We sometimes get burglars in our neighborhood, that go for unlocked cars

[G+_Jason Brown]

We sometimes get burglars in our neighborhood, that go for unlocked cars. I want to set my Pi Zero W up with my night vision camera add-on, to take shots if there's any motion. My problem is power. I need to put it on a battery on it, but I don't know enough about them, or powering electronics in general. Is there a compact battery out there that could power a Pi Zero all night? Ideally, I'd like it to be able to continue to pass power to the unit from an outlet when I bring it inside to charge.

 

Smaller is better, but I'm not above hiding the battery under the seat and running a cable.

[G+_Jason Brown]

I plan to place a few dollars over the lens so they don't see the glowing red infrared lights. That way I get a good close up when they pick it up.

[G+_David Peach]

Is this going to live in the car? Or on the house? If in the car, there is a small 12V battery source that can be tapped into under the hood.

 

If it is attached to the house and you need it to run on battery overnight and plug it into an outlet during the day, a UPS will do just that. I'm sure there are better choices than a desktop UPS, but I mention it so that you can know that such things exist, now it is a matter of finding one that is compact enough for your needs.

[G+_Black Merc]

I think the UPS is not the best idea... But off the car battery is better. However some thieves disconnect the battery as per m.o. ... Now a large power bank (portable cell charger) should do the trick. Mho

[G+_Black Merc]

After you do get the picture will the on-board Wi-Fi send mug shots the the house?

If so... Have fun with the guy... Place strobe lights all around in the front and back dash, tie into the car horn and make noise and for added fun lock the doors and blare def-medal music till he passes out.

 

Call the bobbies and off he goes..

 

Just as the bobbies arrive, switch to opera... And let 'the fat lady sing.'

[G+_John Sullivan]

You said you sometimes get burglars who go for unlocked cars.

 

So lock your car and you won't have any problems.

 

But if you really want to do this project, why not run it off the car battery? Then when you drive the car, it will recharge the battery. You use a motion sensor so that there's little current draw until motion is detected and the camera goes live.

[G+_Jason Marsh]

Make sure that you aren't running the car's battery down with the device. Let's assume it is usually standing by, only occasionally taking a picture or video. All you need to do is measure the current draw of the assembled system in standby mode, and multiply that rate (in Amps) times the number of hours you expect it to run without recharging the battery. That gives you the Amp-hours (Ah) of capacity it will typically draw from your battery.

 

Next you determine the Ah rating of your car's battery. It should be on the battery. If not plainly stated there, you can also find it on the manufacturer's website. If the battery has four or five times the Ah as your project requires, then that would leave you ample reserve in the battery to start the car and recharge, even as the battery loses capacity over it's useful life.

 

If you want it to run through a holiday weekend, you may need more capacity. Adding a second battery is easy enough, but this could also be accomplished by installing a small battery maintainer on the car and plugging in when it's going to sit for a few days.

 

Also, locks are your friend.

[G+_Damien Wessling]

I'm still trying to ascertain as to whether the pi cam is in the vehicle or external to the vehicle and whether the DVR is with the cam or being piped back to a DVR via wireless.

 

If the pi, cam & DVR are in the vehicle, if they choose to relieve you of your vehicle, irrespective of the locked status, it won't matter what options I offer next, you've lost your evidence.

 

If the cam (in the car) is feeding an external DVR via wireless, maybe a 12v 7.2Ah or 10Ah sealed lead acid cell in the trunk to power the USB ->5v to pi. Do your calcs (I haven't for this reply) to determine your size requirements and fit an automatic SLA charger that powers up and charges when the vehicle engine is running.

 

Honestly, if you're looking at mounting anything in the vehicle as described above, you might as well set up a relay intercept into the fuel pump power feed to break the circuit when the cam is active. Minimal extra work, greater chance of your vehicle remaining yours.

[G+_Jason Brown]

Sorry I left this one floating with no responses. Just had our second kid and it's been hectic. To answer some questions, without rambling on too much. I don't really worry about locking the car because there's nothing ever out there. I do try to remember, but it's just not a major concern to me.

 

I want to put it in the cupholder with a couple dollars on top. That way when the bills are removed, the motion sensor with start recording. It's a Pi Zero W, so I planned to record to my NAS.

 

I put a link to the camera I'm using at the bottom of this comment.

 

I don't want it to live out there. I just want to be able to pop it in and out when the mood strikes me, and just recharge a small battery if possible. I'm definitely not confident enough to risk wiring it into my car.

 

Like most of my Pi projects, I'll use it for a few nights, then probably reload and try out other things, then back to RetroPie, then another project, and repeat.

 

Although as I'm typing this, I'm remembering that I have a pile of reclaimed APC 350s that might do the trick. If it can make it until around 5am, it should be okay. Black Merc you seemed hesitant about this solution. I'm assuming it's because the battery would get low and possibly damage the Pi. Is that about right?

 

amazon.com - Amazon.com: Makerfocus Raspberry Pi Zero W Camera Night Vision Webcam 2 Infrared IR LED Light for Raspberry Pi Zero and Zero W: Computers & Accessories

[G+_Black Merc]

Jason Brown I personally have had bad luck with a PI. I think ESD got mine.