Re: [AFMUG] Security camera experience
I do a lot of UniFi. Networks and cameras. I think you'll be fine with the G5 Pro and the Cloudkey. I usually prefer to use G4 cameras when they're outdoors, mostly due to the metal case, and my assumption that they'll be less susceptible to nearby lightning than the plastic cases on the G5s. But that may just be my paranoia talking and may have no basis in reality. The Cloudkey Plus does have a 1 TB 2.5" HDD and has more than enough horsepower to do a single 4K camera. I have seen a hard drive in one of these fail prematurely after about a year and a half. They aren't surveillance class drives, so the duty cycle probably isn't what a surveillance drive would give you. I don't think they even make surveillance class drives in a 2.5" form factor. Note that after I replaced that drive, I did have to reset the Cloudkey back to defaults in order to get it to come alive again. I'm not sure if that's typical, as this is the only time I've had this happen. Since I had to reset the Cloudkey, I then had to restore it from a backup in order to avoid physically resetting and re-adopting all the cameras and APs. The Cloudkey should configure itself to back up to the cloud periodically (just configuration, not footage). Overall, since I started installing UniFi cameras for customers a few years ago, my overall experience with them has been good, and so far, reliability seems fine. Someone mentioned the flash drives burning out in the NVRs. That issue got resolved quite a while ago. I had a customer where I had installed a G4 Bullet in a shop that caught fire (the shop caught fire, not the camera). The camera picked up where the fire started (a bucket full of rags), and recorded everything until there was so much smoke it couldn't see anymore. The camera survived the fire. I don't think it was ever exposed to direct flames, but it was about 12 feet away from a 55" TV that completely melted. It had to have endured some pretty serious heat. That was about a year ago and that camera is still going strong. Craig On Wed, Mar 6, 2024 at 3:00 PM Bill Prince wrote: > > bp > > > On 3/6/2024 1:24 PM, Ken Hohhof wrote: > > *FWIW, some customers seem to like the Blink cameras (Amazon's other > camera brand besides Ring). I know you said no batteries, but supposedly > with the 900 MHz Sync module, the camera batteries last 1-2 years. My > understanding is that's because they use the 900 MHz Blink protocol for > command & control and only use WiFi when sending video. You're sure you > can't get your WiFi to reach out there? * > > Absolutely not. The spot we want to put the camera is at least a couple > hundred feet away from the house (at least where the WiFi is) and about > 60-70 feet lower elevation. We have a shed about 50' away behind the house > where we get WiFi occasionally that is only 30' behind the house and on the > same elevation with no trees. Plus I need to mount the camera in a tree > about 8' above the ground to get adequate view of the driveway below. It > will be a challenge to get a ladder there to mount it in the first place. I > don't want to visit it very often, if at all. > > *As far as IR illumination, you can't put an illuminator on the house to > light up the driveway? Or is this a long winding drive and you want to > watch the part by the road? * > > Yeah. Very long driveway; maybe 3/4 mile in all. However the area we want > to cover is not even visible from the house. It's maybe only 1/8 mile along > the driveway, but the driveway makes a U-turn back on itself as is follows > the ground contour. It will not be a problem to get ethernet down there, as > I can put a switch partway in between to make the distance. > > *Oh, and the audio has problems with wind noise, but maybe all cameras > have that problem? If there's no wind it can pick up people talking 200 > feet away, but if it's windy, the microphone is useless.* > > Not too worried about that. It is quite sheltered down there, and I don't > really expect any real wind. > > Thanks for the thoughts though. Always good to consider the issues. > > I did order the G5-PRO and the Cloudkey thingy. The description of the > Cloudkey made it sound like they have an actual hard drive in it. If I have > to swap the hard drive, at least it will be somewhere where I won't have to > get on a ladder. > -- > AF mailing list > AF@af.afmug.com > http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com > -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com
Re: [AFMUG] Fiber on bad spool
If you have a spare wood spool of similar or larger size, you can fashion a spool turntable pretty easily. Disassemble the good spool, one side turns into the base, mount 4 or 6 large swivel casters around the spool, and mount a 2" galvanized pipe mounted in a floor flange in the center as an axle. Place the other spool side over the axle and it will spin easily on the casters. Then just place the bad spool on its side over the axle. On Wed, Mar 6, 2024, 11:15 AM Mark - Myakka Technologies via AF < af@af.afmug.com> wrote: > I have some 144 fiber that is sitting on a wooden spool that is rotting > away. Apparently this spool is in real bad shape. I'm waiting on some > pictures to see how bad. Guys are telling me we are going to have to > abandon all the fiber. I hoping to try to re-spool it to another spool. > > Any tips or tricks? > > > -- > > Thanks, > Mark mailto:m...@mailmt.com > > Myakka Communications > www.Myakka.com > > > -- > AF mailing list > AF@af.afmug.com > http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com > -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com
