# X10 Remote Video of Layout Operations



## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

For several years now I have used stationary cameras to monitor operations of freight yards that are out of sight as I run the layout.

This has worked reasonably well but always was limited by what the camera could see and transmit to the TV monitor.

Recently I bought some X10 cameras and robotic *NINJA Pan 'n Tilt* Camera Mounts.

http://www.x10.com/products/x10_vk74a.htm























When I tried to use them with the X10 color camera there was too little light in the crawl space (where my main layout is) but I then tried mounting my old black & white cameras on the Ninja camera mounts and the results have been quite satisfactory.

The Ninja mount closest to the operator works perfectly but the one farther away requires a bit of hand movement to find where the transmitter communicates with the Ninja mount (the mount is wireless).

What is quite nice is that the Nnja mount retains four settings (both horizontal and vertical positions) so I can simply push a button and select any of four predetermined views from the camera. Two cameras = four views.

The mounts all work on the same frequency so a single remote works all mounts in range. This is controlled by turning off the power to any mounts not being used by remotely controlling the ac adapter via a X10 unit (not included in the cost of the base. If one uses X10 cameras the individual cameras can be turned on and off via the supplied remote.

I prefer wired over wireless systems because the antenna rotates with the camera which can cause significant variation in image quality but in this case I am using a wired camera with a wireless mount.

There are two more mounts that I will install outside with X10 color cameras but that will be for a different application - so I can view the outside of the house while I am downstairs with the trains. That will enable me to scan the driveways for any visitors.

An additional security item is a motion detecting floodlight system that includes a X10 camera that will show and (when connected to a VCR) record any visitors day and night. I plan to mount them both for security and for wildlife viewing when I am inside the camper or caboose. That way I should be notified automatically when any deer or raccoons etc. arrive near the food I put out for them. If I miss them the recorders will have time stamped the recordings for future information.

There may well be other and better systems available. I would like to hear of anyone else using cameras to monitor and operate their layouts. I am sure there are a lot of applications I have not thought about and equipment I have not heard of.

Jerry


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Neat stuff Jerry! 

I likewise have camera systems, so when the train runs around the side of the house and I am not there, I can watch it. The cameras also double for security. I'm installing a couple of PTZ cameras, all hard wired. Luckily, I get free cast-offs from a company, so have 16 channels of recording free. I have everything set on motion detection, makes it a lot less to review... 

To answer your question, there are more and better things out there, but the professional 8 channel DVRs I use are about $1,000 each at a discount, and the quality PTZ cameras are about $2,500, I have found some pretty good ones for $500 each. None of this stuff is wireless for security reasons, and also you would run out of bandwidth with a lot of cameras. 

Motion detection on the camera system is great, get one that lets you break the scene into blocks, so you can ignore things that SHOULD move! 

Regards, Greg


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Greg Elmassian on 15 Jan 2010 03:16 PM 

To answer your question, there are more and better things out there, but the professional 8 channel DVRs I use are about $1,000 each at a discount, and the quality PTZ cameras are about $2,500, I have found some pretty good ones for $500 each. None of this stuff is wireless for security reasons, and also you would run out of bandwidth with a lot of cameras. 

Motion detection on the camera system is great, get one that lets you break the scene into blocks, so you can ignore things that SHOULD move! 

Regards, Greg 

Hi Greg,

I have a couple of DVRs (at least 1 is 8 channel) but that system is only partially installed. Good cameras are expensive. My primary problem with wireless is that both the steel sides of the caboose and aluminum sides of the camper make wireless almost impossible. I may build a waterproof box for the receiver, put it outside and hard wire it to the DVR's inside where they can be secured.

While there are inexpensive cameras it is hard to find any reasonably good ones that are self illuminating so the floodlight equipped X10s may offer a reasonable alternative.

The other problem is the incompatibility of the connections in that some have RCA plugs while others have RF or different inputs and they all need some sort of power supply.

It is a challenging task and I was hoping someone had come up with a reasonably inexpensive solution. I have found $100 baby monitoring systems that work fairly well (black & white and color) but they are not designed to be easily expanded and recorded.

I don't need really high resolution as much as the ability to get my attention and to film in daylight or night with enough resolution for recognition if necessary. This is a rural area and strangers stand out. Anyone parking within a mile would be noticed. While security is a factor it is less critical than trains and wildlife. The main purpose of all the cameras and motion detectors is to let me know when and what is moving outside so I can go see what it is. Even my neighbors call ahead when coming to visit. I still get a kick out of watching all sorts of wildlife.

Regards,

Jerry


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

I don't know what you are using for the motion detection software, but my son put me on to a new program from "Vitamin D software" that I am VERY pleased with. It is so much better that what I was using (what came with the camera I have). Vitamin D keeps the last 48 hours of all the video and has the ability to set filters for motion detection and keep those video seqments forever (subject to available disk space, of course).

