I would like to buy additional power cables in various lengths for each camera. What type of cables do I need? A USB A to Micro USB B cable?
Heh, this is totally off-topic. A question on size posted into an old a topic about defects. K, yes, you need a USB 2.0 Micro Cable, A Male to Micro B Male. Questions, make a new post about size (although I imagine they are already out there?)
Monoprice:
Amazon:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0763358FV/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B077HPJJFF/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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@Loki I have been told that when cords get this long (20+ feet) they need to be “high current cables” to be able to prevent a voltage drop.
Honestly all this talk is a little above my understanding of electrical currents, but i don’t want to buy a 20/25 foot USB if it is ineffective or dangerous.
Do you know what is fact and what is fiction?
That’s true. If the wires are too thin on a long cable, the voltage drop will be too much and the camera won’t work. Here are some links to longer cables that are known to work:
Monoprice:
Amazon:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0763358FV/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B077HPJJFF/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Here’s a voltage drop calculator that you can play with to see the effects:
Also, if running a long cable, it is recommended NOT to piggy back another camera on the 1st camera’s USB power out port.
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@Loki this is great info! Do you have any white 15ft cables you like on Amazon, or is 15ft not long enough to be concerned about this issue?
Also, i am going to need a tutorial on how to use that voltage calculator 
The same seller on Amazon of the white 25’ cable above has this one:
I would expect it would be okay.
For the voltage calculator, you want to use Copper, 5 volts, Phase:DC, single conductors.
The wire gauge in these cables is usually somewhere in the 20-28 AWG range (the higher the AWG, the thinner the wires). It’s hard to find any that actually tell you the gauge. I believe the load on a V2 camera is about .5 amps, but I’d have to look that up to be sure.
Then you can play with other inputs to see the effects. Thinner the wires, longer cable run, and higher load all result in a bigger voltage drop.
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Thanks @Loki , I ordered both of the 15 and 25ft today!
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Hey @Loki I received the 15ft (using it with a Pan) and the 25ft (using it with a v2) USB cables today and put up my cameras outside, they work great thank you for your help!
I need your help again! Have you seen these in 40ft? I want to put a v2 on the side of my house. I have aluminum siding on my window trim, so I can just stick it on there, but it is pretty far from the power source.
EDIT: Color of cord needs to be white
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I have not seen 40’ cables and I’d be pretty concerned that there would be too much voltage drop. If I found a 40’ cable, I would for sure want to know the wire gauge (AWG) of the power wires in the cable (the data wires don’t matter). Then I’d run that through the voltage drop calculator to see how much drop there would be.
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@Loki this is the one i ordered, it is 33ft:
I don’t see any listing of the wire gauge, so there’s no way to evaluate with the voltage drop tool. It’s got good reviews, so hopefully it will work for you. Just be on the lookout for any flaky behavior of the camera. If you see that, then try the camera with a shorter cable. If the flakiness goes away, you will know the cable is to blame.
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thanks for your help, as alway @Loki!
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