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[jjs7cams]

Like many I am still using x10 switches etc and just recently got a Raspberry Pi to work with a Google home smart speaker to turn on off devices with verbal commands. Just Great, and now with the x10 wifi unit can easily control devices away from home.

But we have several x10 Ninja pan tilt units that work just great locally using the CR14A remote.  But after all these years has anyone yet developed a way to control these remotely from a cell phone, tablet, or computer.  We would love to mount modern IP cameras to one of these. 

So does anyone know of a way to do this without extensive coding, rewiring, etc etc?

Thanks

jjs7cams

[Brian H]

The Ninja pan and tilt mounts. Use both an RF command from the CR14A to control movements and an X10 power line command to the mounts power supply. To turn it On and Off.
So you would need a controller capable of sending the proper RF commands to do movements and power line commands to pick which camera and mount is On.

[HA Dave]

Like many I am still using x10 switches etc ……...  We would love to mount modern IP cameras to one of these. 

You know.... you can buy IP cameras that detect motion, and track movement, all by themselves. And they are made to work with the AI devices (like Alexa).

[jjs7cams]

Yes there are many many IP cameras with built in pan and tilt functions etc etc.  But  we have 4 of these laying around that were really never used and they do work.  So would be nice to use them. 

I suppose by the time one would spend the time, effort, and money, in the end its just not worth it. 

Thanks

jjs7cams

[Tuicemen]

It is possible to control your ninja bases via software (I've done it). Several thirdparty softwares had/have this coded in.

This is even possible from a raspi it is capable with mochad as well as several other softwares that run on a Pi including HomeGenie. However since these are obsolete devices you'll need to most likely do a little coding for the Raspi software you run.

[brobin]

I suppose by the time one would spend the time, effort, and money, in the end it's just not worth it. 

jjs7cams

I know the feeling. You find some old tech stuff lying around and think,"This is as good as new, I ought to use it and get some value from it."  Then you start to realize that the new tech, particularly for cameras, is SO much better that it just makes no sense to bother. 
 Of course, that statement could be used to describe ALL X10 products which is why, I'm guessing, there are few people under the age of 50 (one of the young'uns) of this forum. 

[bkenobi]

IMO, X10 is still a good tech.  But, when I bought most of my stuff the price point was around $5/module where competing equipment was around $20-50/module.  X10 raised the prices to something that's probably more reasonable ($20-30/module) in the last few years.  However, Sonoff stuff (for example) is really pretty good and also hackable...oh and it costs around $5/module.   

I have a few boxes of X10 stuff I've picked up from others in my area dumping their X10 equipment (I needed 1 part and they gave me everything else they had).  I've considered installing cameras and whatnot, but it's simply too difficult to incorporate the Ninja type cameras compared to the relatively cheap WiFi ones.  The only down side to the network cameras is that they seem to be made in China which means sending all my videos back to the mother ship.   

I've seen a few articles, but this is the only link I could locate right now:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/marcwebertobias/2016/08/22/is-your-smart-security-camera-protecting-your-home-or-spying-on-you/#232d39756dd0

[Tuicemen]

I have several IP cameras in use only one (X10 linked camera) which uses the cloud it does have the option to run disconnected but that means no connecting at all from a browser.
The others connect via my lan and I can choose to make them visible to the web or not as well use the manufactures cloud DDNS service or not.
All mine are Pan n Tilt with exception of the linked camera and it has such a wide angle view the pan or tilt of a ninja wouldn't help much.

[HA Dave]

…... The only down side to the network cameras is that they seem to be made in China which means sending all my videos back to the mother ship.   

I've seen a few articles, but this is the only link I could locate right now:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/marcwebertobias/2016/08/22/is-your-smart-security-camera-protecting-your-home-or-spying-on-you/#232d39756dd0

It's absolutely TRUE! Your network cameras.... EVEN THIS VERY INTERNET CONNECTION YOU'RE USING RIGHT NOW TO READ THIS..... is spying on you. Your TV, some refrigerators, all phones (mobile or wired) are spying on you. If you have the new electric meter (as I do) it spys on you too. The SPY'S.... are American, and Chinese, and virtually every vendor on Earth who wants to sell a product to you. It can not be escaped.

Hopefully John Conner (or someone like the fictional character) will stop things before the it all goes too far. But then again.... my money is on the robots.

Meanwhile..... I intend to enjoy the new modern technology. After all.... this isn't a rehearsal. Life is to be lived and enjoyed. If some Chinese Network Admin gets excited watching some old guy back his car out of his driveway (me)….. I can learn to live with that.

Meanwhile..... you don't have to be disloyal to X10 to have nice cameras either:     https://www.x10.com/cameras.html

P.S. those X10 addressed camera power supplies might have some future usefulness.

[petera]

The best solution I found on the camera front and staying on the Raspberry Pi theme was using a Raspberry Pi plus the CSI camera module loaded with MotionEyeOS. Full detection implemented via each unit, there's 5 in total and fully integrated with HG. There's such a choice of lenses to use too, from the standard lens to the fisheye lens and the night vision lens.

Just finishing off a project integrating using facial recognition via OpenCV so the the finished product should be interesting.

Yes the cheap IP cams are fine but as Bkenobi highlights you're starring in your own daily soap opera in a factory somewhere in Shenzhen. I do have their IP address if anyone wants to send them an invoice for entertainment royalties.

[brobin]

While my IP cameras do have the capability to go through the Chinese servers I have disabled that function in favor of just setting them up on my router with port forwarding. I use the IP Cam Viewer app by Robert Chou which can handle up to 16 cams in the $4 paid version (there are 2 free versions). He keeps it updated to include virtually any cam you might own, including X10, and it provides all the controls for PTZ, focus and other functions. You can include cams from different locations including traffic and other public cams. I've been using the app for many years & highly recommend it. Available for IOS too.  http://hit-mob.com/ip-cam-viewer-android/help/

[petera]

While my IP cameras do have the capability to go through the Chinese servers I have disabled that function in favor of just setting them up on my router with port forwarding. I use the IP Cam Viewer app by Robert Chou which can handle up to 16 cams in the $4 paid version (there are 2 free versions). He keeps it updated to include virtually any cam you might own, including X10, and it provides all the controls for PTZ, focus and other functions. You can include cams from different locations including traffic and other public cams. I've been using the app for many years & highly recommend it. Available for IOS too.  http://hit-mob.com/ip-cam-viewer-android/help/

Yes I use a couple of old Samsung phones running IP Cam. Very convenient as they have the benefit of battery operation for a couple of hours each day. They work well with the HG detection and email notification too. The picture quality is quite decent

[bkenobi]

I was referring to the fact that the firmware on some of the cheaper Chinese made ones were set up to phone home and transfer some kind of data to an unknown server that some believe are the Chinese gov't.  I can't find the specific article I saw (probably on hack-a-day), but someone had done some work to determine who owned that mystery server.  It is possible on with a lot/most cameras to use them with a local server or at least a cloud server of your choice.

[racerfern]

@bkenobi -

It is possible on with a lot/most cameras to use them with a local server or at least a cloud server of your choice.

So I have a few zmodo cameras that don't reveal their ip except to the NVR. Is it possible to access these? I'm not willing to spend a penny for overseas storage when I have my own storage that works fine. However, I would like to access these cams to use with other software, namely HomeSeer.

Thoughts?

[brobin]

In the NVR settings you should be able to find a list of cameras with their MAC and IP addresses or you could try plugging the camera directly into your router and see if it appears.