Re: Deer camera for cars?

[Nick Hull <nhull@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

In article <__2dnWFRbO5oFHPenZ2dnUVZ_tednZ2d@xxxxxxx>,
 "Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> "Nick Hull" <nhull@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:nhull-
>
> <stuff snipped>
>
> > > Reliable automobile sensing almost always seems to be done by buried
> > > sensors.  I've had my X10 Hawkeyes detect moving cars from 50 feet
> away -
> > > but not reliable.  Many cars scooted by undetected for reasons I never
> > > bothered to ascertain.  Maybe only well-warmed up cars triggered the
> PIR.
> > > I'd look toward putting the sensor about a foot off the ground and very
> > > close to the roadway.  A car's exhaust system and engine will be the
> warmest
> > > parts and they're down below.  Try keeping the sensor pointed north so
> that
> > > you minimize direct sunlight exposure.
> > >
> > > What kind of sensor is it?
> >
> > PIR, "1.3 Megapixel".  I had the sensor low and the cars warm, but my
> > Saturn was never able to trigger it.  I did get ONE shot of the rear of
> > my wife's Caravan, presumably trigerred by the exhaust.
>
> Still not sure what you're using in the way of PIR but the battery-powered
> Hawkeyes from X-10 would be certain to detect warm vehicles from 10 feet
> away.
>
> www.Smarthome.com offers a wide variety of driveway sensors and alerts.
> Perhaps the manuals for their PIR models might give better ideas about
> placing the sensor you have to maximize detection.
>
> A good outdoor PIR has a lot of features that take into account the ultimate
> location and environment of the unit.  Here are some specs for the outdoor
> PIR that I use, which so far has not been triggered by squirrels or cars -
> just people::

I probably need a sensor triggered by cars.

>
> http://www.optexamerica.com/products/specsheets/lx40.cfm
>
> Show me where you have the detector set now, with C being where I would
> place it - it should be close enough that car would fill the entire
> field-of-view of the sensor.
>
> '_' = 10 feet
>
>                 C
> _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
> Roadway
> _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


   - - - - - - - - - - - -
                           |  <- C
   - - - - - - - - - -     |
                      |    |

Not good asci art but camera is aimed straight up the road from the
outside of a curve, less than 10' from the road.  Maybe I should aim it
more into the curve, with the road at the right edge of the field of
view?


>
> What's the ambient temperature at the sensor?  Is it possible the deer
> trigger the unit only after multiple "counts?"  If that's the case, it's
> going to be difficult to trigger on a car unless it stops to munch on your
> shrubs.   You might be able to tell by looking at the existing deer pictures
> to see if they are just entering the frame or already dead center when the
> camera trips.

There is about a 5 second lag between trip and shoot, that's why I put
it on a curve.  But it's not that I am getting an empty picture of the
road after the car passed, the camera is not getting tripped and am
getting no pictures.  I might have gotten one picture of an MT road when
I drove by with my window down, I'll have to experiment more.  Ambient
temp is chilly, that should help.  Turning on the headlights did not
help.

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