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Camera brightness triggers another camera?

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gpbeau
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I just set up two old Pro 2 cameras with a VMB4000 base station in my workshop which is enclosed and (very) dark when I'm not there.  It's an open space about 48 feet (14.6 m) square.  I put one camera on diagonal corners so I could see anyone entering from the side and from the back of the shop.  It took forever to figure out how to get the base station siren to sound when either camera senses motion (terrible app and feature documentation).  I noticed that if I turn the brightness up all the way on one camera, that the siren turns on when the camera video is operating.  I think something in the operating camera is tripping the motion sensor for the other.  Can anyone confirm this?  If this is the case, is there a way to avoid triggering the motion sensing without drastically turning down the motion sensitivity or brightness?  

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gpbeau
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continued thanks for the ideas.

 

Great minds think alike!  I just bought a 5000-lumen security light with motion sensor yesterday.  Should provide enough light for decent color video.

 

I do plan to test motion sensitivity when I can dedicate some time to be onsite this weekend.  

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Dannybear
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It is possible that the iR LEDs are triggering the other camera’s motion detector when you live view since the room is dark.
StephenB
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@gpbeau: Just to clarify the problem - Are you saying that when you livestream one camera, the other records and sounds the siren?  

 

If so,

  • Does this triggering only happen when the room is dark?  Or does it also happen when the room is lit?
  • Is the spotlight of the cameras turned on, or are they using Nightvision when it is dark?
  • Are the cameras powered, or are they on battery?
  • Do you have activity zones set?
  • Can you see this problem when either camera is livestreaming?  Or only with one of them?

Also, are you certain that the second camera is the one sounding the Siren? (Have you tried the same test with the second camera off)?

 

Did you also turn on audio detection for one of these cameras in your custom mode?  The cameras will click when the nightvision filter engages or disengages, and that might also result in a trigger in the other camera.

 

FWIW, the brightness setting in video settings only affects the exposure of the captured image.  AFAIK it does not affect the intensity of the IR LEDs.  While the motion triggering only uses the IR sensors, activity zone processing does look at the captured video, and that processing would depend on how the brightness is set.

gpbeau
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Thanks, StephenB

 

Are you saying that when you livestream one camera, the other records and sounds the siren?  

 

If so,

  • Does this triggering only happen when the room is dark?  Or does it also happen when the room is lit?  Haven't tried it when the room is lit.  The system is disarmed when I'm there which is when the room is lit
  • Is the spotlight of the cameras turned on, or are they using Nightvision when it is dark?  PRO2 camera so no spotlight
  • Are the cameras powered, or are they on battery?  Battery only
  • Do you have activity zones set? No.  This is an enclosed space so there should be no movement when the system is armed
  • Can you see this problem when either camera is livestreaming?  Or only with one of them?  When I increase the brightness on Camera 1, Camera 2 motion triggers.  When I increase brightness on Camera 2, Camera 1 triggers.  More below

Also, are you certain that the second camera is the one sounding the Siren? (Have you tried the same test with the second camera off)?  Yes, certain that Camera 2 triggers on motion when Camera 1 brightness is increased

 

Did you also turn on audio detection for one of these cameras in your custom mode?  The cameras will click when the nightvision filter engages or disengages, and that might also result in a trigger in the other camera.  There are no rules related to sound triggers.  This is in a light industrial area which is noisy during the day so I don't want it to trigger on sound.

 

An update on what I've learned:  When I increase brightness on one camera, the other camera triggers on motion and the alarm sounds as per my Rule.  Remember that the cameras are facing each other across the diagonal of a room that is 43 feet square.  When I turn off the alarm but leave the camera brightness setting set, there are no more triggers.  So it seems that there is a transitory change (an IR LED?) that causes the other camera to trigger on motion but does not continue to trigger ones that brightness change reaches steady state.   

StephenB
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@gpbeau wrote:

When I turn off the alarm but leave the camera brightness setting set, there are no more triggers.  So it seems that there is a transitory change (an IR LED?) that causes the other camera to trigger on motion but does not continue to trigger ones that brightness change reaches steady state.   


I guess it is possible that changing the brightness would make a transitory change to the LED status. Though I'd expect that it would act that way when the brightness was reduced also.

 

What motion sensitivity are you using?  If this is for normal security, you might not need a high setting - since the distance is short and the space is small.   But if this only happens when you change the brightness, then you could just leave well enough alone.

gpbeau
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Thanks, again, StephenB.

 

I'm new to the Arlo product and don't have a sense for the sensitivity of the motion sensor.  The space is extremely dark as there are no windows and no "night lights".  I was trying to turn the brightness up to max to see if that might help with the night vision.  Motion sensitivity is set at "60". Again, I don't have a sense of how well it works and this is a large, open space (2300 sq ft with nothing in there for now) so I'd like to set it to "kill" to make sure this thing triggers if someone enters without me (concrete and metal walls--unlikely to have any animals in there).  

StephenB
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@gpbeau wrote:

I was trying to turn the brightness up to max to see if that might help with the night vision.


An IR floodlight or two would probably work out better, and would not emit visible light.  They have a lot more lumens of output than the camera LEDs.

 

Though if you want to alert any intruder that they've been detected, some motion-activated visible floodlights could also work (resulting in the Pro 2s capturing normal color video if the floods are bright enough).  Both options have similar prices.

 

If you aren't seeing anything with nightvision with the brightness control in the center, then you are likely just trying to amplify noise by increasing the brightness.  

 


@gpbeau wrote:

Motion sensitivity is set at "60". Again, I don't have a sense of how well it works and this is a large, open space (2300 sq ft with nothing in there for now) so I'd like to set it to "kill" to make sure this thing triggers if someone enters without me (concrete and metal walls--unlikely to have any animals in there).  


Default is 80.  You probably should test the detection on yourself - using the motion detection test in the app.  https://kb.arlo.com/41/How-do-I-change-the-motion-sensitivity-on-my-Arlo-camera
 

 

 

 

 

gpbeau
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continued thanks for the ideas.

 

Great minds think alike!  I just bought a 5000-lumen security light with motion sensor yesterday.  Should provide enough light for decent color video.

 

I do plan to test motion sensitivity when I can dedicate some time to be onsite this weekend.  

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