
Show HN: Echo Show – RaspberryPi Security Camera - sammachin
http://sammachin.com/blog/build-your-own-rasp-pi-security-camera-for-the-echo-show/
======
Fnoord
Bit offtopic but still worth mentioning for future reference is that when you
count seconds out loud, start from 21.

What it does is this ensures the numbers are closer to 1 second duration
because the amount of time it takes to mention the 2-3 syllables whereas the
early ones { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12 } are merely 1 syllable.

Why 21 and not 13? Its an easy to remember number (just add 20 to your
starting count), and the second part of the number is still accurate.

Don't believe me? Feel free to verify with a stopwatch.

I learned this from driving lessons in NL. Based on some quick translation
abracadabra it seems to equally apply to English.

(NB: To be precise, 9 would be 2 syllables in Dutch while its only 1 syllable
in English. Other languages will vary!)

~~~
girishso
I count 1001, 1002 and so on.

~~~
Fnoord
Works as well, and 1000 might be an easier modifier than 20 in some
situations.

Downside is there's going to be a difference in elapsed time between { 1001,
1002, 1003, 1004, 1005, 1006, 1008, 1009, 1010, 1012 } and 1013+.

Regardless, better than conventional { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12 }.

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hex1848
I've been using MotionEyeOS for several months now. I setup a a couple of
Pi3's with some cheap Logitech USB webcams. Works great from inside the house
- I used velcro to tape the cameras pointing out from various windows around
the house and in the garage.

[https://github.com/ccrisan/motioneyeos](https://github.com/ccrisan/motioneyeos)

I am looking for something that will work outside and has night vision though.

~~~
foobarstar
Hey, I've recently been working on a similar project [1] to setup cameras on
Pis with cheap USB webcams. However, I had repeated issues with Logitech cams
causing the Pis to crash. Thanks for this link to MotionEyeOs, I'm going to
see if this allows me to get some use from those cameras as well. (I had
fallen back to using some HP and generic USB cameras).

Regarding your quest for a camera that will work outside and has night vision,
I mention it in my little write-up, but an amazon search for "elp dome camera"
should turn up a handful of USB webcams with IR illumination and an outdoor
enclosure. I've had one on my outdoor balcony for about 6 weeks now without
issue.

[1] [http://moonbench.xyz/projects/pi-camera-
network](http://moonbench.xyz/projects/pi-camera-network)

------
j_s
Or use old cell phones:
[http://www.cloxmonkey.com/securitysystem.html](http://www.cloxmonkey.com/securitysystem.html)

The "bad ESN" LG's mentioned in the article appear to be $15 including
shipping now; you can get a lot more for the $35 cost of a zero + camera
module.

The Android app mentioned does not appear to specifically try to be compatible
with the Echo Show yet.

~~~
otterpro
This is a great idea - turning used cell phones into super-cheap IP cameras.
I'd probably want to get cheap wide-angle lens adapters ($1 each), and use
phone case ($1) to mount it on the wall/ceiling. Another idea is to use
selfie-cam/front facing camera, so that the video is visible all the time, as
it might be a deterrent to burglar/etc.

For CCTV video recording, I use iVideon (freemium), which is cross-platform,
and has free unlimited local recording, free streaming, and free limited
event-based 24 hour cloud recording. Another favorite is ZoneMinder, an open-
source favorite.

------
erikcw
I've toyed around with a couple of these for use as baby cams -- mostly
streaming the video feed over RTSP using VLC as the server. The video feed
always works well, but I've never been able to get the audio from a usb mic to
transmit using this method. The last time I googled about the topic, it didn't
look like anyone else had had much success adding audio to the stream.

Does anyone know of any RaspberryPi projects that have succefully integrated
audio into the video feed?

~~~
j_s
I assume audio was included on a "Pi for WebRTC", but both audio and video may
have come from an attached webcam rather than separate sources:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14788060](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14788060)

"we managed to get something smooth working with UV4L"

[https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=132658](https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=132658)

[https://www.linux-projects.org/uv4l/installation/](https://www.linux-
projects.org/uv4l/installation/)

------
CaptSpify
I set up an RPI camera without any of the echo stuff:
[https://blog.thekyel.com/?anchor=motion](https://blog.thekyel.com/?anchor=motion)

It was fairly easy, but there were a few gotchas. It does a pretty good job,
but I do get some false-positives with changes in light.

Now that I see this project, I really need to put a video together showing how
mine works....

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0xdeadbeefbabe
Nice hack, but the 80s called and wants to popularize a low latency analog
system.

I just don't like the 6 second lag for security applications.

~~~
Yaggo
Technically, Rasberry Pi is capable of streaming h264 with lag of ~150 ms
using the Pi camera (not USB).

------
eternalvision
Slightly off-topic: Does anyone know what is state-of-the-art for small
cameras suitable for surreptitious security?

~~~
bigiain
Something lie this?

[http://boingboing.net/2017/08/04/theyll-never-see-this-
tiny-...](http://boingboing.net/2017/08/04/theyll-never-see-this-tiny-c.html)

~~~
eternalvision
That's cool, but was thinking of something along the lines of what a PhD EE
might conceive. Small chips out of sight using ultrasonic waves to create a
detailed real-time 3d-map of a physical space, for instance.

~~~
bigiain
Ahhh - so not quite a "camera", but have you seen this:

[http://people.csail.mit.edu/fadel/wivi/design.html](http://people.csail.mit.edu/fadel/wivi/design.html)

[https://www.businessinsider.com.au/wifi-camera-sees-
through-...](https://www.businessinsider.com.au/wifi-camera-sees-through-
walls-2017-5)

[https://www.engadget.com/2017/06/19/researchers-map-a-
buildi...](https://www.engadget.com/2017/06/19/researchers-map-a-building-
in-3d-using-wifi-enabled-drones/)

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notheguyouthink
Huh, I may have to look into a home wifi camera system based around Pi's.
Sounds fun, and far less concerning than proprietary IoT Cameras.

~~~
Mister_Snuggles
I've set up a bunch of cheap D-Link WiFi cameras.

To alleviate the IoT security concerns, they're all on their own WiFi network
(mapped to a dedicated VLAN). This lets me set up rules on my router to
prevent the cameras from talking to the internet and to other networks.
Devices on other networks are allowed to talk to the cameras, but I'm planning
on restricting that to only allow the monitoring VM to connect to the camera
network.

For monitoring/recording, I use Zoneminder. Zoneminder has some quirks, but it
does the job well enough.

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judy2k
This looks cool! I wish I could afford an Echo Show :)

