POE Camera With Wireless

Is there such a thing as POE cameras that also have wireless and use the POE for power only and pickup the video feed via wireless?

I'm wanting to have 4 cameras around my house and I have one outside outlet. This is a rental so I'm not wanting to drill holes if possible. My idea is to put a weatherproof electrical box by the outlet and run the POE out of this box to the cameras. The router indoors will then connect to these cameras and receive the video feed and record to a NVR.

I'm unfamiliar with camera systems so I'm not sure if this is possible. The reason I want to use POE is because of the distance from power to cameras. Ethernet cables would be easier to run this distance.

Jesse Elser

Posted 2018-10-03T17:35:59.273

Reputation: 129

@Jesse I've never heard of it. I've seen wifi cameras (they need power somehow) and PoE cameras, but not both on the same device. There are probably controllers which can integrate with both, but I haven't seen a camera which is both. – Christopher Hostage – 2018-10-03T19:14:34.177

There seems absolutely zero point in a PoE camera when you run a length of Ethernet cable to provide the power for PoE... you might as well just install a non-wireless camera... – Kinnectus – 2018-10-05T15:12:40.303

@Kinnectus, except for not being able to drill holes in a rental property for Ethernet without financial damage... – Tim_Stewart – 2018-10-05T15:22:18.500

Look for Ethernet Power Injectors. The backhaul over wireless is a little unusual. It looks like there are several hits at ethernet power injectors wireless backhaul, but they look expensive.

– jww – 2018-10-05T21:44:32.700

Answers

There are plenty of solutions out there for this.

It will take a little bit of research on your part to make this work.

You need to know the Volt/Amp rating of the cameras you wish to install.
The power connector for the WiFi cameras type and size needs to be known. (Does it have a center pin? Is it tip positive or negative? Whats the diameter of the barrel?)
You also need to know how far away from the camera installation your power source will be.
(Not all POE adapters are made equal! Be sure to check the distance rating for each model you look at.)

There are Two types that would work in this scenario, Active & Passive. lets break down the major differences.

Active

Almost always IEEE 802.11af standards compliant.
Each camera doesn't need its own power brick attached to a wall outlet somewhere, they all are home run to a POE compliant Ethernet switch.
Slightly easier to get going if you know nothing about Volts, Amps & Watts as you do not have to account for voltage drop. The adapter converts 48vdc to the output rating the adapter was designed for. (You still need to know the voltage and current rating of the camera & match the selected adapter to it) some of these have adjustable outputs.

Passive Injectors

No POE Switch is needed.
Almost never IEEE compliant.
The total Amps must not exceed the AWG rating for the cable in use.
Voltage Drop must be accounted for if its a long run.
You still need to know how big and what style the power connectors are used in the model camera you choose!

You can find these from your favorite online retailers like amazon, ebay etc. just make sure you read all the information carefully on the cameras & passive/active injectors.

Tim_Stewart

Posted 2018-10-03T17:35:59.273

Reputation: 3 983

... and the WiFi part? you've given more info on PoE than Albin, but completely missed the point - at least their solution address this. – Attie – 2018-10-05T08:33:29.680

@attie, Not sure if I follow you. The wifi cams I have installed act as wireless stations.(client mode) the data split in the injectors can be ignored as they are wifi cameras being installed. Am i missing something? – Tim_Stewart – 2018-10-05T12:12:03.883

ah... you're suggesting PoE just for power delivery to a barrel jack (or similar)? and using with standard "WiFi Cameras"? You're not recommending using "PoE / Ethernet Cameras"? Might be worth making that clear... – Attie – 2018-10-05T14:46:04.000

If so... "Slightly easier to get going if you know nothing about Volts, Amps & Watts" incorrect - it's still very important that the camera gets the voltage it expects - 5v? 12v? and the supply can deliver the power required. – Attie – 2018-10-05T14:46:40.130

1"The total Watts must not exceed the AWG rating for the cable in use" incorrect - the current (Amps) is the limiting factor for a particular gauge of wire, not power (Watts)... – Attie – 2018-10-05T14:48:03.920

@attie Yes, that's a typo. And yes I'm suggesting using regular wifi cameras. I'll edit to make it more clear. – Tim_Stewart – 2018-10-05T14:54:18.057

-1

I haven't heard of them either. But there is another option to combine WiFi and POE as well: You could connect the POE cams to a POE switch (as you planed already) and then connect an WiFi access point to the switch as well. This way you can access the cams through WiFi as well as run a LAN cable for power supply to the cams.

PowerConnection: Outside-Outlet -> POE-Switch with Wifi AP included/connected -> POE CAMs

Example for DataConnection: PC -(wifi)-> AP -(cable)-> Switch -(cable)-> Cam

This way the cams don't need to have a wireless interface included, which - in general - should be cheaper then buying cams with POE and WiFi.

Please note Attie's comment: WiFi access point should be able to operate as a client / in bridge mode - this way it can connect to the existing wifi network (the router inside).

Albin

Posted 2018-10-03T17:35:59.273

Reputation: 3 983

1@Tim_Stewart thanks for the feedback, could be so kind and explain how you come to this conclusion? In my view there are two requirements: 1st: the OP does not want to put a hole through the outside wall for for access to the cams from the inside thats the reason for the access through WiFi, 2nd: he want's to power the cams via POE instead of "regular" powerline --- my solution meets both requirements, maybe I didn't explain it in enough detail?). – Albin – 2018-10-05T08:08:49.327

It would be worth clarifying that the WiFi access point should be able to operate as a client / in bridge mode - this way it can connect to OP's existing WiFi network. – Attie – 2018-10-05T08:35:54.400

@Attie thanks, you are right, completely forgot about that... good point! – Albin – 2018-10-05T08:41:58.680