#273934 - 10/01/2006 00:13
Baby Coming, Wireless Camera and Network advice needed!
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addict
Registered: 09/06/1999
Posts: 559
Loc: Newfoundland, Canada
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In three months time we'll be having a little one underfoot to trip over. Before that time comes I need a few things and some advice on the following setup. 1. Wireless camera and receivers. We need color and high quality reception as we (the parents) are both kinda geeky. I am assuming this would require a 2.4GHz setup. Only one camera is needed (I would consider 2, but she says one... budget restrictions. If the price is right I will have two cameras  ) I have found a cheap setup on eBay for about $100 us, but the screen is too small for her. She demands a 2.5inch minimum after comparing my Canon S330 (1.5inch lcd) to my pal's SD550 (2.5 inch lcd). Are all 2.4 GHz video systems compatible with each other? Can I buy one setup with the small LCD and then buy a second larger LCD with the receiver built in that and have it just work? Where can I find a second LCD (with receiver) without a camera? We are located in Canada so Canadian Suppliers would be appreciated. Some of what I have found so far: SVAT GX5200 in Canada SVAT also makes one with a built in DVR... a little overkill though with the budget restraints I have right now. Another one with an advertised 2.5 inch screen. Not sure about the screen size as I found it on another site with an identical picture (different casing color) but with a 1.8 inch screen. The Cheap eBay unit with 1.5 inch screen The one she likes the most! The wireless camera part isn't a necessity as the baby's room has 8 RG6 jacks and 8 RJ45 jacks in it. We would still need to have some way to get the signal to a handheld monitor wrelessly. I figure it would probably be simpler just to start with wireless from the beginning.The reason we need two units is so she can have one with her while she is on Maternity leave and is at home while the baby is sleeping while the other will be hooked up to my computer with some sort of video input (most receivers have a/v outputs as well as their own lcd). The second receiver for the pc wouldn't necessairly need to have a display as long as it could feed the video signal into my pc. This brings me to item number 2 Wireless network connection from my home to my office. My office window is exactly 1 km (according to my GPS) line of sight with no obstructions. What is the most cost efficient bit of equipment I can put between my home network and my work network so I can surf from home and I can view my camera from work. I am the IT department so as far as that is concerned there is no problem. DSL or any other form of broadband is not available here so that isn't even an option for my home. Anyone with any suggestions or bits of equipment laying around they could part with for cheap??? Thanks a bunch! Rene, Siobhan and Fetus P.S. Spooky Ultrasound Picture
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#273935 - 10/01/2006 01:27
Re: Baby Coming, Wireless Camera and Network advice needed!
[Re: ShadowMan]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 29/08/2000
Posts: 14496
Loc: Canada
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My advice (take it or whatever) is to get a wired option, so that you can view the camera from anywhere -- office, night out, holiday.. Cuz after the first two years, it won't be needed for the baby, so it could double as security cam, babysitter checkup, etc..
Cheers
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#273936 - 10/01/2006 10:24
Re: Baby Coming, Wireless Camera and Network advice needed!
[Re: mlord]
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addict
Registered: 09/06/1999
Posts: 559
Loc: Newfoundland, Canada
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Quote:
My advice (take it or whatever) is to get a wired option, so that you can view the camera from anywhere -- office, night out, holiday.. Cuz after the first two years, it won't be needed for the baby, so it could double as security cam, babysitter checkup, etc..
Cheers
I can hook up the wireless receiver to my pc so it wouldn't really make a difference in that case. I do plan to keep the cameras for the reasons you stated though!
Rene
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#273937 - 10/01/2006 11:28
Re: Baby Coming, Wireless Camera and Network advice needed!
[Re: ShadowMan]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 29/08/2000
Posts: 14496
Loc: Canada
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Well, in that case you don't really need a wireless connection to your office -- just use your normal wired broadband internet connections on each end.
Cheers
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#273938 - 10/01/2006 11:30
Re: Baby Coming, Wireless Camera and Network advice needed!
[Re: mlord]
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addict
Registered: 09/06/1999
Posts: 559
Loc: Newfoundland, Canada
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Quote:
Well, in that case you don't really need a wireless connection to your office -- just use your normal wired broadband internet connections on each end.
Cheers
No broadband available at home. That's why I want to link up home and work wirelessly.
Rene
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#273939 - 10/01/2006 12:00
Re: Baby Coming, Wireless Camera and Network advice needed!
[Re: ShadowMan]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 15/08/2000
Posts: 4859
Loc: New Jersey, USA
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Perhaps I am just strange, but my first thought was more on the order of "Critter Cam"...
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Paul Grzelak
200GB with 48MB RAM, Illuminated Buttons and Digital Outputs
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#273940 - 10/01/2006 12:13
Re: Baby Coming, Wireless Camera and Network advice needed!
