Rob Dooley

I am not sure I even want to know what is so sensitive on what you want to put cameras on! there are rule/laws and human decency to always consider -
wired or radio (if it isn't wired, it's radio) -  it can potentially be hacked. wifi, BT  and cell are all radio. your cell phone up against your head is transmitting RF to work.
I just can't tell if  "trail cam" is what you really need, or a fixed CCTV setup, since you want to get it to a PC or DVR.
even wired connections can be "hacked". the BLE blutooth actually make you start with their software - pretty slim chance of someone having the correct software to get to it to turn on the WiFi, which usually turns off in a couple minutes, needing the bluetooth to turn it on, and it isn't a wide open WiFi. (most of the trail cams have some security on the WiFi)
if you want to record it on a PC or DVR - you have to get a signal to from the camera(s) to the recording device.
good camera placement, and probably the 940 nanometer infrared would go a long ways to not drawing attention - the 940 NM isn't visible to the human eye, and from what I have observed, very few animals see - I get some amazing shots with those.
these cameras are likely more secure than a cell phone, partly because a WiFi search won't bring them up unless a person has turned them on for a session. if you aren't going to be taking them "into the wild" - than a standard DVR (or appropriate setup PC) would be the thing for a hardwired CCTV system, not trail cameras. you can get some relatively decent quality low cost from places online. I hesitate to put brand names in here, or store names - but will suggest the huge corporate online place most of the country seems to use, or there is a place called supercircuits that can be quite helpful. think of it needing to be a system - and matching your particular needs  with the appropriate gear.
video is simple, but there are lots of levels of quality out there - using one place to get setup can make sure you get the most out of it for what you are doing.
the place I mentioned has some decent quality affordable DVR's as well as cameras.
Good luck!

I think everyone should put one up for even just a few days, you might be amazed what happens when you  aren't looking
as far as what to buy - think about how long you will leave it up,(battery life among other things) - how often you want to check it - I have found I like the ones I can put out of reach, and check it with a cell/ tablet connection my go-to is actually a cheap one with remote access, Bluetooth to start, then it goes WiFi - can download,view and change settings.
if you are just going to retrieve it and take it to a PC or laptop to view it, there are lots of less expensive ones. I have video of a red fox climbing a 6' chain link fence - like it was nothing.
there are also cell linked versions - handy, but more expense.
good luck and happy monitoring!

I just clicked on "adhesive/sealer" in the links below this forum - 12 years ago there was a paper mache' mention  and it said to use salt for strength and durability/not molding/ etc, I can't remember verbatim.. it might help?
I am really intrigued by the Garlic - I grow lots of elephant garlic, and while it is a food staple here, making things out of it could be awesome!

around here I would be sure it is elk. unsure of size of the sample - so maybe I wouldn't!,  also, i don't know what is normally around any part of New York.and what is in your area!

thomas rubino wrote:The pumps are working, and the Black and White is still under power!
The list is almost all gone!  
My cheese is no longer in danger of sliding off!
This is as good as it gets. I will still need to do some repair work, but it can wait until 2026 before making it to the top of the list!

Thomas, that is a joy to behold - I am so glad to see you can still use that beautiful oven without worry for now!
I am pretty gimped up, but still functional - if you need help with that next year, let me know, I will do my best to come help - you are so helpful on this forum, payback is in order!

Dang, I go on a road trip and out of touch, and I miss this!
so sorry to see that Thomas. I think all my thoughts have been covered - but welcome to retirement - I agree, I have never been busier.
I am trying to figure out if I have anything that could help to offer - but at least if you need something, let us know - I am willing to bet there are lots of people that would try to find stuff/help somehow. my new place (I haven't rocked all of the road yet) is a wee bit of an accessibility issue - but where I put the 20 yards of 1 1/2 rock was a hero last trip out. not tempting fate until the ground thaws out enough to let what has thawed drain out. unusual storm made a mess.
anyway - I am catching up around here, and could put some time and energy into finding/sourcing if you need something!
Rob

Jen, funny, I forgot that PO part of it myself - the property is  nka - "no known Address" - seems to be peculiar in that county - but even the people in the municipal cluster - no mail delivery. the PO boxes takes years on the wait list, so "general delivery" is all we will get. apparently the DMV is willing to use RTS (range, Section,Township, and then lot) for drivers license. but good luck getting things delivered.

Nancy - if your radios can be computer programmed, sometimes you have to use the factory software, lots but not always a Program called "Chirp" will be able to work it, and makes it very easy to setup what you want. I have several (many, most hams have a fetish for collecting them all!) different brands and models of radios - I really like that it is basically in an excel style - so one can copy and paste into another radio file.
other than very specific event programs, I have every radio setup identical - I don't use "channel" much, but every data entry location is the same - so if I am out remote from my gear, I can tell someone at my base to go to a channel on my base to get where we have better coverage.
biggest thing to remember - antenna is the most important part. the best radio can't get out without a decent antenna, but a crappy radio can get out good with a good antenna. the factory rubber duck style that come on most HT's usually need an upgrade....

out where I am going the people will share water out of their well with you if they have one - for a while at least, until you can get setup. I have three places that have already offered. I have found a community of people that I should have landed in many years ago. seems like the best of people have escaped out there.

