My attempt at a self-powered wildlife cam

Two v3 cameras mounted at right angles to each other, mounted on a waterproof enclosure with a 32000 mAh USB power bank inside. The cabling still needs work. This setup powered one v3 for several days with continuous recording and LED off. Two v3 might kill it in a day. Plan is to change recording to events only which should extend run time considerably.


Two captures showing the great night vision compared to daylight.

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Very nice setup and thanks for sharing. There is another person on here that did something very similar. I’ll see If I can find his post and link it here.

Edit:
LOL, well wouldn’t you know…it was you that I was thinking of.

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Nice idea. The only drawback is that the box could be a bit shorter. Was that the best fit available?

Oh, also beware that someone recently observed that the V3, unlike its predecessors, may not run longer than 30 minutes once it loses an Internet connection. You might need to add a mobile hotspot to that box…

@Known1

Great minds think alike :sunglasses:

@Customer

The WiFi signal strength is 3 bars in device info so I should be able to move it even farther out. This was not intended to be used without WiFi.

Ah, okay, when you said “wildlife” I pictured a more distant operation. Thanks.

What do you think of this solar panel for use with that power bank? I am interested in your thoughts re: the “auto-optimization charging feature”, as I am considering its use with an Outdoor in a tree. Amazon.com

Some power banks will not accept a charge at the same time as they are supplying power.

Check out the Swann solar panel. I have that model for a future project with a v3.

We have thick woods about 500 feet from the back of the house so there is a lot of wildlife that comes to visit. Raccoons, coyotes, possums, groundhogs, deer, and an occasional skunk :open_mouth:

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The box could be about 1/2” longer. It is a tight fit so I used right angle USB cables which now exit out the side of the box rather than the end.

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Wiley was visiting last night.

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Adorable. No wonder we let their cousins domesticate themselves.

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This is a view of the same event but from a WOC

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Wow that V3 starlight sensor is amazing by comparison.

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Why that starlight sensor was not included in the outdoor cam is beyond me? Maybe it consumes too much power for a battery operated cam? Obviously R&D was being done on the outdoor cam at the same time as the v3…

Both v3 cameras drain the 32000 mAh pack in about 2 days recording continuously. Plan to record only when there is an event.

Yeah, but the outdoor cam doesn’t do continuous recording. It would have been nice to include the starlight sensor in that cam as well.

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This is version 3. Version 2 was just the same type of box but larger that was still cramped inside.

Since the discharged power bank needs to be swapped with a fully charged power bank, loosening and tightening 4 screws would result in worn plastic (and lost screws) in a few months. Version 3 is both larger and offers easy access to the power bank with a hinged lid. This is IP 65 rated.

Sure hope nobody walks off with this. Wife doesn’t know how much I spent but the end result got a high mark. She enjoys the wildlife.

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Final version. Mounted it on the fence off the ground. Don’t need Wiley fogging up the lens

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I would strap it down to the fence, Wiley might convince a deer to come and knock it off :blush:

Would take a moose to knock it off. Mounted securely to the fence

Thank you for your concern.

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