A Cunning Plan

Hurricane

Hurricane

Well-Known Member
Joined
11 Nov 2005
Messages
9,856
Location
Sant Carles de la Ràpita
Visit site
Sorry
Recently, I've been watching the complete (4 series) set of Blackadder. TV channel, Dave (one of the few satellite channels that I am currently recieving out here) have also been running a documentary on the making of the Blackadder series.

So "A Cunning Plan" was very much on my mind.

This Cunning Plan is to add a video camera onto the bow to monitor the deployment and recovery of our anchor using the flybridge navigation displays. It was the idea of a delivery skipper who suggested it to us. He didn't see the point of a camera in the engine room - he thought there are far more important places to install a camera - "over the anchor for instance", he said. A few others on this forum have already installed cameras like this and are calling it "AnCam" but I think it could also be used to watch dolphins playing in the boats bow wave whilst under way.
This is the kind of thing I mean - video taken a month ago



Maybe it should also be called a "DolCam" or perhaps a "DollyCam" - what do you think?

And, thanks to NickH, we will now refer to this project as a "CunPlan".

I'm living on the boat for five months this year so I've been doing lots of jobs but one is trying to find a way to route wires into JW's chain locker. It seems that Princess didn't have the forethought to install some extra conduit for any additional services into that part of the boat. I've got loads of photos in the factory at various stages of our build so I started tracing the route that the Windlass wiring takes. I wonder how chain counters are retro fitted? I was hoping that I might be able to add some cables to the existing windlass conduits but there is absolutely no space so anyone ordering/building a new Princess who wants to be able to add services to the front of the boat should ask for some extra conduits to be installed during the build.
So for me, my options are to either use a wireless system or create a new route for wires.

Right from the beginning, I installed a ships PC into JW. This computer's video (VGA) feeds to all the TVs on the boat and to each of the 4 Raymarine navigation displays. The PC is also connected to one of five Cat 6 networks that I had installed throughout the boat when she was built. Most of the networks are for navigation equipment (NMEA 2000 and VGA feeds from the Raymarine G Series GPMs etc) but one of the networks is a genuine LAN/IP based network connected to a standard home WiFi/router.

So my CunPlan is to add an IP camera into the ship's LAN. The video from this camera should then, in theory, be available to view on any device connected to the ships LAN (either wired of WiFi). This would mean with the correct software, even a smart phone could monitor the anchor or watch dolphins under the bow.

I've just upgraded the boat's audio to a system that receives music played from Apple AirPlay devices. In fact, I don't actually use any Apple devices myself (I'm an Android man) but the new audio system uses the Apple AirPlay technology so friends who don't like my music can bring their own!! This new audio system makes extensive use of the boat's WiFi network providing three separate audio zones (Flybridge, Cockpit and Saloon).
Here's a link to a thread where I explained my new audio system. It has worked so well that I have recently added a second Fusion power amplifier to improve the flybridge audio zone.

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?421214-Alternative-Audio-Music-System

With all these wireless audio zones, I'm a bit worried that I might be overloading the ships WiFi network so, I thought it prudent to hard wire the new camera into the LAN rather than building a wireless option.

By removing some of the decorative trim in the forward cabin and creating a new watertight gland into the forward bulkhead, I think I can find a suitable route for the new wires.

With that in mind, I've ordered a really cheap IP camera and some extra Cat 6 cable.
This is the camera that I have ordered - if it works, I will buy several more as spares.

There are two versions - one 92mm dia
http://www.escam.cn/en/product/ESCAM-Peashooter-QD520.html
Amazon's price
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pggpo-Peash...F8&qid=1434698917&sr=1-2&keywords=escam+qd520

And one 120mm dia.
http://www.escam.cn/en/product/ESCAM-Snail-QD500.html
Amazon's price
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00L8KNZ5I?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

I think that the smaller would be best but it seems harder to source so I've ordered one of each and I will compare them both.

I used this cheap camera approach when I fitted my docking cameras. I didn't like the Raymarine cylindrical shape ones and they seemed prone to rust. The dome docking cameras I fitted cost about £75 each whereas the Raymarine ones were several hundred pounds. Apart from an initial failure that was replaced under warranty, these docking cameras have been working perfectly over the last 8 years without a hitch and no sign of rust - I do have spares though. My two docking cameras including all the spares cost far less that the price of one Raymarine camera.

This pic shows our cheap docking cameras position and in operation.

