Fairly inexpensive POE solution to power cams up to 330 feet away

[dave27]

I know @spamoni and possibly others are using POE setups to power their cams.

Happened to come across this Ubiquiti POE to 5v/2A USB adapter for $19. There are other cheaper ones out there, but this one is nice and compact and from a reputable brand.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1426601-REG/ubiquiti_networks_ins_3af_usb_instant_802_3af_adapter_to.html

This can power a single pan cam or two 1A non-pan cams using a USB splitter. As long as the two cams are within about 30 feet of each other, you can use two 15’ USB cables to power them from this. Or if closer, obviously the stock cables are fine. Pretty much any ethernet run (even CAT5) should handle this fine since it is power only. Heck I wouldn’t be surprised if CAT3 phone cabling would do it.

If you do your own run you can get nice thin CAT5e cables, or even flat ones. Pre-terminated is easiest, but you can also buy bare solid conductor cable, and either crimp RJ45 connectors (for those that know how) or punch keystone jacks onto it (much easier for novice users).

Only 4 pins are needed so a single run could handle two of these adapters, just make sure to get the pinout right.

As far as the AC power side, if you just need a single POE source, Ubiquiti also makes a couple cheap ones.

U-POE which is passive 48V POE and NOT AF compliant. I do not know if this will work with the above adapter. Some AF devices will accept passive 48V fine, others will not. But it is only $8, might be worth a try.

But the U-POE+ is AT/AF compliant and definitely will work with it. That one is $15.

If you want to do multiple runs, there are multiport POE injectors out there that are less than $15 per port (most are even less than $8 per port). Just make sure it is AF compliant and not passive (unless someone can confirm that passive works).

Of course if you have a POE ethernet switch you can use that, but usually those ports are going to be more expensive and it is sort of a waste, unless you have no other use for them.

Note none of these adapters are outdoor rated so you’d want to mount them inside and run the USB outside, or mount them in a weatherproof box.

[Crease]

That seems like a pretty cool find. I could imagine something like this being used in a situation similar to what’s mentioned here:

RTSP for v3 and Pan v3

FYI, I am confirming with the internal dev team (waiting on a response). I also have one of the new Solar Pan Cam which has a battery but I use one of these POE to usb c adapters to power/charge from a far distance in my yard instead of using the solar panel so I do not have to deal with the Power Save Mode experience.

5V ⎓ 2A is what Solar Cam Pan would expect to see in order to use continuous microSD recording, so something like this seems like a reasonable way to provide the power necessary to enable that feature at a distance.

[dave27]

Thanks for removing the outdoor power tag, I had to put something….

The brand mentioned in that post, which I think is also what @spamoni uses, does have cheaper adapters, but they all split out two short cables (one has a female USB-A plus ethernet which is probably the most flexible). The others have short micro USB or USB-C male tails along with an RJ45, but aren’t outdoor rated so the tail isn’t that useful in many cases, and the RJ45 isn’t needed, so they’re a bit less streamlined. He says they’ve been working fine for a couple years so they may also be a good option (I believe they do 2.4 amps so could potentially do like 3 of the 1A cams, since we know the OGs can share a single 1.5A adapter).

These ones just seemed pretty sleek and small, and I’ve had Ubiquiti POE injectors that have been running for a decade and still going strong even in very hot/cold locations. Worth noting the Ubiquiti one also has pretty good isolation and surge specs to help protect the cam if there is a surge or ESD in the ethernet portion.

[Seapup]

@dave27

Posting here since this is where it always gets asked, but can move to another forum if more appropriate.

You can leave your topic in Cameras, but it would better serve the community and get more visibility in Tips & Tricks.

[Crease]

@dave27

Thanks for removing the outdoor power tag, I had to put something….

No sweat. It seemed like the appropriate thing to do since outdoor-power-adapter is intended to be a product tag for Wyze Outdoor Power Adapter and because you noted this:

@dave27

Note none of these adapters are outdoor rated so you’d want to mount them inside and run the USB outside, or mount them in a weatherproof box.

@dave27

These ones just seemed pretty sleek and small, and I’ve had Ubiquiti POE injectors that have been running for a decade and still going strong even in very hot/cold locations. Worth noting the Ubiquiti one also has pretty good isolation and surge specs to help protect the cam if there is a surge or ESD in the ethernet portion.

Good points. I don’t have any of their equipment, but I read good things.

[dave27]

@Crease

No sweat. It seemed like the appropriate thing to do since outdoor-power-adapter is intended to be a product tag for Wyze Outdoor Power Adapter and because you noted this:

Yeah it was just the closest thing though obviously not accurate. Would be nice if there was a “not cam specific” like there is for OS. Also noticed there is a typo in one of them - “Cam Pan Due”.

