I’ve thought of bundling a small router, since I have a GLiNet lying around - but I am afraid power management will be challenging. Car battery and a few panels seem bulkier than I had in mind, and packaging that for weather is a challenge, too.
Comment on Solar Powered Wifi Camera with Wireguard
ikidd@lemmy.world 5 days ago
Grab a regular ethernet connected camera with 12V supply and ONVIF compatible, and a OpenWRT router like GLiNet’s cheapo units in bridge mode. They have a wireguard VPN active already, you just need to get it set up. Then you specify what subnet the inside of that router is so you can get to the camera, and access it via IP.
johnnychicago@lemmy.world 4 days ago
ikidd@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Well, I guess whatever camera you get should give you a power requirement and you can work backwards from there as to storage and panel requirement. My off the cuff notion would say you’ll need a deep cycle or a group 31 of 100aH to last for a day or two depending on weather and length of day, and lithium batteries will get plating if you try to charge below freezing so they’re out.
It’s all in the math, then double it because nature hates you.
unphazed@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Gonna add 100w solar panel works great (just not this time of year, mine picks back up around February), and get a gel battery 100ah or more. Lead doesn’t cycle as much and doesn’t like cold. A cheap charge controller with usb is all you need to power most cameras (I run two wyzecams with the panel on the top of my chicken coop to watch my driveway) Just know this time of year lacks sunlight, I might get 2 to 5 hours this time of year, with 24h later in the year.
ikidd@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Do you have an MPPT charger or a PWM? The amount of extra power you get off your panels in winter can be significant with a good MPPT charger because it isn’t clipping the higher voltage/power you get in cold.
unphazed@lemmy.world 4 days ago
I have this one connected: a.co/d/0dkouiZ
ikidd@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Yah, that’s a PWM charger. You’d likely see up to another third more power stored with an MPPT at temperatures below freezing from my experience running various offgrid livestock pumping systems over the years. I still use old PWM controllers on things like fencers because they’re pretty low draw, but I haven’t bought a PWM for years now since MPPT prices came down to earth.
Just a suggestion, idk what your particular scenario is but it sounds like you’re running out of power pretty quick. And for batteries, I’ve personally moved to LFP with heaters in insulated boxes for the sheer life expectancy, power density and reliability compared to LA in cold temperatures. But I wouldn’t say it’s the cheapest way to do things.