Arlo Pro 2 camera running off 12v cigarette lighter USB charger????

[Intheswamp]

I've got a garden beside my house and a heavy coyote and deer population.  Last year the coyotes raided my watermelons heavily and the deer are always a threat for most anything green...any leaf vegetables, peas, etc.,.  I've got fencing that will keep most of them out but there are some who are like superman and "can leap tall buildings in a single bound"😠

The garden is around 200' away and there is LOS from there to the Pro 2 base unit.  I've tested with a camera and the signal makes the distance.   I have a 12V electric fence surrounding the garden and a 27DCM battery powering the fence.  I would like to use the battery to only power the camera...no battery charging.  Will a standard 5V USB vehicle charger work ok for this as long as there is sufficient amperage available?   I've seen some hard-wired options for the adapters so no need for a cigarette-lighter pigtail adapter...just direct wire it to the battery.  

If these adapters would work would having the camera plugged in allow me to access the enhanced features like if you plug into the OE AC power adapter?

I appreciate the help with this.  I *think* I'm on the right track for this but need some confirmation.  🙂 

[Intheswamp]

I was just reading another post where a user had attempted to use an external battery pack (basically what I want to do) but instead of having an extended run time the battery pack *and* internal battery drained down apparently faster than if just using the internal battery.  Feedback from Superusers was that the camera indeed sensed that it was connected to AC power and thus used *LOTS* more power.

So, am I barking up the wrong tree with my idea in my original post?

[Dannybear]

My thoughts.

Regards the approach, would it be better to use the solar panel to power the battery in the camera.
If you use the USB car charger with or without the camera battery installed it will still drain the 12v battery unless it is also being charged.
Some generic USB chargers will not work with the camera due to the tight voltage specifications of the camera so it would be hit and miss.
You should be ok to use one that has the Qualcomm 3 capabilities for higher charging voltages but it will also have a higher supply current requirement.
I would recommend to use the camera with the battery installed and only plug in to charge it to save your 12v battery charge.
If you want the activity zone options to be available then you will need to have it connected at all time.

[Intheswamp]

That is about the conclusion I have come to in weaving my way through some older posts.  I did want the zone function but I can live without it.

[StephenB]

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@Intheswamp wrote:

I did want the zone function but I can live without it.

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A paid subscription would give you cloud activity zones w/o AC power.  That doesn't improve battery life, but would reduce unwanted recordings.

[Intheswamp]

Could you give me a link to that bit of information.  All that I've seen states that to have the enhanced features you must be connected to AC power.

[StephenB]

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@Intheswamp wrote:

Could you give me a link to that bit of information.  All that I've seen states that to have the enhanced features you must be connected to AC power.

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https://kb.arlo.com/1001908/What-are-activity-zones-and-how-do-I-create-them

Note the continuous AC power bit is only if you are not subscribed to Arlo Smart.

[Intheswamp]

Thanks for the link but I had read that article.  I think it could use a bit of editing.  The first part regarding having a subscription and using activity zones doesn't state that this function is available when running wireless.  There has to be a bit of interpretation of the next short section to possibly point you to that fact.  The second section states: 

"If you’re not subscribed to Arlo Smart, you can connect the following cameras to continuous AC power to use activity zones:

Pro 4
Pro 3 and Pro 3 Floodlight Camera"

It doesn't say anything about the Pro 2 which this thread pertains to.  ?????

[StephenB]

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@Intheswamp wrote:

I think it could use a bit of editing. 

It doesn't say anything about the Pro 2 which this thread pertains to.  ?????

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I agree it could use some editing.  

The second part definitely does apply to the older cameras, and not just the ones listed.

[Intheswamp]

The second part only mentions Pro 3 and Pro 4 cameras.  In *many* aftermarket items for these cameras there are distinct differences stated in items working with the Pro 3 or Pro 4 cameras and items that work with Pro 2 cameras and earlier camera models.  This seems to point that the electronic design was changed substantially between the Pro 2 and Pro 3  models.

I take it that your statement about it applying to earlier cameras is anecdotal?

[StephenB]

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@Intheswamp wrote:

I take it that your statement about it applying to earlier cameras is anecdotal?

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I have several Pro2 cameras.  Currently they aren't on a subscription, but when they were I did use activity zones on some of them.

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@Intheswamp wrote:

This seems to point that the electronic design was changed substantially between the Pro 2 and Pro 3  models.

Yes, the cameras are very different.  But we are talking about a cloud feature.  When motion occurs, the recording is streamed to the cloud.  The cloud analyzes the video, and determines if the video is inside the zone or not.  If it's not, then the video is discarded.

[Intheswamp]

Odd, just had a reply, hit send, and POOF! it was gone.  (Ghosts of Hee-Haw!)

Anyhow, thanks for the explanation of how the zone feature works, that is interesting. 

I have another camera being delivered tomorrow that goes into the vegetable garden.  I'm interested in seeing how well it works.  Deer and coyote are the varmints that I want to be alerted to so I'm thinking I might can turn sensitivity down.