[Re: ShadowMan]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 24/12/2001
Posts: 5528
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Quote:
My office window is exactly 1 km (according to my GPS) line of sight with no obstructions. What is the most cost efficient bit of equipment I can put between my home network and my work network so I can surf from home and I can view my camera from work.
Cheapest reasonable solution is to get a couple WRT54G's and two DIY Pringles/Coffee can antennas.
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#273941 - 10/01/2006 12:22
Re: Baby Coming, Wireless Camera and Network advice needed!
[Re: tman]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 19/01/2002
Posts: 3584
Loc: Columbus, OH
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Or rather than putting the time into the pringles cans, you can get some professional directional antennae for $39 each here. They can even ship it (for a few extra bucks) with the proper pigtail to plug into your router.
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~ John
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#273942 - 10/01/2006 12:25
Re: Baby Coming, Wireless Camera and Network advice needed!
[Re: JBjorgen]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 24/12/2001
Posts: 5528
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Quote:
Or rather than putting the time into the pringles cans, you can get some professional directional antennae for $39 each here. They can even ship it with the proper pigtail to plug into your router.
Wheres the fun in that?
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#273943 - 10/01/2006 13:20
Re: Baby Coming, Wireless Camera and Network advice needed!
[Re: ShadowMan]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 29/08/2000
Posts: 14496
Loc: Canada
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Two geeks in the house, and no broadband internet ???
yeeghads!
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#273944 - 10/01/2006 14:35
Re: Baby Coming, Wireless Camera and Network advice needed!
[Re: ShadowMan]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 30/04/2000
Posts: 3810
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For what it's worth, we still have our (8 month old) daughter's crib in our bedroom. This is as much for a lack of space in the house, as for response time when she wakes up unhappy in the night. If you can get over there and get the pacifier back in quickly, she'll fall back asleep right away.
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#273945 - 10/01/2006 14:50
Re: Baby Coming, Wireless Camera and Network advice needed!
[Re: ShadowMan]
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veteran
Registered: 01/10/2001
Posts: 1307
Loc: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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#273946 - 10/01/2006 16:00
Re: Baby Coming, Wireless Camera and Network advice needed!
[Re: mlord]
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addict
Registered: 09/06/1999
Posts: 559
Loc: Newfoundland, Canada
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Quote:
Two geeks in the house, and no broadband internet ???
yeeghads!
Tell me about it, last night the two of use were surfing on our shared dial-up connection. Satellite is available but at a price premium. Linking home with work makes economic sense.
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12 gig empeg Mark II, SN: 080000101 30 gig RioCar SN: 30103114 My blog
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#273947 - 10/01/2006 16:01
Re: Baby Coming, Wireless Camera and Network advice needed!
[Re: tman]
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addict
Registered: 09/06/1999
Posts: 559
Loc: Newfoundland, Canada
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Quote:
Quote:
My office window is exactly 1 km (according to my GPS) line of sight with no obstructions. What is the most cost efficient bit of equipment I can put between my home network and my work network so I can surf from home and I can view my camera from work.
Cheapest reasonable solution is to get a couple WRT54G's and two DIY Pringles/Coffee can antennas.
WRT54Gs eh... gonna have to order a couple I guess. As for the antenna's I want something a little more reliable in the long term then pringles cans. I'd also like something a little less visible... some sort of flat antenna would be preferable for the work side of the connection.
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#273948 - 10/01/2006 16:03
Re: Baby Coming, Wireless Camera and Network advice needed!
[Re: DWallach]
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addict
Registered: 09/06/1999
Posts: 559
Loc: Newfoundland, Canada
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Quote:
For what it's worth, we still have our (8 month old) daughter's crib in our bedroom. This is as much for a lack of space in the house, as for response time when she wakes up unhappy in the night. If you can get over there and get the pacifier back in quickly, she'll fall back asleep right away.
It's not for nighttimes as such. More like during the day at naptime when Mom is doing her stuff around the house, such as watching TV.
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12 gig empeg Mark II, SN: 080000101 30 gig RioCar SN: 30103114 My blog
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#273949 - 10/01/2006 16:07
Re: Baby Coming, Wireless Camera and Network advice needed!
[Re: ShadowMan]
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addict
Registered: 09/06/1999
Posts: 559
Loc: Newfoundland, Canada
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Another quick question...
The wireless cameras (not 802.11) I am looking at operate at 2.4 GHz, our cordless phone operates at 2.4GHz and the 802.11 wireless router we may be installing operates at 2.4GHz. Will they possibly interfere with one another???
