You people don’t even know what old IS ? I took college credit electronics courses in my 20’s and learned what I thought was everything necessary to get into a career based on them …long before digital 5 volt d.c. systems were mainstream . I’m now in my 70’s and have become a critic of modern imported stuff . Plug and play , ya , right !
Power supplies back then were + and - 12 V or 15 V or even 24 V dc and built from discrete components , plenty of axial lead components that one could actually change-out on a circuit board if/when failures occurred . Miniaturization was barely a dream yet .
I still own qty. 2 Lorex B&W (cue-ball style) wired outdoor camera’s(with audio and motion sensing) , one white and one black that are still working and installed some 30+ years ago prolly closer to 35+ , picture quality nothing to brag about But…Now , that’s bragging rights ! (for a manufacturer)
I spent 25+ yrs in the P.L.C. programming and troubleshooting field with a construction electrician and electronics technician ticket and retired 14 years ago . I was electrocuted 3 times , woke up on concrete floors ! (lucky to have survived)
Nowa-days can’t rely on anything to stand up , especially the cheap Ch***ese stuff , 50,000 hours from a L.E.D ? Not their’s ! Can’t make a damn capacitor that stands up either !
And most of my digital foreign stuff talks to the Home-country every time you access it . Not on our continent !
In my younger years I used to wonder why seniors seemed so cranky ? My generation has good reason .
I am close to your age. In my high school grade 12 electronics class I built a 50 watt stereo amplifier. Each student had to built their own 50 watt amp so the picture below is my individual class project. I had to etch every circuit board and solder every wire. Got it finished before I graduated. It had some hum but it worked. That was a great learning experience for me.
Maybe metioned…but you can login to Wyze with your PC whatever and see all your cams via the Web. That being said, you could just buy elcheapo TV size of your choice that has internet and login on it and have it being a separate screen. Yoyu just go here and login WYZE It is called Wyze Live
I have been using the Google Home Max for 3 years with decent success. They have a 7” version that used to come as a Wyze bundle. Too small for aged eyes. Picked up the 10” on FB marketplace for $25. I’ve added all my products, but only view one camera on screen at a time. (How to see web view instructions are welcome) Might be a good option for you.
Using the wyze app you can view up to 4 cameras on the screen at once, which may be sufficient. The main issue with the smart home devices is there can be a lag, I believe you can only view one cam at a time, and some of the features/settings are missing. If 4 or less cams are needed, then a tablet in landscape mode running the wyze app is probably going to be ideal.
My dad was an electronical engineer for Hughes Aircraft for the missile systems and then before that he was in the CB radios for years and years and years I’ve always been interested in all of this stuff. And hell I’m cranky at 60yrs old now a days it’s easy to be.
I think that’s going to be the simplest solution in the long run. The nice thing about cheap tablets is they are using LCD/LED instead of OLED displays, and they will tolerate long hours of screen use without losing brightness or burning in.
The Lenovo tablets have always seemed to be one of the best price/performance combinations. Maybe not the most powerful, but only a little bit more than the no name ones with much better specs, and plenty of power for the Wyze app.
