Well that sure as hell did not bring the cost down. But wait not so fast. I need to add another camera, $70 now we are up to $400 but remember that the original $152 per camera configuration did not work. So at $200 per camera for a 2 camera system we have a working configuration. Fingers crossed. Given that this works with a third camera added to they system generates a cost per camera of $153. That will have to wait until I see that the system runs 24 hours and the battery stays charged up.
24 July:: Still running off of the AC/DC converter, but I decided to put the panels up on the roof and out of the way. It is a close thing as to whether 1 can run 2 cameras off of this 24 hours a day the panels being in the shade has been an issue. I will try tomorrow to see what happens. I am going to hook the system up again, when I wake up. That will let the battery get fully charged before I start testing. I found a website that provides info on solar panels, I will publish link when I get approval from the author. He also built a wind power generator.
I will be putting one of the cameras on the roof so I guess I can use the panels to assist in protecting an indoor cam from the elements.
25 July:: It's 8:46 AM. I have connected the cams to the system. Now we wait. I suppose I should look at making an adapter to directly connect the cameras without the AC converter, I have a feeling I am losing juice in the conversion process.
27 July:: Argh, the voltage regulator died. Harbor Freight is sending me a new one. Maybe I will pop for a cheap one, and take it back when the replacement arrives. No I wouldn't do that.
29 August: Guess it is time to update what is going on with the whole damn project. Turned out that the voltage regulator was not bad. There was a loose wire on the connection from the panels. Harbor Freight sent the new regulator so I installed it
Getting 2 cams to work with 24 hours a day was an issue. Battery was not able to keep up with the 2 cameras going through the power inverter. Basically the lawn mower battery just does not cut it. You need a deep discharge battery, like a marine battery. Deep discharge batteries are more expensive than car batteries. What a surprises. Everything involved in solar is more expensive. So I got a Deka 32 amp hour 12 volt battery from Northern Arizona Wind and Sun. This battery is a slightly lower amp hour than what was recommended, but I figured I could add the lawn mower battery into the mix.
After getting the battery I hooked up the new configuration, still using the power inverter. So a new problem arose. When the inverter was not able to get 11 volts it turned itself off. So the camera would go off as well. When voltage was back over 12 volts the inverter would not go back on automatically. I had to turn the inverter off and on. Not exactly an optimal solution. I could get up every morining and reset the system.