Right now the company is offering a beta version that will be good until the commercial version is released (mid February, I think). After they go commercial a one camera version will still be free, a two camera version will be $49 and an unlimited (depends on your computer's processing power!) camera version will be $199.

http://www.vitamindinc.com/

Like I said, I am very pleased with the way this program works. It will keep recording while I am looking at past videos. I have it set to speak to me when it detect motion so when I hear, "Person detected, recording video." I can glance at it and see what is happening. (Of course I have a computer dedicated to being my monitor station.) It can detect the difference between a person and another object (based on the shape... vertical is probably a human, horizontal is something else). It can detect when a person passes an arbitrary line you set, or when their lowest detected part is "in" a shape you draw on the scene (like standing on a rug), but ignore the motion if the person only passes in front of the camera (lowest portion is below the drawn shape). It can detect a person entering or exiting a doorway (you outline the doorway and indicate whether to trigger a motion event upon the object appearing in the doorway and then leaving the outline, or entering the outlined area and dissappearing behind it. When it detects motion it keeps 5 seconds of video from before the motion trigger and 15 seconds after. If it is someone/something wandering around in the viewed area it saves multiple videos as the trigger event will keep happening.

I am hoping that the next version will allow for keeping more than 48 hours of full video as I am sometimes away for more than 2 days and might want a weeks worth to review for events outside of my selected areas for motion detection.


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## stanman (Jan 4, 2008)

My layout is indoors with a small yard in a closet. A TV allows me to keep track of it using a wired camera. I originally had a wireless camera, but there was too much interference from other stuff in the room to make it useful.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Interesting software C.T. 

I notice that it can handle 2 cameras per core in a dedicated pc. This means my 8 camera systems need a quad core computer. Not too expensive, but puts the price higher than the dedicated "appliances" I have... mine are 8 camera systems... At $1000 per DVR and 8 camera capability, the dedicated appliances are still cheaper or very close if you build your pc yourself. 

Due to wiring, two 8 camera systems work better for me. The software is indeed very capable, and the ability to get new versions with a simple software upgrade is very nice, and may make me go in that direction. The only problem is camera wiring. I have coax to my cameras, so I can go hundreds of feet to the DVR. USB will limit you to short distances to the camera, unless you use USB extenders, and then the prices will kill you. 

Cool idea though. 

Regards, Greg


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

I am using a wired/wireless network camera (TrendNET TV-IP400W). I got it for the wireless operation so I would not have to string wires for it. I put it in the window next to my front porch so I could see who is at the door. The curtains are always closed on that window (too much stuff in front of it to get to the drawstrings!) and when it got cold outside the camera would quit working just because it was cold behind the curtains. I had to install a remote controlled power socket at its power plug so I could cycle power on it to get it to work again. 

Then I had a neighbor kid (I assume) keep trying to break into my wireless network so I disabled the wireless part of the router and ran cat-5 wires all over the house (can you say, "Tripping hazard"?)... In the summer I moved the camera to the attic window to watch the backyard due to a neighborhood problem I wanted to keep track of. When it got cold outside I feared the camera would stop working like it did last winter (attic is barebones rafters and unheated)... but it didn't fail like it used to! I have now figured out that the wireless transmitter in the camera was drifting off-frequency in temperature changes and that was the problem with it seeming to quit working. The camera has worked this winter almost flawlessly in the prolonged sub-zero temps that have occurred! Now that I have this new software it is even better!

Indoors (controlled temperatures) I think the wireless network cameras could work well, but you might need to limit the image sizes and frame rates to get more than one camera in the bandwidth of the wireless system (or use multiple routers forced to different frequencies, there are 11 channels, I think).

I just got one of those "keychain spy cameras" (mentioned in another thread here on MLS) and it is charging right now. I have read that there are drivers available to make them a web camera on the USB port. So I may have a new camera to test the Vitamin D software using more than one camera and can see how well it does with two.


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

In my case my computers have been dying left and right. I currently have two computers that I have given up on and put aside for parts, moved a 3rd computer to my wife's consignment shop where just a very basic computer is needed. That leaves one desktop (Dell) that windows has quit working on except in safe mode), a laptop (the one I am using) that has become extremely slow and my only other PC is another laptop that works pretty well. 

The bottom line is that I no longer have a spare computer that I would trust to leave running 24/7 and I really hope not to be forced into buying another computer.

I did not buy any software for the X10 equipment and my plans are to simply run them direct from the camera to the DVRs. Supposedly the cameras will turn on and off automatically when motion is detected and the recorders should record long enough that way to hold several days (if not longer) of recordings.

Mine is certainly not the best system (and is not yet fully installed). I hope others will add their experiences with different systems including cameras in the $100 or less price range.

Jerry


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry... Methinks you need to befriend some teenager and have them take a looksee at your PCs. Turn them loose on one of your PCs to see what they can do... bet they can make it run almost like new! Should not cost you too much... might even get it done for free with enough ego massaging!


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Semper Vaporo on 17 Jan 2010 01:13 PM 
Jerry... Methinks you need to befriend some teenager and have them take a looksee at your PCs. Turn them loose on one of your PCs to see what they can do... bet they can make it run almost like new! Should not cost you too much... might even get it done for free with enough ego massaging!


Unfortunately my computers were beyond software solutions. Between broken hard drives and bad motherboards sometimes the trash can is a better solution than throwing good money after bad.

I believe the last one is fixable but I will have to reformat and restore it now that I have finally backed the data up.

Thanks,

Jerry


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