Wifi powered by solar? advice please

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gnfb

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#196496 2-Jun-2016 10:51

I recently purchased a wifi camera with the spec below

I want to set the camera outside without any cable connection. I thought a small solar panel connected would suffice.

Questions

1.Is it a good idea but not practical?

2. If possible what sort of solar panel would you suggest based on the power requirements of the camera? (I was hoping I could use one of the availble portable solar chargers ?)

Wi-fi Camera

1. Network video playback and remote image capture

2. Support two-way voice intercom

3. Portable smart WIFI camcorder

4. 720P wide angle view

5. Support Android and apple app software

Image sensor:HD720P/25fps

Wireless:IEEE802.11b/g/n

Wireless mode:Direct mode/WiFi mode

Storage Media:Micro SD, Built-in TF slot,Up to 64GB(no include TF card)

Video compression:H.264

Lens:3.6mm

Day & night: Electronic (IR-CUT filter with auto switch)

Color / Material: White / Plastic

Power supply: DC 5V/1A

IR distance: Night visibility up to 5-10m.with 10pcs Infrared LED inside, automatically triggered in dark.

Is an English Man living in New Zealand. Not a writer, an Observer he says. Graham is a seasoned 'traveler" with his sometimes arrogant, but honest opinion on life. He loves the Internet!.

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#1564119 2-Jun-2016 11:37

In short, 5V 1A means 5 Watts. And you need solar plates, batteries (e.g. 18650), and some component to and control stable the power.

If you are not too rush about that I can make a detail description abouth the design this evening.

tchart

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#1564156 2-Jun-2016 12:02

mikespook:

In short, 5V 1A means 5 Watts. And you need solar plates, batteries (e.g. 18650), and some component to and control stable the power.

If you are not too rush about that I can make a detail description abouth the design this evening.

I'd be interested in the design too.

gnfb

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#1564212 2-Jun-2016 13:06

mikespook:

In short, 5V 1A means 5 Watts. And you need solar plates, batteries (e.g. 18650), and some component to and control stable the power.

If you are not too rush about that I can make a detail description abouth the design this evening.

That would be wonderful!

If you are interested, I was thinking about concealing it in a birdhouse and placing the solar cell on the roof of same.

Is an English Man living in New Zealand. Not a writer, an Observer he says. Graham is a seasoned 'traveler" with his sometimes arrogant, but honest opinion on life. He loves the Internet!.

I have two shops online allshop.nz patchpinflag.nz
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richms

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#1564216 2-Jun-2016 13:12

gnfb:

If you are interested, I was thinking about concealing it in a birdhouse and placing the solar cell on the roof of same.

Must be a lot larger than the birdhouses I bought to be able to put a solar panel on it! Got pictures of it?

Richard rich.ms

timmmay

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#1564254 2-Jun-2016 13:32

Random thoughts here. If you need 5W all the time, and you want it to run in winter, you may need a 40W solar panel to account for dull days. That might be a bit much given it's 12V and you only need 5V. There's one here, it's $125, 67 x 42cm. You'll probably want 24 hours reserve power (ie 24AH), and you can't run a battery flat all the time, so you'd want no less than say 30AH which are around $200. Then you'll want a solar regulator, cable, something to convert from 12V down to 5V, and mounting. So it could cost you $500 to set up. Is it worth that to you?

I'm not an expert and I could be way off on power requirements.

gnfb

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#1564267 2-Jun-2016 13:50

Further to the topic:

I was thinking something like this?

option 1

Is an English Man living in New Zealand. Not a writer, an Observer he says. Graham is a seasoned 'traveler" with his sometimes arrogant, but honest opinion on life. He loves the Internet!.

I have two shops online allshop.nz patchpinflag.nz
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gnfb

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#1564276 2-Jun-2016 13:53

timmmay:

Random thoughts here. If you need 5W all the time, and you want it to run in winter, you may need a 40W solar panel to account for dull days. That might be a bit much given it's 12V and you only need 5V. There's one here, it's $125, 67 x 42cm. You'll probably want 24 hours reserve power (ie 24AH), and you can't run a battery flat all the time, so you'd want no less than say 30AH which are around $200. Then you'll want a solar regulator, cable, something to convert from 12V down to 5V, and mounting. So it could cost you $500 to set up. Is it worth that to you?

