Help with DIY IP WIFI Camera

[dgreyson247]

Hello,

I have a food stall that I want to monitor while I'm in the office so I decided to buy this DIY IP camera kit:

https://www.amazon.com/Smallest-Act...68677262&sr=8-1&keywords=camakt+ushap+pinhole

And I plan to use it covertly. The thing is, I realized too late that the battery lasts only around 4 hours. Am I stuck with this battery or can I get something like this that promises 24-hour power for pinhole cameras:

http://www.spyemporium.com/fugly-gear-9.6v-24-hour-rechargeable-battery/

I don't want to plug it in an outlet because doing so might give it away. Or caan anyone recommend a similar camera with 20-24 hour battery life? Thank you for your help!

- Danny

 

[djmt99]

The battery for that camera is 5v. You could buy a USB charge pack. Depending on the draw of the camera and the wifi, that will greatly extend some runtime. Hard to say for how long though, you'll just have to try it (unless someone wants to pull the specs and crunch numbers!). For what it's worth, I have a 20,000 mah pack that charges my phone quite often, and I only have to recharge the pack every couple weeks.

 

[dgreyson247]

Thanks, will try that!

 

[switchman]

Or if you need even more power, depending on the amperage it pulls, get a 12v to 5v converter and use a larger 12v battery. Then you could use anything from a 4ah to a 100ah battery to power it.

You need to verify the voltage of the original battery by measuring it with a voltmeter when it is charged just to make sure it is supplying power at 5vdc.

3A version
https://www.amazon.com/Converter-Re...id=1468694330&sr=8-9&keywords=12v+to+5v+power

5A version
https://www.amazon.com/DROK-Convert...d=1468694330&sr=8-17&keywords=12v+to+5v+power

others
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=a9_sc_...ywords=12v+to+5v+power&ie=UTF8&qid=1468694217

Get SLA battery for safety, something like these. You can pick them up locally. You could go lithium for higher energy densities,
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=12v+sla+batteries

Your worried about the ac wall wart giving you away, I would be worried about the wifi antenna.

 

[dgreyson247]

awesome, will check these out too! thanks

i'll try to report back and share what i end up doing - just in case someone might be interested.

thanks again to you both!