Camera mounting/encapsulation in extreme high-altitude conditions

[Pokerfjes]

Hi all, I'm looking for some advice in regards to mounting an ip (landscape overview) camera in very harsh conditions.

This cabin is located at just above 1800 meters above sea, on a mountain with "a lot of weather". Snow in the winter is by far the worst problem, but winds with gale forces have bent steel tubes up there before as well..
I suspect that a heated dome isn't going to hack it. I have seen them packed with ice as well. The cabin is also closed for extended amounts of time during the winter season - so there are nobody around to clear the cameras.

The mountain from afar. Cabin is located just next to the big antennae at the top.



The cabin seen from the antennae.




Shows light snow conditions, but during the winter, snow will be two meter deep around the cabin.



the cabin seen from it's tallest side during summer



Red dot is where I mounted my hikvision dome for test last week



The same area yesterday after a bit of a blizzard - and the reason why i'm reaching out to get in contact with more experienced operators than myself



A few considerations:
-People can't be identified by these cams (local laws and regulations)
-The location has gigabit fiber Internet, but we initially plan on just using minute stills of a decent quality.
-360 coverage would be cool, but the view straight ahead and to the left in pic gt02 are the primary ones.

Right now I'm evaluating all options for types of cameras. Multiple semi-wide angle raspberry PIs, PTZ dome with preprogrammed stops, fixed mount surveillance cameras.....
If necessary, I could integrate the cameras somewhat into the building by boxing them in, but you see what the frost does to this place in pic gt05 and 06.
Installing an aluminium mast to raise the cameras would be an option... but worried it will be too visible to be strong enough.
Cost is always an issue, but provided I can come up with a workable and great solution - there will be some funding.

I'm very interested in getting in touch with people who's installed and operate cameras in similar locations.

Thanks in advance,
Ørjan

 

[SquareEyes]

Wow! What a beautiful location. Too cold for me though.

The situation reminded me of penguin cams video.

Not the same requirements but remember being blown away how durable these trail cams are. If a trail cam can perform like that in Antarctica pretty sure that a box cam in a suitable heated housing will stand up to your environment.

Optic Fibre at the top a of a mountain, what awesome country does that?

Some additional info.

I did some googling of Australia's Mawson Base on Antartica and they have a whole page dedicated to their (rather shitty) webcam, but they do have a link if you would like further information and what else to scientists stuck on Antartica have to do to kill time?

Even more info.
[h=1]Macquarie Island station webcam [/h]is actually quite good as are some of the other bases linked to in the left hand pane =

 

[Pokerfjes]

Wow! What a beautiful location. Too cold for me though.

The situation reminded me of penguin cams video.

Not the same requirements but remember being blown away how durable these trail cams are. If a trail cam can perform like that in Antarctica pretty sure that a box cam in a suitable heated housing will stand up to your environment.

Optic Fibre at the top a of a mountain, what awesome country does that?

Thanks for that link! Will look into that. I have mains power available though - so my main challenge is what to do with those blizzards nailing snowflakes to any surface .
The reason I'm thinking a heated dome won't do the job is just because I think a heat element can only do so much. Sometimes during winter I can see trail poles on the mountain that are two inches diameter and have two feet of snow/ice attachment.
This is in Norway by the way, and the mountain used to be a NATO listening station during the cold war. Millitary left decades ago though, so it's owned by the local county now.
The cabin is owned and operated by the tourist union and I'm trying to figure out a solution for a public camera up there.

 

[SquareEyes]

Those folk linked above in my edited post should be able to advise. Big bonus dealing with scientists (especially Australians) is that they are usually really helpful for people who show an interest in their work.

 

[Javik]

Since this new person signed their name "Ørjan", clearly this location must be in Texas.


Some Googling suggests:

http://www.usavisionsys.com/mirror/english/Prod_GVIPCAMBX5310E.html
Geovision GV-BX5310-E Arctic Box Camera, 5 MP
specifically designed for outdoors with extreme temperatures (-40°C ~ 50°C / -40°F ~ 122°F)
Built-in heater and fan



http://www.zavio.com/product.php?id=91
Zavio B8210 Extreme Cold / Hot Weather Outdoor Network IP Camera 1080P
Built-in Heater / Blower Assembly
Operates in extreme weather temperature ranging from -40°F to 140°F
NOTE: You must use the 12V DC power supply or POE 802.3AT if using the heater / blower




http://www.coopermedc.com/products/cctv-camera-stations/oxalis-xf-range
http://www.sourceiec.com/Catalogs/Oxalis Security Catalogue.pdf
VIDEO SURVEILLANCE FOR EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS
Oxalis XF series
approved to withstand temperatures ranging from -60˚C to +60˚C
All XF camera stations are made from high quality 316L Stainless Steel
Other options include Sunshield, wiper & washer tank with built in or separate washer pump

 

[nayr]

thats not extreme high altitude, I live at that altitude.. now the exposure, well thats going to be murder...

