Remote View Security Camera without Internet Access

Remote View Security Camera without Internet Access

Recently, I spoke to a business owner of a farm who wanted to setup IP security cameras in his barn (a large building on a farm) to keep an eye on his Garden. The farmer wanted to watch live video of the Garden from his house (which is located about 400 feet away from the barn). He also wanted to monitor his cameras when he was away from the farm using his mobile phone. The problem is that the barn does not have an Internet connection.

What is the wireless bridge?
Another option is using a wireless bridge. A wireless bridge connects two wired networks together over Wi-Fi. The wireless bridge acts as a client, logging in to the primary router and getting an Internet connection, which it passes on to the devices connected to its LAN Jacks.

How do you bridge two wireless routers?
1. Determine if your equipment is compatible. ...
2. Place both routers near your computer. ...
3. Set up your primary router. ...
4. Open the configuration page on the secondary router. ...
5. Enable Bridge Mode. ...
6. Specify the secondary router's IP address. ...
7. Enter a unique SSID. ...
8. Place the secondary router.

Using a Long Range Wireless Bridge with Cameras

The above picture provides an overview of how to use a long range wireless bridge to network two buildings (one with and one without Internet access) so that live video from an IP Camera can be remotely viewed from over the Internet. The building on the left represents the farmer’s barn (no internet access, but has power) and the building on the right represents the house. This particular barn was built to be very weatherproof and it is located in an area where there is very little moisture. For areas with more moisture or if the camera is going to directly exposed to more harsh weather elements, I would recommend an outdoor weatherproof camera.

Important note: long range wireless systems require a direct line of sight between the transmitting and receiving antennas. There can be no objects such as buildings and trees that obstruct the view between antennas.

Here is how the system work Long rang wireless systems, include a transmitter and receiver antennas.

1. Mount the transmitter of the wireless system on the outside of the building that does not have an Internet connection. In this case, the horse barn.
2. Drill a hole through the exterior wall to feed the power cable and a CAT-5 cable inside the barn.
3. Mount the camera and connect it to the wireless transmitter using the CAT-5 cable.
4. Connect the power supplies of the camera and WIFI transmitter to a power outlet.
5. Mount the wireless receiver on the house.
6. Drill a hole in the exterior wall for the CAT-5 and power cable for the receiver antenna.
7. Connect the CAT-5 cable to your network router.
8. Connect the power supply of the receiver antenna to a power outlet.
9. The transmitter / receiver pair are configured to form a wireless bridge over WIFI. They can be configured to only connect to each other so there is no interference from other WIFI equipment. The purpose of the wireless bridge is for the camera to communicate with the home network. The home network is connected to a high speed Internet connection such as cable or DSL.
10. Port forwarding is configured on the router so that the IP camera can be accessed from remotely over the Internet.
11. The live video from the camera in the horse stall can now be accessed from anywhere in the world from a web browser. You can require a user id and password for access. The camera can be accessed from Mac, Windows, Android, and iOS.

Some video servers and IP cameras support remote access from a web browser that works for Windows and Mac PCs.

More Video Surveillance Uses for Wireless Bridges

In addition to this single IP camera system explained above, here are some additional ways to use long range wireless systems with multiple security cameras.

Multiple IP Cameras

You can connect multiple IP cameras to a network switch in the building with no Internet access, then connect the switch to the wireless transmitter antenna. Now all of the cameras are connected to the network in the building with Internet access. All cameras can be made accessible over the Internet by setting up port forwarding for each of them.

CCTV Cameras Connected to DVR

You can use a wireless system with CCTV cameras if you have a DVR that is network-able. Here is how this works. The CCTV cameras are hard wired to a DVR using coax cable. The DVR is connected to the wireless transmitter with CAT-5 cable. Now the DVR is available on the network and can be controlled remotely using apps for iPhone, Android, Mac, and Windows. Users can view all cameras that are connected to the DVR.