After
looking at some of the higher end (and admittedly better
resolution) solutions, the XCam2 was hands down the best
deal we could put together in February of 2002. And when you are a small seed company, deals are
what you look for!
Our
system consists of the
XX16A-C XCam2 2.4GHz wireless camera,
a VK74A "Ninja" Pan and Tilt base with CR14A
remote, a VR36A-C Video Receiver, and a
VA11A-C Video
to USB Adapter. For capturing and uploading the
images, we use to use the Xray Vision software purchased with the hardware. However, it was constantly locking up and requiring daily system reboots. We then tried a
piece of open source software called Fwink. It was fine except when we added a second cam, it would not behave. So we now use a program called Dorgem running on a PC.
Although
the user manuals are a bit on the light side, if you or a friend
have a little technical experience, it is pretty easy to install
and configure the hardware and software.
Regarding
quality, the biggest complaint that people have is that the
resolution is a bit on the course side. This is
true. In operation under the best conditions, the design
of the camera only allows for course images. 3 LUX is the
threshold, below which the image becomes washed out and barely
useable. It operates acceptable between 3 to 5 LUX.
Additionally, the plastic optics of the camera can cause the
image to be smeared. That is, the colors can become
separated under certain conditions when the light hits the
plastic in such a way that it acts as a prism.
As you can see from the images on the site, they
look more like surveillance camera images from a 7-11 in the
70s, but hey, it serves our requirements perfectly . . . you can
tell if it is sunny, raining, day or night. Plus it is
cheap.
The whole setup, including shipping, was
$139.95.
The
picture above shows a close up of the camera system. You
will notice that the clear plastic "shroud" is not an
item that you see on the X10 site. Although they cameras
are nearly weather proof and we have this unit mounted under the
eaves, it still can get some exposure to moisture. It is Oregon! The
solution was found by using a plastic cover from a 50 stack of
CDRs. We simply mounted between the camera and the top of
the robotics. This protects the pan and tilt unit but does
not restrict the movement nor is it encased so that condensation
becomes an issue. How is that for cheap?!?
Put into service in February of 2002. This page last updated on
Monday, February 08, 2010. |
