Changing from Trail Cams to Wireless Security Cams

[BoylermanCT]

I currently have 6 trail cameras set up in the woods around my house. Every weekend, I take a walk and swap out SD cards in each camera so I can review the pictures on my laptop and see what animals came by. I am thinking of adding an outdoor wireless access point so expand my internet wifi coverage over about 5 acres and then replacing the trail cameras with wifi cameras that will eliminate the need for me to go get the SD cards to see what pics or movies were taken.

I've been reading reviews on wifi extenders vs access points, and it seems the access points are a better solution. I'm considering a TP Link N300 outdoor access device which claims to have a range of 200 yards. My cameras are all within 200-250 feet of the house on the outskirts of my pond. The N300 would be mounted on a pole attached to the house so it is higher than the garage, barn and shed and would be within line of sight of all the cameras. In the photo below, red dots represent the cameras and the yellow dot is the outdoor wifi access point. I have not narrowed down which wi-fi cameras I would get, still researching those. Would want motion sensors and the ability to activate them manually from my phone or a laptop.

Has anyone done something similar, and how has it worked? Any recommendations etc. Thanks in advance!

 

[psvfd]

That is what I would like to do if possible. I am running as much as 8 trail cams and that could replace most. 2 are well pass the 200 foot. Nice pond!

 

[mike48130]

The N300 is older. I use the AC1200 which is the newer version and better but not much more money.

A couple things you need to think about:
How to power the WIFI cameras. They require 12V. So a battery at each one? Solar?
Mounting them will probably require a box since they are designed to mount to a house or what have you.
Data throughput on the WIFI. You will want a better WIFI router to handle all the data of streaming multiple video. This depends on what cameras and resolution you select what the data load will be.

Have you considered trail cams with WIFI? I think it might make it easier to do for what you want.

 

[mike48130]

The N300 says it is only 100MPS. That's not enough bandwidth on the wired side to support 6 cameras at higher resolutions.

 

[TractorGuy]

I have a little GL-AR300M-Ext travel router that has a usable range out 400 ft. Sits in the window sill of my computer room and I have connected to wifi cameras out 350 ft. I had to make sure and get the version with the external antennas hence the EXT extension on the model. You can get one off Amazon for about $45.

My problem has been consistent power. I went up to a group 24 deep cycle battery on a 100W solar panel and that would keep up with the demand of two cameras but the charge controller kept failing. I eliminated the charge controller and killed the battery after a while.

If you can find an outdoor wifi camera with a proven battery life it wold work best. I think I read some good reviews on the Blink with lithium batteries.

I already have Reolink cameras so I hope I can find a better battery life version of those to expand my camera network with. I currently have both of mine right outside the home and plugged in to wall outlets.

 

[Thomas]

Been thinking of doing same but thick woods and hills etc. reception I think will be to weak.

 

[newbury]

I currently have 6 trail cameras set up in the woods around my house. Every weekend, I take a walk and swap out SD cards in each camera so I can review the pictures on my laptop and see what animals came by. I am thinking of adding an outdoor wireless access point so expand my internet wifi coverage over about 5 acres and then replacing the trail cameras with wifi cameras that will eliminate the need for me to go get the SD cards to see what pics or movies were taken.

I've been reading reviews on wifi extenders vs access points, and it seems the access points are a better solution. I'm considering a TP Link N300 outdoor access device which claims to have a range of 200 yards. My cameras are all within 200-250 feet of the house on the outskirts of my pond. The N300 would be mounted on a pole attached to the house so it is higher than the garage, barn and shed and would be within line of sight of all the cameras. In the photo below, red dots represent the cameras and the yellow dot is the outdoor wifi access point. I have not narrowed down which wi-fi cameras I would get, still researching those. Would want motion sensors and the ability to activate them manually from my phone or a laptop.

View attachment 642722

Has anyone done something similar, and how has it worked? Any recommendations etc. Thanks in advance!

I'd look into Ubiquiti products for the access points.
For cameras are you wanting continuous on or wake and take a picture?

 

[drssg]

I use a wireless (not WiFi) camera similar to this one.

BuckEye Cam > Wireless Cameras > X8 Series Wireless Camera Tactical Black

You connect to the camera from your computer via an antenna to check for pictures and see the charge level of the battery. I have a computer that's always on and connected, so it's configured to automatically send me an email when there is a picture. It also sends a daily status email with the battery charge level.

The camera is expensive, but there is no ongoing fee, and I only physically go to the camera once a month or so to change the battery.

 

[dlctcg]

You may want to look at the Blink XT2 cameras as TractorGuy mentioned. They are getting pretty good reviews & are claiming 2yrs battery life depending on activity; I'm not a huge fan of them being cloud storage based but their is always give & take. They are only 1080.. but hey it is a battery powered Wi-Fi camera & they are not that expensive. Maybe worth buying one to test in multiple locations. I know quit a few people that are using them & seem to be satisfied with them so far (but they are using them for driveway / door cams).
Couple things I'm not found of on the Blinks:
- Cloud Recording (I know I mentioned that) - if is no charge (for now)
- Clip Length adjustable from 5 to 60 seconds (no record constant during a motion event)
- Camera Retrigger Time from 10 to 60 seconds - this is the time it will take for the camera to start the next recording event after the Clip Length expires
- I'm sure adjusting both the Clip Length & Retrigger Timers will dramatically reduce battery life.
- You can't defeat the Blue LED when the camera goes into Record Mode

Here is the link to the Blink Specs page: https://support.blinkforhome.com/en_us/blink-technical-specifications-By2VzxmUB


For the network depending on budget I would look at a Luxul Outdoor Access Point (not extender) either the XAP1240, or the XAP 1440; you don't really need a dual band AP unless you will use the 5Ghz for other devices, or you are definitely getting 5Ghz cameras (the Blinks are not) . Theses are outdoor rated PoE High Power Access Points design to do what you are looking for, they even have a wireless bridge kit we have used on projects 600+ feet out with one AP (Super reliable but not inexpensive). Ubiquiti would be my second company to look at..

I would also make sure you current router is can handle the bandwidth, but as long as it is 10/100/1000 & you hardwire the outdoor access point you should be good; your next limitation would be your WAN connection but they claim the minimum of only at least 2 Mbps in upload speeds needed.

 

[s219]

I ran ethernet out to my yard and hang a TP-Link CPE-210 off it to provide WiFi to a Nest Camera (and also phones/iPads when we are out there). It works great and the range is outstanding. I may add more of them in other parts of my property.