I don’t know if you’re like me, but once I got my hands on the Wyze V3, I decided that I’d probably end up replacing all my V2s with V3s … in addition to putting V3s in a lot of new locations.
So, I’m trying to think of clever uses for my old V2s. I’ve come up with a couple, but need more input from other Wyze users.
Here’s my latest idea.
I already have a camera placed on my sump pump. But I’ve got another area that we often check for leaks when we ventured down into the basement.
It dawned on me, that if I stuck a V2 on my furnace, and pointed it directly down, I would cover an area that would show me my water softener, my water heater, my irrigation relief valve, the furnace a/c discharge, the area behind my water pressure pump, the back wall of a full bath in the finished part of the basement and my unfinished basement’s floor drain.
And yes, you can see stains of past floods. (The dark drops aren’t water, they are pipe flux that dripped during construction and plumber visits).
Keep in mind, my basement in the following is pitch black. This is the Wyze V2s ir view
The little white square is a water detector, the guts of which are elevated. Which makes me restate my wish that Wyze would come up with a leak detector. I could use a boatload of those, if and when, the leak detector is released.
The V2 stuck like glue with its magnet on my furnace, allowing me to position the camera for optimal coverage. I did have to turn off noise detection, because all of these things make noise.
But since I’m basically lazy, this recycled camera allows me stay in my recliner to check for leaks instead of having to walk down all those stairs.
If you have the old Person Detection you can have Alexa perform a task when the camera sees a person. I have a V2 in my garage that turns on a Wifi plug (light) when it sees people.
@angus.black I do have people detection on all my old V2s. That’s a great idea! To use people detection as a trigger!
Wonder if my wife will let me set up a V2 in the bathroom, to turn on a smart bulb or plug with a light connected to it to use as a night light.
(I’m joking! No way will she allow me to set up cameras in our bathroom and bedrooms. I know this, because I’ve broached the subject in the past and it didn’t fly.)
I have had one V2 in the back of my mailbox so I can easily tell if I have mail. Note: WiFi performance inside a metal mailbox that is built into a brick and concrete column is dismal. However I have an access point inside the same brick column, so no problem for me. I also have power in that column.
I have had a V2 as a dashcam in my pickup for a long time, but I added a second camera as a driver cam. It is next to the rear view mirror pointed right at the driver. The primary intent is to be able to see what the driver was doing immediately prior to an accident - in case of liability questions relating to driver distraction. It would also have a good chance of getting a good look at anyone attempting to steal the truck.
When I am home of course they connect to the WiFi at home. When I am at work, I have an SSID on the WiFi there that matches my IoT SSID so it connects (barely from the parking lot). On the road, they are recording continuously to the uSD cards only.
If I REALLY needed to get to something on the cameras while on the road, I could setup my phone as a hotspot for them, but that is not the norm.
I placed a camera in the garage, pointing downward to the floor, to notify me when certain vermin, like mice or black rats, are present. I also placed a motion sensor in the same camera view to get more frequent video clips. With this technique, I am able to successfully hunt these interlopers.
After discovering a black rat (AKA roof rat) through this method, that visitor is no longer feeling well. That is, no longer feeling.
I have the NEW electronic Washr & Dryer. The timer is never correct because of the moisture sensors. So I have a V2 watching the timer so I don’t have to go downstairs and find out there are 10 minutes left. Cool!
