D.I.Y Wireless 600yd Target Cam

martin777 · Feb 19, 2019

ICTbee said:
Will this camera accept 12vdc into the DC5V socket?

NO.
I also have 2 841s and one came with a USB charge cable with the 5VDC plug at the other end.
I use my old 7800mAH Bullseye Target Cam USB/Lipo 5V power pack for the camera.
I could have used one of these and a battery. I use them in RC models.
3A UBEC 5V Switching type regulator
OR this really nice one.

ICTbee said:
Martin777 did you replace the lens in the 841 and was it difficult?

Yes and my first attempt was a PITA.
Make sure to mark the "halve" sections so it goes back together in the same orientation.
The video ribbon cable has a fragile latch. Be careful with that latch. Same at both ends.
I'll post a pic of that latch tomorrow.
You have to "open up" a big exit hole for the new lens. Existing lens is very small. You loose the night vision
LED ring and the clear plastic front lens cover. Small pair of side cutters work well for this.
They hot glued the heck out of the exisiting lens but it will chip out of there with
a good pic or jewelers screwdriver.
New lens screws right in and is easy to focus.
16mm lens I used

ICTbee · Feb 19, 2019

martin777, thank you for the heads up, you confirmed my thinking. I will order the 5Vdc regulator, that seems simple enough for the 841. A photo of the lens would be nice. I'm trying to figure out how to open it up..... nut cracker???? lol

ToolAA · Feb 19, 2019

ICTbee said:
ToolAA, I have been following your post for about a year now and am finally starting my build so first things first. Really great post and what an effort. Kudo's!

I do need some clarification and possibly martin777 might have some insight. I am using the same camera as martin777 Amcrest IP2M-841W. Will this camera accept 12vdc into the DC5V socket? I have (2) LOCO M2 antennas, Tripods and (2) 12v 5ah AGM batteries. I would like to keep the build simple and use the battery to power both the M2 and the Camera. Typically i have to break at least one item and rather it not be the camera.

I was also wanted to know about the Lens. I seen earlier in the post a question about this camera and a link to a lens with no reply. Martin777 did you replace the lens in the 841 and was it difficult?

BTW I know I wanted to keep this simple..... I do have 2 of the cameras and in the end i would like the option of setting them both up. We can save that for another day so again i appreciate any advice and look forward to getting back out to the range.

I looked at the Amcrest camera photo and I don’t think you have to dissemble the entire unit. I think you can pry off the dark cover for the IR led’s. Then you should be able to get the tips of a needle nose pliers over the edge of the lens. Then just rotate CCW. The threads are very fine so it may take 20 or so twists to get it out. Also on the Foscam they had a dab of hot glue at the base of the lens. I warmed up the entire camera with a heat gun just to the point of being hot to touch but not melting any plastic. This loosened up the hot glue enough to free the lens.

martin777 · Feb 19, 2019

You need to get to the camera board which means a complete dismantle of the thing.
4 screws under the 4 pads and the bottom cover comes off.
The main board has 1 small black screw holding it in. Unplug cables and set main board aside.
There are 4 screws holding the base and they are easy to get to through holes when lined up.
I just leave the cables running through the middle. They don't get in the way much.
Might have to remove 1 motor and a couple more screws.
The pan/tilt "halves" have molded-in small plastic clips that u can release while prying them apart.
You have to "open up" a big exit hole for the new lens. Existing lens is very small. You loose the night vision
LED ring and the clear plastic front lens cover. Small pair of side cutters work well for this.
I un-clipped the camera board to make it easier for me to hold while
chiping away at the hot glue on the lens threads.
Not too bad if u have good eyes.
Take good pics and/or mark everything that moves.

ToolAA · Feb 19, 2019

martin777 said:
You need to get to the camera board which means a complete dismantle of the thing.
4 screws under the 4 pads and the bottom cover comes off.
The main board has 1 small black screw holding it in. Unplug cables and set main board aside.
There are 4 screws holding the base and they are easy to get to through holes when lined up.
I just leave the cables running through the middle. They don't get in the way much.
Might have to remove 1 motor and a couple more screws.
The pan/tilt "halves" have molded-in small plastic clips that u can release while prying them apart.
You have to "open up" a big exit hole for the new lens. Existing lens is very small. You loose the night vision
LED ring and the clear plastic front lens cover. Small pair of side cutters work well for this.
I un-clipped the camera board to make it easier for me to hold while
chiping away at the hot glue on the lens threads.
Not too bad if u have good eyes.
Take good pics and/or mark everything that moves.

Does the OEM lens have a wider diameter than housing? It doesn’t look like it in this photo.

It looks almost identical to the way the Foscam is built. Unless the lens is larger behind hole cutout then it should just twist out.

martin777 · Feb 19, 2019

What ToolAA said would work if you heat it up and get a good firm grip on the lens.

