So i had this issue: getting a pv3 on the roof, where there was no practical way of wiring an outlet. The only lifeline being an ethernet cable being left behind by ATT.
The first thing i tried was cutting it down as much as i could, probably around 30-40ft, then used one of these to turn it into a usb extension:
So, it worked, but no matter what power supply i tried, if i use the PZ motor on the camera, it would die. It worked fine with a regular v3.
Figuring i was getting voltage drop, i asked reddit, and a user gave the idea to make it 12v.
So i go this kit to inject 12v through the ethernet:
Then on the camera, i got a dc coupler, and one of these:
Added in a regular usb car charger.
VoilĂ , camera is working normally!
I tucked all the connections into a basic outdoor in-use receptacle housing mounted to the wall.
Yes - what the original question was about.
Because of the pan / tilt motors, the power consumption is far larger than the V3 camera. I would be VERY surprised if any 30 foot USB cable would deliver enough voltage when both motors are turning. Many comments here on the forum about any of the Pan cameras being unable to use long cables due to the voltage drop when the motors are turning.
The 12 volt solution solves that because it does not matter if the 12 volts drops to 10 volts by the end of the cable due to the 5 volt regulator very close to the camera. I am doing that for three V3 cameras that are about 75 cable feet from the power source, but less than three feet from the 5 volt regulators.
For me cheap 10 meters micro usb cable and 5v/1a power supply works almost a year now on V3 outside.
Pan V3 needs 5v/2a power supply but same cable should work
siren works, tried night vision and radio only briefly so cant say for sure.
initially used larger 5v3a power supply from phone, which also outputs 9v and 12 and found sd card recording was stopping after few hours.
so now i use old 5v1a power supply from blink and so far no problems.
Yes the siren works but most of the times it will freeze the camera and it needs a reboot. I have no issues with night vision but two way radio doesn’t work period. This is on v3. Than I connected the v4 on the same cable I had the same issues plus whenever the spotlight would turn on the camera would freeze. I use a 5V 2Amp and looks like it’s not the Amps that matter but the voltage drop over that length of a tiny wire. If I remember correctly when I measured the voltage over that cable some time ago it was around 4.6Volts way below the minimum of 4.8Volts that v3 requires.
A long cheap usb cable will not work with the PAN v3, which is what this topic is about. I even mention anecdotally in the OP that my regular ethernet extension did work with a non-pan V3.
As also mentioned in the OP, the ethernet cable was the only option, if i were to try to run a usb cable the next nearest long way around it would be near 100ft.
At the end of the ethernet run, i did another 15ft of usb so that i could place a weather box down at reachable height for maintenance, so we’re talking probably 50’ for this total run.
Since posting, no issues, it works. The only thing i’m wondering about vs some of the other voltage regulator solutions for this problem, is whether or not the car charger type usb adapter i’m using has a buck converter in it. I’m guessing it does, since car chargers are expected to deal with a range of voltages that a car battery/alternator put out, but if someone knows more about this, i’d love to know. In any case, all is working well!