Off grid BI system - enough processor?

Benak

Benak

Young grasshopper
Sep 29, 2016
43
11
I am trying to implement a BI based system at an off grid cabin that keeps power consumption to a minimum. The intent is to use at least three POE fixed IP cameras with a Windows 7 machine running Blue Iris. I have a system with an Atom D2700 @ 2.13GHz with 4GB of RAM and a 120GB SATA 2.0 SSD (high tech circa 2011-2012). I'm looking to have BI send fixed images via e-mail when motion is detected only, storing & sending captured video isn't really a concern in this application. Connectivity is via a MOFI 4G LTE modem/router and a Wilson 4G booster on AT&T's network. The cell coverage at the cabin is such that the booster is needed and is definitely eating into my power budget, but it is a necessity.

I have mocked up the computer at my home (as in a metropolitan area, not "off grid") and am working to hash out as much of the details as possible before deploying the equipment on location. I have two USB cameras on the machine right now with frame rates maxed at 5 FPS and triggered on motion (higher frame rates bogged the machine down). When the cameras trip the processor can "max out" bouncing around the high 90's percent of load with just these two cameras at 800x600. Based on experience can anyone tell me if I am just wasting my time with this processor? I'm concerned that three or four cameras (also at higher resolution) will just bury this thing. I realize I can turn the frame rates down too but at what point does this become pointless?

Does anyone have any hard data on power consumption with a like packaged system? All my communications equipment, computer, cameras, and POE injection will be operated directly off the 24VDC 890Ah battery bank in place, and I have 1,900 watts of solar but I want this work in the winter in Alaska... not exactly a solar power paradise. I am also implementing automatic generator starting & charging but that is a whole other subject...

Any thoughts? This is my first post and I have searched around quite a bit, I apologize ahead of time if I missed a thread that speaks to this exactly elsewhere. Also, along these lines, I will have a metering shunt on the circuit when I am done and can share very specific power consumption data when this is finished for those that are curious.

Thank you in advance,
Ben
 
you should use a hardware NVR imho for an off the grid system.. I'm recording 8 cameras 24/7/365 at well under 20W.. your going to have a hell of a time beating that.
 
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The NVR & drives in your signature (Dahua 4216-4k and WD Purple drives)?
 
yeah, NVR is rated @ 8.7W loaded w/out HDD's.. the writing HDD uses about 10W tops, and the idle HDD uses just a couple watts.
 
That does sound like a cleaner answer as far as power consumption. Do you have a vendor that's better than Amazon? Looks like there is some question of getting "genuine" Dahua via Amazon. I also saw a few gripes on the reviews there about motion detection being buggy, do you have any of those issues?
 
it dont matter about Genuine, Dahua is an OEM.. they sell unbranded whitebox models for cheaper, thats what most of my stuff is.. I imported mine from China off AliExpress

motion detection works as fine as its going to work, its not buggy but it does suck.. but thats just a problem with pixel changing motion detection in general.. I record 24/7 and use motion to flag possible events on the timeline and it works fine, registers activity reliably and w/out error.. but the vast majority of events are just the wind blowing, clouds passing or bugs flying.

If you want reliable presence detection for alerting purposes, wire up physical sensors up to the NVR.. like a garage door beam sensor on the steps to a front patio will notify you when someone is at the door without fail, and without false alarm.
 
Understood on all points, I'll see what I can dream up. I haven't been concerned with recording because this property is practically inaccessible (short of a helicopter) about three months a year. The issue is, however, there are short periods of time in that otherwise inaccessible period that the place may be accessible (river is various states of freezing or thawing) that people can get in for a few hours and I'll never know about it. We've had an noticeable increase in fuel being stolen, tools missing, etc. including the arctic entry door being kicked in within the last few years. Quality stills as things are happening and sent out via e-mail is what we really are after - there are only a few ways in & out of the place. If we have descriptions to the State Troopers they can be at the haul out locations before the "perps" could make to the trail head/boat ramp. After running BI with motion detection triggers for a few weeks at home I was also leaning towards using external motion detection too, your are making that case stronger for me.

Thank you for the input,
Ben
 
yeah for your case you want real sensors, pressure mats work well.. beam sensors like I mentioned, driveway sensors if you have a road path, Contact switches on doors/gates, Its going to be alot like trapping, find a natural choke point and put a lure behind it and load it up w/sensors.

With such a remote location I'd still expect to get the occasional false alarm from wildlife, but that should be okay if you get an image of the culprit and dont send the local sheriff out after a wild goose.. literally.
 
nayr said:
it dont matter about Genuine, Dahua is an OEM.. they sell unbranded whitebox models for cheaper, thats what most of my stuff is.. I imported mine from China off AliExpress

motion detection works as fine as its going to work, its not buggy but it does suck.. but thats just a problem with pixel changing motion detection in general.. I record 24/7 and use motion to flag possible events on the timeline and it works fine, registers activity reliably and w/out error.. but the vast majority of events are just the wind blowing, clouds passing or bugs flying.

If you want reliable presence detection for alerting purposes, wire up physical sensors up to the NVR.. like a garage door beam sensor on the steps to a front patio will notify you when someone is at the door without fail, and without false alarm.
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Would you mind sharing a good source off AliExpress for these cameras. I've built a system using US version Hikvision cameras and now I'd like to play with either Dahua or Hik Chinese cameras (just for fun). I'm assuming with the Dahuas you can't upgrade firmware, but does offer English language menus?
 