I would not put anything up there that moves, if you want it to last long.. those stainless steel enclosures are a great suggestion, but be prepared to have downed webcams from time to time if nobody can get to em to clean them off.. you cant beat mother nature with technology, not in a location like that.

We have webcams in the mountains all around me, in the winter your lucky if you can find one with a usable image out of hundreds specked about.. it is what it is.. if its still alive come spring then you can consider it a victory.. ice gets into things and smashes them with weight, make it strong.. like strong enough to be ran over by a big truck.. cause those big slabs of water weight that much.

If you have a local metal fab shop around they can weld you up some nice stainless steel tubes you can shove the internals into with a compression metal conduit coupler for wiring.. make it modular so all the money you invest in weather proofing can be used again when they do fail or get upgraded.. it sounds like glass being sandblasted is a high possibility with the wind its exposed to, so make a glass lens cover that you can get alot of spares for and is easy to replace.

 

[CamFan]

Regarding the electronics, if the cameras are always on, they usually generate enough heat to keep warm. The altitude is only an issue if the cameras have fans for cooling.

 

[nayr]

yeah cold temps wont kill the electronics if there is no moisture inside to freeze and short things out, but I doubt no amount of heat generation will keep the ice off it.. from the looks of it, nothing is safe.. cold kills batteries of our space probes, but if you can hookup power most of the dead probes will fire right back up at negative alot more than you'll ever experience, degrees.

if you get cold enough you get stuff like super conductors, electronics love the cold.. seen the liquid nitrogen overclocking rigs?

need one of those nuclear batteries from the Martian.. tha'll keep it from icing up

but yeah, if you need a fan to cool it in the summer it'll have to be bigger because the cfm ratings will be way off at a mile high.. id keep these things out of direct sun so you dont have to worry about cooling when the sun is high for summer.. but in a spot thats as protected from ice and gets a nice southernly warming in winter to clear ice off naturally.

 

[Pokerfjes]

thats not extreme high altitude, I live at that altitude.. now the exposure, well thats going to be murder...

I would not put anything up there that moves, if you want it to last long.. those stainless steel enclosures are a great suggestion, but be prepared to have downed webcams from time to time if nobody can get to em to clean them off.. you cant beat mother nature with technology, not in a location like that.

We have webcams in the mountains all around me, in the winter your lucky if you can find one with a usable image out of hundreds specked about.. it is what it is.. if its still alive come spring then you can consider it a victory.. ice gets into things and smashes them with weight, make it strong.. like strong enough to be ran over by a big truck.. cause those big slabs of water weight that much.

If you have a local metal fab shop around they can weld you up some nice stainless steel tubes you can shove the internals into with a compression metal conduit coupler for wiring.. make it modular so all the money you invest in weather proofing can be used again when they do fail or get upgraded.. it sounds like glass being sandblasted is a high possibility with the wind its exposed to, so make a glass lens cover that you can get alot of spares for and is easy to replace.

Hey, and thanks for the reply. The topic was the result of an edit , from extreme conditions ...and I decided to add high-altitude .
I agree indeed, it's not an extreme altitude. The total package is pretty rough though.
The more I think about the maintenance-free part... the more I realise it's not going to be easy. It's not a very remote place, so we may just have to have people check on the snow buildup on the housing.

If I can make an enclosure to integrate on the corner of the building, about 1-2 feet below the roof, I could place two cameras in there to cover two directions. Also I think the corner of the building may be the optimal place to avoid buildup of snow.
I like your idea of a modular enclosure. If the bottom sidewall could be removed during summer that would most likely do for cooling. A splash-trap would probably be useful, but it usually doesn't rain upwards.
Temps don't get very high up there, and if air can escape that would probably be enough.

 

[SyconsciousAu]

it sounds like glass being sandblasted is a high possibility with the wind its exposed to, so make a glass lens cover that you can get alot of spares for and is easy to replace.

Poker if you decide to go for custom fab get a thread machined on the front of the enclosure that takes a standard SLR lens filter and screw a clear filter on there. Easy and cheap to replace that way.