Webcam technical info

This page describes the webcams and software used to generate the images on the webcam pages.

Feeder cam

The webcam is a cheap Labtec Webcam (rebadged Logitech Quickcam Express) which is mounted in a waterproof casing on the outside of the house as seen below.

The connection to the computer is by USB using an active USB cable. This has a built in repeater allowing the cable to boost the signal further than the normal USB maximum of 5m. In this case the signal travels about 7m.

Table cam

This is a philips toucam pro which is a very nice cheap webcam. I have removed the lens and bodged one of my SLR lenses onto the body to make a super telephoto webcam.
The camera is close enough to the computer to not need a USB extension

Nestbox cam

The camera is a small board camera from Maplin which has a reasonable resolution sensor and 6 infrared LEDs. This allows continuous monitoring of the inside of the box. A video cable runs from the camera about 12 meters to the house where the signal is transmitted via a wireless video device to the computer. It is captured using a Pinnacle PCTV RAVE card.

Computer and software

The computer has been upgraded to an AMD 2400+ running Debian Linux. The Labtec webcam requires the mod_quickcam kernel modules. The toucam requires the pwc and the pwcx-gcc32 modules. The Pinnacle PCTV RAVE card usees the bttv module. The PC acts as a router/gateway between my Telewest cable connection and the internal network in the house.

Image capture is via the motion image capture and motion detection package. This captures images every few seconds and custom Perl scripts upload them to the website hosted at Telewest. Direct video streaming is possible but would do nasty things to the broadband connection.