Need help with a Solar Security Camera set up

[ashton86]

I am a real amateur when it comes to all things electronics and I was wondering if you could help me.

I have purchased land out in the middle of no where and have no power. Unfortunately I have had a fair share of red necks helping them selves to things on my property, or just simply snooping around when I'm not there.

Due to this, I have recently purchased a digital camera that runs off a 9volt battery. It takes a photo when motion is detected with the inbuilt motion sensor, and saves the image on to an SD card. Works an absolute treat for my intentions. However, the 9volt battery only has a life span of about 7 hours.

You might have a good laugh at this, but in my ignorance and attempt to have this set up on a continuous feed (i need it to run for 1 month inbetween visits). My attempt was in vain, you see what i set up was wires running from the camera to a rechargeable 9volt battery, from this battery i ran wires to a 12volt car battery and from the car battery i ran a 5watt solar panel that trickle feed the car battery.

I returned only to find the 9volt battery absolutely fried and the camera not working. At first thoughts i presumed i had fried the camera as well, however, after testing, it worked fine.

I discovered that feeding 12 volts direclty into a 9 volt battery probably isnt the smartest idea and have since been searching the internet for another idea.

What I am considering doing now is to hook my solar panel (5 watt) to the car battery (12 volt) and then running wires to a dc/dc converter that will reduce the feed simply to 9volts that i can wire straight into the camera.

Do you think this will work?

If not, can you please tell me the best possible way of achieving my outcome.


Thanks for your time,

here are the specifications of the camera should you need them;


Imaging Sensor: 1/ 4" Color CMOS sensor
Lens: F2.0/f3.6(4G+IR) pinhole
Resolution: 640H x 480V (4:3)
Responsively: 1.9V/lux-sec(550nm)
Dynamic Range: 60dB
S/N Ratio: 45dB
White Balance: Automatic
Exposure: Automatic
USB: 30 frames per-second
Power Supply: 8~14VDC
Current Consumption: Standby@12V~50mA
Max.(Alarm)@12V~50mA
Operating Temperature: 14°F ~140°F / -10°C ~ 60°C
Fire Protection: ABS plastic housing

 

[bryan1]

Hiya Aston,
Ok mate your 5 watt 12 volt solar panel only puts outs 416.667 mA according to ohm's law and the standby current on your camera is 12 volts @ 50mA which works out to 600 milliwatts. So I reckon your going to need some more PV panels to keep the 12 volt battery charged. In the spec's it does state 8-14 volts so there's no reason you can't run the camera straight off the battery. Just remember a car battery is NO good for RE use so make sure you have a deep cycle battery. I didn't see you mention about any solar regulator either.

Now I would recommend getting atleast 20 watts of PV panels, a 75 AH 12 volt deep cycle battery and if you like I can provide a schematic for a simple opamp based shunt controller where once a preset voltage is achieved a mosfet is turned on to dump some load. Also with above setup you could make a simple panning mechanism for the camera if you want to scan the whole area and there will be enough power it.

Now I suppose the most important thing is if the rednecks are stealing stuff make sure they can't steal the camera too.

Hope this helps,

Cheers Bryan

 

[mneary]

It really depends on your climate, and how reliable you need to be. In a sunny area, a 5W panel needs to be the equivalent of full power 12% of the time for a 600mW load. You definitely need a regulator to keep from frying your camera and battery.

In addition to a regulator, I suggest a low voltage cutoff so the battery isn't damaged if sunlight isn't sufficient at some times.

A 75AH battery would operate your 50mA camera for up to two months of darkness (to be conservative plan on half of that). I would suggest that 8AH is more reasonable, providing coverage for 80-160 hours of insufficient sunlight.

How are you retrieving the camera's data (pictures)?

 

[rjvh]

I have had a fair share of red necks helping them selves to things on my property,

your not afraid your giving your camara away to those intruders????

i would use landmines
but i live in cambodia

 

[ashton86]

camera

Thanks for your help

I have just purchased myself a 7Ah deep cycle battery for the camera project.

Another question that I was wondering you could help me out with.
I have a 5watt and also a 1.5watt solar panel. I was wondering if placed in direct sunlight the 1.5watt solar panel would be enough to trickle feed the 7Ah battery that will be running my camera?

Also, will the "built in diode" on the solar panel be enough to avoid discharge/overcharge?


Your help is greatly appreciated.

 

[ronsimpson]

Red-necks steeling your things: I resemble that.
Tell us your location. I could use a nice little camera, solar panel and battery.

 

[bryan1]

Red-necks steeling your things: I resemble that.
Tell us your location. I could use a nice little camera, solar panel and battery.

Eh Ron come on over Us Ozzie's luv yankie rednecks trying to raid us but understand a vehicle coil is also usefull for other things and with a 100mA running thru a hidden wire will make any intruder good pig food and save a fortune in grain....

Cheers Bryan