Thanks
Rene
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12 gig empeg Mark II, SN: 080000101 30 gig RioCar SN: 30103114 My blog
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#273950 - 10/01/2006 16:19
Re: Baby Coming, Wireless Camera and Network advice needed!
[Re: ShadowMan]
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old hand
Registered: 20/07/1999
Posts: 1102
Loc: UK
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Yes. The most obvious interference will be that the 802.11 ethernet packets will produce white horizontal lines and a click noise every few seconds, if the 802.11 channel overlaps the video frequency. This is when the frequency hopping signal happens to coincide with the video transmission for a few line periods. Normally the effect isn't too annoying, and tends only to happen if the video receiver is within 50 feet or so of the access point or a client. You may also get interference from the phone to the video, which would slightly degrade the image. It's unlikely the video will interfere with either the phone of the ethernet, as both are digital links with error-correction of various types. The ethernet bandwidth may drop a bit, though.
If this happens, your best bet is to try switching channels on the video system (there are normally 4 available) to put it as far away as possible from the 802.11 channel. Note that although there are from 11 to 14 channels available for 802.11b/g these only correspond to 3 separate frequencies.
The only other choice is to either use 5.8GHz 802.11a ethernet, or 5.8GHz video senders. Both are more expensive, but 802.11a has more bandwidth, and 5.8GHz video seems to produce a better picture presumably due to increased analog bandwidth as well.
pca
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Experience is what you get just after it would have helped...
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#273951 - 10/01/2006 16:23
Re: Baby Coming, Wireless Camera and Network advice needed!
[Re: ShadowMan]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 29/08/2000
Posts: 14496
Loc: Canada
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Quote:
The wireless cameras (not 802.11) I am looking at operate at 2.4 GHz, our cordless phone operates at 2.4GHz and the 802.11 wireless router we may be installing operates at 2.4GHz. Will they possibly interfere with one another???
Yes (but probably minor), and you can probably include your microwave oven in that list as well.
Cheers
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#273952 - 10/01/2006 16:38
Re: Baby Coming, Wireless Camera and Network advice needed!
[Re: pca]
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addict
Registered: 09/06/1999
Posts: 559
Loc: Newfoundland, Canada
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Thanks for that info.. probably nothing much to worry about then.
So maybe you can answer one of my original questions... will brand x 2.4ghz camera work with brand y 2.4ghz receiver?
Thanks!
Rene
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12 gig empeg Mark II, SN: 080000101 30 gig RioCar SN: 30103114 My blog
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#273953 - 10/01/2006 16:39
Re: Baby Coming, Wireless Camera and Network advice needed!
[Re: mlord]
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addict
Registered: 09/06/1999
Posts: 559
Loc: Newfoundland, Canada
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Sounds like something I won't worry about in that case.
Thanks!
Rene
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12 gig empeg Mark II, SN: 080000101 30 gig RioCar SN: 30103114 My blog
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#273954 - 10/01/2006 18:46
Re: Baby Coming, Wireless Camera and Network advice needed!
[Re: ShadowMan]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 06/02/2002
Posts: 1904
Loc: Leeds, UK
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Sorry for jumping in a little late here.
I use a system called Geovision myself for home security, there are plenty of other solutions out there that do a similar thing, but this one is quite good, it lets you view the output of any camera on your PDA via WiFi, very neat! I use it to check who is at the front door, as my PDA is also my phone it's never too far away from me. It's a good solution and could work in your case too, and expand the system when baby is bigger to watch over different parts of the garden.
You could use an RF modulator and Picture in Picture on your TV/VCR to watch TV and baby at the same time, I quite often do that on my monitor here as it has PnP via a normal video signal too, although Geovision also has a web interface. I lthough I don't use the system for sound, not sure how it handles that?
One thing I would look out for is IR lighting, you are going to need that, you will be surprised at how little details can be seen if you draw the curtains etc... so baby can sleep. IR is a must I think! More so than colour? I have some very cheap cameras that do a good job (see attachment, although cobweb spoils it a little).
Good luck with everything, be sure to let us know when the big day is over.
Cheers
Cris.
Attachments
274086-cam2.jpg (107 downloads)
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#273955 - 10/01/2006 20:54
Re: Baby Coming, Wireless Camera and Network advice needed!
[Re: ShadowMan]
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old hand
Registered: 01/10/2002
Posts: 1039
Loc: Fullerton, Calif.
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Quote:
WRT54Gs eh... gonna have to order a couple I guess. As for the antenna's I want something a little more reliable in the long term then pringles cans. I'd also like something a little less visible... some sort of flat antenna would be preferable for the work side of the connection.
Get the WET54G instead, they are smaller and come set up for what you want to do. The "docs" that come with the wrt54g suck. The only thing I didn't like about the wet was it knows only wep, no wpa.