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My system is based on stills rather than video also. I'm now power challenged but rather am bandwidth challenged since I am on a metered (10GB/mo) satellite internet link. My system consists of a PC running BI and a website that allows me to view and manage the stills. When motion is detected, BI will FTP the captured stills to the remote website. Also, BI will send a still captured from each camera each hour and FTP those to the website too. It works pretty good.

As far as power, if you should end up going the PC route, it seems like you could save some power by bypassing the power supply in the PC and running 12v directly from your battery bank. Just a thought.
 
I am running all of the data & coms equipment directly off the 24VDC battery systems, the computer I am asking about needs 3 amps @ 19VDC - I was planning on converting the 24VDC to 19VDC using something like this
 
@Benak

I'm kind of surprised you have high speed internet service but no utility power. Care to explain?

EDIT: I just reread your OP and I see you are getting it via cell. I don't have any cell service here so that is why I am satellite based. Someday I hope to get a higher speed connection without metering. I've been waiting on it for 13 years. When I first got here I had to use a land line to access the internet. Dial up. Best I ever got was 14k. Boy was I glad when I got the satellite.
 
Oddly enough Verizon built out a new LTE network from the ground up here and it got AT&T & VZW in a pissing match over LTE coverage... I'm not complaining. The bandwidth is way more than adequate, I see 20Mbps down & 5-10Mbps up pretty regular when I test with Ookla. I have been fairly impressed with the MOFI router too, it has been reliable. I tested it with Verizon & AT&T sim cards - both were plug & play. This site isn't on the road system, utility electricity will probably never be there, it's accessible by boat in the summer and snow mobile in the winter after the river freezes.
 
Nayr is right about using an NVR. You can get similar power consumption using a modern Intel NUC with an efficient 2.5 inch drive, but you'd still have to cut back on frame rate to keep resource consumption under control in Blue Iris, and you would be stuck with a 2.5 inch disk. Oh and it would cost more than the NVR :)

For many years, my dad has had an off-grid cabin in the mountains on satellite internet, using a single core 1600 Mhz Atom CPU for motion detection and emailing out snapshots. With that, we were only able to handle 2 or 3 cameras at 1 FPS or less each, like one at 1 megapixel and 2 at 640x480. All connected by USB. And the machine was a laptop so it wouldn't boot up automatically after a power outage, which happened a lot during the winter. It was terrible. Eventually, we got a NUC that would reboot after power outages without consuming much more electricity (about 16 watts under load, up from 7 watts, but it takes more to heavily load that NUC).

Much more recently we obtained access to a repeater site at the edge of the mountains 9 miles away where we were able to get AT&T 3G and beam it in by Ubiquiti radio. We've got two cameras there to look at the scenery :)



The 3G turned out to be offline more often than it was online, so eventually we got a friend in a town 20 miles further out to share his DSL. Now we run Blue Iris where the DSL comes in, so video is continuously streamed over 29 miles of air, feeding through three Ubiquiti radio bridges before being motion detected and recorded, yet this is still more efficient than running Blue Iris at the cabin.
 
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thats awesome bp2008, love the determination to setup a 30 mile communications link.

For very very remote situations, you could get your HAM and broadcast your own television.. quality would be poor and cost would be really high; but the nerd points you'll earn are off the chart :P

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_television
 
My dad is the HAM. I only have the most basic license and never use it :)

Amateur television does sound expensive, not only for the equipment to run it but the amount of spectrum it would tie up.
 
I'm looking for a Cabin up in the NorthWest, my sister lives in Portland, my wife's siblings are all down in Eugene and my parents are retiring to Washington.. Since both me and my wife work from home via Internet the idea is we can spend all summer break at the cabin, let the kids get a taste of rural life with dirt and trees while spending the summer w/cousins and grandparents all about.

But the trick to this is going to be getting the required internet connectivity, building a network of wifi repeaters is going to be very likely unless I can find something close enough to portland that it also includes cable TV.. but as you kno, with enough determination and enough good neighbors, you can do some amazing shit w/Ubiquiti access points.
 
nayr said:
but as you kno, with enough determination and enough good neighbors, you can do some amazing shit w/Ubiquiti access points.
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Yup. Problem is, most cabins are surrounded by trees so getting a 2+ GHz signal in and out can sometimes be ridiculous.
 
thats okay, if this passes (and I really hope it does!) http://www.arrl.org/amateur-radio-parity-act

Most importantly, it will ensure that every ham in the US, regardless of the community they live in, will have the opportunity to practice their avocation from their own homes without breaking any rules or fear of reprisal.
If enacted, amateurs who are living in deed-restricted communities would be guaranteed that there would be no preclusion of Amateur Radio communications by an HOA, that the Amateur would have the ability to construct an effective outdoor antenna on property under exclusive use of the licensee, and that the HOA must allow such facility using the least practicable restriction by the HOA to achieve their lawful purposes.
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then nobody will be able to stop me from erecting a tower taller than the trees, as long as I establish a ham station at the cabin.. which I intend on for emergency communications anyhow.. now the trick will be finding someone else with above-tree access to relay through.

73, N4YRE
 
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