I'm not an expert and I could be way off on power requirements.

At $500 no I want the whole project under $100 So far Camera $40 Birdhouse $10 by your calculations its not looking good. I do however appreciate the comments

Is an English Man living in New Zealand. Not a writer, an Observer he says. Graham is a seasoned 'traveler" with his sometimes arrogant, but honest opinion on life. He loves the Internet!.

I have two shops online allshop.nz patchpinflag.nz
Email Me

gnfb

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#1564278 2-Jun-2016 13:55

richms:

gnfb:

If you are interested, I was thinking about concealing it in a birdhouse and placing the solar cell on the roof of same.

Must be a lot larger than the birdhouses I bought to be able to put a solar panel on it! Got pictures of it?

Birdhouse

Is an English Man living in New Zealand. Not a writer, an Observer he says. Graham is a seasoned 'traveler" with his sometimes arrogant, but honest opinion on life. He loves the Internet!.

I have two shops online allshop.nz patchpinflag.nz
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richms

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#1564279 2-Jun-2016 13:56

Is this for security or just to spy on birds?

Richard rich.ms

pbgben

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#1564286 2-Jun-2016 14:09

One of these? POE Splicer and this to have 5v at the other end. Voltage Regulator

$5USD 1GB RAM, 10GB SSD VPS in SYD

wellygary

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#1564294 2-Jun-2016 14:15

gnfb:

Further to the topic:

I was thinking something like this?

option 1

Its only rated at 1W, you need at least 5, + more to charge the battery for low generation periods,

So you are gonna need a bigger bird house :)

HP

Shop now for HP laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

timmmay

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#1564296 2-Jun-2016 14:20

gnfb:

At $500 no I want the whole project under $100 So far Camera $40 Birdhouse $10 by your calculations its not looking good. I do however appreciate the comments

That appears to be a 1W solar panel. That's about 1/5th of what you need to run it if it's in full sun, and probably 1/20th what you need if you want reliable 24 hour operation.

You may be able to find something cheap on ebay/ali express that'll do the job, but that's not it.

sbiddle

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#1564318 2-Jun-2016 14:52

The most cost effective (and best) solution is likely to be run cable.

It'll be a few hundred dollars minimum to build a decent setup, and considering it's a pretty low spec camera I wouldn't expect a lot from it picture wise.

mikespook

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#1564355 2-Jun-2016 16:11

I was going to make a full design of such solar chargeable circuit, before that I found a better article suit for you in my bookmarks.

http://www.robotroom.com/Solar-Recharging.html

It would be enough to get your hands dirty.

Cheers

mikespook

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#1564366 2-Jun-2016 16:37

timmmay:

Random thoughts here. If you need 5W all the time, and you want it to run in winter, you may need a 40W solar panel to account for dull days. That might be a bit much given it's 12V and you only need 5V. There's one here, it's $125, 67 x 42cm. You'll probably want 24 hours reserve power (ie 24AH), and you can't run a battery flat all the time, so you'd want no less than say 30AH which are around $200. Then you'll want a solar regulator, cable, something to convert from 12V down to 5V, and mounting. So it could cost you $500 to set up. Is it worth that to you?

I'm not an expert and I could be way off on power requirements.

Yes, and maybe needing more than that if you buy new items and break down to a part, for such side project it's costly.

For me, it will be better re-use some components from broken products.

Usually, it will cost you huge time but a few money with a lot of fun.

For example, you can get the control component from a power bank and test every 18650 batteries in the power bank and pick out the good one.

Also, you can get the solar panels from broken power banks, old garden light and toys. Of course, you have to test every panel to decide how much watts it will output (normally 0.3 - 2 watts).

Then designing and testing on the breadboard.

Finally, you can fix your design on a printed board and make a beautiful box. :)

PS: Don't buy the products with an amazingly low price on Aliexpress, those things usually comes from broken products as well.

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