MakerGear Forum

I know this a very strange and probably isolated case, but I thought I'd reach out for explanation here first. This has been driving me a bit crazy. It's not M2 specific, but given the brilliance of our members, I thought it wise to ask here first.

I have hooked up two separate IP cameras outside my home so I can see when the UPS/USPS carriers arrive. These drivers seem to have mastered the "Ninja technique" in which even though I'm home (I usually work from my home) they leave the package on the step and run. They don't knock and they don't ring. A few times, I've discovered a soggy package sitting on my doorstep since they delivered it in the rain and never alerted me EVEN THOUGH I WAS HOME at the time. Very frustrating…

So, I now have a camera pointed at my front porch and another with a wide-angle lens pointed toward the street. I didn't have ethernet in my garage where both cameras are stationed, so I used a Logitech Powerline ethernet adapter and connected that to a switch. Things worked perfectly! I could see both cameras, and I even port-forwarded them so I could observe them anywhere I had an internet connection.

All was working perfectly until a test while a print was running on my M2. Suddenly, it took forever to connect if it did at all. If it did connect, my frame-rate went down to less than a frame per second, and then stopped altogether. I thought maybe it was because I had the Powerline adapter plugged into the only two outlets I have in my office along with the M2, and even though it connects directly to the outlet (no power strip or surge protector), it is probably sharing the same circuit.

As soon as I shut off the M2, everything is fine with the cameras. They record at least a frame per second. Yet, if I turn on the M2, they become unresponsive and incredibly sluggish. The M2 lives on its own power strip but it is plugged into what I'm assuming is the same circuit as everything in my office.

Is there a way to isolate the M2 from the mains via a power strip or UPS or to isolate the cameras and PowerLine adapter so they can't have an effect on each other?

Has anyone experienced a similar situation? Sorry if this is the wrong place to ask, but I'm hoping someone else has seen this and has a simple solution to what is wracking my brain.

Thanks
Steve

I'm no expert but my guess is you won't be able to keep using the power line adapters. Why not run some ethernet cables for the cameras. Not sure if a power line filter would clean the interference up enough or not .

Spotopolis wrote:As soon as I shut off the M2, everything is fine with the cameras

I've run into that sort of thing with X10 remote-control switches: a laptop power supply plugged into the same branch circuit absorbed the 100 kHz signal and the switches stopped working. The input filters intended to reduce noise transmitted from the power supply also reduced the X10 signal "passing by" in the AC line.

There was no good way around that, although putting the power supply on the end of a 100 foot extension cord helped. A huge roll of cable wasn't acceptable in our living room, so now I don't plug the laptop into that branch...

That's very strange. I have a Foscam IP camera sitting about 6 inches away from my M2 pointing right at it. No issues.

you could try a Power conditioner for the printer. It's a surge protector but it also cleans up the AC signal.

If I'm correct it will separate the printer on a clean line away from the home circuit so that there is no more interference passed along. Don't use it on your cameras though, because the Ethernet power line rely on the interference to work.

there are two possible ways the interference can be coming though, though the air, and though the power lines.
so lets see if we can reduce both.


first thing is, i would check to make sure the ground on the power supply is connected and the ground is good on your plug.

you didn't describe the nature of the interference, does it show visually, or dos it cause connectivity issues. also, is thesis a wired or wireless camera.
if it is wireless sometimes jsut moving it or the antenna so its not near the wiring of the house can help.

also, i noticed on my printer, the chassis is not grounded, i don't know why this is... but if it can not be grounded, perhaps placing a cap between the chassis ground and the house ground will assist in reducing rfi, I've not looked into why they did not ground the chassis. so check with makergear before attempting to ground the chassis directly in case there is a reason for it. JOSH/RICK comment?

next, you can reduce the noise emitted by the printer by adding a choke on the power cord, these can be bought at radio shack and clip on. theres even a version you can do several loops of the chord though.

you can do the same on the power wire feeding the camera.

you can also purchase noise filters that you plug into, they tipicly have circuits to shunt the noise from the hot leg to ground and neutral though a low value capacitor. as well as having rf chokes inline... i've seen these built into the IEC 320 connector blocks but they can be purchased to be external

if the noise is though the wiring, then it is likely they are both on the same phase. changing the phase one of the two is plugged into can help. Also, they sell power line nose filters that can also assist.

thats what i can come up with off the top of my head.. hope that helps.

as always be very safe around house current, don't do anything your not knowledgeable at doing that might put your health at risk.

be safe.

Since both my outside cameras are wired via ethernet (wireless was WAY too unreliable), I guess my options are:

• Try a power conditioner on the printer to see if that isolates the printer from the Powerline Ethernet switches (I already have one, so nothing to lose)
  Face the spiders and run an ethernet cable through the crawlspace out to the garage
  Accept that I can't use the cameras while running the M2.

Thanks for the insights. I think I'll try them in that order.