Remote CCTV query

814man

Here's a problem solving challenge for anyone.
My wife and daughter have 3 horses in a field about 4 miles from our house. They would like to be able to see whats going on in the field when we are not there, both from a security point of view, but also just out of general interest to see how they are, especially during poor weather.
I had thought about some sort of remote CCTV such as I assume must be used in some wildlife programms may be possible. I should add that there is no power in field but we have a battery to run the electric fence. Could the signal be sent via 3g connection back to my computer? Would not need to record only to be activated when we want to view field. No privacy issues as no houses anywhere near.
Any help or questions much appreciated.

buglawton

Tricky call, I think you can forget a WiFi solution, too far, and the typical GSM cameras that send an alert to your mobile (or maybe a pic via MMS) are best suited for inside garages & warehouses where movement is rare. Plus you have to avoid it being stolen - conceal it for example. But I'll watch this thread for suggestions.

814man

Thanks for comments buglawton. To follow up on point about it being stolen the fields are pretty remore and cover about a 5 acre area with a couple of groups of trees fairly central where I had thought a relatively large device could effectively be hidden from view - nearest quiet public path is some 200 yards away.

Inner_Zone

A quick search for 3G camera shows various options from £150. Main issue is battery life 150 to 300 hours in standby. If you could rig up a solar panel, charger and leisure battery it might work.

This is a suggestion not a recommendation but it gives you some idea of what's available. It assumes a 3G signal available in the field.

buglawton

of what's not available... out of stock!

Owain_Moneysaver

Camvista Farm Cameras

Geekinafield

paddyrg

Power is the stumbling block really, I don't think solar is reliable enough to drive a camera and video uplink for anything like useful times :-(

Friendly neighbour anywhere?

Inner_Zone

buglawton wrote: »

of what's not available... out of stock!

Did you not read my post it was a suggestion to show the OP what is available, not a recommendation to buy!

Inner_Zone

paddyrg wrote: »

Power is the stumbling block really, I don't think solar is reliable enough to drive a camera and video uplink for anything like useful times :-(

Friendly neighbour anywhere?

Hence the suggestion to use a leisure battery, solar is only to charge it up.

814man

Thanks for all the great advise in here. I'm thinking that this may actually be possible. Dont have access to power anywhere near but currently use a leisure batters to power electric fence which we recharge at stable block (mile or so away) every couple of weeks. I'm thinking if I get another they can be continually in use or on charge.
I'll keep you updated with progress.

mttylad

HOw about a teleraph pole with it on top?
Barbed wire around it 3/4 way up.
Solar panel on top.
covered cable down to ground to strong cabinet (perhaps mainly buried or brick enclosed) where batts etc are stored.

Is it line of sight?
You may be able to use wifi with high gain directional antennas pointing at each other.