Author Topic: Weather Stations w/ Webcams  (Read 14035 times)

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Offline LIWeather

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Weather Stations w/ Webcams
« on: December 21, 2008, 03:14:00 PM »
I'm curious to see what you guys are using for cameras for your live weather conditions outside of your home/business. Are you using security cameras outside or webcams facing out of a window? Any recommendations?

blackjack52

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Re: Weather Stations w/ Webcams
« Reply #1 on: December 21, 2008, 03:39:03 PM »
I use an indoor PTZ camera with weatherproof housing.

Indoor or outdoor-it all depends what you want and the quality.  Also, money will be a huge factor.  Mounted outdoor will give you the best results-focusing/glare/other environmental conditions will not be as much of an issue.  As long as the weather housing has a fan and heating.

Offline LIWeather

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Re: Weather Stations w/ Webcams
« Reply #2 on: December 21, 2008, 04:01:26 PM »
I suppose I don't need it to be amazing quality but I sure don't want the picture quality to be bad. I guess the next question is how do the IR cameras work at night in regards to trying to view skies? I know they generally give off a green hue during times of darkness but have no clue how it would affect this type of application.

Next would be software. Do I need specific software to use for adding a camera image to my data and site down the line? What software is being used for this?

Offline George Richardson

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Re: Weather Stations w/ Webcams
« Reply #3 on: December 21, 2008, 06:52:15 PM »
Look at Lee's camera at night. It's amazing! Different cameras have different software requirements. My, "through the window" cam uses both VWS and Image Salsa. My external PTZ camera uses VWS and a LOT of help (programming) from members of this forum.

FWIW

George

Offline LIWeather

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Re: Weather Stations w/ Webcams
« Reply #4 on: December 21, 2008, 06:59:30 PM »
I am new here and not familiar with who "Lee" is. Can you give me some more info?

Offline George Richardson

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Re: Weather Stations w/ Webcams
« Reply #5 on: December 21, 2008, 07:04:29 PM »
Sorry, Lee is MadAlWx who posted first. Just hit his web site and scroll down.

George

Offline GregJ

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Re: Weather Stations w/ Webcams
« Reply #6 on: December 21, 2008, 07:11:11 PM »
I have a dirt cheap Topica that I bought from Bluecherry with a misrepresented 4 port capture card.  They sold it as Window compatible.... which it wasn't, so I can't really give Bluecherry high marks for customer service.  Anyway, I normally bury my webcam pic at the bottom of my page, but we have been having a pretty good snow event the last 24 hours, so I put it at the top of my page.  It is mounted in a place where I have a spotlight behind it.  When it snows at night it makes a pretty good pic, even with the low quality.  Here is the link: www.Skunkbayweather.com

Note.... It is snowing lightly right now and nearly dusk, so it looks almost like fog.  In about an hour it will be dark and it looks like it will be snowing pretty hard.... according to the Doppler.  That would be a good time to check out the spot light behind the camera concept.

Edit.... OK, saying "Look at my site RIGHT NOW" on a forum doesn't exactly work. #-o So, I captured a decent image during a moderate squall and here is the image: 


It's not great quality, but it definitely gets the point across that it is snowing.  Having the spotlight behind the cam really lights up each flake.  Actually, snow is a pretty big deal around here.  My hit count has been WAY up this last week.

Greg
« Last Edit: December 21, 2008, 08:46:55 PM by GregJ »
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Offline Mark / Ohio

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Re: Weather Stations w/ Webcams
« Reply #7 on: December 21, 2008, 09:05:13 PM »
...  In about an hour it will be dark and it looks like it will be snowing pretty hard.... according to the Doppler.  ....

Even you are getting more snow then me.   #-o
Mark 
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Offline GregJ

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Re: Weather Stations w/ Webcams
« Reply #8 on: December 21, 2008, 09:11:24 PM »
Quote
Even you are getting more snow then me.     