Certainly worth a try.

The LED ring has a large hole in the middle and would not have interfered with my new lens.
The OEM lens had a big blob of glue on the top and bottom.

My thinking at that time was the new (big) lens would not screw in far enough to focus without
removing the LED cover/ring and/or enlarging the hole.
I would have to remove the dark LED cover/ring from the inside.
And being able to gracefully grip the old lens to unscrew it.

ToolAA said:
Does the OEM lens have a wider diameter than housing? It doesn’t look like it in this photo.

OEM lens--->

The dark LED cover attaches from the inside with 3 tabs.
The 'bushing" on the right assures a tight fit for the
LED ring/lens/cover.

LED ring

P/T Camera--$61 shipped
16mm Lens--$12

Time--about a week
PRICELESS!

ICTbee · Feb 20, 2019

Ok Men cover me. I'm go'in in!

Will post some photo's in the next few days of what i come up with. At least now i know what I'm getting into. First i'm going to try removing the led cover.

martin777 · Feb 20, 2019

martin777 · Jun 7, 2019

In the next few days I'll post results of range testing my single M2 wifi setup.
IP Camera--->M2
M2--->Laptop USB wifi adaptor with a 15dB Yagi antenna.

Sorry for the delay.

Tungsten · Jun 12, 2019

If I only wanted a 200yd camera would there be anything wrong with using a baby monitor set up to work with a battery? It seems many of them advertise 700ft range line of sight. Batteries are cheap and my basic calculations tell me a 6V 5AH battery can last about 4.5 hours. Is there anything I'm missing for trying this? Has anyone ever replaced the antenna for a directional one? I have a DXR-8 laying around and was thinking about tinkering with it.

ToolAA · Jun 13, 2019

Tungsten said:
If I only wanted a 200yd camera would there be anything wrong with using a baby monitor set up to work with a battery? It seems many of them advertise 700ft range line of sight. Batteries are cheap and my basic calculations tell me a 6V 5AH battery can last about 4.5 hours. Is there anything I'm missing for trying this? Has anyone ever replaced the antenna for a directional one? I have a DXR-8 laying around and was thinking about tinkering with it.

With the zoom lens I would say as long as the sensor is at least 1MP then the image should be good enough. Test it out before investing in a battery pack. I would think you could plug it in your home somewhere near a window and test the signal as far as you can go.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

martin777 · Jun 16, 2019

martin777 · Jun 16, 2019

Tungsten said:
Has anyone ever replaced the antenna for a directional one?

If it's removable=yes.

martin777 · Jun 22, 2019

FINALLY found a flat, clear, dry enough place to test my range cam.
2.4Ghz Wi-Fi IP camera--->M2 access point = 1yds
M2--->25dbi Yagi/Laptop USB adaptor = 747yds
Camera settings----
1080P@30fps
H.264H encoding
rtsp streaming
CBR = 2048Kbs
Signal strength was still 56% and I need to figure out what that actual signal is in db or RSSI.
I think I could get another 150yds+ by separating the M2 from the camera. Camera literature says it's good for up to 700'.
I think my chances are good for a 1000yd rig
but I'm pretty sure I'll need to lower the frame rate. Nothing wrong with 4fps in this application.
Well aimed $15 Yagi antenna really payed off.

Cheers

ToolAA · Jun 22, 2019

martin777 said:
FINALLY found a flat, clear, dry enough place to test my range cam.
2.4Ghz Wi-Fi IP camera--->M2 access point = 1yds
M2--->15db Yagi/Laptop USB adaptor = 747yds
Camera settings----
1080P@30fps
H.264H encoding
rtsp streaming
CBR = 2048Kbs
Signal strength was still 56% and I need to figure out what that actual signal is in db or RSSI.
I think I could get another 150yds+ by separating the M2 from the camera. Camera literature says it's good for up to 700'.
I think my chances are good for a 1000yd rig
but I'm pretty sure I'll need to lower the frame rate. Nothing wrong with 4fps in this application.
Well aimed $15 Yagi antenna really payed off.

p.s.---5.8Ghz might double+ this range.

Cheers

747yds with only 1 M2 unit at the target position and the antenna connected directly to your laptop? Wow thats quite impressive. I guess having 2 M2’s setup could easily go a mile as advertised.

I agree with lowering the frame rate. I think I keep mine at 10fps. It’s more than fast enough for tracking shots.

