As R. Lee Ermey said, "HOLY DOGSHIT!"

[mdmike1]

Far too many options, that may NOT work.
I just need a (3) camera system, (1) with PTZ and (2) bullet (Outdoor) for my farm. I have a 30' tall tower i'll be installing the PTZ. There is 110v up there. I'd like to keep everything hardwired. Top of tower is weatherproof. The HDD and hotspot will live up there. I was thinking about this for the top of the tower:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KORS2Y4/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?smid=A1QE0R7EZ6GN4T&psc=1

I'll be using the Nighthawk Hot Spot from ATT for remote connection.
Nighthawk LTE Mobile Hotspot Router - AT&T
The Nighthawk has one ethernet port and one USB port. I was thinking about connecting a hard drive to the USB port. And cameras to the ethernet port. how would I connect 3 ethernet cameras to the one ethernet port?
If you were setting this up, WHAT WOULD YOU PURCHASE???? (for remote viewing in Maryland from Colorado).

Thanks,
Clueless in Denver.

 

[mat200]

Far too many options, that may NOT work.
I just need a (3) camera system, (1) with PTZ and (2) bullet (Outdoor) for my farm. I have a 30' tall tower i'll be installing the PTZ. There is 110v up there. I'd like to keep everything hardwired. Top of tower is weatherproof. The HDD and hotspot will live up there. I was thinking about this for the top of the tower:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KORS2Y4/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?smid=A1QE0R7EZ6GN4T&psc=1

I'll be using the Nighthawk Hot Spot from ATT for remote connection.
Nighthawk LTE Mobile Hotspot Router - AT&T
The Nighthawk has one ethernet port and one USB port. I was thinking about connecting a hard drive to the USB port. And cameras to the ethernet port. how would I connect 3 ethernet cameras to the one ethernet port?
If you were setting this up, WHAT WOULD YOU PURCHASE???? (for remote viewing in Maryland from Colorado).

Thanks,
Clueless in Denver.

Welcome mdmike

Before making a purchase do take a look at the notes Giomania has assembled
IPCamTalk WiKi | IP Cam Talk

For a PTZ I would highly recommend looking at the Dahua OEM 2mp starlight PTZ models and finding one which would work for you from those models.
They should be a better value in the long term than the one you're currently looking at.

Also look for references to Andy @EMPIRETECANDY here for a recommended source for Dahua OEM cameras and NVRs.
Please see ref #15 in my notes
Looking for some advice and direction!

 

[bigredfish]

Agree with @mat200. Dont try and save a couple of hundred $ on that cheapo PTZ.

 

[mdmike1]

Agree with @mat200. Dont try and save a couple of hundred $ on that cheapo PTZ.

What brand(s) do you have and or like? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[crw030]

FYI I don’t know much about those mobile hotspots or whether that’s something you are firm on, but the ATT website reads like that’s a $200 device that you also have to have a $50/month data plan to use?

If that’s the case, and I read correctly that it has a maximum data usage of 15GB/month before your speed drops to 128Kbps, I would reconsider. I’m guessing you must not be planning to monitor these cameras, just record locally and occasionally check in. I assume that because you would otherwise exceed your data limit pretty quickly. I also think having to climb a 30 foot tower to reset an NVR would suck, especially if it was in a different state. And finally I don’t think either your USB drive nor your 3 IP cameras, single port hotspot are going to work very well.

For about the same price you could have a local cable/internet provider put in a data-only plan (assuming this isn’t an out-in-the-boondocks situation), run a VPN on an Asus $80 router and stream all that data to your home in Colorado. I don’t know if you travel back and forth a lot or where the best place to put your video recorder would be or why you are monitoring the farm from so far away but that’s awesome.

A typical internet provider would have a much more forgiving data plan (even a Comcrap 25/6MB plan would have a 1000 GB cap and only cost you $70).

Think about where to put your video recorder, how often you plan to review footage, and whether the whole setup can recover from a power outage since you are pretty far away!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[bigredfish]

https://www.dahuasecurity.com/products/allProducts/4572/5?tab=1161&subtab=1221

 

[TonyR]

Just an FYI, R. Lee Ermey, the actor, ex-Marine, and fellow Vietnam veteran, passed away April 15, 2018 at the age of 74.
Rest in peace, brother. OORAH!

 

[mdmike1]

FYI I don’t know much about those mobile hotspots or whether that’s something you are firm on, but the ATT website reads like that’s a $200 device that you also have to have a $50/month data plan to use?

If that’s the case, and I read correctly that it has a maximum data usage of 15GB/month before your speed drops to 128Kbps, I would reconsider. I’m guessing you must not be planning to monitor these cameras, just record locally and occasionally check in. I assume that because you would otherwise exceed your data limit pretty quickly. I also think having to climb a 30 foot tower to reset an NVR would suck, especially if it was in a different state. And finally I don’t think either your USB drive nor your 3 IP cameras, single port hotspot are going to work very well.

For about the same price you could have a local cable/internet provider put in a data-only plan (assuming this isn’t an out-in-the-boondocks situation), run a VPN on an Asus $80 router and stream all that data to your home in Colorado. I don’t know if you travel back and forth a lot or where the best place to put your video recorder would be or why you are monitoring the farm from so far away but that’s awesome.

A typical internet provider would have a much more forgiving data plan (even a Comcrap 25/6MB plan would have a 1000 GB cap and only cost you $70).

Think about where to put your video recorder, how often you plan to review footage, and whether the whole setup can recover from a power outage since you are pretty far away!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

You're correct on all fronts.
The farm i'll be monitoring doesn't have the option for internet. (I suppose satellite is avail but I didn't check as last I looked it's expensive and I had a bad experience prior). So I thought this would be an option. I purchased this farm, and for now the existing owner will be living there however, he will be leaving in a few months. I'd like to get another renter in there to keep an eye on things as I wont be moving there for about (2) years. As such, I would like to record locally and as you said, just check in once in awhile via the hotspot (also receive alerts for one area in particular). There's an in-ground pool and I'd like to have a motion activated/alert sent to me for that area for safety.

If i'm just checking in once in awhile, I hoping the hot spot @ 15G data will suffice. After reading your comments I've decided to put the hardware (hotspot etc) in the guesthouse as climbing the pole to do a reset would stink. I have a lawn guy that will be tending to the farm weekly and could have him reset hardware after power outages. I'm also leaning to all fixed bullet camera's instead of several bullets and (1) PTZ.

Any recommendations on what to do? Should I just buy a retail "package"?

I appreciate all the advice.

Mike

 

[TonyR]

. After reading your comments I've decided to put the hardware (hotspot etc) in the guesthouse as climbing the pole to do a reset would stink.

I think that's a wise decision.

I'm also leaning to all fixed bullet camera's instead of several bullets and (1) PTZ.

Just be aware that bullet style cameras are beset with issues from spider webs more than turret style.

 

[looney2ns]

Read the notes that @mat200 linked above.