Question on distance for Cam V3s

I have been using several Cam V3 cameras. I understand them and like them. I would like to set one up in the woods. But it might be 500 ft. Probably way to far for WIFI. Any way to extend the range? Or is there a battery operated camera I can put in the distance that I would not need to keep pulling SD cards to read them?

500 ft is a stretch for any WiFi router, All Wyze cameras require WiFi to operate.

That is what I thought… And the trees will make it worse.

What kind of cameras would help me out. On threads they list outdoor-cam. But when I do a search on Wyze they all pull up outdoor rated. I can do battery operated. Some reviews are for obsolete cameras. Some need base units. Outdoor V2? Can you point me the way for an outdoor camera? Some people mentioned a camera they can take camping??

If they only would record to an SD card. Can I pop it in a computer or is it only read through something Wyze? Basically what file does it record on?

Thanks

From what you describe, a Trail Camera might best fit your needs. Check out this article.

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As Isaid earlier, all Wyze cameras require WiFi to operate. Follow @StevenA’s advice, I was going to suggest cellular trail cameras, but they tend to be pricy and require cellular coverage and plan.

Do you have the ability to put a WiFi extender somewhere in the middle of that 500 feet? Power may be the biggest hurdle for that.

Not to mention weather :thinking:

possible wifi extender… At that point for a single camera I could run cat all the way out there with some kind of POE injector. But I think all the cameras are wireless.

If you can run CAT cable then look at PoE cameras, Wyze doesn’t have PoE cameras, look at Reolink or Lorex.

I do have POE cameras too. They are on a monitor. The systems seem to compliment each other. POE seem to have a better resolution. On screen all the time. Better zoom. Long term 24 hour recording videos on a hard drive.

Wise is better on alerts, AI discrimination. Portable video on phone. Easier to play back short term alerts. Easier to save short videos.

I was just looking to see what creatures lurk in the woods. Short term videos on the phone while I am waiting around somewhere. What do you call it? 1st world problems.

But thanks for mentioning.

I think @bryonhu has done some interesting things powering cameras in the woods, and I’ve also seen some videos for modifications (like adding an external antenna) to Cam v3, but it seems like extending the Wi-Fi signal might be the main challenge for what you’re proposing.

I agree completely. I thought there also might be a different style camera that Wyze offered. I will dig to see if I can find a page that mentions it. Maybe I am understanding it incorrectly.

I think this is the camera I am thinking about. It said with a base unit and may need to be in wifi range to download videos?? Not even sure if it is still available or how exactly it works. it would be nice if it would split the distance and tie in to the regular wifi. Like I said, not exactly sure how it works.

travel mode

Yeah, I was thinking of Travel Mode, too, before you mentioned that specifically. I’ve only read about it and don’t have any direct experience with any of the battery-powered cameras, but my understanding is that this feature is not present on Battery Cam Pro. I think I’ve read @carverofchoice mentioning disappointment about that.

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You remember correctly, and the disappointment continues.

I don’t really blame Wyze though. From what I understand their data analytics showed it was a feature rarely used, and the BCPro runs on a totally different OS and Kernal than the WCO, so they would have to rebuild it from scratch by themselves (I believe their partner in the WCO already had most of the Travel Mode code available). So it didn’t seem worth the resources. So disappointing, but also somewhat understandable. :cry:

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If you need to have wifi access (don’t want to go retrieve a card to view the video) you have a few options but none of them are great.

The easiest and cheapest (but not guaranteed to work perfect) would be a directional wifi AP/antenna mounted on the outside of your house (or possibly inside on a window) pointed at the camera. Ubiquiti make good ones but TP-Link and others make decent ones too. I’ve seen the TP-Link CPE-210 in action and it worked well and shouldn’t have a problem doing 500ft line of sight (it will also focus the signal coming back from the cam, so even though the cam signal will be very weak, it should pick it up), and have also used several similar Ubiquiti units (they make ones that can theoretically go miles but you need one on both ends to achieve that distance). Usually is an access point and antenna in one, and you hardwire it back to your main router.

The other solutions require getting power or data cables out to the camera location, which of course if you don’t want to deal with solar panels and batteries may be needed anyway. If you can run a CAT6 or better with POE to a POE camera, that will probably be the most reliable solution. 500 feet is beyond the spec for ethernet cabling however if you limit the link speed to 100 megs or even 10, it most likely will work fine. Shielded cable can help reduce interference at that range but these cams usually need less than 10 megs (depending on resolution and compression of the cam). Then at that point your only concern is if the 500 feet is going to drop the POE voltage too low. Use the highest gauge ethernet cable you can find, I’ve seen good Cat 6A cable with 24 gauge conductors, and I believe there may even be 22 gauge in some cat cables, but that may be cat 5 or 5e (still might be fine for 10 or even 100 meg link).

If you don’t mind retrieving the card and only need motion triggered recording, then a trail cam as mentioned by others may be your easiest and cheapest solution. The batteries tend to last a long time.