Post a pic or video of your setup.

martin777 · Jun 22, 2019

I used this cheapo USB2.0 Wi-Fi adaptor just for the removable antenna feature and it works well with Linux.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002SZEOLG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is the Yagi antenna I have-->
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-4GHz-25DBI-Yagi-Wireless-RP-SMA-WiFi-Antenna-For-Modem-PCI-Card-Router-E2/232799386386?epid=26008097268&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item3633ecbb12:g:IoYAAOSwwTFcLDA2&enc=AQADAAAB0KX%2FKt4E1xf3SDqEdBclaYZuDDqf4AWfium%2FQ4PEeXS4KAfwxRB4z3Thl69E71EwWG0vmdfAwZrz5wWXeymaFA50r%2FxSxFI7MDLKFTljJ1ABHFmuUkgfMv%2FIhCk0RYkN3sL48Cimk6cIeAhJo6kpV1OcyxeU2vNVBp%2B06jKoNYBdj2mub6Hbbu1tLQ2ELD%2FdinHLrojA6C6iBxGHh7fLZwgiH%2BL%2Fm8t%2FpXfTTPEAz1kMGgfS05Cj6qBWBXWxKsfaWrCXlYH4ao023%2Fln%2BmI%2Bnz3vlocKadgoXz7XASRuQyzvM7%2BIWWCeEEsYJxY8VRgl5iH9SxzffJF64dfXYT31dujYGaz1m9XeE9uQ0sTEyiQ9UHZDsYu2YEDYiz8jKe8dAYXMwAlCbvygAtzrBHqIqc%2BiXBvSSVD7sVoAs4i1Rq0ewlAnuB8mdGoC493352YeJbfLPxwcV59F5ISxMKLSbkLlvge10nGpEOXmQU7XUBgnKrUn1RcHVShotcuyNRWwEsCdchtm6NbZOgYQcBNR5AYQRu8ATvxG0EeDBEgnYciaIg2a7s3dddsc7OZZ1SRSDcQd%2F2d9G4POBYkMMM%2F67s%2BOsXBvsTLHEN4lKRNSZzhc&checksum=232799386386abad87fdbc0b4a259bef133106adaeec&frcectupt=true

martin777 · Jun 23, 2019

Yagi at shooters end.

Laptop snapshot from 747yds.

Chuckmaurice · Jun 30, 2019

mac1_131 said:
yes, you can. I use a linksys router and a foscam camera.

their software looks for two things: 1)the SSID of the wifi router (must be "bullseyecamxxxxxx" where xxxxxx is a number to differentiate you from another system. i.e. ssid of wifi router is bullseyecam100000 or something similar. No encryption. Camera device name should be BullseyeCamera but I am not sure if that matters and 2)IP address of camera should be static and 19.168.1.252. Client can be DHCP, it doesn't care about that.

so basic setup is:
router ssid bullseyecam0123456 (whatever number you want)
no wifi encryption
router set to DHCP server for clients and IP address 192.168.1.1
camera device name BullseyeCamera
camera IP static 192.168.1.252
camera set to connect to router ssid in infrastructure mode via wifi (or cable if you want)
client PC or smartphone DHCP set to connect to wifi

range is iffy sometimes at 600 yards (as with any such system) and I have used a wifi repeater router with two antenna ports with a yagi pointed each way at about 300 yards to make the signal bulletproof (pun intended) on the firing line.

in the interest of not hijacking this thread further PM me if you want any more info

Hello everyone
I am new to your forum, I look at your subject for some time.
I started to mount a camera to make it work with the Bullseyecam application.
I'm using a camera bought on Aliexpress:https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/32876934874.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.1aab6c37iIfv4Z
And a Comfast wifi bridge:https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/32812276161.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.1aab6c37iIfv4Z
For the moment it works perfectly well with the original application of the camera XMeye.
But I can not make it work with Bullseyecam, I can connect the Bullseye application on the Comfast wifi network, but I have no picture, I have an error message "unable to capture image ".
Can you help me ?

Chuckmaurice · Jun 30, 2019

Chuckmaurice said:
Hello everyone
I am new to your forum, I look at your subject for some time.
I started to mount a camera to make it work with the Bullseyecam application.
I'm using a camera bought on Aliexpress:https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/32876934874.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.1aab6c37iIfv4Z
And a Comfast wifi bridge:https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/32812276161.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.1aab6c37iIfv4Z
For the moment it works perfectly well with the original application of the camera XMeye.
But I can not make it work with Bullseyecam, I can connect the Bullseye application on the Comfast wifi network, but I have no picture, I have an error message "unable to capture image ".
Can you help me ?

Here is my configuration:
SSID WIFI: BullseyeCam123456
Adesse IP SSID WIFI: 192.168.1.1 with DHPC SERVER
IP Camera Address: 192.168.1.252 STATIC
CAMERA ACCOUNT: bullseye / PASSWORD: bullseye2015
Video format: H264

mac1_131 · Jun 30, 2019

I think the app requires a specific codec to be used, so not just any camera will work.

That's probably your problem, the camera you have may be using a different codec so it's not going to work.

D.I.Y Wireless 600yd Target Cam

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