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Arlo Pro Powered Straight from USB Socket

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V8
Apprentice
Apprentice

I've done a little bit of searching this morning and no one has really answered the questions I'm looking for.

 

I'm mounting the camera's quite high up, and other than the fact I like the conveniance of the completely wireless, I'm also nervous about some thug breaking/stealing the camera itself. I also think the solar panel is huge and ugly (but thats just me) and stupidly expensive given consumer solar panels cost buttons to make.

 

I have on the inside bedroom wall a power/plug socket with two USB 2.1a / 5V connectors built in. I wanted to keep things relativey neat so I bought some right angle USB adapters and did plan to drill through in the corner, put some plastic tubing in the wall and grommets either side and then mount the camera on the outside of the wall underneath the window, so it's overseeing my driveway and garden. There are weatherproof USB cables for this purpose but they are 20ft! so a tad long. Startech do make a down angle micro USB cable of 0.5, 1m and 2m and seems more suited but not waterproof so naturally I would need to seal the connector with a bit of clear silicone as a precautionary measure.

 

2017-08-26 10.41.56.jpg

 

The first issue I naturally come across is that in this setup you can't use the battery as it won't charge (I get this as it needs a 9V 1.1a output) so I already know that if I remove the battery itself I can power the camera independently.

 

What I want to know is if it being powered this way (direct from a USB socket) not using the Netgear Adapter that its likely to affect quality, recording, longevity etc etc. 

 

I've tested it and it 'appears' to work fine but just wanted to hear other peoples experiences if used in this way.

2 REPLIES 2
TomMac
Guru Guru
Guru

The Pro can have the battery pulled and operate just fine on the 5v supplied by the included adapter...

It is not an issue to run the camera with the 5v alone.

 

Your issues may appear in that long runs of small gauge wires can have a noted effect of voltage drop for DC. Also if there are any issues with this camera,  Netgear will not warranty it..

 

So... keep wires as short as possible, it SHOULD work but also good luck and let us know how it comes out as you are outside of the box.

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V8
Apprentice
Apprentice

Thanks for the reply.

 

The run is no more than 1m from socket to camera, so I think I'm fine there, and in hindsight as do I also think I'm fine without the adapter. The bit I'm unclear on is how it would be considered outside the box?

 

- I'm removing the battery to power it directly as designed

- I'm using the correct volatage/ampage as required to power (not charge, where the official adapter would be regulating 240v down to 9v and charging the battery also)

I'm using a USB connection into the camera powered outside (which is exactly how the Solar Panel would be connected).

 

The bit I've seen before is that Netgear don't support powering the camera with the adapter, which If I'm honest is a contradiction because thats exactly what the Solar Panel does.

 

The only area I can see here is that the end of the cable may not have a lip to sheath from weather (which is easily rectified with any normal cable without affecting the operation of the camera).

 

Don't get me wrong here I know Netgear of old and just how ridiculously bad their support channel is when you want to RMA or get warranty support 😛