[habib]

Great post brother, but unfortunately a deal breaker for me (see circled)

[dave27]

Um if that’s 19CAD that’s an even better deal, though the shipping will probably kill it (only a couple bucks to me if the order is under $49).

I’m guessing there are probably authorized retailers up in in your neck somewhere. Don’t you guys still have Radio Shacks with bears running the registers?

MOD NOTE: Post edited to conform to the Community Guidelines.

[habib]

@dave27

Um if that’s 19CAD that’s an even better deal

No it’s not, that’s 19USD

@dave27

I’m guessing there are probably authorized retailers up in in your neck somewhere. Don’t you guys still have Radio Shacks with bears running the registers?

Radio Shack was bought by The Source and that one is gone with the wind as well. The adapter is on Amazon Canada for 47.23CAD. I don’t have the need for PoE, but nice to know that one is out there. We have couple brick and mortar computer stores but none of those stock them.

MOD NOTE: Post edited to conform to the Community Guidelines.

[dave27]

I think Ubiquiti has a Canada website but their shipping here is usually pretty high so I’m guessing the same there.

MOD NOTE: Post edited to conform to the Community Guidelines.

[dave27]

Well if you do ever have a use for POE, looks like there are quite a few choices on amazon that are relatively cheap like the ones @spamoni uses. The ethernet “output” just doesn’t get used.

I am curious to know if the $8 passive injectors (which I use for my APs) work with any of these. Though the multiport AF compliant injectors for like $20 are probably what people would use if doing multiple cams.

MOD NOTE: Post edited to conform to the Community Guidelines.

[Crease]

@dave27

Also noticed there is a typo in one of them - “Cam Pan Due”.

I think that’s a synonym for the actual tag, duo-cam-pan. Thanks for pointing that out. I passed it to the Admins.

---

Edit @ 2026-02-22T22:54:00Z

@Loki fixed it. Thanks again for mentioning the tag issue.

[habib]

@dave27

Well if you do ever have a use for POE, looks like there are quite a few choices on amazon that are relatively cheap like the ones @spamoni uses. The ethernet “output” just doesn’t get used.

Yeah, I’ve seen those, but who knows if I’ll ever need them.

MOD NOTE: Post edited to conform to the Community Guidelines.

[dave27]

@habib

Yeah, I’ve seen those, but who knows if I’ll ever need them.

To get back on topic, given that I have ethernet runs all over the house, it may be something I grab just to have on hand, though yeah I can’t think of any current practical use.

I’ve seen people use POE with USB adapters to charge their phones. Though I’m not sure that falls under the “practical” category.

[habib]

@dave27

To get back on topic, given that I have ethernet runs all over the house, it may be something I grab just to have on hand, though yeah I can’t think of any current practical use.

My house was built in the early ‘70s and I always wanted ethernet everywhere. Very expensive to do it now. I wish I had the foresight and did it at the cottage. In my defence, when I was building the cottage there was no cell coverage and internet was non existent. So I decided to save few bucks and not run Cat 5 cable. Still work for me as it is single level and only about 800 sq. feet.

@dave27

I’ve seen people use POE with USB adapters to charge their phones. Though I’m not sure that falls under the “practical” category.

MOD NOTE: Post edited to conform to the Community Guidelines.

[larryg7]

Power out is very good. What camera connector gets the camera data line back 330 ft through an rj45 connector to a wifi signal or recorder with a RJ45 connection.?

[dave27]

The stock USB cable connects between the camera and the converter I posted (or you could use a standard USB up to 15 feet), then you use ethernet RJ45 over CAT5 or better for the next up to 330 feet. At the end of the 330 feet you can use a POE injector (posted a couple examples, the second one being the safest bet, but there are many available out there) which plugs into the wall, or a POE enabled ethernet switch (the port will only provide power, not data).

Wall → POE Injector or POE Switch → Ethernet cabling up to 330ft → POE/USB converter → USB Cable (either USB-A to Micro USB or USB-A to USB-C depending on cam model → Camera

There is a USB-C version of the adapter which would let you use a USB-C to USB-C cable to the newer cams but it is much more expensive and doesn’t buy anything over having USB-A on one end.

[Seapup]

Some posts were removed or edited that did not follow the Community Guidelines. Please flag posts that violate the guidelines so the moderators can respond appropriately.

Key points to keep in mind:

• Don’t post political or religious rhetoric

Important sections:

Keep It Tidy

[dave27]

Apologies - thought it was clear that I wasn’t showing support for/against either side and it was mostly tongue in cheek related to their odd checkout shutdown policies. And any opportunity to give the Canuck a hard time

[habib]

@dave27

And any opportunity to give the Canuck a hard time

That kind of hard time is always welcomed