Cheap Front door home monitor design - so far working great!

[deathtech]

Design I wanted:

When motion is detected at my front door, have skype place a video call to me automatically, via the skype App on my iphone. Showing me my webcam feed.
Also have it where i can place a video call with the computer..which is obliviously running skype, so i can view the webcam at my front door whenever i like.

(this can be done with more expensive setup i.e vera and add-ons, but I wanted to test this with little money as possible at the moment)

Money spent: $12 (logitech c170 webcam from wallmart)
32 foot ext USB cable: (already had this, but it was roughly 15-20bucks, amazon, or monoprice.com, i think its cheaper there)

Software:
VC
Skype
Skype Mobile
icam (from http://skjm.com/icam/ -Free software used for motion detection. i liked this one as i was able to make grids of where i wanted motion to only be detected at)
manycam.com (Free software- This was required to work 100% all the time , so i can make a virtual webcam driver, to use with icam and skype at the same time. I tried without this, trust me using send keys to stop and start icam before skype started wasnt working out very well)
VAC (virtual Audio Cable, using this to get the sound from the webcam feed back into Skype video call!)
Event Ghost (This was needed to monitor a directory using directory watcher, where snap shots from my webcam was taken during when motion detected via iCam software, this triggered an event, which was passed to VC which then setup the video call to my phone)

Here is my cheap front door home monitor, I know there are better setup ideas out there. But it does great for what i'm testing out right now.
So I am planning later to get veralite, but didnt have the money at the money to toss toward it and get the camera I wanted and motion sensors.

All it cost me was a 12 buck USB webcam. (i already had a 32foot USB cable which i was using for the kinetic extension)

I placed this cheap camera in the corner ceiling of my front porch, i'm very surprised i told my wife i don't think it will last the night. so far its lasted about a week, in temperatures of single digits at night, with snow on the ground at the moment..(its not water proof, so we'll see how long it really does last)

Plugged in the webcam to my 32 foot cable, ran it through the attic back to my computer.

Setup all software, much testing and tweaking, and now works every time! - So far!

I can see my webcam whenever i want via skype on my cell phone no matter where i'm at. as Skype works from skype user to skype user for free.
I can hear my audio from my webcam feed from skype also.
I have the motion grid setup so I only detect parts which wont cause false positives. I.e tree or bush moving etc.

I can share my xml's and configurations with anyone if you're curious. i just didnt want to at the moment if no one was intesrted. and I would have wasted my time.

-Future improvement if this works well.
:Outdoor weather proof rated camera, which is IR capable.
:Replace setup with Vera? Maybe.. depends on if this doesn't go smooth later on..so far its working great!

[jitterjames]

Sweet.  I respect someone who can get the job done on the super cheap!

You could probably up the ante a little bit without needing to buy a Vera if this is all you want to accomplish.  You can buy a wireless IP camera that has motion detection on it.  The one I have is not weatherproof and they are expensive enough that you would not want to put them outside unless it were safe (i.e. more than $12).

I don't know a lot about it but I bet you could find a weatherproof wireless IP camera without spending too much.

Sure I have more to say on this subject but it looks like there is food on the table!  This makes for a very high H.A.F.

[Hellow]

I have a http://dx.com/p/wanscam-jw0008-wireless-300kp-ip-camera-w-10-ir-led-wi-fi-black-279673#.UxkOMfldXT8. It not water proof but under the ceiling, it has survived two winters with -20 c. Its alot of bang for the buck

[deathtech]

just implemented turning it off an on via Skype IM.

when i text home it turns the skype detection group off.
when i text away it turns the skype detection group on.

I would like to run a speaker out there to talk over skype to the outside. But having this implemented is quite difficult because of a single sound card and all the VAC's going on as is. i'll have to think about this a bit more.

[deathtech]

I have a http://dx.com/p/wanscam-jw0008-wireless-300kp-ip-camera-w-10-ir-led-wi-fi-black-279673#.UxkOMfldXT8. It not water proof but under the ceiling, it has survived two winters with -20 c. Its alot of bang for the buck

Cool IR camera and cheap. how does the IR work for you? is it decent? How far is the range of the IR?

[Hellow]

Cool IR camera and cheap. how does the IR work for you? is it decent? How far is the range of the IR?

Yeah, the ir works. But im not sure how good the ir are. There is a outdoor lamp just next to it, but if i turn it off i also turn off the power to the camera. With i see atleast 10 meters at night.

[jitterjames]

As with a normal spotlight, the brightness will fade with distance.  In total darkness things are starting to get pretty dim on mine at about 25 feet.  We have a Trendnet ptz. I forget the exact model.