Equestrian Days - Foaling Stall Camera Online-System Tips

From Your First Horse to Your First Foal

Foaling Stall Camera Online - System Tips
by Jorene Downs
CEOates Ranch, 2002
www.CEOates.com

The CEOates Ranch broodmares are foaled out in my barn. We have a wireless barn camera system covering 2 foaling stalls that I can monitor in my home office, and I also capture transmission from the barn to send to the Internet during foaling season. The foaling stall camera online was originally intended as a convenience for Christi (partner / daughter) to be able to help during foal watch by monitoring online from her home 20+ minutes away. Initially we transmitted live video. Word spread, and there are now hundreds of people online daily who are virtual visitors in our barn when a pregnant mare is online in a foaling stall. Many people mentioned they were unable to view the live video, and in 2002 the format was changed to providing still shots updated at intervals. Typically the interval between still shot updates is 10 seconds.

A bonus for having the foaling stall live camera accessible through our web page is providing the online public the opportunity to share the experience of watching different pregnant mare behavior, seeing an actual foaling, and observing the interaction between the mare and her new foal. When a mare is close to foaling there are well over 1,200 visitors hoping to see our mare deliver her new foal.

During foaling season the barn camera allows unobtrusive monitoring of the mare. During the non-foaling periods, the barn camera is also very convenient if a horse is for some reason confined and I want to keep an eye on that horse.

Some people are interested in the convenience of a foaling stall camera. Others are starting to take advantage of technology to remotely monitor their pregnant mare from work online during the day, or are interested in providing public access online.

If you're considering a barn camera system ...
Barn camera options are wired or wireless transmission. Typical wireless transmission is about 300 feet over a clear area, but distance and quality of transmission varies per camera unit. Depending on the distance and possible obstructions, a wireless barn camera may or may not be feasible. Our wireless cameras transmit from within the wood and metal barn, through several house walls approximately 150 feet with occasional flickers in the transmission from the camera more distant in the barn. A wired system with cable in buried conduit would be more reliable and have fewer limitations ... but also requires a safe installation of cable between barn and house as well as more wiring within the house.

One important issue to be aware of is the 2.4 GHz wireless camera transmission uses the same frequency as the contemporary portable phone. If you use that portable phone the barn camera transmission is interrupted. We simply don't use that portable while a barn camera is running online.

Also pay attention to how weatherproof the cameras are since the installation location might prohibit use of a non-weatherproof camera. I'm satisfied with black and white monitoring, but color cameras are available.

For viewing at night we have installed red floodlights. Since each camera also needs power, the electrical resources at your barn may need revision.

Whatever system you choose, if you're combining use of different technologies be sure to check for compatible jacks prior to purchase so you can plug A into B in your integrated system.

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A tip for installation ...
When trying to position the camera in the barn for maximum viewing advantage (for example, shooting from shade into a daylight background tends to lose the horse against that bright background) and getting the right angle for best coverage ... it helps to "see" what the camera is seeing. Either rig with a portable monitor you can watch while adjusting the camera, or have someone in the house watching the TV/monitor while you're talking with them. You can communicate positioning (up, down, left, etc.) with walkie-talkie radios, cell phone talking to the house line, etc. Using a wireless camera system you may need to adjust little receiver antennas, too, to fine tune transmission and reception. Planning ahead saves a bunch of hiking back and forth - or yelling between house and barn - to check the results of every little tweak of the camera angle!

The CEOates Ranch barn camera online system was installed in 2000.
Modify to suit your own needs, but our system includes:

2.4 GHz wireless black & white camera system - LOREX OBSERVATION SYSTEM model SG6940. The system can run up to 4 cameras. We have 2 cameras permanently mounted over foaling stalls, and a 3rd camera optional. The cameras transmit to the wireless receiver located in my home office.
Portable TV used as a stall camera monitor. The TV unit includes a VCR so I can record activity in the stall.
Intel Pro PC Camera.
Note at the time this is written this webcam is the only one I know of that has the RCA jack to allow plugging the barn camera system into the webcam for online transmission. An alternative to the webcam connection is to plug directly into a video capture card installed in the computer. I prefer to keep my video capture card free for other use.
Computer (webcam plugs into a USB port) with 24/7 online dial-up access.
There may be issues with your Internet Service Provider if you want to transmit online 24/7, if only a periodic disconnect you need to watch for to reconnect.
Software to capture the transmission from the barn and transmit live online. Several options are available. The live video software option we used was TeVeo The webcam comes with software that can be used for transmitting automatic update of still shots. Other popular options are Webcam32 and iVISTA .

The A/B switch allows me to watch either TV programs or the barn feed, or quickly switch back and forth. If you have a portable TV to use exclusively for foal watch, the A/B switch isn't necessary. You could also put a Y splitter in the cable between the camera receiver and the main TV monitor to run a second TV (dedicated stall monitor) in a different location ... like next to your bed for the comfortable late night foaling stall check.

Every situation for a barn camera installation will be a bit different, and adding online transmission capability just makes the complete integrated system more complex. Our method is only one solution that may not even be suitable for someone else's needs, but hopefully sharing this information will provide some food for thought and a place to start.