My new toy - a see in the dark, IP based, remote control for pan + tilt camera < $100

[g__day]

I am really delighted with my new toy - its an EasyN F series IP camera from easyntech.

http://www.adelong.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=709_179&products_id=18493


IP Camera with Pan / Tilt / Wireless Network / CMOS Sensor
This camera requires a connection for power and ethernet. You can control this unit from the comfort of your office or home PC.

Specifications:


Sensor: CMOS 0.3 MP (640 x 480)
Recording: VGA (640 x 480), QVGA (320 x 240)
Lens: 3.6mm Fixed
Infra Red Illumination: Yes, 10m Range
Pan Range: 0° ~ 220°
Tilt Range: 0° ~ 90°
Network: 10/100Mbit Wired and 802.11b/g Wifi


Features:


Includes Viewing and Recording Software.
Built In Web Server for Browser Viewing / Control
Up to 5 Simultaneous Users Viewing
Support for Online Update of Firmware
Support Motion Detection
Supports Alarm Input / Triggering

I bought this on Friday at Adelong Computers in Sydney for $99.95 (shame this batch didn't come with any powersupply - but Adelong were great - apologised and gave me one the next day. Its not to tricky to set up.

So it:

1. sees in the dark using infra red leds - see picture below taken in in pitch black
2. connects to a switch (not your PC) so it can run when your PC is off
3. has remote controls to pan and tilt (very fluidly)
4. can go into security mode and send snaps of things that change to you, via e-mail, smartphone web updates etc.

I intend to use it to occassionaly see how the OTAs / mount and gear are behaving when it's so cold outside that I want to be comfortable inside (using VNC to run all my gear). For under $100 is a very nice to have addition to my astro lab!

Matthew

[Atlantis69]

I've been eyeing these on eBay for a while now... wanted to use it to keep an eye on my cat while I'm out of the house :P

Let us know how it goes once it's all set up!

[g__day]

So far - it goes beautifully. I notice it has security features too - will later on see if I can get it to pan to me when I enter the lab and snap a piccy!

[peter_4059]

Did you end up testing the security feature Matthew?

[g__day]

Not yet - slipped my mind whilst we are concentrating on fixing a leaking shower of all things! Thanks for the reminder, just playyed with the camera again - it hasn't missed a beat so far.

My guess on the security side is that its doesn't track and intruder by movement, rather if a frame changes suddenly it can raise an alert and deploy actions such as e-mail a picture to a smart phone or web address. Will read up on it!

[allan gould]

Thanks for the heads up Matthew as I've just ordered one as this is exactly what I was after for the observatory.

[RobF]

I wonder if you could use it as a wide field cam to monitor the sky on nights that clouds are coming and going.....:question:
Wouldn't be able to leave it out unprotected indefinitely of course.

[allan gould]

Just got the camera up and running on a dedicated wifi network for the observatory. It really is an excellent camera that I was amazed to see it tilt and pan around and then switch on the ir lighting when the lights went out.
This will give me some peace of mind in relation to the scope and mounts position while remote imaging.
Again thanks for the heads up Matthew.

[g__day]

Wireless set up

First connect to device over wired setup at IP http://192.168.0.126:81/monitor2.htm# (browser dependent)

Select setup (the cog / gear wheel at the box of the control box) takes you to http://192.168.0.126:81/admin2.htm

Select tab Wireless LAN Set-up

Note you have to search for wireless connections twice, then select the one you want (and I suppose disconnect the cat 5/6 cable), select use wireless LAN and apply settings and wait 28 seconds for device to restart.

Page 21 of the 4.5 MB manual covers it:

http://www.easyntech.com/download/EasyN%20F%20series%20user%20manual% 28%20ver.MFEE1103A%29.zip

2.4.3Wireless LAN Settings

Click the Scan button (at least two times),select your wifi SSID, and write in your wifi’s password. file:///C:/Users/Matthew/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image002.jpg

ADSL Settings ( pls don’t use it ,if you use routers)

When connected to the Internet through ADSL directly ,you can enter the ADSL username

and password obtained from ISP.

file:///C:/Users/Matthew/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.jpg
Upnp Settings: If you have done the port forwarding in the routers, you need not care about it.
file:///C:/Users/Matthew/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image006.jpg

2.4.4DDNS Service Settings

DDNS Service: The system support protocols from some DDNS providers,and our own ddns ( built-in)..

User and Password: the user name and password used when applying for the domain name .(if use our Built-in ddns, and you can find the ddns user and password from the label of ip camera)

DDNS or Proxy Server: If you access the DDNS host through a proxy, you should input the Proxy IP.(if use our Built-in ddns,it’s should be user.easyn.hk)

DDNS or Proxy Port: Proxy Port.(if use our Built-in ddns, the port should be 808 or 80)

file:///C:/Users/Matthew/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image008.jpg

[allan gould]

Unfortunately my camera just died but the technician at Adelong electronics (Tim) and the manager (Julian) were extremely helpful diagnosing what's wrong. So the camera is going back today and another should arrive at the end of the week. Havnt had a chance to get it going via wifi so that's the first thing I attempt when the replacement comes. Thanks for all the info Matthew.
Allan

[Moon]

I picked up a Foscam FI8918W on eBay for $84 a while back. There seems to be a bit of variation in the prices quoted, maybe some aren't genuine?
Anyhow, it's a good performer and has been getting good reviews. It's a good choice for monitoring your home or observatory.


