RA cam

Request new hardware or ideas for the controller
uglyman
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Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2012 8:58 pm

RA cam

Post by uglyman »

Would it be possible to have a web camera connected to the RA so you could access it via the web from anywhere. An expansion box that allows you to connect any usb based webcam to the RA would be cool, so when you go on holidays you can check in and see how your tanks doing.
rimai
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Re: RA cam

Post by rimai »

I have one of those dlink wireless cams that has internal webserver and doesn't need to be connected to a host device, like a PC.
It works good for me, except I have it sitting in the side table and it is kind of far from the tank.
I'm yet to find a good camera that I could mount on the side of the tank.
It would need to be something small with probably a wide angle lens or you won't see much.
Roberto.
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jsclownfish
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Location: Saint Louis

Re: RA cam

Post by jsclownfish »

I just returned from a trip to India and I used a small webcam and this app, http://www.eyespyfx.com/broadcast.php to watch my tank while I was away. It was really great to be able to monitor the tank with the iphone app or the portal and also be able to take a look at the tank to make sure things looked OK. It was the first time in a long while that I felt confident the tank would be in good shape when I got back. :D
-Jon
rimai
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Re: RA cam

Post by rimai »

Very cool!!
Roberto.
uglyman
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Re: RA cam

Post by uglyman »

Nice :)

Problem for me is my tank is a long way from my computer and I cant be bothered trying to get a loooong usb cable to run my webcam on. I just thought it would be cool to be able to run a webcam on the RA and utilise it's wifi link to the portal.
Danne
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Joined: Mon Apr 16, 2012 2:10 pm
Location: Sweden

Re: RA cam

Post by Danne »

I use an "old" mobilephone (HTC incredeble..) whitout sim-card, just conected with wifi to my home network.
I find a android app cald "ip cam" so i use the cam in the phone, thats attatched to the side of my tank.
When i logg in to the RA portal, a find my latest IP-number, just change the last number to :8080/videofeed and a get a perfekt video from my tank!

This works perfekt as long as my RA wifi works.. Not to often, untill we find out why the wifi periodly drop :(

// Danne - Sweden
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lnevo
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RA cam

Post by lnevo »

We need a setting in the portal with the webcam address so that the video/image can put right into the portal page :)

My brother does IOS programming, I was gonna have him look into adding that into the iPhone app :)
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chachew
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Joined: Sat Aug 04, 2012 11:52 pm
Location: Pearland, TX

Re: RA cam

Post by chachew »

Sounds interesting, i have cameras and a ptz at the house. Wonder if i could connect it too..
alexwbush
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Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2011 12:45 am
Location: San Diego, CA

Re: RA cam

Post by alexwbush »

anyone able to help me figure out why I can view my IP cam while using my home network, but not anywhere else? I have port forwarding setup and a no-ip setup... but still I can only see if when I am within the network.

Nevermind, I figured it out! Cox blocks port 80... no wonder it never worked.
rweber504
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Joined: Sun Jun 24, 2012 2:19 pm

Re: RA cam

Post by rweber504 »

I use an Internet base cam call DLink $60.00. It works pretty good, 3 zoom levels, mic, nite vision-ish for dark room monitoring, wireless or Ethernet connect. When I travel I view my tank from my iPhone / iPad. It gives me a piece of mind. Thinking about mounting one inside the sump cabinet.
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lnevo
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RA cam

Post by lnevo »

The post that holds the stand on the dlink camera unscrews and so i have a pretty flat cam attached to the side of the tank. I used suction cup hangers that i bent the little metal hooks and put a rubber band between and it holds the camera pretty well. For $60 i cant complain. It does need a wide angle solution though to get a more inclusive shot.
alexwbush
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Location: San Diego, CA

Re: RA cam

Post by alexwbush »

Here's the cam I use: http://slickdeals.net/f/5249986-Foscam- ... e-shipping

You can rotate it and move it around while away with web interface or even free android apps.

