Long range security camera

[RobA]

I want to set up a wireless security camera system from my tractor barn to my house to monitor who is coming down my driveway. The kind of system where I can look at a screen/iPhone at the house and see a live picture. I already have Dakota wireless driveway alarms. The total distance from the barn to the house is about 1,200 feet. It is not a direct line of sight but I can setup a relay (WiFi repeater?) 500 feet along the way and then again at our horse barn. I cannot and do not want to trench that distance. There is power at the tractor barn as well as at the horse barn 300 feet from the house.

Another thing is my internet is limited. I can't get cable internet at my house and have to use a Verizon 4G hot spot with limited data (technically unlimited but it throttles down after a certain amount of data usage).

Any thoughts on how to approach this without spending a fortune?

 

[KTurner]

I've been experimenting with something similar but only have one part setup currently. I took a retired wireless router and installed dd-wrt on it, then set it up as a repeater bridge. This has extended the range of my wireless network without much effort and no cost since I already had a wireless router. Maybe with some aftermarket/diy antennas you can get that range? Not sure about daisy chaining them together though, haven't looked into that.

Repeater Bridge - DD-WRT Wiki

Keith

 

[IRISHBOOMER]

I have a wired system am also installing 2 more cameras at the barn tomorrow. I might do wireless the next go around. Technology is improving so much.

 

[oosik]

I have a very similar situation to RobA. House to carport - - 200 feet. Carport to beginning of driveway - - 300 feet. Camera with power could be located at carport. Carport back to house would need to be wireless. I do not have land line phone - wireless cell phone operates at the very minimum reception.

I will be monitoring this post.

 

[MarkE]

I have the $99 Ubquity Outdoor Wifi to do this. It works great. I have two Amcrest WiFi cameras on it now that are more than 500' away. A side benefit is when I am out with the animals in that area it allows me to make WiFi phone calls which is good since the area doesn't have good mobile reception. The camera app is free for mobile devices and it doesn't require your internet to be up. You do have the ability to use it offsite through your internet connection. Amazon.com: Ubiquiti Networks gets you to the WiFi. Amcrest is here Amcrest ProHD Outdoor 3MP WiFi Wireless IP Security Bullet Camera - IP67 Weatherproof, 3MP (248x1536), IP3M-943W (White)

 

[TCJatko]

I have a wired system am also installing 2 more cameras at the barn tomorrow. I might do wireless the next go around. Technology is improving so much.

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That a Chevelle SS in the garage? Nice.

 

[EarPlug]

If you have AC power at the camera location you can use Powerline Ethernet. Easy to set up, doesn't rob your wireless bandwith, and is a little more secure.

Powerline networking: what you need to know | TechRadar

 

[IRISHBOOMER]

That a Chevelle SS in the garage? Nice.

Yes 1970. Point I was trying to make with my post is they make wire you can bury my system will allow 1000 yards cable reach to a camera. So I just bury cable from my house to shop.

 

[TractorGuy]

Here is something that you may be interested in for the first leg of the distance. I purchased a GL-AR300M EXT mini travel router that gets a solid wi-fi signal out to my front gate. I have it sitting in a window sill that faces N/NW and I get a good signal at the gate which is 450' West.

I have been looking for a good camera that will work from that distance. I have tried a couple of game cameras and been less than impressed. My latest attempt was a Zmodo 720P outdoor camera. The app they supply makes it useless as a security camera. I got no motion detection events with any movement. When I walked in front of it did not trigger an event. It didn't send any of the events it did trigger to the cloud which isn't that important to me. The other problem was the notification was only a silent message in the android popup so I wasn't alerted when an even occurred unless I was looking at my phone. The app did allow me to access the camera's live image from on or off my property. I was able to figure out how to save and transfer photos and videos but it was not easy and took several steps.

My needs will be a camera I can power with a battery and solar panel that has as good of a wifi range as my phones or tablets. I would like an app that can record or transfer images and video to the SD card in my phone and has an audible alert when an event is triggered by motion dependably. Of course I would love to have all of this with a 4K, 30FPS video capability. :cool2:

I have considered the Amcrest camera but they don't really give any specs on wifi distance and the app rating of 3.4 doesn't make me all warm and fuzzy.

 

[aczlan]

I would look at Ubiquity Nanostation outdoor wireless access points to create a wireless bridge. They can be run on 12 to 24 volts DC so they could run off of a battery if needed. They will give you a reliable long range high speed link and are very reasonably priced ($50 each).

Aaron Z