DSC_0893e_Small.jpg


IMG_5281Medium.jpg


Whenever the windlass is operated, huge currents drawn so I thought it would be prudent to power the sensitive cheap video camera from other more stable supplies within the boat. In fact, I will probably also use a voltage stabiliser to protect the camera against any nasty spikes. I've also ordered a PoE injector/splitter which will allow me to run the power and video (IP) down a single Cat 6 cable.

Others on this forum have fitted their anchor cameras in one of two places. Either offset on the side of the gunwale about 2m back or directly over the top of the anchor. I haven't yet decided which would be the best place so over the next few weeks, I will stick the camera using some gaffer tape in a number of places and see which position works best.

This is the Jimmy/Bart method.

Jimmy's
DSC00417_zpskeb5azk9.jpg

Bart's
IMG_0630.jpg


And the view from Jimmy and Bart's cameras
Jimmy's
DSC00479_zpsonnfzb4p.jpg

Bart's
IMG_0043.jpg


This is the JFM method.
anchorcamera.jpg


And the view from JFM's camera
[/QUOTE]

I did think of buying a PTZ (Pan, Tilt and Zoom) camera. It would be simple to arrange for the PC to control the PTZ but I didn't like any of the cheap PTZ cameras on the market. A fixed anchor camera might look odd enough but the PTZ ones I've seen would look really stupid and I'm not sure I would have the time when using it to alter its view. Like most things, if it is difficult to operate - it won't get used.

Over the last couple of weeks, SWMBO has been back home so she is bringing some of the components out. She is coming out today with her sister and brother in law so I probably won't have the time over the next couple of weeks to do any permanent installation but the weather forecast is good for next week so maybe we will be able to rig up some tests and post the results on this thread.

After installation of the camera, this CunPlan might go further - a winter upgrade project. The anchor winch contains a reed switch which triggers at every complete rotation of the windlass. I'm thinking of feeding this signal into an Arduino board and connecting it to the LAN. Arduino boards are similar to a Raspberry Pi - low cost programmable circuit boards capable of handling digital inputs and outputs. At the moment, I think the Arduino might be better than the Raspberry Pi for this application.

This is what an Arduino looks like

ardwoeth.jpg


So, I'm thinking that during the winter months, I will write some software for the PC/Arduino to superimpose some numbers showing the amount of chain deployed onto the anchor camera's video display. In other words a chain counter display over the top of the anchor camera's video. Don't you think that will be COOL!!

The next step.
Once I get the bits working, I'll take some pics of the camera position and the image it captures.
So if you want to see more, watch this space over the next few weeks.
 
Hurricane said:
So, I'm thinking that during the winter months, I will write some software for the PC/Arduino to superimpose some numbers showing the amount of chain deployed onto the anchor camera's video display. In other words a chain counter display over the top of the anchor camera's video. Don't you think that will be COOL!!
Click to expand...
That would be brilliant! Looking forward to seeing this - best of luck
The numbers could become bold/flash/whatever when the chain deployed <5metres, to remind you to pay more attention at the end. The AutoAnchor bleeps at this point, or a user settable point
Before deciding where to mount the camera you have to decide the feasibility of threading cable in the pulpit tube and getting mounting plates welded on. That alone might dictate mounting it where I have it, though I chose that location for the view it gives not because it was easier to do (I wasn't doing the work because it was all done in new build)
I totally agree PTZ is pointless. you have enough to do when anchoring. I find I look at the real world and only glance at the screen (several times) when using the thing. Playing with PTZ buttons is of no benefit and is a pointless distraction. And the mechanism will probably bust in the salt water
Possible upgrade: automatic anchor deployment mechanism driven by the Arduino ? :D:encouragement:
 
DavidJ said:
Sorry to hijack the topic but how do you get "Dave" in Spain? What satellite are you tuned to?
Thanks
Click to expand...

I have a Sky subscription and it is one of the channels on there.
So that would be the Astra 2 satellite constellation at 28.2 degrees east.
It is the basic subscription but still over £20 per month - just gone up, I believe.
However, things are changing.
Astra 2G moved into position yesterday.
That gives SES (the Astra operator) three satellites with the new hi focus UK beam.
Gradually, channels are moving to these new beams so maybe the Sky channels will as well.
I read somewhere that there are 500,000 Sky subscribers illegally receiving TV in Spain and that Sky are keen to "turn a blind eye".
I'm hoping that will mean Sky will continue to use the European wide beams for their channels but I fear that all UK TV will "go dark" over Europe.
Sky News is an interesting one - AFAIK it isn't broadcast over the UK beams - we were watching it in Mallorca and, indeed, halfway across to Sardinia.
But here in southern Sardinia, we can't get Sky News whereas Dave, Watch, Gold, Alibi and most of the Documentaries are "booming in".
It is a real shame that we have the technology - It seems to me that it is just license issues that are stopping our reception.
OTOH, it is dead easy to receive all the UK TV if you have a good enough internet.
Why can't the broadcasters wake up to all this.
 
