Hello selfhosters!

I have what is hopefully a simple ask. I am looking for some outdoor cameras for my sister, who is not at all tech savvy. I am, to an extent, and I’d like to get her set up with a small, remotely-manageable system to view and record the outside of her home. I’d wager there’s a plethora of selfhost software that can be run on a number of systems (I’m thinking something cheap like a Raspberry Pi), to connect to an external HDD for camera storage.

I’m also looking for camera suggestions for this purpose. Wi-Fi cameras are ideal, since we don’t have the means to run ethernet for PoE.

Thank you for your time, and I hope you all have a wonderful week :)

  • lemming741@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    22 hours ago

    I built this system for my mother with an old business pc running frigate. I used an old wifi router with ap mode available in the firmware that is only for the cameras. It’s a simple way to make sure the cameras won’t have internet access without relying on whatever router they may have. I added a second Ethernet port to the business PC because I had the parts, but for one or two cams you could theoretically do all over wifi. Install wireguard so you can manage it remotely. Then decide if you want to bother forwarding the ports and getting a domain setup, or if local only viewing is good enough.

    For cameras, I used these amcrest ASH22-W which are good enough for the price. 1080p for $33

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/314660333877

    One thing to remember with these cameras- mounting them high gives you a bigger field of view, wipes out any possibilities of identification. The frigate models also don’t do as well. Doorbell cameras are better for that.