An update on outdoor camera

Well, I’m fine without POE, I just hope that while its plug in, the battery will serve as back-up power during power outage (I have my ISP modem/WiFi router on UPS).

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I think that pretty much goes without saying. It’s primarily intended to be a battery-powered camera, but you can leave it plugged in. I can’t imagine it would STOP being a battery-powered camera once you unplug it.

You all should remember that IF you have ethernet ALREADY with POE you can draw power from it.
So if someone already put holes in your wall to run ethernet (or coax) and the cables are there you can buy

or run power over coax

BUT
If like many of us your house has not had holes drilled throughout it can be daunting to install a bunch of cameras. And what if you want to reconfigure?
Whereas I just installed 2 Pan cams and a V2 to watch a visiting dog in 4 rooms while we are away at Thanksgiving dinner. It probably took about 10 minutes (after I found the second pan cam power supply :slight_smile: )
Wyze should start selling PoE-to-USB adapters to get power to the V2’s. Data would still go via WiFi.

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Just curious if we still have option to plug these in as there seems to be a lot of rumors in the facebook group about the cams being battery operated only.

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I agree. That’s why it’s nice to have options. I can set them up in battery mode, make sure the angles are what I want, then go through with the wiring (if I want to) once I’m sure I’m happy with it. There are also some places where it’s not really very realistic to run power, but that offer a great angle on the property. I have a Blink camera on a telephone pole that faces my house in the front, so that I can see the entire front of the property with one camera. I also have one mounted to a tree in the backyard, so that I can see the entire back of the property with one camera. Realistically, it would probably be prohibitively expensive to run power to those locations, but they provide a great viewing angle. Battery powered cameras are perfect for those spots. For the ones attached to my house, I’d probably choose to drill some holes, in order to take advantage of the benefits of a powered camera.

Neither of those cameras would be realistic for me to run power, but they’re great because with two cameras, I can have an overview of the entire house. The powered ones attached to the house can give me closer angles, but with the battery-powered ones I don’t have to cycle through several cameras to determine if there’s anything happening.

I hope you will still have a Hardwired option for the outdoor cameras :slight_smile:

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IF there’s a wired version then pre-recording should be a definite option. I have battery powered outdoor cameras and the time it takes to wake up is slow and misses people entering the area I have one of the cameras set up to catch people going through a gate; I usually get their backs when I want their faces when they’re opening my gate and walking through…

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I’m hoping so too. TBD :slight_smile:

It is -20 Celsius here in Calgary if you need extreme temperature testers. :wink:

Have not tried coax, but did run CAT 5 to the cams for power. Tied two pairs together as their are 8 wires in the bundle. This was done in order to reduce the wire resistance and thus reduce voltage loss.

Cut the supplied USB power cord 10 inches from the end for both connectors. Wired in to the CAT 5 and powered a run of 30 feet without issue. Use a DMM to measure the voltage under load to make sure the drop is within specifications. The only issue with the Wyze supplied USB cord is that the wires are black and clear. It would be better if they were red for plus and black for negative.

For coax, use the drain wire for the outside shield for the negative and the center connector for the plus. Should work for reasonable run lengths depending on the overall wire gauge. Many of these cables use an aluminum shield w/o a drain wire thus are not an overall great conductor when compared to copper.

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That deserves a write up in Tips & Tricks.

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Now, that’s a great low-cost, Cat 5, twisted pair, hack, worthy of replicating and sharing!!!

Chee Hoo!

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Did you use the original Wyze power brick with the CAT 5 extended cord you made?
How did you connect the power cord with CAT 5, soldered?
Some photos would be great, thanks for the share.

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So agree, the holy Grail in outdoor cameras. Take your time and get it right too. Roll out no camera before it’s time.

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Looking forward to it. I love your products, AND your ethics as a company!

Thank you for the update Dongsheng. I was wondering how it will handle PIR detection in the elements especially in very warm/hot climates where the radiant heat differences are difficult for the PIR sensor to detect. I am thinking of Texas summer direct sunlight heat with the driveway concrete heating up below the camera. Regardless, I am glad your team is working on it and I know they will do everything they can to make it work right. Another great thing to look forward to in the new year. :slight_smile:

For CAT 5 or 6 wire combine two pairs (4 wires) for the plus side and the other two pairs (4 wires) for the negative side. On this end used the orange and brown for the plus side. And the green and blue for the negative.

CAT cable can run from 23 to 26 gauge. Number 23 would be a better choice as it is a heaver wire. If using 26 gauge then combing 4 wires will produce the equivalent of a 20 gauge wire.

The USB cable supplied with the cameras IMO is the weak link as it is very thin wire. It is best to keep the pig tales on the connectors short in order to reduce resistance. i.e. less than 12 inches.

For the best connection, solder the ends of the CAT cable to the USB cable and either tape up the connection or use heat shrink tubing. However, one can also tin the USB cable and use wire nuts to the CAT cable. In this case it is best to also solder the ends of the CAT cable together to insure a good connection and then wire nut. i.e. used electronic solder 60/40 with a rosin core in the range of .031 diameter. Solder for plumbing is too large for this application.

Using one Wyze supplied power wart to power two cameras (not the pan) each with a separate CAT cable run. Three cameras on one Wyze supply could also work, but have not tested that setup. However, it would seem possible to run two cameras over one CAT cable and still be close to 5 VAC being supplied at the camera end depending on cable run length.

If buying new cable, it would be better to use copper door bell wire at either 20 gauge or 18. Would use 18 for longer runs. Had a spool of CAT 5 Teflon so put it to use.

As an alternative, use a 12 VDC power wart or desk top computer power supply for a 12 VDC source. Then use a 12 VDC to 5 VDC converter at each camera for the proper voltage. As long as the voltage supplied to the converter is at least 7 volts the system will work. These little power supply units (the size of a dime) sell in the range of two dollars on Amazon and Ebay. Or as an alternative, try a three terminal voltage regulator in a TO-220 case for each camera.

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No worries friend. Thanks to you and the entire Wyze team for all your hard work and dedication.

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Icecream, Dude, you ROCK!!!, I love it!

Thank you!
Mahalo!
Domo Arigato!
Gracias!
Vielen Dank!
Obrigado!
Je vous remercie!

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