Hurricane said:
I have a Sky subscription and it is one of the channels on there.
So that would be the Astra 2 satellite constellation at 28.2 degrees east.
It is the basic subscription but still over £20 per month - just gone up, I believe.
However, things are changing.
Astra 2G moved into position yesterday.
That gives SES (the Astra operator) three satellites with the new hi focus UK beam.
Gradually, channels are moving to these new beams so maybe the Sky channels will as well.
I read somewhere that there are 500,000 Sky subscribers illegally receiving TV in Spain and that Sky are keen to "turn a blind eye".
I'm hoping that will mean Sky will continue to use the European wide beams for their channels but I fear that all UK TV will "go dark" over Europe.
Sky News is an interesting one - AFAIK it isn't broadcast over the UK beams - we were watching it in Mallorca and, indeed, halfway across to Sardinia.
But here in southern Sardinia, we can't get Sky News whereas Dave, Watch, Gold, Alibi and most of the Documentaries are "booming in".
It is a real shame that we have the technology - It seems to me that it is just license issues that are stopping our reception.
OTOH, it is dead easy to receive all the UK TV if you have a good enough internet.
Why can't the broadcasters wake up to all this.
Click to expand...

Thanks and agree with you
Our free marina internet is way below any streaming capability but may something interesting may pop up with Astra 2G.
We know so many Spaniards (as well as of course ex pats) who used to watch Freesat because Spanish tele is so poor and they would, I guess, be willing to pay a subscription to watch, as I would! Many would be subscribing to a VPN service.
Thanks and enjoy Sardinia
 
Bit windy today so after a morning walking round CF, we decided to get the bits out and have a play.

The hardest thing was getting into the IP Camera's control interface.
We needed to set the camera's IP address so that it "fitted into" the boat's LAN.
It seems that the only way is to run Internet Explorer with an Active X addon. - yuk

Anyway, once the camera's IP address had been set onto the same as the boat's subnet, all the devices on the ship's LAN could then see it and any data coming from it.
The camera then streams (2 streams in fact - 1 HiRes - one for smart phones) so all you then need to do is run an application that will "listen" to the camera's IP address.

VLC is a very popular free video player and has the ability "built in" to open the RTSP streams that come from this camera.
So, with the appropriate parameters (IP address, user and password etc) set into VLC's setup - BINGO the image appeared.
It was also possible to load an Android version of VLC onto my Android Tablet and get the same result.

So, armed with some gaffer tape, we stuck the camera onto several places on the bow.

Jimmy and Bart's idea is to mount the camera high up on the rails.
I didn't want to do that for a number of reasons - looks - wires - waterproofness - and cost etc.
There is a convenient place right on JW's bow - just above the anchor which would be a great place for AnCam.
Yes, I'm coming to terms with calling it AnCam!!

However, the field of view with these cheap cameras isn't great.
I now agree with JFM about using the "Landscape" aspect of the display to get the best view.
In fact, it isn't the display's view - it is the camera's aspect.

I took the following scree dumps.
The actual picture quality is much better that these dumps but I think these pics will show the problem.

This pic is with the camera mounted as I say above - on the point of the bow just (about 500mm) above the anchor.
If anyone is interested, I can find a pic of the boat that would explain the position more accurately.
But the point is that this position is no good for these cheap cameras.

Bow0_Small_zpspnspbjh9.jpg


So, I thought that it might be an idea to turn the camera around by 90 degrees so that the long side of the landscape image looked further ahead - if you get my drift.
Here's a pic from the camera in that position.

Bow90_Small_zpswbgd9ung.jpg


That was no good either so I then moved on to JFM's idea.
Mounting the camera about 1500mm from the bow on the starboard side.
This way, the field of view and the Landscape shape of the image works fairly well.

Starboard_Small_zpsdlsmutyz.jpg


So, this seems to be my preferred position.

I think the next step is to rig a slightly more robust test and actually try it at anchor.
At some stage, I will try and catch some video images to post on here but, for the meantime, these screen dumps will, hopefully, show the concept.

