The camera is only on the tree, the solar system is elsewhere and powers several cams and Motion Activated Spotlights.
I have over 4.5 Acres so it really is not taking up much space.
I also showed the option of using buried low voltage wiring with power supply and 12v to 5v micro-USB Adapter to power camera in post above.
If you look back up in this post the camera up 12 feet on the tree is the only visible thing on tree, go ahead and click on image the click again to zoom in and you can barely if at all see the black wire going 12 feet to base of tree.
Mr. Aesthetics @CapeCodTodd do these cams pass your aesthetics test, please grade me sir
These are powered by my battery backed up system and low voltage wiring was used to location of battery backed up system in 2nd floor of my garage store room Battery Backed-Up 14 V3 cams and Internet Communications ← Click the link to see info
@Antonius - Shhh. I don’t want the state labor board finding out I pay the laborers in nuts and fruit, etc…
@CapeCodTodd - The Motion Flood Light 12 volt LED recently died and will be replaced, I will try to do a better job at aesthetics of wiring when replaced. Then I will have you grade it professor aesthetica
Also have been trying to find a big enough Fake Fiberglass Boulder to cover Ice Chest Solar power enclosure, the ones for satellite dishes are just a few inches to small…
The Motion Flood light makes a V3 behave like a Wyze Cam Outdoor if you turn off IR and night vision, then you get no flying bug, pollen and debris triggers. The bear video below I did have IR off but not the night vision which I thought about doing later and will once motion flood light is fixed then color night vision would work.
Rube Goldberg machines are complex simply to be complex. Not everything that is complex is a Rube Goldberg machine. Computers aren’t Rube Goldberg machines. Car engines aren’t Rube Goldberg machines.
The only difference between setup above and a typical solar power setup is that it uses a 12 volt-to-5-volt regulator instead of an AC inverter. Frankly, this setup is rather simple compared to the wiring in a typical home.
And I’m a member of the old fart club like you all, next upcoming contract will keep me busy for several years and my presence here will drop drastically…
Then after that contract I may say fork-it and really retire, LOL but doubt it because I enjoy my work and the easy money…
Where did you all go? it’s only 11PM on the West Coast…LOL
I’ve experimented with the V3 on solar. I started with a 6V 7Ah gel cell just using a diode to drop the voltage close to 5V for the camera and the battery was charged by a 6W solar panel. It made a fairly compact package that I mounted on a pole, however, the solar panel and battery were not enough to keep up with the camera power requirements. Since I built 4 of these units, to salvage the investment, I used two panel-battery units per camera and those have held up fine unless we have more than 2-3 cloudy days in a row. Where I live this is not common. The next version planned will use a larger box with a 12V Ah battery and a 20W solar panel that came with a charge controller that has a USB 5V output. In the mean time, I have installed several of the outdoor cameras and their internal battery has lasted several months between charges. I will say that the V3 video and over-all performance, especially clarity and night vision, is superior, but of course that comes at the cost of more power consumption.
If you have the space and not a super long distance between cameras, I like the idea of one larger battery and larger solar panel.
Fixed my Motion Controlled Non-Wyze floodlight, a deer must have bumped sensor aiming upward.
Below are 2 videos of me testing after fixing issue, One with outside lights on and the other in total darkness only relying on the non-wyze motion floodlight.
I ran two WCO for about 3 months without any external power and they ran fine. I re-charged them twice.
During our dry winter, I hooked them up to small outdoor 5V solar panels. WCO #1 on a 7watt panel, in full sun, WCO#2 on a 20watt panel in full shade of redwood trees. They both charge to 100% every day. When the Wyze solar panel kit arrived, I replaced the USB cords with the sealed cords to waterproof both cameras. Done.
The WCO are anything but junk. They are extraordinary low-power cameras much better than Blinks or any other competing camera.
Hooking up a solar panel to a car battery to a V3 is a different animal, but of course it can be done,
The WCO will still outperform that in some important regards, such as distance from WiFi and battery life.
Regarding condensation, I solved that problem by buying cheap birdhouses which traps some heat and keeps the cameras from radiating their heat away. It also disguises the cameras, since they just look like bird houses, and the solar panel on the roof just looks like a dad joke.
This is really nice. I just thought I’d throw in that I did a similar setup but bought a Renogy solar charge controller that has a USB output on it! It removes that step-down transformer and associated losses. Thanks.
It is not a “Step-Down Transformer” that would be used on an A.C. powered device.
The 12 volt to 5 volt Micro-USB regulator would be no different than the Renogy 12 volt to 5 volt regulator bult in their charge controller.
These days almost all regulators are “Buck Regulators” for dropping a voltage to a lower voltage with maximum efficiency.
The advantage to the wired regulator is I can run the 12 volts a lot farther than you can run a 5 volt USB cable, the 12 volts can be as low as 8.5 volts and then the regulator will provide the 5 volts.
A USB extension cable over 40 feet will not power a camera without issues.
My setup has cable runs over 180 feet so there is that advantage
Yes, technically not a transformer, just a converter. My system has a 40 ah 12V battery and the renogy charge controller, along with 2 feet of USB cable to the camera. All self contained. I run a bunch of cameras over significant area, so each one has to be fully independent.
Holy…moly! Wow, I just have one question - are you single? Hahaha. Really, very impressive. I mean, I get it but I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t try to tackle it. I hope you’re putting that big brain to good use.
I’m 58, and I’m sorry for your loss, and I’ve been using “happily single” for years, after getting funky looks at “happily divorced” for years so I totally get that!
I really do hope you are putting that knowledge and creativity to use. It’s very impressive, indeed. Not that rigging really cool solar panel systems in your outdoor spaces doesn’t qualify as good use, but I’m sure you know the fabulous things that you can accomplish. Hopefully you’ve done some of them.
Leslie
Lol, okay! Fun facts? Thanks for the information. I actually love skunks by the way, buy I much prefer them descented !
Are you sure you’re not that Bryon guy’s alter ego?
Have a good night.
Leslie
Actually, p.s. - how (and why) in the name of all that is holy did he accomplish that feat? See, he really is great at engineering creative solutions!!! Holy hell
, the 
, the stinky 
and the deer 
built that set up to keep an 
on him.
so I totally get that!
!