Reolink webcam / other model?

[ChrisBoom]

Hi all,

I have a Reolink 411WS running as a security cam and I though about converting it into a weather cam. The camera can upload JPGs at a frequent interval into a subfolder of my template. However, it will upload another picture every minute with another name, i.e. after 60 minutes I have 60 different images. This results in large amounts of data and I have not been able to use any webcam features of Meteotemplate, as they all seem to require a static image name. Is that true?

If so, I'd keep using it as a sec cam and buy another one for weather observation. As I upload through a Meteobridge Pro, the Ubiquity AirCam or G3 seems a logical choice. Or do you have any other purchase advice? I'd be happy for any suggestions and/or examples of pages that use a weather observation camera with Meteotemplate.

Best regards & Merry Christmas
Chris

PS: Bloomsky is not an option as shipping as their sets are hard to get here in Germany

[John B]

Hello, Chris,

http://www.johnsblaxlandweather.id.au

I use the Ubiquity G3 'bullet' camera on my site. It has only been in use for a few months, but seems to have weathered the storms and occasional heavy rain over that short period. I'm not quite sure what you are trying to acheive, Chris, but I'll outline my set-up.

Firstly: Because of the overheads of streaming images from the camera to the web site I have no interest in that side of things.
Secondly: The Ubiquity G3 comes with a program which streams to your computer (not the web site).
Thirdly: I have two programs in place to:
* Capture a frame and save it
* Transfer that frame to the web site - always under the same file name.
These are done at one-minute intervals.

If that is what you are trying to do then let me know and I'll get the details, syntax etc and let you know. Best you look at my site to see if the quality of the images is acceptable to you.

[ChrisBoom]

Hello John,

thanks for your reply. Your cam seems to do exactly what I want to do - display the latest images at one-minute intervals. I might use the timelapse and archive later on, but for now I'd be happy with a reliable upload of single frames. It's good to see that the G3 can do just that. My Meteobridge should be able to grab the image and upload it to the template, so I wouldn't have to have my PC running all the time.

Thanks again & merry Christmas
Chris

[EveshamWeather]

I am using a Foscam security camera which uploads to a folder on my local NAS box. From here I run a Linux script (I also have a small Linux box running 24/7 so run it on that) which modifies the files and adds an overlay. This then uploads the file to my webspace, using the standard filename. I have a cron job which runs every 15 minutes to do this and can supply my script code if it helps you. You could run a Raspberry PI to do all this if you wanted as it is not very processor intensive.

It would be possible to write a php script which would do all this on a remote server, which is then run via a cron job just after every file upload.

I would add though that the webcam plugins/blocks in Meteotemplate, although very good, are also space intensive as there is no built in image management. Not a problem if you have unlimted/large space on your webserver but something to be aware of otherwise.

[John B]

Glad to be of assistance, Chris.

All the best with your research and a happy 2018 to you and yours.

[Steve Harpin]

This is a LONG way down the road from these original posts but I am currently engaged in trying to find the absolute neatest way to project my weather webcam image up onto my Meteo site. I have heard comments about the image accumulation propensities of Jachym's webcam plugin (as opposed to the block which I use with simple links to various other weather webcams) and, even when I had a Reolink camera that actually did that successfully it, sadly, knocked off after several months and absolutely refused ever to work again. Thanks for all the hard work, Jachym, but this particular plugin has left me personally baffled. Others say it works great and that has left me somewhat envious but still baffled Now we come up to the present time and I have binned the Reolink (no patience with the clunky client software)and got a Foscam which is a big, big improvement. I have also obtained a WD NAS on which to store a lifetime's worth of snapshots and time-lapse videos. Perfecto. The Foscam is currently doing just those two features and storing them on the NAS. What I am really intrigued by is the notion of putting a script on the NAS that pushes a constantly updated snapshot up to a webpage of my own design which I can then link to Meteo, probably on the menu bar. I have read that this appears highly possible on another thread on the forum but, tantalisingly, no examples. I have started to teach this fossilised old brain the basics of php but if anyone out there can give me a headstart I would much appreciate it

[gregdz]

Here is what i do to post a jpg pic from my weather cam to my meteo site. I use Blueiris software to post a jpg to my meteo server every 5 minutes in the /homepage/blocks/webcam subdirectory. I use the filename "cam1.jpg" but you can use any name with a jpg extension. In the homepage layout I insert the "webcam block" that I downloaded from Jachym's site.
In the "edit settings" of the "webcam block" you write in the url of this jpg pic(http:/yourserver/homepage/blocks/webcam/cam1.jpg) and give the refresh time in seconds (300 in my case). You can view the weather cam jpg on my weather site at "gregswx.com". Good luck!