Motion Detection Perimeter

[LotVideoSecurit]

I recently installed 3 new Arlo Pro 2 cameras and I am new to this. Does anyone know how to adjust the motion detection perimeter within the viewing ranges? I don't want my front yard camera to detect the moving cars on the street. I only want it to detect when the cars and people entered the front yard perimeter. Thanks.

[brh]

@LotVideoSecurit

With such a small front yard the only thing for now would be to mount it above the garage door pointing down. You would see the driveway but not all of the yard.

If you can find a way to connect the power adapter to AC power and have a way to keep the moisture away from the power outlet and camera you could use the Activity Zones that the Pro 2 cameras are capable of, but they won't work on either solely battery power or solar panel power.

Brian

[LotVideoSecurit]

Yes, the front yard is not too big. It is roughly 80ft across. The camera is mounted under the eve of the roof, which is roughly the center of the front yard. The other half of the front yard doesn't have any camera. Why do I have to connect it to a power outlet to use Activity Zone? I don't want to drill the frame of the roof eve to get access to the power line inside the attic. It is too much work. This is the reason why I bought the wire-free camera in the first place. Since the camera is battery powered, is there any way to set Activity Zone without connecting it to the power outlet. Is there any software upgrade for this? Thanks.

[LotVideoSecurit]

Oh, I forgot to mention that I don't want the camera to see just the driveway. I want it to keep an eye and an ear on one window, entry way and driveway which is the entire right side of the house. There are two more windows on the left of the house and the camera, and I planned to buy another camera for the right side of the front yard to cover the other two windows and the left side of the front yard....

[brh]

@LotVideoSecurit

Unfortunately, I believe that the Activity Zones only work when the power adapter is plugged into an AC wall outlet. There would be too much battery drain otherwise. Consider changing the direction of the camera to see as little of the street as possible. From your picture, it seems that you may need two cameras to cover both the yard and the driveway without getting a video and notification every time a car passes by.

Brian

[LotVideoSecurit]

Thanks. I hope that there is a firmware for owner with battery operated camera can use activity zone. I understand that it might drain a little more battery, but I doubt that it will consume anymore than without activity zone. With less motion zones, the camera will be less active which should use power....

[jguerdat]

A bit of a PITA but consider rotating the camera 90 degrees. There's no setting to rotate the video automatically but you would at least be able to minimize the camera view. Otherwise, you may need an extra camera so that the two would be able to rotate down and view only a small section of yard/house/driveway. If you choose the latter method, you could also use netsed rules so that when one camera detects the other would record, like this:

Cam1 detects, Cam1 records

Cam1 detects, Cam2 records

Cam2 detects, Cam2 records

Cam2 detects, Cam1 records.

[steve_t]

I would reconsider that mounting location

[LotVideoSecurit]

I pointed the camera a little bit further downward and reduced the motion sensitivity to 40. I hope this do the trick. If I point it any further down, it will not cover the driveway. I am thinking of mounting the camera on the big tree at the left of the frontyard (which is not in the camera view now) and point the camera to window, entrance and driveway, but I am afraid that the camera might be too expose to the strong monsoon rain and wind. Can it withstand the strong Arizona monsoon rain, wind and heat?

[Paul_FCCL]

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wrote:
Thanks. I hope that there is a firmware for owner with battery operated camera can use activity zone. I understand that it might drain a little more battery, but I doubt that it will consume anymore than without activity zone. With less motion zones, the camera will be less active which should use power....

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The additional battery drain (with pixel-based activity zones enabled) would actually be pretty significant, based on your activity volume, you may have to recharge the battery every few days.

[LotVideoSecurit]

So, firmware update is not an option then...

[Paul_FCCL]

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wrote:
So, firmware update is not an option then...

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I don’t believe so.......at least not for that feature. I don’t know whether there are any battery operated cams around that include pixel-based activity zones. All the ones I know of, have to be connected to a/c power.

