natureoncam technical and links

Technical specs of cameras and other useful information will be available here, as will suppliers and hints
and tips as I hopefully solve the problems that are bound to occur.
Shown above is some of the wiring and the four cams of different types which are now in place.
Click here for more specific information.
Three cameras will be focused on two bird feeders and a nesting box and one used to film any nocturnal
visitors to our garden.
Two of the cameras are equipped with day night vision using LED's, the other two have microphones.
All four are hard wired, wireless was not considered due to very thick walls, an existing abundance of
wireless networks in the area and many trees.
The thick stone walls of the house have proved to be a major problem, I eventually used a professional
SDS plus drill after destroying my very old DIY quality drill, it is amazing how simple jobs are when you use
the right tools.
It took ten minutes to drill the other holes that I needed!
The cables have been laid in the garden and the waterproof junction boxes fitted for the interconnections.
One cam is fitted to a suet ball type feeder and hopefully will provide plenty of action, another is housed
in a old bird feeder overlooking our main seed feeder which is in constant use.
I will be using iCatcher software combined with a Euresys Picolo Junior 4 PC card to capture and display
the images.
My PC is a dual core Intel running at 3Ghz plus with plenty of graphics power as well, using Windows 7
32bit.
One concern I do have is the squirrels attacking and destroying the cables and or the cameras. The
cameras will all be housed in sturdy wooden boxes but obviously will require to be open at one end for
the lens. The concern over the squirrels is well justified, a cable on a feeder pole was chewed through in
three places!
Problem solved by laying the cable in some old copper piping.
The cable up the tree to the nest box has been run in some 1" diameter hose piping rescued from a pond
we used to have in another house.
In these days of recession and global warming it is even more necessary to re-use bits and pieces rescued
from old projects and if necessary modify them to suit your current needs. If nothing available in your shed
try Maplins or CPC, reasonable prices and normally available off the shelf.