Who has the longest working USB cable?

[Gina]

Well, itworks after a fashion! Best image size is 176 x 144 pixels!! I would have thought it would have done 640 x 480 as my other webcam will do but there are only 2 formats to choose from, the other being 160 x 120

webcam7.jpeg

EDIT... Just tried it with short cat5e cable and with/without USB hub - exactly the same. So the adapter boxes are restricting it by running USB 1.1 only.

[Gina]

I haven't mounted the 2nd camera in it's final position yet but with more interesting clouds today I thought I'd see how well it worked so just placed it on the top of a pair of steps looking SE. Here's the result - with 30m cable and Linux webcam software.

webcams.jpeg

[Gina]

No.2 webcam now mounted in what I'm hoping will be it's final position. It is under the eaves of a shed pointing roughly north looking over our neighbour's barn and trees. I am having a bit of trouble keeping Linux webcam software running - it runs for a while then comes up with a read error - but here is a screenshot taken from XawTV which works fine. This app gives video to the screen but doesn't have FTP uploading capability, unfortunately.

Screenshot-Untitled Window.png

[Gina]

I have now conducted various tests using webcam software for both Windows and Linux and I'm afraid I have to report that this setup is not successful. I thought XawTV was working alright but the maximum resolution was 364 x 288 and even at that it wouldn't keep going.

[hills]

That's a bummer, but if its any compromise, I much prefer your original view anyway!

[Gina]

That's a bummer, but if its any compromise, I much prefer your original view anyway!

I shall be keeping my original view looking south - I only replaced that temporarily while testing the 30m cat5e cable setup. The original view is now reinstated and is using the MS LifeCam Cinema webcam at 800 x 448 pixels as before.

I haven't given up on having a north looking view (additionally to the current south view) with the Sweex webcam but I have given up on the USB 1.1 adapter/extender system. I have an Active USB 2.0 Extension Lead which can be used to extend USB 2 up to a total of 25m (from the standard 5m limit). I shall be moving the Sweex webcam nearer so that I can use a USB 2 system.

I'm rather disappointed that the 30m extension isn't workable as the webcam would have been protected from the weather from all directions except NW round to ENE. Now it will have to go south of the sheds and probably on a pole to raise it high enough.

[Gina]

I've been experimenting with a new location for my second webcam. I have found that 5ft above the SE corner of the porch (already about 6ft above ground) gives enough height to give a clear view northwards over our sheds and our neighbours' sheds and house. I now have the webcam box mounted on a 6ft pole attached to the corner of the porch. I have made a hood for it from a food container, to keep the worst of the weather off it.

I'm currently using the 5m active USB extension lead plus another 5m plain cable to connect the webcam to a separate PC running Yawcam under Windows XP. I haven't yet connected this PC to my network so am not live as yet. However, I have copied an image to a USB memory stick to transfer to my main PC and am attaching this image.

image500.jpg

I'm hoping to go live with this webcam tomorrow - in addition to the primary, south view, one. I may also take some photos of the mounting arrangement.

[geoffw]

Looks good Gina ...... and you won't be troubled by glare either!

[GraemeT]

The only reliable way of extending USB 2.0 beyond about 5 metres is to use a usb network server of some kind.
These devices have their own ip address on your network and are designed to share and/or extend a usb port.
There are several single port units available for not much expense.
If the need arises for more than 1 port, Belkin have the F5L009, which provides 5 usb ports.

There's always a downside - a power source is required.

[Gina]

I now have webcam2 uploading to my weather web site using Linux webcam app. Not as good as Yawcam but workable. Wants a bit of tittivating.

webcam.jpeg

[Solorize]

I have another webcam I would like to set up but I will need to run the cable up into my loft then drop it down into another room therefore will need to extend the cable. I have had a look at the following site and they show a way of how extend with active Usb extension cables., could someone confirm if this way would work ? There is a diagram on this page that's shows how they reccomend its done:
http://www.lindy.co.uk/8m-usb-2-active- ... 42780.html

[water01]

During the course of my job (installing software and hardware to monitor the production of the new chip based passports) we had to install very long USB links in order to monitor chip readers up to 40 metres away from the computer.

The only reliable way we found to do this was to use fibre optic USB extenders available here http://www.icron.com/products/usb/usb_rover_200.php or here http://www.kiosks4business.com/page.php?id=170&cmd=view but be warned they are expensive. We tried the Lindy products, both the extenders and the USB over ethernet product, but none of them were reliable enough and kept loosing signal in a production facility. The fibre optic product worked flawlessly and was not subject to power spikes, interference from wireless and motor sources and the many other things that cause standard USB cables to fail.

You have to be more careful when installing them as fibre optic has a slow curve ability to go around corners (you could snap the fibres if you bend them too much) but on the whole they are easier to install as the cable is very much thinner.