I need ideas, on where to install a camera at the entrance

[windguy]

What did you use to open up the 'hole' for the camera lens? Jigsaw? If so, that's an awfully steady hand you've got.

Ha. At my age nothing is steady anymore.
An old neighbor who was an avid woodworker told me once that "all you need is a good jig". He's right.
Not sure if I figured this technique out on my own or saw on some show like "this old house", but you want to use a regular hole saw with a center arbor drill bit.
The obvious problem is there is no wood in the center for the arbor bit to bite into. You can solve that problem by clamping a scrap piece of wood behind the hole with a centering hole already drilled out. See pic below. This way the arbor bit is centered to the existing hole and it's easy to enlarge that hole. In this case I went with a 1.75" hole to eliminate the halo affect of the original hole size. You would need a bit bigger hole if you want to use the cam's IR lights. I've got some other project notes if others are interested. Can post here or in a separate thread as to not hijack the original poster.

 

[tibimakai]

Nice setup, and good idea.

 

[VorlonFrog]

Ha. At my age nothing is steady anymore.
An old neighbor who was an avid woodworker told me once that "all you need is a good jig". He's right.
Not sure if I figured this technique out on my own or saw on some show like "this old house", but you want to use a regular hole saw with a center arbor drill bit.
The obvious problem is there is no wood in the center for the arbor bit to bite into. You can solve that problem by clamping a scrap piece of wood behind the hole with a centering hole already drilled out. See pic below. This way the arbor bit is centered to the existing hole and it's easy to enlarge that hole. In this case I went with a 1.75" hole to eliminate the halo affect of the original hole size. You would need a bit bigger hole if you want to use the cam's IR lights. I've got some other project notes if others are interested. Can post here or in a separate thread as to not hijack the original poster.

You get bonus points for doing it right AND explaining your method. MUCH appreciated.

 

[Cj500]

@windguy love your birdhouse. Curious what you used for the base pole and how you ran cabling. Direct burial or regular cat5/6 in conduit in a hollow metal pole?

Finally (after seven months) got one of two birdhouse cams up and running. This T5442 6.0m cam is the approach to the entry area covering the driveway pad. Last one is painted and ready to go for the entry area but I've been using the T5442 3.6m cam for monitoring the veggie garden for rats and don't want to give it up just yet.

Two birdhouse pics below and one snapshot of a real life test of someone leaving ad crap on the doormat.

Many thanks to @tibimakai for pioneering this design and offering design help.

View attachment 69014View attachment 69013View attachment 69015

 

[windguy]

@windguy love your birdhouse. Curious what you used for the base pole and how you ran cabling. Direct burial or regular cat5/6 in conduit in a hollow metal pole?

Thanks. I plan to create a PDF build doc and will post here. Just haven't gotten to it yet. That will show some of those details you're asking about. Too much detail to post here now but will answer your specific questions in case you're looking to do this now and don't want to leave you hanging.

The pole I found at Home Depot. I preferred a round one but this one was in stock for only $10.98 and had a nice mounting flange for the base. Good enough.
Took the top plastic cap off and mounted it to the underside of the birdhouse base, which is 5/8" cedar fencing scrap. Drilled a hole through the center for cabling.

US Door and Fence 2 in. x 2 in. x 3 ft. Black Metal Fence Post with Flange and Post Cap FP236PUS - The Home Depot

Offer an attractive long-lasting look to your living space with the addition of this sophisticated US Door & Fence Black Metal Fence Post with Flange and Post Cap.

www.homedepot.com

I created my own cement block for the base with four mounting bolts sticking up and a 1/2" center hole for the flex conduit. That was a fun project. 8"x8"x2.5".
I ran Cat 5 through 1/2 rigid PVC conduit buried along the edge of the foundation, about 30ft. Total run was about 80ft from POE inside the garage to this area. Ran two cables for two birdhouses. Used 1/2 flex at the end after splitting the lines in a Type-T conduit body.

Hope that helps.

 

[dabflyboy]

Now that it's been a year, has anyone had any issues with their "birdhouse" camera setup?

 

[tibimakai]

No, I just need to repaint it.