Ninja Mount inside only? Suggested positioning?

[Sawkins]

Hey y'all, just got my order in and in the flurry of excitement I thought I saw that the ninja is indoor mount only.  Anyone? Is under the awning okay?
Also, What considerations are there for mounting my cameras now? Is a ninja on opposite corners of the house good or does it require too long to swing around? We are on a farm and have a dog that may set off the motion sensors. What range considerations should I take into account. Any and all suggestions are welcome.

Thanks, John

[Mystyx]

I use one in front and one in back...  try different places for it to get the best spot.

It moves at a normal walking rate, someone walks by it moves fast enough, but if they run right by it can miss em if not positioned right from start, I use wideeyes on it so it gets them as they enter camera view and if running still views them before they leave camera view on the other side.

[JimC]

Sawkins

I have had one mounted outside in the weather for over a year with no problems. Just do not mount it upside down as this will allow water to get in.

a ninja on opposite corners of the house good or does it require too long to swing around?

This depends on how close the subject is to the camera. if someone is walking by close to the camera the pan and tilt will not move fast enough. If the motion is farther away the Pan and Tilt will keep up. The best way to determine the location for mounting for your particular use is to experiment. Mount them temporally where you think they will work best and if you don't like the results you can always move them.

[geekasaurus]

For those of you who might wonder, here is my experience...
I have had a Ninja mount outside under a covered porch for about 3 years. I then moved to a place with no porch awning. The mount and the camera are outside totally exposed to the elements. The cord runs through a small gap in the window and is plugged inside. This thing has survived some of the harshest weather we have had here in many many years. Two or three storms so far with high winds, record breaking rain (Seattle here folks!) and freezing temperatures. I have the lens cover off now because water would get trapped in it and in the heavy rain water gets in front of the lens, but I am sure some silicone over a lens cover would help. I honestly cannot believe this has survived the weather here in the past few months uncovered but it has. So I would have no hesitation to place it in a covered area. I am not sure how long the mount or camera will last in the bad conditions but the fact that it has made it through so far is pretty impressive.

[mmathras]

From what I can tell, it's only the POWER SUPPLY that cannot be mounted outdoors.  I've had my pan & tilt Ninja operating outdoors for a few weeks now through rain and snow storms with no adverse effects.

[KDR]

I have had 2 outside for over a year with no problems. Here in Northern Ohio we get some big weather swings in the winter and i would suggest not using the pan or tilt if you know your getting freezing rain.

I have no range problems with AHP or the CR14A pan/tilt remote with 4 out of 5 units I have. The 5th unit which is the furthest away works better with the remote rather then AHP. (it is about 40 feet from the antenna of the CM15A.

^{----------------KDR}

[tom j]

Say I was thinking about getting one of these but it would seem as you tilt or pan that the reception would change it took me about 30 minutes to get my Nightwatch to give me perfect reception so I was concerned that with the movement of the antenna that I would lose my perfect picture the Vanguard has a fixed antenna so once you get it the way you want you wouldn't have to worry about changes in reception.

Tom j

[KDR]

tom j your right about the antenna changing being a problem. The one ninja i have that has a slight reception problem also seems to rotate out of reception. I don't know how the antenna is set up inside the ninja or if it is truly rotating that causes the problem or just the distance. One day if I have a problem with one I will disassemble it and check it out.

^{----------------KDR}

[dave w]

Say I was thinking about getting one of these but it would seem as you tilt or pan that the reception would change it took me about 30 minutes to get my Nightwatch to give me perfect reception so I was concerned that with the movement of the antenna that I would lose my perfect picture the Vanguard has a fixed antenna so once you get it the way you want you wouldn't have to worry about changes in reception.

Tom j

Tom,
Yup, This can be a problem where camera distance from the receiver creates a weak signal to begin with. P & T extremes cause picture loss. Somewhere on this forum is a description of a hack which wired the camera antenna to the transmitter via a short coax. The antenna could then be mounted in a fixed position. Obviously the mod seriously voids your warranty

Maybe a search on camera antennas will find it. If I can find it I will post the link. .

[tom j]

Say thanks for the help guys!!

Tom j

[brknsprk]

I have read in older topics about the reception problems on pan and tilt cams.  I read about daisy-chaining to increase the reception. How is that done ? do you need transmitters or receivers, or both ?

[Knightrider]

I have read in older topics about the reception problems on pan and tilt cams.  I read about daisy-chaining to increase the reception. How is that done ? do you need transmitters or receivers, or both ?

Daisy chaining was done with the x10 rf repeater, which has been discontinued for many many years.   

[Brian H]

If your problem is not having your RF commands reach the pan and tilt mount. The discontinued X10 repeater was usually used.

If you are having reception problems where the video signal didn't reach your receiver.
At one time some where using a receiver for the camera on channel D. Feeding video sender to its receiver on channel A.
It was kind of a kluge and only was for the 2.4GHz cameras as the new Pro ones are one channel 921MHz.
http://kbase.x10.com/wiki/Extending_Wireless_Camera_Range