So far, the camera has cost about £30 + some Cat 6 cables.
I don't think that PoE is going to be an option to power it - for a couple of reasons so, I will probably use a spare voltage stabiliser that I have and run some extra cables to the front of the boat.

Eventually, I will write a Windows application that display the camera's image - I can then add other data to the application's display and, maybe scale/zoom the image to fit our Raymarine displays better (1024 x 768)- with aspect ratio of 4 x 3)

Thats it for the moment - but some progress - don't you think?
 
Impressive stuff, M. Looking forward to seeing all that in the flesh soon.
Fwiw, I also like the perspective of the last pic better.
But I would think that the vertical position might be more effective for spotting the sandy parts of seabed when walking the anchor out (see, Latestarter? You aren't teaching us the proper terms for nothing! :))
Provided that you can see the seabed obviously, but that's often the case anywhere in the Med, and almost always in CF!
 
Last edited:
OK - so here's an update

We have now officially joined the exclusive club of owners with an AnCam.

After a bit of experimenting, we went the JFM way.
These cheap cameras (£29) all seem to have the same standard of lens.
I'm sure that cameras with wider angle views are possible but the idea of the cunning plan was to use Ebay cameras that are so cheap that they could be replaced if necessary. In fact when I received the Escam camera that I eventually fitted, I was surprised how well they are built. The actual camera is completely sealed and waterproof.

This pic shows the final installation.

DSC06462_Small_zpsns0g0llk.jpg


I managed to route power and Cat6 cables through our forward cabin into the chain locker. In doing so, at the same time, I also ran some extra wires for the chain counter part of this cunning plan.

The Cat 6 cables run back into the ships LAN so the PC simply "picks up" the streaming image and displays it on its screen. The ships PC screen is routed to all the TVs and Nav displays throughout so AnCam is viewable everywhere.

Here it is on a lower helm display.

DSC06463_Small_zpstq8ecbjh.jpg


At the moment, I'm using VLC to display the image but later, I will probably write a small application to include the chain counter and to allow options to zoom the image - the camera is a higher resolution than the Nav displays.

This is the same image as above but with VLC stretching the image to fill the whole display. This, of course, distorts the image but I think it shows what a zoomed image would look like on a 4:3 display.

DSC06464_Small_zpsqhhb9xy1.jpg


And, of course, any other displays that are connected to the ships LAN can also view the camera - including tablets connected to the LAN through the ships WiFi network.

Here's an example using my Android tablet.

DSC06465e_Small_zpstpr45job.jpg


So the next step is to use it in anger when we next anchor later this week.
 
rafiki_ said:
Cracking result. The images are really clear. Phenomenal considering the cost of the camera.
Click to expand...

Yes - because my PC system already exists, the cost was very small.
Camera £29
Some Cat6 - £15
Power cables £20
Voltage stabiliser (infact, that I already had) £35
and some time.

In fact, there was another charge - I bought a second camera (the one with the larger fixing) so this will form a spare and I had it delivered here in Carloforte (Sardinia) - it was sent directly from China and when it got here there was an additional 24 euros to pay (I don't think it was import duty - that was covered when I paid) - I think it might have been extra carriage to this island.
All in all though - a really low cost option.
I will be ordering at least 2 more cameras as spares - just because they are so cheap.
 
Ancam is a real success

When we are anchoring, SWMBO always operates the anchor from the foredeck.
Ancam gives me a view from the flybridge of what is going on.
It is amazing how useful it is.

A couple of days ago, we recovered the anchor in complete darkness.
We watched the sunset - no moon.
For a cheap camera, I didn't expect the infra red image to work very well but, in fact, the view I saw was better than SWMBO and our friends had.
Using Ancam, I was able to watch them hook the anchor trip buoy with the long boat hook - all in the dark.

I'm trying to find a way to capture some video whilst watching it myself.
If I do, I will post the resulting video.

Yep - a great success
 
Great stuff Hurricane. I've been using mine all week last week and I still love it. My only thought ref yours is that your cam is pointed more down than mine. I like the anchor's fully retracted position to be just in view at the top of the screen, so I can check it is seated correctly. See 1:22 in video below. Just a thought

I don't buy the idea of using AnCam to see sandy bottom. I can see that with my eyes and it isn't that important anyway. Hence, like you, I like the sideways/landscape view

[/QUOTE]
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Other threads that may be of interest

zoidberg
Keep It Simple, Stoopid!
2
Replies
21
Views
894
thinwater
thinwater

Share this page

Top