Recommendations please: wireless camera to check on the mount

[JimsShed]

Hi,
I don't have an observatory but instead roll out my rig onto a pad in the yard. I then control everything from inside.
I'm after a pan/tilt wireless camera to sit on the pad so I can keep an eye on the mount when slewing.
Power and wifi signal at the pad is not an issue.
Recommendations appreciated.

Cheers, Jim

[mswhin63]

I have been looking into the same thing as well. So far this website has a lot to offer, although unsure of its functionality. I am mostly considering general security at the moment.

https://www.elinz.com.au/buy/1080p-wifi-ip-security-camera-smart-auto-tracking/IPCAMK6-32GB

[mura_gadi]

Hi Jim,

Not sure if you have tried your two local Jaycar electronics stores. They are very friend and knowledgeable and stock security systems. My local mob will give you plenty of advice prior to buying anything. Hopefully you can find similar advice at your nearby stores, without the heavy sales pitch.



Steve

[Bart]

Howdy.

I went with TeleViz, a little program written by Rob Morgan of Green Swamp Server fame. Highly configurable to your equipment dimensions.

Works well, my obs is 60km from me. Haven't hit the peir yet.

Cheers and clears!

[ericwbenson]

Hi Bart, Can you elaborate on your televiz setup, or where to find more information about that program and how it works ?

Thank you,
EB

[JimsShed]

I unsuccessfully tried to find it, however there is a Youtube video about it.

[Bart]

You may find it on the Green Swamp Server IO group. Alternatively, PM me and I'll email you the file. Its a bit clunky although now that I set it up, it is a good thing.

[Bart]

I must apologise for giving you guys a bum steer!

It is on the onstep group.

Try this link.

See page 3 for the latest version, TeleViz 0.53.

https://onstep.groups.io/g/main/topic/onstep_ascom_realtime/75182355?p=Created,,,20,1,0,0

Cheers. :thumbsup:

[Paullus]

If you're tech savvy you can build one with a Raspberry Pi and some parts from Jaycar (like I recently did for a weather station): https://github.com/Jaycar-Electronics/Pan-Tilt-Camera


Making an enclosure to accommodate the tilt and pan movements is the difficult part; a problem which I'm yet to solve.


Cheers

[mswhin63]

Nice info, need to make sure that you can switch off the IR LEDs so it doesn't affect imagery. I have the camera and IR boards already working an a dashcam project, this would be good to test.

[AndyG]

Does your rig include a laptop or NUC, etc near the mount, which you control? If so, is it simple enough to plug a normal webcam in, and place it so to see the overall situation?

You can use an included webcam utility, Windows "camera" app, or VLC.
That is of course, if you're remote controlling this laptop/NUC from indoors.

If its a laptop, the inbuilt cam may suffice. You can play with gain etc to get a useful picture. Consider affixing reflective tape to various items to bring out a "stick figure" view.

Some thoughts...