You gotta be doin' something wrong Mark.....  :lol:

Greg
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Offline LIWeather

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Re: Weather Stations w/ Webcams
« Reply #9 on: December 21, 2008, 10:16:40 PM »
That is a pretty decent image for the night time GregJ. I guess the light behind it makes a lot of difference. I am pretty certain I have a place to buy the cameras locally but I've never looked into it and know very little about them. Unfortunately, I wont have the luxury of having a spot light behind my camera and would have to rely on night vision and the IR with the camera. I guess my best bet is to plug around the forums and look at cameras to see who has what and what their images look like at night. I will probably stick to the indoor webcam for now as I don't own a house yet (hopefully soon). Thanks for the link and nice site by the way.

Offline prvrt

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Re: Weather Stations w/ Webcams
« Reply #10 on: December 21, 2008, 10:33:14 PM »
I use an indoor Panasonic Network Camera BL-C131A in my front window. I like the fact it has PTZ capabilities and remote control. Here is a pic from night time. The high pressure sodium yard light helps with the night view. I just bought a second one from Ebay for $195.00. It is wireless and goes directly to your router also.

« Last Edit: December 21, 2008, 10:35:41 PM by prvrt »
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Offline George Richardson

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Re: Weather Stations w/ Webcams
« Reply #11 on: December 21, 2008, 10:34:17 PM »
One thing you didn't mention,- budget. For a wide variety of cameras, check http://tobaccovilleweather.com/about.htm. AND http://tobaccovilleweather.com/webcams.htm

FWIW

George
« Last Edit: December 21, 2008, 10:36:32 PM by George Richardson »

Offline LIWeather

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Re: Weather Stations w/ Webcams
« Reply #12 on: December 21, 2008, 10:41:41 PM »
I suppose budget is an important factor in this equation...lol I am not looking to break the bank. A friend of mine recently purchased outdoor security cameras and got them for a real good price. Something to the tune of $30. I will have to reconfirm that but I know they were fairly cheap. The images are pretty nice and I was satisfied with the nighttime images.

I am a novice at this weather station stuff but would like to have a well rounded one as I am interested in the hobby. I don't think I need anything spectacular, just something that you can notice a few things here or there at night. The weather cams are not very popular (or at least I havent found many) around my neck of the woods so I think it will be nice to offer folks some video footage.

Offline George Richardson

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Re: Weather Stations w/ Webcams
« Reply #13 on: December 21, 2008, 11:02:14 PM »
Some folks have used digital cameras and software to provide nice time lapse presentations. Some have used cam corders to provide motion images. I would think that camera and software would be difficult to hold the $30 range BUT there are several around here whose motto is "if it ain't free, I don't need it!" so I expect you'll get a lot of suggestions as to how wrong I am. There are a lot of Logitech pro 9000s being used and that's a nice $100.00 camera that can frequently be found on sale for $50.00

FWIW

George

blackjack52

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Re: Weather Stations w/ Webcams
« Reply #14 on: December 21, 2008, 11:14:57 PM »
I wont have the luxury of having a spot light behind my camera and would have to rely on night vision and the IR with the camera. I guess my best bet is to plug around the forums and look at cameras to see who has what and what their images look like at night.

I recommend staying away from IR. Find a camera that has a low lux...  .2lux or lower.  Mine is .05 and is perfect for cloud cover/star field, but switches to higher lux during storms to avoid strike out....lightning washout.

Offline LIWeather

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Re: Weather Stations w/ Webcams
« Reply #15 on: December 21, 2008, 11:38:25 PM »
I see where you are coming from. The cost was for the camera alone. I have no clue what the software goes for. That will be part 2. I actually have a Pro9000 and love the quality. I think I need to start in baby steps and not get ahead of myself. I am just not sure about the software to feed the images to a site. I don't know how they work or what it involved.

I appreciate the suggestion about the low lux camera. I wouldnt have known anything about it had it not been mentioned. That definitely looks like a better option.

You guys have provided me with a lot of good information and I appreciate it.

