I already have splitter and all of the wiring is already run so this way I could get the three cameras outside the house and have them powered 24 seven without having to run any new wiring.
Not great? The 5 volts wonāt make it that far. Take advantage of your existing 12 v power and step them down at the end when they attach to the cameras.
Also beware that WiFi cameras are likely to be much less consistently reliable than your wired cams.
I agree, a long run of 5V is a concern. You can see what % your 12V drops now, I suppose, but voltage drop will probably also depend on current drawn. Stepping them down at the end from 12V should work, if you can find a inexpensive weatherproof solution for that. Another option is to replace the indoor 5V power brick with a small variable power supply, where you can turn it up above 5V to get 5V at the cameras.
Another possible issue might be the size of the molding on the USB micro connector. The V2 required one that would fit into a rounded hole that is ~0.24" tall and 0.47" wide (a square connector that size wouldnāt fit because of the rounded corners). The V3 is more flexible, but is still expecting a similar-sized connector.
I really like the V3s. They are so sensitive at night if you have any light out there at all you might never need to use night vision. I have 6 cams either pointed outside or are outside, and none have night vision turned on. Itās great that you can actually see the color of a personās clothes at night!
So what didnāt you like about the Blinks? Curious if the V3 overcomes those issues.
Iām with the other guys, long runs of 5 volts will be a problem. Newshoundās idea of a 5 volt regulator at the camera should be a good solution. If you have the technical skill, adding a 5 volt regulator is easy and there are lots of them available.
interesting. i will check the existing voltage drop on my longest run. what about the 25 foot usb cables? wouldnāt those drop the voltage as well? my current old school cameras are just a hassle, and my dvr is junk.
i didnāt like the blink for viewing real time for a ālongā time. the problem is power. I like the wyze cameras, so iām hoping v3 can work well outside, while i fix the power problemā¦
i cant do jack for a few weeks, have pins in my wrist, but once v3 cameras are out, Iād like a solid plan.
thanks
if wyze made an āoutdoor kitā that was 4+ cameras with power wires or similarā¦?
All cables have a voltage drop, the longer the cable the more the drop. You can overcome this somewhat by buying heavier-gauge cabling. Another way around it has already been suggested, that is convert the voltage at the destination.
Not sure why you mentioned 25-foot USB cables. Unless I missed it, we havenāt talked about those here. We donāt know how long your runs are, or how heavy your wire gauge is, so our posts are just things to consider. Some people have reported the drop from a 25-foot cable isnāt that bad, but even they usually go for heavier-gauge cabling.
Yes, it would be interesting to see how much your 12V dropped. That would be real world. It should be under a load if possible, but that may be hard to accomplish.
Well, either my home is right on some sort of free electrical epicenter magnifier, or the 0.08% difference could just be timing of the test, or accuracy of the tester. or quality of the ACā>DC adapter.
I believe the important part is the line loss is nearly zero.
This leads me to believe my plan of using a 120vAC ā 5v DC adapter in the home, then finding/making a 5v to MicroUSB is still the best plan. I do have a v2 camera I could test with while waiting for the 3s to be available.
I ordered the power supply and adapter above. Amazon says by March 3rd Iāll LYK if it works w/the v2, so I can assume it would work w/the v3.
Iāll make a video of the setup once it works, so if anyone else wants to retro fit from old wired cameras to v3s they can learn.
I have already done this, I will tell you what you are doing wrong.
It makes MUCH more sense to use multiple 12v (+ and -) lines instead of running 5v through existing wiring. It is AMPERAGE you are looking for. It is MUCH easier to find AC to DC 12V converters with 1, 3 or 5 amps or more āthanā a AC to 5V converter. They come as small plug in adapters or bricks at the 12v level. it is MUCH easier to find 12v adapters, because 12v is what is used in cars, and there is an whole entire marketplace make 12V into anything. 12v is also used for a bunch of things in the home, so 12v -16v converters are common.
It makes more sense to run the wires 12v to one location then to a 12v AC to DC converter. How much sense? As a matter of fact, most Home Security cameras already do this, since the REAL junction boxes (where the runs lead to), run to a 12v splitter box. I have mine all ran to one location, and fused to 12V to DC
It makes more sense to buy a 12vDC to 5V MICROUSB with AMPERAGE, because again, 12v is what cars are and there are a TON of 12V converters stepping down to MicroUSB because of cars. USB is already 5vs already, it is the WATTAGE or AMPS you need to worry about. It absolutely makes no sense to wire 5v to 5v, you can easily just get the pinout on MICRO USB cables and wire the 2 + and - leads directly instead of putting another converter inline, but again, you need to worry about amperage because the wyze came needs not just milliamps to work, but I suggest at least 1 amp, 1.5 or even 2 amps to drive it correctly.
I also used the same 12v converters to MICRO USB to drive a custom LCD monitor , and firestick in a Fridge Tv install - Both required more than 1.5 amps - On the other end of it is an AC to DC 5 AMP converter brick. See (1) lg fridge lcd install - YouTube
When I "hearted* that post it was reading that @SabrToothSqrl was going to run 12V. But that has since changed and I find I can no longer remove the heart. Didnāt know there was a time limit for that.
Just wanted to close the loop on this. 5V did not work out for distance after testing. 12v does.
5v worked up to about 10ā of wire in testing. So if you have a short run, you could use that.
In testing, itās capable of powering ONE v3 camera, but NOT two at the same time. So you can use it, which would let you use the 6ā of white USB wire if you like, but only power 1 camera with it if you do.
Wyze is missing a huge opportunity here to bundle and assemble a kit that lets you use v3 as home security cameras. Include a power supply, splitter, some wire, and adapters. I think it would sell.
Anyway, met my goal of replacing my 12 CCTV old cameras of meh quality with 10 v3s around the house now. Really like them!
Have any of you opened up the V3 to see if perhaps the power regulator inside will tolerate 12V input anyway? I am installing these on a boat, so Iāll need to open it up to connect power that doesnāt rely on the usb connector (which will corrode in this environment) as well as use a more permanent sealant wherever necessary.
12V is plentiful everywhere on my boat, but I did order some DC DC converters to get 5V near the cameras themselves.
as of today, Feb 27th, 2022 all 13 of my cameras are still working nicely. Still happy w/the setup. If anyone was curious. Next step is I need a totally wireless v3, but thatās another thread.
Iāll LYK if it works w/the v2, so I can assume it would work w/the v3.