I think a simple TV antenna rotator would do the trick. If you got an IP camera with dry contact outputs, like the Axis network cameras, you could wire up some relays connected to the outputs of the camera that would rotate the pole in either direction. The contact outputs on the axis cameras can be controlled through the web interface. You'd need a slip ring arrangement of some sort or limit switches on the rotator so that your ethernet and control cables don't get all wrapped up when the pole rotates, of course.
Patrick > Tom, > I would try and look up something from the ham radio realm. They have > remote control systems for remote mounted radios. My idea would be is you > can find something with a software package that can remotely control a > rotor. This rotor would have your AP and camera mounted to the short > section > of mast on top of the rotor. This could be an inexpensive TV antenna > rotor. > Off the top of my head I can't think of anything that I know does this but > that's because I don't play with remote controlled radios much. > > > > Thank You, > Brian Webster > www.wirelessmapping.com <http://www.wirelessmapping.com> > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Tom DeReggi [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Wednesday, November 29, 2006 11:21 AM > To: WISPA General List > Subject: [WISPA] Motor controlled rotating poles > > > For the longest time, I wanted to build a solution to do the following, > from > each of our Master Cell Sites.... > > 1) Rotate a IP Camera 360 deg (remotely over an IP connection) > 2) Rotate a Pole with a Trango Fox 5800SU on it 360 deg (remotely over IP > connection). > > The purpose is two fold.... > > When Link quality severally degrades for a short period, either packet > loss > or rssi, > > 1) To discover/view when there is a third party worker working on the roof > of our cell site. > (Who may be standing in front of antennas periodically or testing > gear > that interfers without getting pre-approved) > > 2) To do a spectrum site survey, on the fly in any direction, to find the > least noisy channel, WITHOUT taking the primary sector antenna down > (offline). > > By having the radio and the camera on the same pole, it would help confirm > which direction we were pointing exactly when doing the survey. One of the > other requirements is that it won't turn more that 360 in one direction to > prevent cable CAT5 breaking, and to ahve a refference of the starting > point > in deg, calibrated to a known direction (north 0 deg?). What would > REALLY > be cool, is if it had a speaker out put on the camera, so I could yell at > the worker standing in front of my antenna :-). I'm aware that some > camera > may have an output for controlling a relay or servo motor, as some > solutions/platforms exist to mount and rotate a single camera attached. > Preferably, I'd like a solution that could rotate the pole itself. > Everything of course would need to be outdoor survivable, and strong > enough > that the pole would stay errect and safe at 200-300 feet up. My thought > is > that maybe the controls could be initiated from the IP Camera connections, > If I found a rotating platform/pole mount. > > Are there any mechanical hobbyists out there, that might suggest the most > cost effective way to accomplish this? > (My goal is lowest cost, lowest cost, lowest cost, so I can afford to > replicate the solution at about 20 locations) > > Tom DeReggi > RapidDSL & Wireless, Inc > IntAirNet- Fixed Wireless Broadband > > -- > WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org > > Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > > Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > > > > -- > WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org > > Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > > Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