Offline prvrt

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Re: Weather Stations w/ Webcams
« Reply #16 on: December 22, 2008, 12:13:15 AM »
Another thing to consider. The panasonic cams come with their own software. They also have their own server you can use to send the camera images to. Mine is http://idaho.viewnetcam.com. When you register the camera at www.viewnetcam.com, you can pick your own personell name for your address, mine as you can see from the web address is Idaho. You can then access your camera from any computer anywhere. I also use their server to grab images from and post them on my website. Much easier than buying/running a seperate program, saving/store them on your HD, and then FTP them to your server for your website. This service is also free. The cams start at about $75 and go up to $1000 or more. It all depends on what features you are looking for. The advice for a low Lux camera is right on. Anything higher than 1.0 Lux and the camera is basically blind at night with out a light. When you get as low as 0.2 Lux, it can basically see in the dark very clearly. Good luck.
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Offline up10ad N9RJH

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Re: Weather Stations w/ Webcams
« Reply #17 on: December 22, 2008, 09:36:17 AM »
I understand that the IR 'lights' don't really help much except for a few feet from the camera.  Look for a good low-light sensor, but be forewarned, they are more expensive.  I have two cams , the Toshiba is great in low light, but not as good at PTZ.  The Canon is great PTZ but terrible at night.

 

The Toshiba is on the left, the Canon on the right.  If the Canon is blurred it is because a snap was taken as the camera was patrolling from one preset to another.  You can refresh to get a better picture.
Rick (N9RJH)
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Offline LIWeather

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Re: Weather Stations w/ Webcams
« Reply #18 on: December 26, 2008, 10:17:42 AM »
I guess you can't have your cake and eat it too without spending a boat load of money eh? I'll definitely consider spending a few bucks when I get into my new house. Besides, the camera's can double as security. For now, I think I'm going to take the cheap, non-permanent route and use a webcam inside.

Offline Bushman

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Re: Weather Stations w/ Webcams
« Reply #19 on: December 26, 2008, 11:35:19 AM »
Another thing to consider. The panasonic cams come with their own software. They also have their own server you can use to send the camera images to.... I also use their server to grab images from and post them on my website. Much easier than buying/running a seperate program, saving/store them on your HD, and then FTP them to your server for your website. This service is also free. ...

It is a POC to just FTP up screen grabs directly to your website using VFWGrab (free wwebcam grabbe) and MS's FTP built-in to its operating systems.  That way you are not locked to a vendor.  My $0.02
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Offline CNYWeather

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Re: Weather Stations w/ Webcams
« Reply #20 on: December 26, 2008, 03:18:28 PM »
I guess you can't have your cake and eat it too without spending a boat load of money eh? I'll definitely consider spending a few bucks when I get into my new house. Besides, the camera's can double as security. For now, I think I'm going to take the cheap, non-permanent route and use a webcam inside.

Pro 9000 here also. Love the quality. It's inside for now too.

http://www.cnyweather.com/livecam.php
Tony




blackjack52

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Re: Weather Stations w/ Webcams
« Reply #21 on: December 26, 2008, 07:30:06 PM »
.05 lux Vivotek 6112.  No moon illum.  The weird design on the side of the shed is the shadow from my son's playgrnd..
« Last Edit: December 26, 2008, 07:32:28 PM by MadALwx »

Offline Jiles111

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Re: Weather Stations w/ Webcams
« Reply #22 on: January 02, 2009, 06:29:51 PM »
Olympus 5MP Digital Cam converted to webcam (ebay 45$) Free Software to run it. Free FTP program (Comes with Windows). Powered 12' USB cable 18$ (Note that at night, the camera zooms back out. In the day it Zooms back in. All part of the software)

Day Shots

Dark
« Last Edit: January 02, 2009, 06:32:14 PM by Jiles111 »

blackjack52

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Re: Weather Stations w/ Webcams
« Reply #23 on: January 02, 2009, 07:45:04 PM »
Beautiful shots.  Does it PTZ?  Is it outside?  What free software?

Offline Albuquerque Weather

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Re: Weather Stations w/ Webcams
« Reply #24 on: January 02, 2009, 08:13:11 PM »
GDay all

Here is a night shot from my webcam.  Also an Olympus Digital Camera - c-4000Z. Again $30 on ebay.
The FREE software I use is VM95. Not easy to setup but when you do it is great.


 

anything