Author Topic: Cape Coral, Florida Webcams (Read 25289 times)

capeweather · « **on:** February 23, 2007, 05:28:32 PM »

Webcams overlooking different parts of Cape Coral, Florida. Each thumbnail has a listing below it for the location. Once clicked the cams will provide streaming video. The cams are all Logitech Quickcam for Notebooks Pro and are powered by WebcamXP to provide the streaming video and still images to the web. We plan on adding more in the future to keep a good eye on the Cape.

http://www.capeweather.com/webcam.html

RioRanchoNMWX · « **Reply #1 on:** May 27, 2007, 06:10:12 PM »

Hello,

I am guessing those are all kept inside viewing out a window? The view I want is a couple hundred feet from the house so I would like an outside wireless webcam.

Lew

capeweather · « **Reply #2 on:** May 27, 2007, 06:21:30 PM »

Actually they are all outside.

http://www.wxforum.net/viewtopic.php?t=446&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=10

RioRanchoNMWX · « **Reply #3 on:** May 27, 2007, 06:31:22 PM »

Way cool box you made for them...ok...the camera model you are using has a USB output and I saw you mentioned CAT5. How did you connect from the camera to the computer?

Does the connection power the cam? Do you know how much cold it can tolerate? I know it never gets cold there

capeweather · « **Reply #4 on:** May 27, 2007, 09:10:39 PM »

Not sure about the cold but here is how I extended the cable length of the USB.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812101152

RioRanchoNMWX · « **Reply #5 on:** May 28, 2007, 12:02:26 PM »

Thanks for the info... I already have a wireless router so I am leaning towards a wireless camera. I thought I would set one up as a security camera and another for broadcasting on my weather site. Unfortunately the spot I would like to mount the camera is about 200' from the house. don't know if the signal can go that far plus coming up with an option to power the camera. My house is on one side of a small tree covered hill and the other side of the hill has a view that goes for miles. I don't want to run a cable out there and I don't know if the wireless signals can reach this far.

RioRanchoNMWX · « **Reply #6 on:** May 28, 2007, 12:08:27 PM »

I meant to ask, do you also power the camera through the same cable or is the CAT5 only for the USB and you have a separate power connection?

racenet · « **Reply #7 on:** May 28, 2007, 04:44:10 PM »

See this thread: http://wxforum.net/viewtopic.php?t=512&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=20

If you have power at the camera location, the Belkin F5D4070 works very well at getting the signal back to your router. I am currently working on a new camera, that has power, but no way to run a cat5 cable to it. Two of these units did the job nicely.

Bob

RioRanchoNMWX · « **Reply #8 on:** May 28, 2007, 09:22:21 PM »

Thanks for the tip... I saw the other solution, powered cat5...seems if you can access a common power source on each end, there would be a way to run a cable between the same locations, but possible outside where it would be ugly. Reminds me of looking down a row of apartments in Hong Kong...all of their utilities run on the outside walls...water, sewer, power, phone, etc...so they put their kitchen/bathroom on that same wall and then run power to the interior spaces.

Anyway, I am hoping I only need AC..seems that someone would have a CAT5 cable with an extra pair for DC power for the camera.

capeweather · « **Reply #9 on:** August 05, 2007, 02:43:49 PM »

Today we added a new weathercam out on Matlacha, Florida at Backwateroutfitters. They specialize in kayak rentals for the Pine Island area. The cam is a Logitech Quickcam 5000 and I don't feel the image quality is a good as the others so we may be upgrading it in the future.. Take a peak and let me know what you think.

http://www.capeweather.com/webcam.html

RioRanchoNMWX · « **Reply #10 on:** August 05, 2007, 03:07:12 PM »

Seems the four images you see on that page are really different cameras or they are set up very differently. It is obvious from the various shades of sky that they aren't all sending a common image.

The Avery one seemed to have the worse image and the Cape Coral one seemed to have the best image. I bought a D-Link but haven't hooked it up yet since I have been busy trying to get the weather station and software working right.

capeweather · « **Reply #11 on:** August 05, 2007, 03:12:20 PM »

Quote from: "goldenpond"

Seems the four images you see on that page are really different cameras or they are set up very differently. It is obvious from the various shades of sky that they aren't all sending a common image.

The Avery one seemed to have the worse image and the Cape Coral one seemed to have the best image. I bought a D-Link but haven't hooked it up yet since I have been busy trying to get the weather station and software working right.

You're right. This is because the cams are in various locations and the light adjustment reacts to the conditions around it. It would be very hard to set them up this way since I run them with auto-light adjustment.

W3DRM · « **Reply #12 on:** September 14, 2007, 11:53:32 PM »

Chris,

I am using a Logitech QuickCam Pro 5000 for my webcam and it started out with pretty good image resolution but in nine months of use it has deteriorated to a blurred image. I am in Nevada so we get close to 100% sun. My camera is inside a 2nd story dormer that is not heated or cooled and the camera takes a full load of sun all afternoon. Our temps here run from around -5F to +110F.

Have you noticed deterioration of your images, especially the one that gets the direct sun?

