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by
Jorene Downs
CEOates Ranch, 2006
www.CEOates.com
I've had numerous requests for information regarding our method to
capture the foaling stall camera to put live online, and
decided it would be more convenient to simply provide the information
here for easy reference.
The CEOates Ranch broodmares are foaled out in my barn. We used to have a wireless
barn camera system but 2 years ago switched to a wired barn camera system when a
structure we built provided too much interference for the wireless transmission
to be reliable. The barn
cameras cover 2 foaling stalls that I can monitor in my home
office, with 2 cameras in each stall. I also capture transmission from the barn to send to the Internet during
foaling season. The foaling stall camera online
was originally intended as a convenience for Christi (partner / daughter) to be
able to help during foal watch by monitoring online from her home 20-25 minutes
away.
We fired up our barn cameras online in 1999. Word spread, and there are now
hundreds of people globally online daily - "foal cam addicts" - who are virtual visitors
in our barn when a pregnant mare is online in a foaling stall. The first year we
transmitted online video using that emerging technology, but many people were not able to watch. For the next several
years we provided still shots online that were updated at 10 second intervals.
Technology advanced and we currently transmit live streaming video, which is
also visible while on the
CEOates Chat. Refreshed still images are still provided for folks with older
Internet technology.
A bonus for having the foaling stall live camera accessible through our web page
is providing the online public the opportunity to share the experience of
watching different pregnant mare behavior, seeing an actual foaling, and
observing the interaction between the mare and her new foal. When a mare is
close to foaling there are well over 1,200 visitors hoping to see our mare
deliver her new foal. Many log in to Chat for to learn details.
During foaling season the barn camera allows unobtrusive monitoring of the
mare. During the non-foaling periods, the barn camera is also very convenient if
a horse is for some reason confined and I want to keep an eye on that horse.
Some breeders are interested in the convenience of a foaling stall camera.
Others are starting to take advantage of technology to remotely monitor their
horse during the day, or are interested in providing
public access online. Every year there are more folks in the horse industry
using barn cameras and transmitting online.
Considering a barn camera system?
Barn camera options include wired or wireless transmission. Inexpensive wireless
transmission is commonly about 300 feet over a clear area, but distance and quality of
transmission varies per camera unit and system. More expensive wireless systems
can transmit notably farther. Depending on the project funding, distance and possible
obstructions, a wireless barn camera may or may not be feasible.
A wired system with cable in buried conduit
or as an aerial installation would be more reliable and have fewer limitations ... but also requires a safe
installation of cable between barn and house as well as more wiring within the
house. Similar to the wireless transmission, distance on a wired system can
become an issue related to signal loss and a method to boost the signal may be
necessary.
One important issue to be aware of is the old 2.4 GHz wireless camera
transmission uses the same frequency as many older portable phones. If you
use that conflicting portable phone the barn camera transmission is interrupted. Confirm the
frequency of the wireless camera system isn't in conflict with your other
local wireless devices transmitting in the WiFi band..
Also pay attention to how weatherproof the cameras are since the installation
location might prohibit use of a non-weatherproof camera. I'm satisfied with
quality black and white monitoring, but color cameras are available.
Visibility at night is also an issue. Cameras with infrared and 0 lux are
available for nominal visibility in very low light conditions. For viewing at night we
chose to install red floodlights on timers. They provide
adequate lighting and do not require infrared cameras, particularly if you are using a good
quality low lux camera.
Whatever system you choose, if you're combining use of different technologies
also be sure to check for compatible jacks prior to purchase to confirm you can plug A into B
in your integrated system.
Camera Installation Tips
Every facility will have natural limits for installation options based on
accessibility, available power, size and shape of the stall, etc. Since each
camera and extra lighting also needs power, the electrical resources at your
barn may be inadequate and need revision. Older barns might need rewiring. We took advantage of a shared stall
wall to install lighting covering both stalls and run power to a corner camera
for each stall.
Try to position the camera(s) in the barn for maximum viewing advantage
- for example, shooting from shade into a daylight background tends to lose the
horse against that bright background - and getting the angle for best
coverage. Our
lowest cameras are 7-8 feet from the ground, and another is high in the
rafters, shooting into 12x24 foaling stalls.
