EmpireTech IPC-Color4K-X is an amazing weather cam

[Sonnie]

What direction are you viewing?

My only option is East due to trees in all the other directions, but I still don't get a whole lot of sky.

 

[guykuo]

It's a 3.6 mm lens (88 degrees horizontal). The leftmost portion of frame is north northwest. The tall tree is due east.
I also use a 2.8 mm, but visually the 3.6 is sharper and I prefer the lesser geometry distortion.

 

[Sonnie]

Looks like he only has 2.8 and 6mm right now... no 3.6.

This is my most open view from the house... east... southeast.

 

[guykuo]

Seems a nice location for minimal light pollution. You're going to get really nice stars, planets and definitely Andromeda galaxy if you set up a long shutter time

 

[guykuo]

I'd be tempted to put a camera post here.


Trenching in a couple direct burial ethernet cables there would get you near 360 degree views. I've run the direct burial stuff both wire itself and within underground conduit. Once the wire is in place, it is a joy to have the remote mounting flexibility. Also, you will want some arrestors on elevated outdoor ethernet runs. I use these gas tube arrestors instead of the cheaper varistor type.

Amazon.com: Tupavco Ethernet Surge Protector PoE+ Gigabit - Gas Discharge Tube for Full Protection - Mounting Flange - RJ45 Lightning Suppressor - LAN Network CAT5/CAT6 Thunder Arrestor - GbE 1000 Mbps TP302: Computers & Accessories

Amazon.com: Tupavco Ethernet Surge Protector PoE+ Gigabit - Gas Discharge Tube for Full Protection - Mounting Flange - RJ45 Lightning Suppressor - LAN Network CAT5/CAT6 Thunder Arrestor - GbE 1000 Mbps TP302: Computers & Accessories

www.amazon.com

 

[Sonnie]

That's probably doable. I'd have to come down a 6x6 post at the end of the driveway in conduit, then carefully cross over two irrigation lines about 6-8" below the ground, but then I'm home free to the field. I could even put a 16ft post about 4ft in the ground and mount it up 12ft high.

That's going to be around 400ft... probably need Cat6e.

The switch is not all the way to the end of the house, but placing the starting point there will make up for going up and thru the attic and down to the ground and up the post. Maybe try to get it a bit farther on the other side of the field to have the longest portion of the open view in sight.

There is a huge tall oak tree where you see the green circle I'm not sure how much it might get in the way. I will walk out there and see what I'm dealing with. I'm not against buying a 30ft tower for it either... might be kind of cool to get a better view of the horizon.

Where are you grounding the arrestors? I don't have any receptacles close to where my ethernet cable comes into the switch. The switch has a long cord going to the battery backup box that has a cord going to the wall receptacle about 12" off the floor. Then at the camera post... run a ground wire down to a ground rod?

 

[guykuo]

My entrance to house for the ethernet lines is next to my mains panel. I bond the arrestors to the house ground. They won't save your cameras from destruction, but can limit how much other equipment gets affected.
I don't think you need that tall of a post. My camera posts are about 7 feet above ground. The remote posts also let you get views back AT your house.

BTW, i'm guessing from size of house in photo that the run length is under the ethernet 300 foot limit, but please verify the distances before installing.

 

[Sonnie]

I edited the pic a little and made a few comments. I'm going to walk out and see what I'm dealing with.

 

[guykuo]

Seems the distances are doable without POE extenders. I have 13 of my cameras mounted away from the house. Doing so opens up a lot more coverage possibilities than limiting to just on the house. My absolute best sky cam position for dim sky objects is on a pole behind the house. Your 4KT's deserve the best location. Your grounds look very promising to exceed what I can capture.

 

[Sonnie]

I'm excited!

 

[Sonnie]

Here are the three options. First pic is the eastern to southeastern sky. Second pic is more southeastern. The third includes the hous and is the southern view. I probably have too much land view in second two pics.

 

[Sonnie]

I'm not sure it would be the same on the weather camera as my phone. I had my phone camera set on 12MP, which is what they claim to be "Ultra-wide." However, it shows 24mm equivalent on the 50MP setting and 13mm equivalent on the 12MP setting, but that's with an f/2.2 aperture lens. Not sure how that will compare to the 2.8mm lens with a max aperture of f/1.0 on the weather camera. Would I get a broader or narrower view on the weather camera?

Samsung S24 key camera specifications: Primary: 50MP 1/1.56″ sensor, 1.0µm pixels, 24mm equivalent f/1.8-aperture lens, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS. Ultra-wide: 12MP 1/2.55″ sensor, 1.4µm pixels, 13mm equivalent f/2.2-aperture lens

I think I like pic 3 if I can get that southeastern and southern view that includes the house. Need to bushhog that field, but then we might not even see that if we raise the view up more.

 

[Sonnie]

I don't see much difference in 12MP and 50MP... width is the same.

12MP in first pic with 50MP in second pic.

There may be an issue with the sun blinding the camera in the winter months when it runs lower in the southern sky.

 

[guykuo]

Your siting is going to be awesome

 

[spycke]

I love it. I couldn't resist though .. I picked the best night segment, dropped the speed to 0.25 and watch the Earth spin by the cosmos. Mesmerizing.

I found a 180 camera pointed above the neighbors house to be absolutely cinematic. Like watching a burning fireplace mesmerizing with the sound on.