Question

I'm interested in putting a camera above the garage door so we can see the driveway. there is no power anywhere around the garage, so I am guessing I would need it to be solar as batteries might not hold up. we have a motion detecting flood light there, but it was wired around the other side of the house many years ago, the wires are in a metal tube. will I be able to put a camera there ? and what type. and one more question, if I have a doorbell and camera. do they split the screen to view them or can I view each one in a full frame? I dont think I would like it split as it would be too small for me to see.  

Answer 1

If you have a motion activated flood light then you have a power source. Just need to add a weatherproof outlet.  

Answer 2

Can you run a cat 5 cable? If you get the Stickup Cam Elite 2nd Generation it can be connected PoE

Comments

Here is a Better one not sure why it was a lower resolution

Answer 3

I would recommend the Spotlight Camera Battery with the solar panel. I have this camera with the super solar panel and 2 batteries installed as the solar panel doesn't always keep up with Iowa winters. And yes, you can view the camera in full screen, here is a screen shot of just my camera above my driveway (I have a Ring Doorbell too)

Comments

Thats what I want to do, have a camera aimed down on the driveway, my mail box is to the right of the driveway and we cant see the way, or cars or mailbox from the doorbell since the garage sticks out to far. so I think a camera up there is whats needed. it would need to be above the motion detecting floodlights. I am guess it will be weather proof?  

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@schreiber did u install yourself

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L. G. McNeely yes all of their cameras are waterproof except for the Ring Indoor Cam.  

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L. G. McNeely if all you need is the camera perhaps the Ring Stick Up Cam Solar would be best, it doesn't have lighting and is much cheaper.  

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@skink yes, very easy!  

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@schreiber yes, I just need a camera there. so will look into that one. Thanks

Answer 4

Do you have a motorized garage door opener? Ours is plugged into the same outlet. Installer drilled through and cable of Spotlight Cam Wired was plenty long enough. About 20 foot cord I think. We also have the doorbell cam and what I like is "linking" the two of them. When our doorbell picks up motion, the SLC begins recording too. Love that - especially since our doorbell is Battery #1 model.  

Comments

About 9 feet from ground

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Cord long enough to reach electrical outlet inside

Answer 5

I installed the battery spotlight cam with solar panel and two batteries a year ago. It has some idiosyncrasies but overall I am very pleased with this camera. The camera faces east on the side of the house and the solar panel faces south on the front of the house. Never seen battery go less than 70% even in the dead of the New England winter.  

Answer 6

The back is the newer battery outdoor cam with a solar panel. I really like it. I keep the garage lights on at night so the night view is really good. I don't know what it looks like in darkness. But you have motion lights so doesn't matter. Front door is ring pro.  

Answer 7

Spotlight are useless in heavy rain as it fogs up the internal lense and then distorts the picture and colour. The stick up is no better. I have 2 with a built on roof to keep the rain away. They are water resistant not water proof. For my money the flood light -water resistant- is your best bet. But build a housing over it to keep the water out.  

Comments

@varese5 if you open the door on a high humid day you will get fog inside. You can clear it up with a hair dryer. Not too high or close to it. It worked for me.  

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@varese5 my SLC has never fogged up

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@solarize when it rains in Australia it pools. I took it back to the shop and the second one did the same thing  

Answer 8

I am using a Android battery charger connected to the power outlet for the garage door opener. You can order a 5 meter charge cable on e bay. Almost 17 feet.  

Answer 9

If you have a motion detection floodlight there all you have to do is switch it with a Floodlight Cam. And the area would well lit, probably better than current floodlight.  

Answer 10

I can't remember which camera it was, but one can be used to replace the motion sensor of some floodlights. I mounted mine on the underside of the top trim of the door. The wire was able to slip through a joint in the weatherstripping, and then the plug into a receptacle in the garage.  

Answer 11

Get the battery stick up cam - I change the battery about every 5 months!  

Answer 12

Do u have a power opener if so pull power from that source

Answer 13

I have Blink cameras that watch over my driveway and batteries last about two years.  

Answer 14

I have had a stick-up cam gen 1 above my garage door for years now. I decided to drill a hole and run low voltage wire to the center of my garage and hook the low voltage wire from the stickup to a power supply (110v AC to 5v DC hooked into the receptacle for the garage door opener. Works good.  

Answer 15

Use Blink camera . Battery operated but only need battery change every 2 years. I have them indoor and outdoor .  

Answer 16

I just got a spotlight cam and was going to go with the solar panel. My son has that cam with the solar panel and it's great. As I thought about it I figured a better idea without having to get an electrician. I bought the Ring Spotlight cam that required electric. I ended up running an extension cord from a garage wall outlet up into the attic of the garage. I was able to take the power cord off the ring spotlight cam and drill a small hole to pass the ring power cord through, right under the eve of the garage. Once I got the power cord through the wall I reattached it to the camera and mounted the camera just below the eve. Plugged the two up and bingo I have a very functional powered cam without having to buy and mount a solar panel and without an expensive electrician. Only problem is if someone unplugs the extension cord the camera is dead, but the possibility is small since that outlet is large with a lot of places to plug into other devices with. At this point the only things plugged into that outlet are my central vac, the Ring, and a Wyze cam that monitors the inside of my garage.  

Comments

@hasson9897 be very careful doing that. I know some folks who mounted their tv on the wall and dropped the power cord inside the wall and brought it out at the outlet. Those wires are not rated for in wall use - when their house caught fire and was badly damaged, insurance refused to cover it since the fire was started by that power cord inside the wall. They wound up getting a lawyer and the insurance company finally paid part of it. Definitely was not worth the headache they went thru.  

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That power cord is rated to be used in an outdoor environment most likely with an outdoor outlet. That same cord is probably much better rated than a typical indoor cord. Specifically the Ring cable penetrates the front garage wall (under the eves) into the garage and immediately drops through the ceiling drywall in the inside front corner of the wall. The ceiling is uninsulated. The extension cord is an outdoor cord that runs from an outlet over the inside footings and is not between walls. So the actual ring wire is in a pretty protect environment can't move or have the cord outer casing rubbed on anything. I could however technically pull the cord back through the front wall and insert a small piece of conduit to pass the cord through. I am curious in that TV situation was the wiring considered the source of the fire and what would cause a cable to be the source? It would seem to me that if the cable was defective, it would have caused a fire if was plugged in normally. I wonder if they damaged the cable somehow when they passed it though the wall?  

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Oh dear, I wont be able to do that. the only outlet in the garage is at the far end, and it would be a long long way to the outside of the garage. and that only plug is already taken up.  

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L. G. McNeely good outdoor extension cords are cheap, and as long as you power usage is with in rated limits of the outlet wiring you can buy a outlet expander. Only thing plugged into this expander is a Wyze camera, my extension cord to the ring camera and and my central vacuum all powered by a 20 amp circuit. The orange cord being the extension cord running along wall on the same side as the camera.  

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The Ring solar panel is good as long as you can get it aimed towards the path of the sun. At my sons home his panel was perfect no matter the season and the battery level was always kept at 100%, no matter what season of the year. We took the camera and panel down after three years of use and are in the process of relocating it to his new home.