Hello, I would like to “cover” both my front yard and back-yard with outdoor Cams. Question; Should I consider 2 base stations? One Base station for the front-yard with 2 Cams “attached” and one base station for the back-yard with 2 Cams “attached”. Is this needed? or does one base station inside the house cover a 10,000+Sq lot? I would plan to have each base station (if I had 2) attached via ethernet separated (not both right at router) and plugged-in by the front and back respectively. I do have wired ethernet around the house that would connect back to the router.
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I have almost the same size a lot and my experience with the outdoor cam is that you will definitely need two base stations. Practically, the range I have is no more than 30 to 50 feet, heavily dependent on walls and other obstacles, in particular things like old house wall (thick plaster) versus new house.(sheetrock)
I would also suggest before you invest in the WOC’s take a serious look at the new V3. It requires wired power, but that can be done in numerous ways including solar. Just a suggestion.
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Thanks for feedback! Just pre-ordered 2 outdoor Cam Starter kits and 2 extra Cams. This will give me 4 Cams and 2 base stations. I do have an old house with plaster walls etc. I will report back how well this works or not (installing in December timeframe). It is basically a $10 gamble buying 2 base stations. I think it is worth it. If I need, later, I’ll get a v3 as you suggest. I am just not sure how much flexility I’ll have for getting power to the Cams in an outdoor application.
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Feel free to post back or message me with any questions. Old houses present their own set of circumstances and I’ve been dealing with them for a long time!
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So do I even need a hub if I am not going to be using the internet with my outdoor cam? I am just going to check the footage with my phone.
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Welcome to the community @kshafer74
- Yes, you need the Outdoor Base (hub) connected by an ethernet cable to your internet router to use the Outdoor Cam.
- Your phone needs to be on the same sub-net as the base to authenticate.
Thanks for the offer. I may be reaching out!
I’m moving to a new home in early December. It’s over 100 years old. I will be installing a mesh network (Eero) with a router and “extenders” in the main house and a 3rd in a guesthouse. My plan is to have the WOC hub in the main/front house to mange 2 cameras out front and the 2nd WOC hub in back house managing the 2 in back. I can foresee getting a couple of theV3s once I’m in and see how it all works and my electric/access situation.
I’ll post in a separate place on this forum, but also considering the Door Locks and keypads. I’m just worried how well they work on deadbolts that may not easily open and close. Old doors aren’t well aligned.
Again, thanks!
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Hello, Here’s my update to installing four WOCs. Sorry, I’m a little slow to post but moving into a new (old) house has taken most of my time.
I installed the 4 WOCs with absolutely no problems. Here are some pre-steps I took:
- Fully charged all WOCs prior to doing anything.
- Inserted SD cards in all 4 WOCs
- Ethernet connected the Hubs (I have 2) to 2 of my 3 Eero routers/extenders
My worry prior to install was to have enough range to cover both front and back yards. That’s why (with advice on here) I purchased 2 hubs for 4 WOCs. One hub connected to the front most router and the second in the back-house/Casita Router. The good news here was that my mesh system was able to extend a good enough signal to a Casita in back yard a good stretch of over 100ft. My plan B was to install an ethernet run from main house router to Casita router, but turns out I didn’t need to.
I’m really impressed with Eero. As an aside, I chose Eero over others specifically because it excelled in range over its competitors in reviews. It falls short in other areas (apparently), but Range was my number 1 goal. I’ve never had such good coverage anywhere I’ve lived. My entire yard (1/4 Acre) is easily covered with WiFi and the very fringes are not areas of need in any case.
I haven’t decided on the final spots for the WOCs and just have them near where I want them. I wanted to get an idea of the coverage, angle, light, etc before I permanently affix them. As a couple will be in the Front of the house, I want them to be out of reach enough to not be easy targets, but also easy to pull down for charges when needed.
In the mean time, I pre-ordered the V3 Cam. I haven’t received it yet, but my thinking is that it will be my “front door” cam and I have power near by. For this location, I want the better specs (maybe voice will be better, I found the WOCs aren’t the best for having a conversation, but again not my primary use-case). I do foresee the V3 potentially making a Doorbell/Cam unnecessary. I May do same for the back-door. Then my WOCs can be for more general coverage of the house. This is a lot of Coverage (more than I really need), but it is so easy so why not. I even have extra expansion in the 2 hubs. I could add 2 cams to each of those (I don’t think I’ll need to).
Admittedly, I need to learn how to use these cams better. I haven’t spent anytime customizing them ie field of vision, triggers etc. I have SD cards in each, but not sure I’ even using them. I’m just taking the learning curve one thing at a time. Overall, I’m very impressed with them. Recordings are good, access while away is strong, field of vision is wide etc…
A quick note about the battery life so far. I’ve had the WOCs in use about 1 month now. I’ve had to re-charge one so far, I let it go down to 1%. But it was honestly in a very high traffic area and I played with it to watch dogs while I was away etc. Like I said, I haven’t customized settings so it basically was triggering with every motion etc. The other 3 are all consistently around 50% (I just checked). So, my expectation will be to easily get 2 months between charges. Once I explore customizing, I would guess I could get another 50% of charge and imagine I’ll be between 2 and 3 months between charges. This is acceptable for me.
Sorry for being long-winded. Hope this helps anyone thinking about their own set-up.
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