Flying on a weak signal: owls, hawks, beavers and video surveillance

Owl nests are usually high up to 25 meters above the ground. So if you are going to suddenly feed an owl, be prepared to climb to the very top of the tree. This fact (as well as many others), we found out on a brief course of social science, provoked by an unusual project.

With the help of the Russian network for the study and protection of feathered predators, we installed a camera in the family nest for owls. Owls did not pay attention to the close attention of people and quickly brought three feathered chicks. And we got a live broadcast from the nest and a lot of experience installing surveillance cameras in difficult conditions.
')
The difficulty was not to climb into the crown of the tree - installers install equipment on tower cranes and upper floors of unfinished buildings. No, the main problem was the Internet.

The recommended communication channel for feedback, required for video broadcasting with a resolution of 640 x 480 at 25 frames per second, for a single camera is 0.5–1 Mbit / s. But you need a good quality broadcast and good internet. Where to get it in the forest?

Forest surveillance



Owls do not build nests themselves. To breed, the majority of species use tree hollows, but hollow trees in cities recognize emergency and cut down. Ornithologists try to keep track of the nesting sites of owls and independently set up special houses for them, like a big birdhouse.

Each ornithologist observes his wards, but it is not easy to do this: you need to go to her to find out how your owls are doing. We didn’t put cameras on all birds, but we decided to start somewhere: eco-surveillance for Ivideon is a new, unusual market.

The nest chosen by environmentalists for test control was located a few kilometers from Nizhny Novgorod. Theoretically, the signal was taken out of the city, but it was impossible to simply pry the router to a tree. Meshala and a great distance from the power source.



In the end, the idea was a success. We implemented the solution with the router literally from “scotch and sticks”, and the power was extended from the forester’s house. The first time everything turned out, but after a short time it took to put the camera in the nest to the goshawk on a tree in the reserve "Shchelokovsky Khutor."

The hawks of the birds are secretive and only a ornithologist will be able to see a predator in ordinary surroundings, but everyone will be able to watch the birds through the camera. The main happiness, of course, goes to the ornithologists: bird watching video provides valuable information - control of reproduction, tracking the development of chicks, identifying sources of bird disturbance. The camera also sends notifications to bird watchers when the bird arrives or flies away, or another active movement occurs in the frame.

In general, then a few beaver fans approached us with similar requests, but most of all there were requests from summer residents, for whom it is important to watch the house and the site during the winter period. Outside the city, the connection (even where there is) in some areas is completely bad and full of quality image and it can be difficult to get from one camera.

We collect the black box



So, whether we are watching beavers, hawks or a country house is one problem. Existing decisions did not allow to make a system operating in difficult conditions 24 hours 7 days a week in places with poor 3 / 4G reception conditions.

Let's start from the end. Now we have an all-in-one solution for objects without the Internet —Videostation M20, combining a 20 dBi antenna in a single MIMO (Multiple input-multiple output) package for 3 / 4G signal amplification, a modem, a router switch with passive PoE ( 4 ports) and power supply.

In principle, something similar can be collected independently, but for some reason, ready-made solutions for remote objects, where you only need to insert a SIM card and find a 220 VAC outlet and connect PoE cameras, have not been there before. There are “substitutes” - any manufacturer of routers will find models with an external antenna and a built-in or external 4G modem. For example, Zyxel Keenetic 4G III, to which you can connect a 4G USB modem with a signal amplifier for USB modems (external antenna).

What we do: we use MIMO antennas (effective signal amplification) and we build a router switch with PoE support. All this in a single compact case, and not “crumbly”.

What's inside?



We will tell you more about what we have done. The picture above shows the Videostation and the Nobelic outdoor surveillance camera . Station dimensions 420 x 420 x 110 mm, weight 5 kg.



Videostation includes 2 20 dBi antennas separated in 90 ° planes (2 x 2 MIMO technology), a modem and a router switch with 4 x 10/100 LAN Base-TX with PoE IEEE 802.3 af-2003. If the cameras do not support PoE, you can use a splitter.

The device is powered with 220 VAC (cord with a regular schuko plug). This allows you to connect our cameras directly to Videostation without additional equipment, which is very convenient, especially when mounted on remote objects - poles, in a garage, in a warehouse, where otherwise you would need to use an additional thermal box (cabinet) for the router and PoE switch or injectors.



The two-core power cable is connected through a sealed lead clamp terminals on the power supply, inside the device.



Through the "MANAGEMENT" port (rightmost), you can configure the device by connecting it to a computer using a twisted pair. Also through it you can immediately connect to the Internet and do not touch anything.



RJ-45 cable is connected to the router. After connecting the cable to the port, the router will begin to supply 12V 0.5A power through the cable.

For review, there was a SIM card of MegaFon at hand, but it supports work with SIM cards of any 3 / 4G operators: Yota, Megafon, MTS, Beeline, Tele2. Almost Plug & Play - modem and router settings are possible via the web interface, but not required.

Through the web interfaces, you can not only see the SIM card balance, but also see which base station you “picked up” and with what signal level.

Currently, the Videostation is made in an external all-weather casing made of UV-resistant plastic and aluminum. The case is protected from moisture and dust, as well as from temperature changes: it works from -40 ° C to +75 ° C.

Video surveillance for giving

The most common option, which we often asked. To test the system, we just came and put it to several clients. In all cases, the download signal was too weak - about 0.5 Mb / s for the standard whistle. This did not allow to connect 2 Full-HD cameras with the Ivideon service at the dacha, even if the bitrate and resolution were cut down to them. In total, more than five cameras can be connected to Videostation (or LTE Station).

For the first time, we connected a regular LTE station M20 , which has only one german outlet, which broadcasts the Internet to an internal (home) router or switch, and cameras or other devices are already being added to it. LTE Station M20 connects to a computer or a home router with a twisted pair up to 100 meters in length, which will allow the station to be installed on high masts, roofs, etc. Power is supplied through the same cable, that is, there is no need to pull the power supply over long distances.



Measured the connection speed after installing the station. Depending on the conditions, the speed of 3G is supported - 42 Mbit / s, 4G - 97.5 Mbit / s


For the Videostation M20 (as for the LTE Station M20) we write that the distance from the base station can be up to 10 km, although in theory, in a line of sight of up to 20 km, everything depends on the terrain features.

Videostation has not yet been added to the Ivideon store, if you have any questions, write to the mail or ask in the comments. The site has full LTE Station M20 , LTE Station M18 and LTE Station M14 specifications. The difference between them is in decibels (20, 18 and 14 respectively), size, weight and price.

PS I almost forgot to tell what happened to the owls: they grew up, left their native nest and now live in the forest, where ornithologists look after them. However, the nest will not be empty - next year a new bird family will be settled in it and the broadcast will resume.