Looks like $65 now.
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lnevo
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RA cam

Post by lnevo »

Here's pics of my mounting.
Attachments
ImageUploadedByTapatalk HD1348691596.977739.jpg
ImageUploadedByTapatalk HD1348691596.977739.jpg (49.03 KiB) Viewed 12109 times
alexwbush
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Re: RA cam

Post by alexwbush »

cool, now where's the live feed?? :-P
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lnevo
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RA cam

Post by lnevo »

http://www.easte.net:8080

Username is fishcam / No password
alexwbush
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Location: San Diego, CA

Re: RA cam

Post by alexwbush »

very cool! What kind of fish of the blue with yellow stripe?
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lnevo
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RA cam

Post by lnevo »

They are Orange-line Chromis. I have a school of three :)
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jsclownfish
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Location: Saint Louis

Re: RA cam

Post by jsclownfish »

I just set something similar up and I really like it...
camera.JPG
camera.JPG (134.45 KiB) Viewed 12094 times
Here's the mount I used....

http://www.buy.com/prod/large-window-va ... 75716.html

-Jon
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lnevo
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RA cam

Post by lnevo »

Nice option and good price for that mount.
alexwbush
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Location: San Diego, CA

Re: RA cam

Post by alexwbush »

nice. Where is your feed?

I am debating mounting mine closer. I have mine mounted on a counter across the room. I can't zoom, but I can pan and tilt. You can see my cam in my thread http://forum.reefangel.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1837 If you don't see it, someone else is viewing... I think it only lets 1 or 2 on at a time :lol:

I want to be able to see the sump if I leave. I am debating picking up another camera and mounting this one in my sump.
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jsclownfish
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Re: RA cam

Post by jsclownfish »

sorry, I haven't figured out the 'feed' process yet. I just use the weblink and apps from D-link to monitor it. It's a little clunky (probably my home internet speed). I'd like to set it up as a feed independent from that system at some point.

-Jon
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lnevo
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Re: RA cam

Post by lnevo »

jsclownfish wrote:sorry, I haven't figured out the 'feed' process yet. I just use the weblink and apps from D-link to monitor it. It's a little clunky (probably my home internet speed). I'd like to set it up as a feed independent from that system at some point.

-Jon
You need to do a port forwarding to your webcam and then you can access the page directly from your external ip and whatever port you setup.
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jsclownfish
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Location: Saint Louis

Re: RA cam

Post by jsclownfish »

Here is a snapshot from my camera if you're interested. The container on the other side of the tank was a "hospital" to seperate out a big Rhodactis that was either dividing or dying and I didn't want to lose it in the rockwork.

The great thing about the suction cup arm is that I can move it around the tank to focus on different corals and such without building another mount. I really don't have a good place to mount a panning camera in front of the tank.

-Jon
tankpic.JPG
tankpic.JPG (74.08 KiB) Viewed 10856 times
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lnevo
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Re: RA cam

Post by lnevo »

Beautiful. Love the yellow tang peeking from below :) We really need to find a good wide angle for this cam :)
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jsclownfish
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Location: Saint Louis

Re: RA cam

Post by jsclownfish »

Thanks, I'll check the port forward. I think it is set-up, but just blocked at my work firewall.

Ever since I put this on the tank, I've been wanting to code in a trigger for the autofeeder so I can get all the fish to come to the camera when I want to see them. :D


Alex,
How did you get your feed to show up on your forum post?
-Jon
alexwbush
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Location: San Diego, CA

Re: RA cam

Post by alexwbush »

I'm pretty sure it depends on your webcam, but to post a live feed, I used:

Code: Select all

http://wolfpack06.no-ip.org:1984/videostream.cgi?user=user&pwd=password
So I have my no-ip setup in there to link back to the camera and user/password for a guest account. You can't control the camera :)

When doing port forwarding, I highly recommend using a port other than 80 since that's the most frequently blocked.
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jsclownfish
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Re: RA cam

Post by jsclownfish »

Have you seen those plexiglass boxes/containers the fish stores use so you can look at corals overhead without the ripples in the water? I was thinking about trying to mount my camera over one of those so that it wasn't so "ugly" on the side of the tank. It would be a smaller view, but the camera in theory would be enclosed in the hood.

-Jon
alexwbush
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Re: RA cam

Post by alexwbush »

I think those would work great short term. But what if the power cord gets to the water? I just need to wait for HD IP cams to drop in price and raise in quality.
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lnevo
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RA cam

Post by lnevo »

jsclownfish wrote:I just set something similar up and I really like it...
camera.JPG
Here's the mount I used....

http://www.buy.com/prod/large-window-va ... 75716.html

-Jon
Just ordered one of these mounts and this fish eye lens... Let's see what it can do!

http://gorillagadgets.com/cellphone-fis ... html?sl=EN
rimai
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Re: RA cam

Post by rimai »

Does anyone know how to place a component to a webpage to watch your stream?
Is it camera specific?
Roberto.
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