Computer hardware and software
Whats the cheapest way to setup webcam surveillance without cable internet access?
Question : Whats the cheapest way to setup webcam surveillance without cable internet access?
Hi, I need to solve a problem with my current limitations and a minimal amount of money spent. I want to be able to watch live video of my property from a web browser. The limitation is that I don’t have internet at this property and I am not there but once a month. I have electricity but not an unlimited supply. My current set up is a solar panel connected to a deep cycle battery connected to an inverter.
I’m thinking the cheapest way to do this is buy a smartphone that can act like a wifi hotspot and leaving it plugged into the inverter. Then I connect a wireless webcam to the wireless network from the phone. For the smartphone I was thinking about the Palm Pre from Verizon since it’s inexpensive and comes with free wireless hotspot capability. I don’t know which webcam I should use but I found the “Linksys Wireless-N Internet Home Monitoring Camera WVC80N Network camera” for cheap. Though, I am open to cheaper finds for the smartphone and wireless webcam. Here’s the pricing. Palm pre- 29.99, wireless webcam- $ 109.99. Verizon plan- 59.98 / month.
I also thought about buying a laptop with 3g capability but the power requirements might be too large for the deep cycle battery that only gets charged by the solar panel.
Any recommendations would be highly appreciated! Thanks!
webcam surveillance
Best answer:
Answer by decibaldude
I would look into a cam which is motion activated.This way your not burning power only when the cam is activated. theres cam corders that have that feature and many security cameras.
You can set your phone up to let you get a tiny little glimpse of the property. Or you can use a laptop and a 3G card (which would allow you to cycle through many cameras if you want). But either way, you’re going to exceed the 5MB/month allowance Verizon gives you in less than an hour. (The overcharges would FAR exceed any monthly DSL or cable internet charge.) If you don’t have DSL or cable available, it’s going to cost you a small fortune to stream video constantly.