You can see my webcam on my website.

capeweather · « **Reply #13 on:** September 15, 2007, 01:21:08 AM »

I have one Camera (Beach Parkway/Aqualinda) that receives direct sunlight and is outdoors and it still has a decent image after approx 7 months. The camera located at my home is also outdoors, receives minimal sunlight, and still has a good image (7 months). The last Cam (Avery Lending) is located indoors and still has excellent image quality. It may be a heat issue since it is really hot out in your neck of the woods. By the way, I recently set up a Logitech 5000 at a different location and was not really impressed with the image quality ( I was ready to throw it in the trash). I don't know what the difference is but the Cam's that I use have much better quality. Have you looked into getting a Notebooks Pro? The new one has a Carl Zeiss lens but I don't know how much that is going to make a difference.

capeweather · « **Reply #14 on:** September 15, 2007, 01:52:14 AM »

To give you an idea on how my cam is doing at Aqualinda and Beach Parkway you can take a look at some lightning images I took on 9/10/07. We had a pretty bad storm that evening and lightning was everywhere. The storm roamed over the Pine Island area which is about 5 miles to the west.

Note: I was watching the storm live and hit 'print screen' to capture the image and photoshop to edit. Even though I missed a few nice bolts these came out pretty well for a webcam.

carterlake · « **Reply #15 on:** October 22, 2007, 07:08:26 PM »

Logitech QuickCam for Notebooks Pro for $16.99 w/ free shipping.

Too late. I just bought one!

capeweather · « **Reply #16 on:** October 22, 2007, 07:24:39 PM »

Hmm, the picture doesn't look like the new model. The new Carl Zeiss model is shaped a lot different so it will be interesting to see what they actually send you. Even though they state it in the description I'd be a little careful. Tried calling to find out but no answer. What is your experience in dealing with this company? Have you ever ordered anything from them? Nice find though.

carterlake · « **Reply #17 on:** October 22, 2007, 07:27:02 PM »

Quote from: capeweather on October 22, 2007, 07:24:39 PM

Hmm, the picture doesn't look like the new model. The new Carl Zeiss model is shaped a lot different so it will be interesting to see what they actually send you. Even though they state it in the description I'd be a little careful. Tried calling to find out but no answer. What is your experience in dealing with this company? Have you ever ordered anything from them? Nice find though.

Yes, I have... actually. Never ordered any cameras from them... but for $17, I'm willing to take a chance (the camera is also refurbed).

My concern, assuming everything works out ok... is how to mount the sucker. It's got a little clippy instead of a universal camera socket.

capeweather · « **Reply #18 on:** October 22, 2007, 07:28:59 PM »

Quote from: carterlake on October 22, 2007, 07:27:02 PM

Quote from: capeweather on October 22, 2007, 07:24:39 PM
Hmm, the picture doesn't look like the new model. The new Carl Zeiss model is shaped a lot different so it will be interesting to see what they actually send you. Even though they state it in the description I'd be a little careful. Tried calling to find out but no answer. What is your experience in dealing with this company? Have you ever ordered anything from them? Nice find though.

Yes, I have... actually. Never ordered any cameras from them... but for $17, I'm willing to take a chance (the camera is also refurbed).

My concern, assuming everything works out ok... is how to mount the sucker. It's got a little clippy instead of a universal camera socket.

Are you mounting it to a window in your home?

carterlake · « **Reply #19 on:** October 22, 2007, 07:37:36 PM »

Quote from: capeweather on October 22, 2007, 07:28:59 PM

Are you mounting it to a window in your home?

Yes... I use a little mini-tripod right now with my 4000.

I imagine I can make some sort of bracket in the frame in which to clip the camera to.

capeweather · « **Reply #20 on:** October 22, 2007, 07:43:35 PM »

Quote from: carterlake on October 22, 2007, 07:37:36 PM

Quote from: capeweather on October 22, 2007, 07:28:59 PM

Are you mounting it to a window in your home?

Yes... I use a little mini-tripod right now with my 4000.

I imagine I can make some sort of bracket in the frame in which to click the camera to.

Actually what I do is use double-sided tape and build it up several layers over the Logitech logo. This method will cover the small blue light which may cause reflection at night and put the cam extremely close to the window. Once you have the tape layers built up just plop it on the window and it eliminates using a stand.

carterlake · « **Reply #21 on:** October 22, 2007, 07:48:14 PM »

Quote from: capeweather on October 22, 2007, 07:43:35 PM

Actually what I do is use double-sided tape and build it up several layers over the Logitech logo. This method will cover the small blue light which may cause reflection at night and put the cam extremely close to the window. Once you have the tape layers built up just plop it on the window and it eliminates using a stand.

I taped over that little light with a little electrical tape. My problem is that I need to angle the camera just a bit. I may just need to get it and play around a bit. Who knows - I may get so excited that I mount it some where else.

At least with these new windows I won't have to worry about them frosting over this winter!

RioRanchoNMWX · « **Reply #22 on:** October 22, 2007, 08:10:04 PM »

I am probably more Mickey Mouse than the rest of you, but I would tape it on with the clear packing or duct tape...it isn't going to be pretty anyway...

Quote from: carterlake on October 22, 2007, 07:27:02 PM

My concern, assuming everything works out ok... is how to mount the sucker. It's got a little clippy instead of a universal camera socket.

capeweather · « **Reply #23 on:** October 22, 2007, 08:38:17 PM »

I'm installing a new webcam very soon in the downtown Cape at a local business with this gadget. This will slowly phase out my homemade enclosures. I even added a little touch to it with some decals from the local hardware store to expose my site to the public. For 50 bucks you can't go wrong with the bracket and enclosure. As soon as I find the links to the enclosure I will post but this may be an option for you if you plan on relocating your cam to the outdoors.

RioRanchoNMWX · « **Reply #24 on:** October 23, 2007, 06:48:25 PM »

That is cool but by keeping it inside it is easier to run power to it and more likely the wireless feature will work. Being inside will also avoid the option of it getting too cold to operate properly, but I don't know if cold is a problem for you?

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Author Topic: Cape Coral, Florida Webcams (Read 25289 times)