[LotVideoSecurit]

I am thinking of mounting the camera on the big tree at the left/front side of the front yard (which is not in the camera view now) and point the camera directly at the window, entrance and driveway, but I am afraid that the camera might be too exposed to the strong Arizona monsoon rain, wind and heat. Can the camera withstand the strong Arizona monsoon rain, wind and heat?

[LotVideoSecurit]

If the camera can withstand the strong Arizona monsoon rain, wind and heat, I want to install it on the far left tree in the front  yard...

The photo of the trees was several years ago. The trees are a lot bigger now...

[brh]

@LotVideoSecurit

I made some very inexpensive yet very secure mounts out of plastic electrical junction boxes. Take a look here:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/ideas/ideaprintpage/blog-id/arlo-idea-exchange/article-id/8624

They might give you some ideas for mounting the camera to the tree.

Also, check if your wifi extends that far out. If not you may need to purchase a wifi extender and new base station to get the signal to reach that far. Or, you could purchase an Arlo Go, but I think that could get expensive in a hurry.

Brian

[LotVideoSecurit]

Thanks. That is a good idea. Unfortunately, I live in a brand new community with very strict rules. I'll try to find a box that is not easily seen and recognized from the street...

[jguerdat]

Based on my experience as well as what others have posted, heat, wind and rain isn't an issue. Mine still generally use the magnetic mounts with no issue and some are fully exposed to weather. The only issue I've had is moisture on the lens in rare occasions.

[LotVideoSecurit]

I don't know how strong rain and wind where you at, but the summer monsoon rain and wind in Arizona are very strong. It knocked down several of my trees in the last couple years. The summer heat reached 120 degrees and hoovering around 115 degrees throughout summer. The latest positions adjustments and lowered the sensitivity seems to do the trick. It didn't record any car on the street....

[Scopeguy]

The range of motion detection is only about 20-25 ft. So as long as your camera is further than that from the street, you should not detect the unwanted street traffic.

[LotVideoSecurit]

This doesn't sound right, because where the cars were recorded on the street was at least 40ft away from the camera on the roof.. Adjusted the camera angles further in and down and lowered the sensitivity as suggested by others yesterday seems to work. It didn't record any car on the street last night. It only recorded my daughter's car when she drove in the driveway last night. The driveway is roughly 30ft away from the camera on the roof....

[jguerdat]

Vehicles are a whole 'nuther animal. They generate significant IR compared to a human body and reflect the sun's IR well. That's why cars can be detected at much greater distances than humans and why waving your arms doesn't work as well as walking through the detection zone. Size matters as does the amount of IR generated.

[LotVideoSecurit]

Quick question to the guy with Arlo Pro 2 installed on the tree inside the electrical box- does Arlo Pro 2 night vision and motion detect still working and function normal when installed it inside the electrical box?

[brh]

@LotVideoSecurit

I used plastic electrical junction boxes that I purchased from Home Depot and had to modify them and paint them, but mine are mounted under the eaves of my house, not in a tree. The blue plastic ones are good for the original Arlos but too small for the Pro models. The slightly larger white ones work well for the Pros. For vertical mounting you need to make the hole for the front of the camera in the bottom of the box. For horizontal mounting you make the hole for the front of the camera in the side. You can see pictures of my mounts in the Idea Exchange where I requested Arlo make similar security mounts. Since mine are mounted to flat surfaces and out of the weather I did not need to cover the open side of the mount but mounting in a tree would probably require covering up the open side to keep the moisture out. 

Plastic boxes will not interfere with any signals and since the front of the camera is still unobstructed, motion and FOV are not affected.

Brian

[LotVideoSecurit]

I read the description of Arlo Pro 2 and it is a clear description below that it can handle rain or shine in the outdoor environment. It included a couple photos of Arlo Pro 2 camera mounted on the tree too. I'll mount it on the tree without any box as shown on Netgear website. I'm afraid that the box might be too intrusive and hinder the functionality of the camera.

<Come rain or shine.

Get security where you need it most, to watch over what you love the most. The IP65-certified Arlo Pro 2 is weather-resistant to stand watch for you from anywhere. Indoors or out, rain or shine.>

[jguerdat]

A box of any kind is more for hiding the camera than for improving the weatherproofing.