Test a Reef Cam

[Lutefisk]

I bought a decent webcam for the last time my wife and I were out of town for a couple weeks, but in the rush to get out the door I did not have the opportunity to test it.

It turns out that it works pretty good. It is wireless 803.11g so it is easy to move wherever I want.

Go to this link to check it out: http://ogtest.homeip.net

User Name: orcaguest
Password: orcatest

If necessary, click on the tab "Single" (As opposed to displaying multiple cams at the same time).

You should also be able to get a "mobile friendly" page at: http://ogtest.homeip.net/mobile

For those that are curious it is the Panasonic BL-C131a
http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-...orking/Network-Cameras/PetCams/model.BL-C131A

I'm probably not going to leave it up all the time but I thought I'd give people a chance to try it out. There are a lot of great configurable features and I've enabled some neat ones for this guest account.

In the upper left are some arrows that you can use to pan the cam up/down/left/right. You can also click anywhere in the picture to have the cam center on that spot. I'm wondering what the pan function will do if everyone keeps clicking on it

Yes, there is some glare and reflection with how I've got it set up.

My wife likes the idea of being able to peak at our dogs during the day but I moved the cam up to the reef for this test.

Have fun.



Paul

 

[ccampo]

Looks very nice Paul.

I also have a D-Link one that I use to view the tank remotely.

It is good to view your tank even when you aren't home.

 

[Bacchus_fl]

Looks great! This is something I have been wanting to do for awhile but didn't know exactly what to look for in a camera.

Also fyi I tried this on my iphone (if you have one or a different web browsing phone) and it worked fantastic! I was even able to use the pan/tilt/zoom buttons with easy. You do have to zoom back and forth to make the controls large enough for touch but it is easy. So with this I could watch and monitor my tank anytime, anywhere!

This is GREAT, thanks for sharing!

Jason

By the way you tank looks awesome as well!

 

[tricky]

Paul,
I love it! I had several cameras on our tank(s) while we were away a MACNA, kind of a quick effort right before we left. I wasn't happy with the webcam software I was using, getting some system crashes, etc. Great while it was working, though. It does bring some peace of mind while you are away.
Good job! Need to chat with you about it some more...
Rick

 

[CHOMPERS MFK]

I'm guessing ten minutes to eleven qualifies for "not going to leave it up all the time". It isn't working right now. Maybe next time.

 

[Lutefisk]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14693276#post14693276 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by CHOMPERS MFK
I'm guessing ten minutes to eleven qualifies for "not going to leave it up all the time". It isn't working right now. Maybe next time.

Actually, it should have been up. Did you get no response at all from the web server ("404") or was it black? If the picture area of the screen was black then thing were working right (the lights would be off) if you got a 404 then something else was wrong.

I may configure it to limit when it displays video to public accounts to the hours the lights are on.


Paul

 

[slider162]

Everything was working last night. It was black because the lights were off.

 

[Lutefisk]

I did end up changing the camera's programed availability to 1-10 PM just for yucks. It will be interesting to see if there is a special message or something about the camera availability "after hours."

As far as I can tell, while I spent more than I wanted to, this camera is doing everything I wanted it to do.

 

[Gieser]

How is the picture? We want to set one up in the tank room.

 

[Lutefisk]

The picture is a pretty good 640x480 (max) with good motion over the internet if you've got a good connection and a decent graphics card.

Give it a try using the login information in the first post.

I have discovered that I saturate either my Wi Fi or the upside of my cable modem with more than one person logged in running full resolution at the fastest frame rates. There are settings to limit the resolution, frame rate, and band width but I'm running them pretty much wide open.


Paul

 

[fcm90]

that was neat! lol

 

[Lutefisk]

Running full resolution at full frame rate with more than one person is tough on my internet connection.

It is possible to reduce the max resolution or frame rate for different accounts so I may mess with that a little.

 

[orlandobrian]

Would you pm me when this is back on? I want to check it out sometime.

 

[Lutefisk]

I will.

Due to what I've got going with computer stuff it will be up and down several times today.

Try on Sunday between 1 and 10 PM

Paul

 

[orlandobrian]

You got it - Thanks!

 

[orlandobrian]

WOW! Thanks. That was cool.

 

[Lutefisk]

I even have it set up where it emails me (both to my cellphone and regular email account) once a day.

I'm still messing with it but I'm pleased with what it can do.