[AFMUG] Nice call
Just had a call from a former customer. He was wanting to come back. He went with an Xfinity $25/month deal. This was 2 years ago. The deal expired and now he wants to come back. We left the ONT and are ready to simply turn him back on. Nice to win one back like that. Especially against those guys. -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com
Re: [AFMUG] Security camera experience
bp On 3/6/2024 1:24 PM, Ken Hohhof wrote: /FWIW, some customers seem to like the Blink cameras (Amazon's other camera brand besides Ring). I know you said no batteries, but supposedly with the 900 MHz Sync module, the camera batteries last 1-2 years. My understanding is that's because they use the 900 MHz Blink protocol for command & control and only use WiFi when sending video. You're sure you can't get your WiFi to reach out there? / Absolutely not. The spot we want to put the camera is at least a couple hundred feet away from the house (at least where the WiFi is) and about 60-70 feet lower elevation. We have a shed about 50' away behind the house where we get WiFi occasionally that is only 30' behind the house and on the same elevation with no trees. Plus I need to mount the camera in a tree about 8' above the ground to get adequate view of the driveway below. It will be a challenge to get a ladder there to mount it in the first place. I don't want to visit it very often, if at all. /As far as IR illumination, you can't put an illuminator on the house to light up the driveway? Or is this a long winding drive and you want to watch the part by the road? / Yeah. Very long driveway; maybe 3/4 mile in all. However the area we want to cover is not even visible from the house. It's maybe only 1/8 mile along the driveway, but the driveway makes a U-turn back on itself as is follows the ground contour. It will not be a problem to get ethernet down there, as I can put a switch partway in between to make the distance. /Oh, and the audio has problems with wind noise, but maybe all cameras have that problem? If there's no wind it can pick up people talking 200 feet away, but if it's windy, the microphone is useless./ Not too worried about that. It is quite sheltered down there, and I don't really expect any real wind. Thanks for the thoughts though. Always good to consider the issues. I did order the G5-PRO and the Cloudkey thingy. The description of the Cloudkey made it sound like they have an actual hard drive in it. If I have to swap the hard drive, at least it will be somewhere where I won't have to get on a ladder. -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com
Re: [AFMUG] Security camera experience
FWIW, some customers seem to like the Blink cameras (Amazon's other camera brand besides Ring). I know you said no batteries, but supposedly with the 900 MHz Sync module, the camera batteries last 1-2 years. My understanding is that's because they use the 900 MHz Blink protocol for command & control and only use WiFi when sending video. You're sure you can't get your WiFi to reach out there? As far as IR illumination, you can't put an illuminator on the house to light up the driveway? Or is this a long winding drive and you want to watch the part by the road? But as far as the UniFi cameras, I have mixed feelings about them. They seem kind of pricey. I use the NVR not the Cloud Key. Maybe subconsciously I don't want to buy something with UCK for the part number? I have one of the WIFi indoor cameras in the shelter at a tower, it's OK. I have G4 Bullets and G4 Pros, I found the build quality and mounting method for the Bullet to be inferior to the Pro. And somebody warned me the flash in the NVRs tends to die and then you have to reload the OS. Oh, and the audio has problems with wind noise, but maybe all cameras have that problem? If there's no wind it can pick up people talking 200 feet away, but if it's windy, the microphone is useless. -Original Message- From: AF On Behalf Of dmmoff...@gmail.com Sent: Wednesday, March 6, 2024 2:53 PM To: 'AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group' Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Security camera experience I have no constructive input. UniFi always finds a way to tick me off. Their original Ubiquiti AirVision camera system was such a horror show that the cameras in particular give me a visceral response. Regardless of how they've improved I can't forgive them. I guess their WiFi is ok enough for some purposes. -Original Message- From: AF On Behalf Of Bill Prince Sent: Monday, March 04, 2024 1:31 PM To: AFMUG Subject: [AFMUG] Security camera experience I tried sending this "OT", but nothing happened (reminds me of a 3-Stooges script), so I decided that maybe it's not so off topic after all. We want to put up a security camera where it is far enough away, and with terrain & tree issues overlooking the entrance to our property. It will be