Security camera - problems with mist/fog at night

I have camera from the same manufacturer and model range. The only reliable triggering mode is the "AI" human body recognition. Other modes are triggered by spiders, spider webs, flying insects, rain, wind blown branches etc.etc.

These cameras although being very low power consumption seem to provide enough warmth, or the ir light attracts a few insects, to make them a favoured home for spiders.

I am using the camera to monitor our hedgehog visitors so human body recognition wouldn't be much help, sadly.

Cheers

Dave R

If you are considering buying other of their products perhaps watch this rant about what Tado are doing

alan_m snipped-for-privacy@admac.myzen.co.uk> wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net:

Camera is Tapo (TP-Link), rant is about Tado thermostats, apparently unrelated.

Unlike glass, polythene sheet transmits IR, so perhapsa box around the camera with a clear polythen window would keep droplets/insects far enough away to avoid triggering.

Did you mean perspex rather than polythene as you mention a box? Polythene is, however, transparent to IR, so putting a small poly bag round the whole camera would be a simple way to test if it helps.

Been there done that years ago, glass and perspex IIRC block IR but even black polythene bin bag material allows a PIR to work interestingly. Whatever you use has to be some distance from the camera, presumably so water drops/mites are only 1 pixel across at most.

Perspex is transparent to IR. Glass varies, but most common sheets transmit IR to some extent. Glass for conservatory roofs is often coated to exclude IR.

A typical visible band camera with glass lenses see IR to perhaps to 1um assuming it has no IR blocking filter. With a typical security camera the scene will be illuminated with IR lighting which is invisible to the human eye and the camera will pick anything in the IR band that the camera sensor is sensitive to.

This type of camera will not see through a black polythene bag.

True IR cameras works typically in the 3 to 5um band or the 8 to 12/14um band and generally have germanium lenses. IR cameras operating in the latter band are the most common type used by the military, on Police helicopters and those commercially available at an affordable cost. Such as

How mwnay of these devices can connect to my home LAN via wireless and interact with a desktop app (not interested in smartphone usage).

Exactly the reason I bought a 'security' camera[1]. It does pick up the odd hedgehog, but far more often it's cats (we no longer have cats of our own) and, this morning, three chickens (neither we nor our close neighbours keep chickens).

This particular device is App only. I would love to have it available to a PC (or several) but presumably the market is mainly for people out and about with a phone to be able to see intruders (and shout at them).

Although I think there may be support for a protocol which can be implemented on a PC.

Cheers

Dave R

You can also use a android emulator on a PC

You can display a camera on a PC via VLC

We get cats as well. Mainly one black one. There has been an escalating battle of wits between me and the cat (probably comparable intelligence) to allow the hogs to feed without feeding the cat. Currently a cardboard vegetable tray/box from the greengrocers with a hole cut in one end and the food down the other so that cat can't reach it with a paw. Hole large enough to admit one hedgehog.

We have (at least) two large hogs at the moment. I know that because I watched on camera as one hog barged the other into a ditch thing between the footings and the block paving.

Last year we had at least four, with some very interesting interactions which we think were courtship. If so, hog blokes like to knock their birds around a bit.

Cheers

Dave R

A small length (6"-9") of 4" underground pipe hot melt glued into a suitable upturned plastic container has successfully kept the cats from getting the hedgehog food for the last couple of years. I use the same method when building the hedgehog house.

My wife woke me up at 03:00 two days ago showing me the same thing on her mobile. I really wasn't interested but she kept on so I got up went down and wiped the lens thinking is was a cobweb fluttering or similar. Made no difference.

In my case the camera is a Ring Video Doorbell (2nd Gen).

Malcolm

How do you keep the rats out? For my birdfeeder, 2 semispherical hanging baskets clipped together, fine mesh in the lower half,lets out rain and keeps pigeons off. Fixed to a greasy pole with ring pull bean can tops draped loosely around the pole keeps the rats off, but a ground level feeder for hogs, I've no idea

You can't. If the hedgehogs can get to the food so can the rats. If you make it rat proof you will also prevent the hedgehogs from feeding. There is also the possibility of a stoat or weasel getting to the food.