Pan cams randomly rebooting

[Skier76]

Slight build up to this, but hoping it helps diagnose the issue.

I have 3 pan cameras: Two in CT one in VT. The VT camera has been solid. We had a power outage there Friday evening and the camera came back online and was in the position it had been in all day.

My two CT cams are randomly rebooting. I’d say one about once a week; the other every other to every two weeks. At first, I thought maybe it was a power issue. But given the VT cam ends up fine after the power goes off, I’ve ruled that out. Plus, our CT location has very reliable electricity.

I can tell they’ve rebooted because I’ll check the app and the camera(s) will be facing in a completely different location.

Open to any thoughts or suggestions!

[rbruceporter]

Pan cameras add a dimension not found in the V2 and V1 cams, motion. This causes the power cable to potentially be subject to stresses if the base moves at all. But even in cases where the camera does not move I have noticed on mine that the connection of the power cable is more “flimsy” than the other cams.

Aside from that they seem to have a higher voltage/amperage draw than the other cameras. Enough so I can’t reliably use a bridge in my Pan camera. It seems to cause the camera to randomly restart.

Typically speaking for the camera to reboot/restart on its own there is either a power issue or some type of fault in the camera. Since you don’t seem to indicate a frequent reboot/restart event I am leaning towards power.

Step 1, if you can replace the power cord and any step down voltage converter (wall wart/mushroom) with known good ones to rule out a faulty delivery system.

Step 2, if the power cord is hanging down then introduce a hook, nail, or other method of supporting the power cord so it’s not stressing the connection. (Make sure you have a rain loop if the camera is outside)

Step 3. If the camera is outside or exposed to temperature swings consider an enclosure. Humidity and dew can cause odd power issues.

[Skier76]

Great response! Thanks for typing that out!

The VT cam is outside so is one of the CT cams. I’m interested in the power cord idea you suggested. Both of the CT cameras have cords that have some downward pressure. I think I’ll start there and see if that helps things along.

[GMWW]

I can’t tell if my pan cameras are rebooting. What I do know is they change their positions every week which is annoying. I’ve tried eliminating my preset positions to only having one preset position. I’ve even turn that feature off. This has been going on since I’ve owned them.

[tomp]

Be sure you are using the power block that came with the Pan cam. It has a higher power output than the V2 because the cam requires more power. Also critical is the cord. I have used 15,16 ,20 and 25 foot cords powering mine-some have worked and others won’t. They all work on the V2’s but not all work on the Pans.

[Skier76]

Thanks tomp! All Pans are using the powerblock that came with them. One of the Pans in CT is using the stock cable; the other uses a longer USB cable.

[fwiw]

Two of my five pan cams at a remote location either reboot or reset to the default position about once each week.

[Skier76]

Is there a way to set the camera to go to a certain position after rebooting? That would be really helpful.

[rbruceporter]

Yes, 2 ways actually. The first is to set 1 and only 1 waypoint. The camera will return to the position the waypoint was set to.

The other way is under Detection settings you can set a Detection Zone. Wherever you defined the detection zone will be your cameras new home position.

[Skier76]

Thanks! I had a waypiont set on one cam…but it reset/rebooted and came back on in the home position; not the waypoint.

[rbruceporter]

That’s odd. My settings are below. If I yank the plug out and plug it back in it initially goes to the home position but then hits the waypoint position.

[Skier76]

I have now put a way point on the the other two pans. So we’ll see if this helps with things!