @J Sigmo ,
I ordered one also, it'll be my second. Your reference to the 5VDC and the wireless gave me an idea, even though I knew about that, it just now occurred to me.
I have had several dashcams that didn't last long and cost twice as much, so......
1) I could plug a 1 amp 5VDC phone charger into my car's 12VDC accessory jack, stick in an SD card and sit this thing on the dash with some Velcro, start recording when driving.
The external alarm input may be the way to start the recording process with a small toggle switch. Pull either the SD card out (it's externally accessible) or the whole thing and take into the house for reviewing footage..
---AND/OR---
2) Have it running in the car all night, accessing my house's Wi-Fi and have Blue Iris watching for motion by door checkers. I doubt that it'll drain a healthy automotive battery overnight.
looney2ns
IPCT Contributor
It may not be a requirement but NOT being made to "bobble' could be a breach of redneck etiquette...such as "when at a funeral, don't clean your ears with your car keys".Won't Alabama law require you to make the head "bobble".
J Sigmo
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The camera came with a normal 2 Amp, 5V output "phone charger style" wall cube thing. The cube has the normal full-size female USB port Jack, like you find on a PC, for example. Also included is special cable with the mating full size USB male plug on one end, but instead of a micro USB, or USBC plug on the other end, it has a small coaxial plug that mates to the camera.
Without measuring, I can't say how much current the camera draws, but the wall cube is rated for 2 Amps. That doesn't tell us much, though, because most phone charger cubes are rated for 2 Amps these days, so why would they reinvent the wheel?
Anyhow, I was first thinking of just building a little gadget with a simple 3 terminal linear regulator to give me 5V from a 12V source, but that's not necessary because:
You can get a USB phone charger that plugs into a car cigarette lighter. So that's already made to do the job. I'd just hook it up with some clip-leads or, to get fancy, I could solder wires to it and put push-on terminals on the ends of those wires sized for the tabs on a typical sealed lead acid battery. I have a few 12V, 7 an-hour batteries laying around. They're spares for UPSs or were removed from UPSs.
Here's one such USB car charger;
https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics...6NY7&qid=1565040497&s=gateway&sprefix=12+v+us
The cable that came with the camera will plug right into one of the ports on that charger.
For a car, you'd just use it as intended, plugged into a cigarette lighter jack. For a separate 12V battery, you would need to make the proper connections from that battery to the little charger gadget.
You could use something like this to go from your battery to the car charger:
https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GC018-A...787&s=gateway&sprefix=female+cigarette&sr=8-5
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J Sigmo
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That's not a bad idea.
Where I'm at, I don't have a good angle to watch cars coming past where I park. I need a pair of LPR cameras attached to the front and back of my car. That way, I'd have LPR, at least when I'm home!