Every situation for a barn camera installation will be a bit different, and
adding online transmission capability just makes the complete integrated system
more complex. Our method is only one solution that may not be suitable for
someone else's needs, but hopefully sharing this information will provide some
food for thought and a place to start.
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The current CEOates Ranch barn camera online system
is a custom integration of individual devices, not a "packaged" camera
system. Some people may prefer to invest in a packaged system that
includes camera(s), controller and monitor.
Each barn system should be selected specific to those local needs,
but our system includes:
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Wired black & white cameras
The
cameras we have installed are commercial grade
weatherproof high-resolution bullet
cameras utilizing a Sony 1/3" CCD
image sensor and are available in color or black and white. The camera is
only 2-3 inches long. The black and white cameras we use are rated at
0.01 lux with 480 lines resolution, which is why we get compliments on the
quality of our video and images from the barn. The 3.6mm wide angle lens
includes an internal Auto-Iris, and automatically adjusts to light changes.
We use the camera with an audio option so we can also hear the barn from the
house, but do not transmit the audio online.
Tip: When you go camera
shopping, pay attention to the lux and resolution to have better quality
video. |
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Controller
The
cables from the barn feed the live video into a "switcher" in the house,
which allows me to control the various cameras. I can select which cameras
to view, and how long to scan if set for a rotating view between cameras.
From the switcher more cables feed the video to a small TV to monitor in my
home office, and also to a dedicated notebook computer to capture and
transmit from the barn online. Due to the complexity of my custom system I
actually use two switchers. Tip: When investing in a switcher /
splitter / multiplexer, pay attention to the number of Video In and
Video Out. Some devices and systems have only one output, which may not be
adequate for a more complex system design. Effective use of Ys splitting
cable feed can solve many device limitation problems, but having multiple
sources for output reduces many challenges. |
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Monitoring To
simply monitor a stall camera from the house the cable from the camera can
normally be plugged directly into an RCA video input jack in a TV or other
appropriate device. To control what
is viewed if there is more than one camera, some kind of switching method or
device is needed.
I use a 13" portable TV as a stall camera
monitor - it provides "normal" TV duty when I'm not monitoring.
Reality is a 7" portable DVD player with a "video in" option can be used as
a monitor, or even a 5" black and white TV that accepts video input.
The key requirement for any
device used as a monitor is having a compatible method to plug in the
video - and possibly audio - feed from the switcher. In some cases a source
like Radio Shack or a multitude of online sources can provide adapters to
convert from one type of plug to another, but availability should be
confirmed during the design stage.
Since I have a wireless network in my home, I use another
laptop watching online as my portable monitor throughout the house, or away
from home where I have an Internet connection. Some cell phones with
Internet access also have the capability of watching the barn camera either
as an updated still image on a Refreshing page, or as video.
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Computer
I
use a notebook computer dedicated to barn camera transmission so my desktop
computer is independent of the barn camera system. This requires feeding the
cable from the switcher into a video capture device, which then plugs
into a notebook high speed USB port. This same concept can be used with a
desktop computer's high speed USB ports, or use an installed video capture
card in the desktop.
The key requirement is having compatible jacks
and plugs, and an adequate number of places to plug in depending on the
number of cameras and video capture needs.
I created a more complex system capturing the live video from the barn to
transmit streaming video from each stall - 2 cameras to control in
each stall - and also continue to transmit the captured still image that is
updated online every 10 seconds. |
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Recording
I
have the option of recording the barn video on a VCR or even DVD through the
TV used as a monitor, or automatically recording streaming video in the
notebook computer using appropriate software. |
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Software
If you want to transmit streaming
video, most folks will use a provider for that service for a nominal fee per
camera. The service provider will supply the appropriate software. |
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Transmission
Transmission of streaming video for the barn camera is normally
adequate at 10 frames per second. Obviously a faster connection is
better, but this can be accomplished on a dial-up computer even with a slow
connection speed. My dedicated notebook computer is set up for an emergency
back-up using dial-up, but normally all video transmission is sent using my
satellite internet connection. Note that some Internet Service
Providers may object to 24/7 connection transmitting video. |
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2/06/02
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