about 50-60 feet above the driveway. There are no lights down there, and the spot where I want to put it is difficult enough to reach that I don't want to mess with batteries or WiFi. So it will be a wired/POE camera. The camera that (so far) seems to meet my needs is the Unifi UVC-G5-PRO, mainly because it has an ~~80 foot range in IR mode, and the image quality is noticeably better than the G4 and below models. It also has enough smarts to act as a "doorbell" of sorts should anyone come driving up. One downside is that it's WHITE, so I will need to camo it somewhat. I don't know if the IR is low or no glow, but that would be a major plus if it had it because I don't want it drawing attention. It will also require Ubiqiti's Cloud Key G2+ to act as an NVR (and it can handle a few more cameras should the need arise). Before I pull the trigger on this, I thought I'd throw it out to the Borg to see if anyone has any other thoughts or recommendations. -- bp -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com
Re: [AFMUG] Fiber on bad spool
I agree, if it can be spooled off by hand, put on their gloves and do it. Fig 8 is OK but if you have enough room to just pull it off in a straight line, it goes faster. -Original Message- From: dmmoff...@gmail.com Sent: Wednesday, March 6, 2024 2:02 PM To: 'AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group' Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Fiber on bad spool If it's too broken to sit on an axle and rotate then I can see why they wouldn't want to play with it. I'm feeling salty today, but for thousands of dollars worth of cable they should suck it up and do it anyway. My only question would be whether to figure-8 the whole thing onto the ground or to take a side off the spool and try to slide the whole coil onto a pipe. Either way, proceed to wind it up onto another spool. Fancy machines are all well and good, but they ought to be able to put some gloves on and spin the new spool by hand. Or bolt a pipe flange to the wood if they need a handle. -Original Message- From: AF On Behalf Of Mark - Myakka Technologies via AF Sent: Wednesday, March 06, 2024 11:15 AM To: AFMUG Cc: Mark - Myakka Technologies Subject: [AFMUG] Fiber on bad spool I have some 144 fiber that is sitting on a wooden spool that is rotting away. Apparently this spool is in real bad shape. I'm waiting on some pictures to see how bad. Guys are telling me we are going to have to abandon all the fiber. I hoping to try to re-spool it to another spool. Any tips or tricks? -- Thanks, Mark mailto:m...@mailmt.com Myakka Communications www.Myakka.com -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com
Re: [AFMUG] Fiber on bad spool
If it's too broken to sit on an axle and rotate then I can see why they wouldn't want to play with it. I'm feeling salty today, but for thousands of dollars worth of cable they should suck it up and do it anyway. My only question would be whether to figure-8 the whole thing onto the ground or to take a side off the spool and try to slide the whole coil onto a pipe. Either way, proceed to wind it up onto another spool. Fancy machines are all well and good, but they ought to be able to put some gloves on and spin the new spool by hand. Or bolt a pipe flange to the wood if they need a handle. -Original Message- From: AF On Behalf Of Mark - Myakka Technologies via AF Sent: Wednesday, March 06, 2024 11:15 AM To: AFMUG Cc: Mark - Myakka Technologies Subject: [AFMUG] Fiber on bad spool I have some 144 fiber that is sitting on a wooden spool that is rotting away. Apparently this spool is in real bad shape. I'm waiting on some pictures to see how bad. Guys are telling me we are going to have to abandon all the fiber. I hoping to try to re-spool it to another spool. Any tips or tricks? -- Thanks, Mark mailto:m...@mailmt.com Myakka Communications www.Myakka.com -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com
Re: [AFMUG] Security camera experience
I have no constructive input. UniFi always finds a way to tick me off. Their original Ubiquiti AirVision camera system was such a horror show that the cameras in particular give me a visceral response. Regardless of how they've improved I can't forgive them. I guess their WiFi is ok enough for some purposes. -Original Message- From: AF On Behalf Of Bill Prince Sent: Monday, March 04, 2024 1:31 PM To: AFMUG Subject: [AFMUG] Security camera experience I tried sending this "OT", but nothing happened (reminds me of a 3-Stooges script), so I decided that maybe it's not so off topic after all. We want to put up a security camera where it is far enough away, and with terrain & tree issues overlooking the entrance to our property. It will be about 50-60 feet above the driveway. There are no lights down there, and the spot where I want to put it is difficult enough to reach that I don't want to mess with batteries or WiFi. So it will be a wired/POE camera. The camera that (so far) seems to meet my needs is the Unifi UVC-G5-PRO, mainly because it has an ~~80 foot range in IR mode, and the image quality is noticeably better than the G4 and below models. It also has enough smarts to act as a "doorbell" of sorts should anyone come driving up. One downside is that it's WHITE, so I will need to camo it somewhat. I don't know if the IR is low or no glow, but that would be a major plus if it had it because I don't want it drawing attention. It will also require Ubiqiti's Cloud Key G2+ to act as an NVR (and it can handle a few more cameras should the need arise). Before I pull the trigger on this, I thought I'd throw it out to the Borg to see if anyone has any other thoughts or recommendations. -- bp -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com
