Solar Advice (sort of off topic)

westend wrote:
I'd try a repeater. You may be able to install the repeater (signal booster) right inside your garage. They are cheap.

A motion sensing LED light isn't going to use much power. Your battery and solar panel should handle one, easily.

If I had your situation (idiot pulling across the lawn), I'd be tempted to put a motion sensing alarm and revolving caution light on the end of the driveway. Something that is going to alert the driver that he has been observed to cross those property lines. It wouldn't have to be permanent as the first tripping should be enough to deter any future trespass.

Thanks. I tried the EnGenius AP in extender mode and it *almost* worked. I also have Netgear EX3700 that got me close as well. I put a 200-foot Ethernet cable on the EnGenius and mounted it on a tree (in Access Point mode). Works great now.

I got motivated because someone took out my mailbox. Not just whacked it going by, up over the curb direct hit took out the 4x4 post. Had to have done some damage but there was no vehicle-type debris.

The ground is frozen so I'll have to wait until Spring to permanently install it, but I have it down where I can see what's going on. The solar panel and battery combo is working great.

turbojimmy wrote:
Got it set up and working. I'm about 75 feet short of my goal. I need to make a 100-150 ft. Ethernet cable for the access point. I have the cable and tools, but it's stupid cold out. The camera is mounted as far as I could get from the AP, which is about 300 feet away. Camera is running off of the battery, with the solar panel charging it up during the day.

Live feed (good as of now, will likely take it down in a few days):
https://video.nest.com/live/CJDKxmuBhw

I'd try a repeater. You may be able to install the repeater (signal booster) right inside your garage. They are cheap.

A motion sensing LED light isn't going to use much power. Your battery and solar panel should handle one, easily.

If I had your situation (idiot pulling across the lawn), I'd be tempted to put a motion sensing alarm and revolving caution light on the end of the driveway. Something that is going to alert the driver that he has been observed to cross those property lines. It wouldn't have to be permanent as the first tripping should be enough to deter any future trespass.

I'm late, but just ran across this while looking at a trail cam. http://www.moultriefeeders.com/moultrie-game-camera-power-panel

It's a solar panel with battery and mounting bracket for their cameras. Your system is nicer in regards to instant alerts vs having to manually retrieve the pics.

Got it set up and working. I'm about 75 feet short of my goal. I need to make a 100-150 ft. Ethernet cable for the access point. I have the cable and tools, but it's stupid cold out. The camera is mounted as far as I could get from the AP, which is about 300 feet away. Camera is running off of the battery, with the solar panel charging it up during the day.

Live feed (good as of now, will likely take it down in a few days):
https://video.nest.com/live/CJDKxmuBhw

Ok here's an update. I haven't installed anything yet, but recent events have caused me to acquire all of the parts to set up a camera at the bottom of the driveway. I got a 55ah 12V deep cycle battery, 100 watt solar panel with charge controller and a nice pole-mountable weather-proof box to put it all in. I got a 12V to 5V step down transformer with a USB port on it. I have an extra DropCam with a weatherproof case (yes, they make an outdoor version now but I don't want to put it down there where I can't see it). I had to get an outdoor WLAN antenna to blast the wireless signal down there, but now I can sell Internet access to all the neighbors (just kidding). Fingers crossed that it all works! The dropcam will alert me to people coming up the driveway if I configure the zone properly (I don't want it to tell me every time a car drives by).

I went the solar route vs. low-voltage because it's easier and not a lot more expensive.

I'm now wondering if I can get away with an LED motion sensing light down there? Might be a little light in the battery department tho.

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rjxj wrote:
Good luck to you and happy hunting. Burn the sob's. When you find out who it is you may even want to be quiet as there are many ways to play the game and you may be surprised who you catch. Time is also on your side before and after the incident. Stupid people forget quickly.

Thanks. I don't know if it's the same person every time. Whoever it is hit a sprinkler head that I had to excavate and replace. Very frustrating. The issue is that you can't see my house so it sort of looks like a street. People use it to turn around without really caring about staying on the pavement. The driveway is only one car width so I've caught people coming the whole way up to turn around on my dropcams - I just can't see the bottom.

TakingThe5th wrote:
I'm slightly off topic but if running all that wire it might be nice to have a motion sensing alert system so you know when someone is coming up the driveway. Just saying ...

Yes. The Nestcam sends alerts when it senses motion but there's a bit of a delay. Plus it will alert on every car that drives by. I may be able to use the extra wire for some other sort of alert.

I'm slightly off topic but if running all that wire it might be nice to have a motion sensing alert system so you know when someone is coming up the driveway. Just saying ...

If you're going to pull wire, think about lighting, also. It seems a shame to pull all that wire to just power a camera. In fact, I believe I'd opt for the trail cam. It would be an easy 10 mins. to setup and would seem to do the job of an intrusion camera.