Nancy Gardner wrote:I have been looking for a place. Real estate prices went crazy so I am waiting to see what happens.  Hopefully I will find someone needing to sell a part of their land.
I live in a small city that has its own power and water.  I store about 300 gallons of water in barrels, have a sun oven, a laundry station,  a solar generator and started raising quail.   Last year I made the decision to start getting use to using these things.  It was a good decision.  Found I lacked a cable that went to the solar panels to recharge the generator.  Also figured I needed to get a few more panels for my energy needs.  
I just got a radio for communications and am learning how to use it as well as networking with others to practice using them.  
Using what I have when it’s not an emergency has taught me where I need to improve.

Nancy -you are spot on with getting used to things prior to emergencies - and how you train will become how you respond very quickly with practice. I am a Ham operator plus GMRS as well. I have a couple repeaters and help people whenever I can with radio. I will never claim to be an expert, but I do work a lot of events - for practice, and I just worked a 200 mile dogsled race - that was the most awesome thing I have ever done!
I might be able to answer some radio questions - and I am sure there are others, but it is a field I am pretty strong in.
also, land is fairly cheap still where I am going - maybe a pm if you are interested. if you don't like high desert and sagebrush, might not be "the Place"

John C Daley wrote:Rob, lots of rain and yet you run a well.
Was it habit or lack of confidence with rainwater  to use just rainwater?
I actively encourage use of rainwater alone since I believe its cleaner and better value than well water.

John,
I bought this place in 1992 after getting a divorce and needing a place to at least store what I had left.
Now, I grew up on what would be called a homestead nowadays, and I never knew people didn't process their own food.
As in: at 10 years old I had to feed the horses before I could have breakfast. I had to process the meat birds every spring -completely. also the meat rabbits. it was my job to make sure we had enough kindling for the next week before I could go play on the weekends. at 12 I was handed a chainsaw and then it was also my job to put up 3 cords of firewood before I got summer break. as a kid, having the the rest of summer completely free to just go, and having as far as I could walk in the coast range available to explore, I think i was pretty spoiled.
and motivated to fill the woodshed!
and no, if I was out exploring and not home, I didn't have to feed any animals. at 11, I was gone for a couple weeks at a time, by myself, "backpacking/exploring. I have actually woken up to being surrounded by a herd of elk.
 so - after the divorce in  92, I bought 10 wooded acres- already had a manufactured home, already had the well. my job had me on the road for a week or two at a time. so until I was getting close to retirement, I didn't have much time to make this what I wanted.
I have had tanks to catch rainwater for the garden - but most of the buildings had asphalt shingles and I am not about to try and poison myself when the well costs me about $1.85 a month on the electric bill. convenience, for the most part.
roofs got replaced with steel as it came about, also, the 50 acre grass seed field to the south of me is a well established Canadian goose zone during their migrations. so for a little over a week twice a year, it is a given that everything - including vertical walls and windows - will get strafed with goose poop. extremely covered.
Now that I have neighbors on the other three sides - across the road for two of those sides sides, I have a 20 mph corner and  road on two sides -I no longer have the tranquil place I wanted to retire to - I have purchased 20 acres out where there is no one, in the high desert that gets about 1 foot of rain a year. 4386 feet, it shows on the gps and the county records.
I will still do as much rain catch as I can - everything will have steel roofs - but I will still have to supplement, and as I get more attached to this 20, I don't even want to leave, even to haul water.
I can haul 700 gallons at a time, so with the catch at certain times of the year, I will only have to haul once a month. Summer - keeping the garden (mostly greenhouse) as well as my needs - will be twice a month.
I have two 550 tanks I was using to catch, and transport legal I have a 325 and a 425. and before the flaming starts on vehicle capabilities, I have a one ton dually truck and a 14k 18' flatbed trailer. I could haul over 1200 gallons and not be overloaded legally. common sense tells me not to consistently load a live load to capacity.
 the 1550 tanks will be for water storage, be it clean rain catch or hauled.
but if I ever find a well driller with an "on sale special" I will get a well drilled, as I don't want to beat my truck and trailer up on the incredibly rough roads hauling water for the rest of my life. directions to my 20 include "turn off the paved road 11 miles out of the unincorporated town, go down that gravel road to my un-named county dirt road and go 1/2 mile on the barely wide enough for a pickup road.  I was out there last week and it is frozen hard - and the dirt road is fill of puddles (currently frozen - 1 degree F when I arrived) - only one of the puddles of ice broke for that half a mile - so it was mini ice road truckin'. LOL
short answer, I was never home long enough to do the current place any justice, and with the very restrictive county I am currently in - one MUST mow grass/vegetation over 6" tall, or they will come in with their machines and destroy it all, and then bill you for three people and two machines at an extremely high rate. so instead of trying to fight it all, I am escaping.
I hope the long version doesn't make you sorry you asked!

I currently have electricity and internet, but the place is up for sale - and our 20 acres of bliss we are moving to is completely off-grid. super quiet, and a 360 degree mountain view.
we use a 720 watt 12 volt solar array here to power my Ham radios, and make some 120 stuff run with an 1800 watt true sine inverter - all of this is 25 years old, so probably update to 48 volts and a wind-turbine, since the new place has a bit more air movement. - we normally hit around $52 a month for the electric at this place. a 120 foot deep well. and lots of rain!