Re: [AFMUG] Fiber on bad spool
Perfect -Original Message- From: Nate Burke Sent: Wednesday, March 6, 2024 9:54 AM To: AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Fiber on bad spool Sounds like it would be similar to the machines used to lay field tile. If you could get it on this, it should spool out. https://www.machinerypete.com/details/field-drainage-equipment/2023/liebrecht/tile-trailer/21037638 On 3/6/2024 10:45 AM, Chuck McCown via AF wrote: It would have to be pretty bad to not be able to be salvaged. I would try to unspool it out in a straight line in a field. Then use a spool trailer that has some power to wind it back up on a good spool. There are some old horizontal pay out trailers that were largely used for open wire line. No idea where you could find one. But even if you had to remove all the reel parts and just have the coils you could use that. You could make one by taking a truck or trailer wheel and spindle and making a horizontal lazy susan turntable to put the reel on and pay it out that way. -Original Message- From: Mark - Myakka Technologies via AF Sent: Wednesday, March 6, 2024 9:14 AM To: AFMUG Cc: Mark - Myakka Technologies Subject: [AFMUG] Fiber on bad spool I have some 144 fiber that is sitting on a wooden spool that is rotting away. Apparently this spool is in real bad shape. I'm waiting on some pictures to see how bad. Guys are telling me we are going to have to abandon all the fiber. I hoping to try to re-spool it to another spool. Any tips or tricks? -- Thanks, Mark mailto:m...@mailmt.com Myakka Communications www.Myakka.com -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com
Re: [AFMUG] Fiber on bad spool
Sounds like it would be similar to the machines used to lay field tile. If you could get it on this, it should spool out. https://www.machinerypete.com/details/field-drainage-equipment/2023/liebrecht/tile-trailer/21037638 On 3/6/2024 10:45 AM, Chuck McCown via AF wrote: It would have to be pretty bad to not be able to be salvaged. I would try to unspool it out in a straight line in a field. Then use a spool trailer that has some power to wind it back up on a good spool. There are some old horizontal pay out trailers that were largely used for open wire line. No idea where you could find one. But even if you had to remove all the reel parts and just have the coils you could use that. You could make one by taking a truck or trailer wheel and spindle and making a horizontal lazy susan turntable to put the reel on and pay it out that way. -Original Message- From: Mark - Myakka Technologies via AF Sent: Wednesday, March 6, 2024 9:14 AM To: AFMUG Cc: Mark - Myakka Technologies Subject: [AFMUG] Fiber on bad spool I have some 144 fiber that is sitting on a wooden spool that is rotting away. Apparently this spool is in real bad shape. I'm waiting on some pictures to see how bad. Guys are telling me we are going to have to abandon all the fiber. I hoping to try to re-spool it to another spool. Any tips or tricks? -- Thanks, Mark mailto:m...@mailmt.com Myakka Communications www.Myakka.com -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com
Re: [AFMUG] Fiber on bad spool
It would have to be pretty bad to not be able to be salvaged. I would try to unspool it out in a straight line in a field. Then use a spool trailer that has some power to wind it back up on a good spool. There are some old horizontal pay out trailers that were largely used for open wire line. No idea where you could find one. But even if you had to remove all the reel parts and just have the coils you could use that. You could make one by taking a truck or trailer wheel and spindle and making a horizontal lazy susan turntable to put the reel on and pay it out that way. -Original Message- From: Mark - Myakka Technologies via AF Sent: Wednesday, March 6, 2024 9:14 AM To: AFMUG Cc: Mark - Myakka Technologies Subject: [AFMUG] Fiber on bad spool I have some 144 fiber that is sitting on a wooden spool that is rotting away. Apparently this spool is in real bad shape. I'm waiting on some pictures to see how bad. Guys are telling me we are going to have to abandon all the fiber. I hoping to try to re-spool it to another spool. Any tips or tricks? -- Thanks, Mark mailto:m...@mailmt.com Myakka Communications www.Myakka.com -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com
[AFMUG] Fiber on bad spool
I have some 144 fiber that is sitting on a wooden spool that is rotting away. Apparently this spool is in real bad shape. I'm waiting on some pictures to see how bad. Guys are telling me we are going to have to abandon all the fiber. I hoping to try to re-spool it to another spool. Any tips or tricks? -- Thanks, Mark mailto:m...@mailmt.com Myakka Communications www.Myakka.com -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com
