Wyze Smart Outdoor Security Cameras
After some time has passed with our older Night Owl security cameras, we started noticing some quirks with the performance of the cameras. There were more and more instances where the cameras would miss detection of bodies, along with animals that might periodically pass through. After the loss of some chickens and the cameras not even picking up when people came by to feed the chickens, it was determined that it was time to upgrade the camera system to something else. We ended up finding a new camera that is actually a fraction of the price of the Night Owls and incorporates some new technology, namely a tracking technology that makes these smart cameras. The units in particular that we chose are a turret style that allows the camera to spin around, giving it almost 360 degrees of coverage. Of course, these cameras can't spin a whole 360 degrees, they stop at a point then would have to rotate back the opposite direction to where they would terminate at just about the same spot it stopped at when rotating the other direction. These cameras have facial recognition and can be set up to distinguish between friend and foe and can actually contact help through a center similar to regular alarm companies that monitor a house system.
The first of the cameras to be set up, installed where the front yard camera was located. Even though its main purpose is to watch the front gate and yard area, it can pan over to the rear yard and gate area as well. This camera will be flipped around where its hanging under the mount so it will have the ability to look straight down as well.
The first installment was installing three cameras where the old Night Owls were. Two cameras are set up on either side of the main entry door where the old cams were, with them covering the front gate/yard areas and the other covering the rear gate/yard area. The third is set up to cover the chicken yard area. Even though I have the cameras mounted the way they are as seen in the pics, I will later on flip them around where they're under the mount brackets. This is so the camera can pan downward and not see the base when it goes below 45 degrees downward angle. I did have to route the power cables in an unorthodox way since they were not long enough to follow the same path as the power cables of the old cameras. I will have to order some longer cords later that are made with the 90-degree micro-USB plugs to be used on these cameras. The next installment of cameras is another pair that we installed at spots that focus on the front gate. One camera would be mounted on the power pole just outside the chicken yard gate, with its area covering the front gate and the side parking area all the way past the chicken yard gate and over to the storage shed. This wide area allows us to view everything where no one can even walk in the gate without being spotted and will be tracked by the camera all the way through the yard area. The second camera will be mounted at the front corner of the trailer where it can also look at the front gate from that angle, while being able to cover the side park/work area going alongside the Storage Trailer and also have full coverage of the garden area including the greenhouse.
The fourth camera in the series is mounted on the power pole just outside the chicken yard gate since there's an outlet here. This area is the perfect spot for this camera as it overlooks the front gate and side park area as well as the Storage Shed at the back of the yard area, complete coverage is achieved here.
The fifth camera is mounted on the front corner of the Storage Trailer so it can look at he area from the front gate and yard area all the way around through the side park area and the garden area to the southern gate. To mount the camera here, I had to make an extension cord that plugs to the outlet at the middle of the trailer near the bottom. The cord gets routed up then is routed just below the awning where it terminates at the corner. The power block is plugged in and the cable wrapped around the awning strut to keep things neat.
With all five cameras set up, there is no area of the compound that isn't covered. Everything within the fences is covered front and back, side to side. We also took a moment to take an old tablet and add the app for the cameras so it can serve as a monitor to allow us to watch the cameras anytime while at home without having to tie up our phones in order to view the different feeds. If I was feeling froggy, I would add a sixth camera for covering the outside where it can watch the driveway and scope out any vehicles that come and go. Just like the old cameras, these units do have micro SD card slots for onboard storage as well as access to cloud storage for redundancy. Just the idea that these cameras can follow a target and lock in on sound as well as motion makes them light years ahead of the old cameras. One thing that I would really want to focus on for the long term is to better secure the power cords and maybe even somehow secure the cords and power supplies where they can't be tampered with. This would probably also mean to go away from the standard plug in power blocks and maybe poking a hole in the wall where the camera is located and routing the USB power cable through the wall to the inside where the cable can be routed down to an outlet in the house. Even the camera on the power pole could be set up where a conduit can be connected to the power panel or outlet box so the USB cable can be routed through said conduit where it is completely shielded.
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