Mark's Solar Powered Wireless Streaming Webcam

Welcome...

The webcam stream is displayed above. You must have a Java enabled browser to view it. You must also allow Internet Explorer to install the Active X control. The stream takes a few seconds to load so please be patient. If the stream is dark it's nighttime on my side of the world. This stream has run continuously on solar recharged battery power since 8-4-08.

Success!

This is a webcam of my own design and is a near perfect fusion of my many interests including engineering, weather, the internet, and all things powered by the sun. Sadly, I couldn't find a way to work my passions for fishing and snowboarding into this project although the camera could be used to monitor conditions on the lake or on the slopes. It is the culmination of over two years of off and on tinkering that began on a whim. Scroll down to learn more about it or use the navigation links in the upper left-hand corner of this page.▼

Shown here is the camera's power source which consists of the large primary solar panel and smaller optional secondary solar panel mounted to the support frame. Below the panels is the electronics enclosure where the battery and charge controller are housed.

What

The impetus behind this project was my desire to build a website that displays current weather conditions for the town I live in. But in addition to typical temperature and wind direction data, I wanted a site that also gave some indication of cloud cover. This webcam satisfies that objective. The camera is battery powered (12 volt) and the solar panels serve to recharge the battery. Images captured by the camera are transmitted wirelessly over the air waves and get picked up by the receiver that's plugged into my desktop computer in the house. This receiver connects to the "line in" port on the back of my video card. I use freeware software to serve up the captured images as the video stream seen above. I use a second freeware software to manage the server IP address.▼▲

From this reverse angle of the power source the final configuration of the frame can be seen as can the smoke colored acrylic storm shield that helps keep storm water from falling directly onto the electronics enclosure below.

What Else

The chassis is the aluminum box that sits at the bottom of the frame below the solar panels. It houses the 12v battery, the charge controller, two disconnect switches (one for the battery and one for the primary solar panel) and the optional ventilation system. The charge controller regulates the solar power used for recharging thus preventing damage to the battery. The ventilation system consists of a small forward curved fan that draws air through a filtered opening at one end of the chassis and discharges the air at the other end. The smaller of the two solar panels provides the power for the fan and nothing else. This smaller solar panel uses amorphous type solar cells while the larger primary panel uses the more efficient polycrystalline type solar cells. The power from the solar panels is piped into the chassis by way of panel connectors mounted in one of the sidewalls of the enclosure. The third panel connector connects the camera to the chassis. Finally, the dimensions of the chassis are sufficient enough to allow for future improvements, including the possible addition of a peak power tracker.▼▲

Shown here are the various camera components including the camera, the wireless converter and the inter-connecting cables. The longer coiled up cable is used to connect the camera and wireless converter to the electronics enclosure (chassis). The shorter cable just in front of it serves the same purpose but is more convenient to use for demonstration and while testing and making adjustments. The cable wrapped in a yellow band was purchased with two bare leads at one end and a connector at the other end that's compatible with the connector on the wireless converter. I crimped push on connectors to the bare leads. Power from the power source is passed through the wireless converter and into the camera by way of the short jumper cable. The second of the two camera leads delivers the image signal from the camera back to the wireless converter for transmission to the remote receiver.

Where

As a weather observation camera it was designed to be suitable for installation outdoors and to operate untethered from the household. The power source is placed on the roof of the house which gives it good exposure to sunlight and provides some degree of protection from human activity. Aluminum and plastic are the principal materials used to build the power source with, both of which are very weather resistant. The camera and wireless converter are mounted to the underside of the eave. The camera is weatherproof by design but the converter is not, so the overhang of the eave affords it some shelter from rainfall. A fairly long cable connects the converter to the power source. Conveniently, the wireless signal receiver and desktop PC that process the camera images are located in a room in the house that's just on the other side of the wall from where the camera is mounted. But the strength of the wireless signal is sufficient to allow these components to be placed much further away.▼▲

The power source can be seen to the right of this photo, just peeking up above the roof line. Mounting it here keeps it well protected from curious or malicious behavior. The camera is mounted to the underside of the eave on the left corner of the roof.

Uses

Besides weather observation, this camera would also be useful for watching wildlife or for surveillance of unattended areas. In fact, I used the camera briefly to spy on a bird's nest while studying the habits of the birds.▲

The final installed location of the camera is on the underside of one of the eaves. The camera, although weather proof, is set in a little ways from the edge of the eave to shield it from direct rainfall. The wireless converter is also attached to the underside of the eave with double sided mounting tape. The power source sits on top of the roof. The cable connecting this assembly to the chassis was not yet in place at the time this photo was taken.