Gimme shelter...

[kenm]

Most of my cameras (wyze & other) need to live outdoors. Inspired by a bird house on Thingverse I decided to try and 3D print one. Here is the result.

Since others might be interested in this, here is the OpenSCAD code, it is embarrassingly short, so I’ll include it in this post.

First the body of the house:

++++++++++++++++++++

/*

/
a=0; // x offset
b=50; // front & back width
c=50; // left & right width
d=75; // height to peak of roof??
a1=-c/2;
r=100;
r1=175;
r2=45;
t=2; // wall thickness
difference(){
union(){
// 175 is random height for cutoff roof cube r1
// 45 is random depth for cutoff roof cube r2
//vertical (walls)
translate([a,a1,0]) cube([r,b,t]); // front
translate([a,a1,c+t]) cube([r,b,t]); // back
translate([a,-a1,-t]) cube([r,t,c+3t]); // right
translate([a,a1,-t]) mirror([0,1,0]) cube([r,t,c+3*t]); // left
}
// front opening
translate([32,0,-1]) cylinder(15,16,16,$fn=130);
// rear power opening
translate([0,-8,b]) cube([22.5,16,8]);
//cut off roof
translate([d,0,0]){
rotate([0,0,-45]) translate([-r/2,0,-10]) mirror([0,0,0]) cube([r,a+b+t,r1]); // right
rotate([0,0,45]) translate([-r/2,0,-10]) mirror([0,1,0]) cube([r,a+b+t,r1]); // left
}
}
difference(){
translate([0,-12,b+4]) cube([28,24,9]);
translate([0,-8,b+4]) cube([16+6.5,16,7]);
}

+++++++++++++++++++++++

And then the roof:

+++++++++++++++++

/*

*/

union(){
// roof for house
cube([3,55,75]);
cube([55,3,75]);
translate([0,0,10]) cube([10,10,49.5]);
}

++++++++++++++++++++++

So… is this more cost effective than the bird house like things you can get from Amazon for ~$20US?

Well that depends, if you have a 3D printer, or know someone that does, well maybe. The cost of filament is <$2US for one, so it a an outwardly cheap solution, but it took over 2 hours to print each part, so making a whole lot this way is not very time efficient.

But it was a lot of fun learning about OpenSCAD and printing my WyzeHouses.

Yes, I did take the picture with a Wyze V2, and it was a PITA. Trying to hand hold it while watching the tablet for framing was next to impossible with the pixelazation each time the camera moved at all. However that is not a normal use case.

enjoy

[BuckEye]

Looks nice and weatherproof. I am not sure about the lens opening, rain might get in around the lens, and possibly the microphone hole. Depending where you are, and how much rain you get, it may be fine.

If it was wood color, if would make a covert camera on top of a Cuckoo clock, or even in gray on a shelf. It looks like a miniature bird house, not a camera.

I would be concerned about heat build up with no ventilation.

But good job. It looks nice.

[kenm]

Yep, it has no (well minimal) ventilation, but with ventilation come bugs, bugs and more bugs.

Print it in one of the wood grained filaments, or draw some hands on the face with white paint for the clock like look!

Thanks…

[rwiltrak]

<p style=“text-align: right;”>I have been searching for a solution to making my Wyze Cams weather resistant, will little success. I was hoping to discover a cost effective , but simple means to protect the interior components. I thought a silicone skin might be a viable option, but none were available that I could find</p>
After giving it some considerable thought, I came up with this idea. It is as simple as it could be. This of course is not a method I would employ without doing some further testing, but it may be an option to consider.

This does raise concerns about the lack of any ventilation, and also sacrifices the flexibility of the multi axis positioning capability of the cameras base, but for the cost of a balloon, why not give it a try? It may even be a consideration to merge this idea with other options to add an extra layer of protection.

Thanks for your time

[kenm]

quite cool… An additional layer of “protection” is always a good idea.

I did some temperature tests with my WyzeHouse(s)™ and there was about 10C rise (over several hours) with the house on in still air on my workbench.

Don’t use it in the sun in temperate climates.