For a sky camera, you need more sensitivity. A WAT 902H is a good choice, also available on eBay from time to time. You also need a len with an iris to stop the sun cooking the CCD. See my meteor camera (http://deepspaceplace.com/meteor.php) page for some ideas.
James

[allan gould]

Excellent service from Adelong electronics http://www.adelong.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=709_179&products_id=18493
Sent back my camera Monday afternoon and a new one arrived Wednesday morning and I had it installed in the observatory this afternoon all running on wifi. Tim (technician) spent some time on the phone with me to run down an IP setting glitch and I can't praise him enough. Really patient and thorough, thanks Tim.

[Poita]

Looks like a useful thing. How do you access it from the internet rather than just your home network?

[g__day]

Specific it to tunnel through and use its real IP address and port, not just your home network address. My astro lab leaked the other day - right on top of the camera - so I need a new one next time I go into the city; charger, Infra Red and IP circuirtry okay - but the camera is fried :(

[g__day]

Well wow - it only took me 6 weeks to have to go into the city again, so I bought another. Guess what - this model is a colour (in daylight) video feed (640 * 480).

Same price, similar performance. I note the software has evolved - to the point the install wizard got hopeless confused on what settings to use and what the default admin password was, so I ended up just using the original install disk and it worked a charm.

I'd say this model is better (more brightness controls), a smaller transformer (5V and 2amps, the last was 5V and 3 amps) and seems a tad more responsive. Its a gun metal grey and it actually looks quite sleek!

Nice to have this working again!

[allan gould]

Matthew
I've just had to redo my observatory laptop and I now can't get it to work with my Internet wifi.
I've tried what I remembered to set it up but still no go. I must be doing something wrong and I've done what you have said in your posts above but still no go. Could you pm me a phone no so that I can go over this with you?
Thanks, Allan

[g__day]

Allan

Happy to try and help - but I use wired setups for all my gear. Does a wired setup work at all for you?

I'm home on Monday most of the day - will pm you my contact details if that helps!

Matt

[allan gould]

Matt
Thanks for your reply. Ive now done the same as you and have installed it as a wired setup which is working fine. Just annoying that it was working wirelessly but not now.
Allan

[joffhk]

I've just got one of these EasyN F-series IP cameras, but when I connect it up as described (connect to router, with computer to same router) and run the setup software provided, the software does not recognise the IP camera. If anyone else has had this problem, can you let me know what the 'trick' is? Regrettably I don't know much about routers/internet configuration! : (

[g__day]

First things first, confirming the setup / wiring (a picture of your setup would be useful)

1. A Broadband modem comes into your residence from your local ISP, with some cable connecting it to the internet.

2. The Broadband modem connects to your TP-LINK WR740N router via a cat 5 or cat 6 internet cable (from the modems LAN output to the router WAN input)

3. All other network devices connect to either LAN port 1, 2, 3 or 4 on that router (wired or wireless) – wired is generally simplest to start with.

The lights on the back of your camera sound correct. Can I confirm when you plug the power supply into your camera it pans and swivels for about 30 seconds ( a power on test that includes servo check) that the motors are all fine before it goes back to the middle position – ready to receive commands.

The camera should now have an internal network address of http://192.168.0.126:81/ so final IP address is 126 and port 81 is listening for commands.

On one of your PC bring up a DOS command screen and type “ipconfig /all” (minus the quotes). You should see:

DHCP is enabled
Autoconfiguration is enabled
And IP6 address
An IPv4 address like 192.168.0.12 (the last digits are likely to be anything in the range 10 to 250)
A Subnet mask of 255.255.255.0
A Default gateway of 192.168.0.1 (your router)
2 or 3 real DNS servers

Given this is correct your device should be visible to the router – you should be able to query your router to confirm it can see the IP camera device.

For instance on my network in my browser I type Http://192.168.0.1 and supply a name and password and it opens my router control page. I select LAN IP and amongst other things it tells me

____ MAC ___ / __ IP Address __ / ___ Expiry date
000767e18a5e /192.168. 0.104 / Jun 12 00:12:18
00a88900a04f / 192.168. 0.126 / *** STATIC IP ADDRESS **
0011d942a99d / 192.168. 0.161 / Jun 12 00:15:32

Does your router report a device with a static IP address of 192.168.0.126 on your network?

Secondly – open a browser and type http://192.168.0.126:81/ and relay what happens – does it time out or ask you to configure the software for your specific browser.

More data on what is happening at your end may help.

Finally you can go into advanced setup mode and try and alter your devices IP address or just describe what is shown when you select advanced setup – this may inform you if there are any fields not containing the recommended settings.

[g__day]

A bit of Networking advice for anyone using these types of static IP devices.

Most routers reserve the internal network address of 192.168.0.1, and they hand out IP addresses like 192.168.0.XXX (from 2 to 255) to anything that attaches to them. They use a Subnet mask of 255.255.255.000 - which from old UNIX days means they kinda ignore or mask out the first three digits.

Some routers hand out IP addresses like 192.168.1.XXX or 192.168.2.XXX, but they still use subnet of 255.255.255.0. So if you have a model like Geoff's that hands out dynamic addresses like 192.168.1.16 and you connect a device like 192.168.0.126 without a subnet like 255.255.000.000 - they shouldn't be able to see each other from my understanding.

"Do not choose an address that falls outside the range of your network mask (http://compnetworking.about.com/library/weekly/aa043000a.htm). For example, to support all addresses in the 10.x.x.x private range, the network mask on all devices must be set to 255.0.0.0, otherwise some static IP addresses in this range will not work."

The fix is likely to be either 1) ask your router to use the IPv4 range of 192.168.0.XXX 2) change your subnet mask to 255.255.000.000 or 3) try and tunnel to the device using the manufacturers software in advanced mode and try getting it to choose static address 192.168.1.126 - to do the last one you might need to borrow a friends gear who operates on the 192.168.0.XXX IP address range.

I'm not a network guru - but I suspect that's the error here from what Geoff has posted to me offline!