Not less visible, I kinda bought it 'cos it eye catching, but:
This antenna is what I used. I'm hitting sites more than 2km away with 80% signal, and not stuff in sight. It looks cool too. It comes with a female N connector, but you can get any adapter you need from here.
I have a similar setup. My office is down the street from my house, so I have house priced DSL and wireless to the office. I have a WRT45G at each end wired to two WET54G connected to the antennas. The WETs need to be next to the antennas, so I have old irrigation controller boxes with the WETs inside. I have linksys power over ethernet adapers in the boxes too, to feed the WETs.
This works really well, except that I "upgraded" the home WRT with the Satori os. The original Linksys os never crashes, but the Satori does about every two weeks.
The other irritating thing is that, evidently, you can slave one WRT to another if they are wired together, but the "docs" suck and there's no clue as to how to get this to actually work. Linksys has no idea either. So, my office WET is connected to one of the hub ports of the WRT rather than the LAN port. Grrrr....
You might be able to get away with a minimal antenna at one end. When I first set this up, I had the office WRT on the floor, behind two walls an a concrete fence, and I was still hitting with 100% with the house yagi. I think I could have probably not used the WETs and just used two yagis on the home WRT (you would need two yagis because of the diversity feature of the transmitter, you don't know which of the antennas it's going to use. US Robotics stuff you can force it to use one antenna only).
Good luck!
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#273956 - 10/01/2006 21:42
Re: Baby Coming, Wireless Camera and Network advice needed!
[Re: larry818]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 24/12/2001
Posts: 5528
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Quote:
Get the WET54G instead, they are smaller and come set up for what you want to do. The "docs" that come with the wrt54g suck. The only thing I didn't like about the wet was it knows only wep, no wpa.
The WRT54G can do WDS and WPA so I don't see why you'd want to get a WET54G. If you have OpenWRT or one of the other third party firmware images (free) installed then you can do a lot more as well.
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#273957 - 11/01/2006 00:00
Re: Baby Coming, Wireless Camera and Network advice needed!
[Re: tman]
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old hand
Registered: 01/10/2002
Posts: 1039
Loc: Fullerton, Calif.
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Quote:
The WRT54G can do WDS and WPA so I don't see why you'd want to get a WET54G. If you have OpenWRT or one of the other third party firmware images (free) installed then you can do a lot more as well.
Mostly 'cos I couldn't get the WRTs to talk to each other wired so I suspect maybe they'll dislike each other wireless.
Since the device has to be close to the antenna, it's unlikely that one could use it for anything other than the bridge, and one would have to hook up two antennas. The cost of the second antenna would be higher than the price difference from WRT to WET.
That WPA is an issue, tho. The WRT also won't report anyone not connected by other than dhcp, so if you get hacked into, you won't know it. The nice thang about the USR is it would report all connected devices and kept meaningful logs. This is why I loaded the Satori os, but it didn't add that feature. I'll have to check out openwrt.
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#273958 - 10/03/2006 18:20
Re: Baby Coming, Wireless Camera and Network advice needed!
[Re: ShadowMan]
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addict
Registered: 09/06/1999
Posts: 559
Loc: Newfoundland, Canada
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I bought this. And so far it seems to be a piece of junk if you go beyond 5 fet with it. I did notice on the box that it is set to US specifications of 150 feet and no to the European specification of 300 feet... any chance there might be a jumper or something inside these (or similar) units? Any tips on how to boost the signal? Thanks. Rene
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12 gig empeg Mark II, SN: 080000101 30 gig RioCar SN: 30103114 My blog
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#273959 - 13/03/2006 11:38
Re: Baby Coming, Wireless Camera and Network advice needed!
[Re: ShadowMan]
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addict
Registered: 09/06/1999
Posts: 559
Loc: Newfoundland, Canada
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Figured it out... our Cordless telephone system wreaks havoc on this unit. Unfortunately this unit would cost a fortune to return due to stupid brokerage fees I had to pay so it stays. Our Cordless telephone system is also more then just a simple telephone system, it's our fax machine and answering machine as well.  I might have to retire it for a while and buy a cheap 5.8ghz tele. I took the camera and receiver apart and nothing noticeable inside there that might allow me to boost power. I did notice that on the receiver the antenna is just an exposed copper trace on a circuit board in two long skinny triangle shapes with hole that look like I might be able to mount a bigger antenna. In the camera the antenna is a piece of metal about 2 inches long. The unit worked perfectly when I pulled power from the base station. There's no way to disable the wireless features of it though I even wrapped the antennas in layers of foil wrap to see if I could degrade signal... nope, not a bit of a difference. Copper mesh maybe??? Oh well... I am guessing my 802.11 won't interfere as it stays on one channel once it's set, just like the camera. Rene
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