Computers/webcams in woodshops?

[Laurie Brown]

How many of you have computers and/or webcams set up in your shop? What do you do to protect the computer from dust? And if you have a cam, what's your link? I'm interested to see. :)

Here's mine:

http://www.psibertronics.com/webcam/pic/pic2/KitchenCam/webcam.html

There's also a link to my deskcam there, if I'm not in the shop I'm usually at my desk. I have plans to add two more cams, one in the kitchen to catch the holiday baking I do, and one outside so I can look at the nice view wherever I am. :)

[Rob Bodenschatz]

OK, Laurie. I'm watching. Wave!!!

[Gary Herrmann]

Hey Laurie, whats your black lab's name?

[Bob Childress]

Cute, Laurie! :) But no webcam in my shop. I have enough trouble hiding my mistakes. :eek: :(

[George Conklin]

That's pretty cool, Laurie. I never would have thought of doing that :) .

[Andy Hoyt]

Umm - How come you're not reading SMC right now?

[Laurie Brown]

My lab is a chocolate and his name is Lucky. I also have a female chocolate named Zoe and if she ever comes into heat, they'll be bred. They're both AKC registered, and they have all three colors (black, yellow, chocolate) in their pedigree, so she should have a variety of puppies.

I can't read SMC in my shop, but I do quite often at my desk! ;)

[Scott Donley]

Hate to say this Laurie, but, clean up your desk ! It looks to much like mine :)

[Laurie Brown]

LOL! I clean the rest of the house all day, my desk is where I'm allowed to mess. :)

[Mark Pruitt]

Pretty cool to be on camera like that, but I have to ask...isn't there a potential security issue with you disclosing your computer activity? (Sorry...us hospital employees have security stuff drilled into our heads so that's just how I've been "programmed"...):rolleyes:

[Tom Henry]

Laurie, your shop looks lonely... :p

[Laurie Brown]

Not sure what you mean as far as disclosing. If you can actually read anything on my blurry screen in that cam pic, I'll be surprised! ;)

[Laurie Brown]

I think I'm done in the shop for today. I glued up my doors, which you may be able to make out clamped up on the table. I'm going to let them dry overnight before I do any more work on them, and I need to buy some small brushes, some hinges, knobs, and some wood to make the shelves out of. Tomorrow I'll probably start finishing the doors. I drilled the hinge holes in the stiles yesterday, and found out that my little 1/3hp benchtop drill press isn't really up to the task of boring 35mm holes in oak. :)

[Travis Porter]

I have an old laptop in my shop. I do nothing at this time to protect it from dust as it is an old laptop. I primarily use it for reference to existing material and to search on the web. It is too slow to do any graphics like Sketchup or anything.

I can say, I haven't thought about doing the webcam thing.

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Hi Laurie!

I'm waving at you from Japan! :D

I thought about it, but I have no LAN in the Dungeon, I have an old laptop that I use as my BIG Ipod.

Cheers!:)

[Laurie Brown]

All you need is a wireless card. That's how I run mine with no cables to the shop.

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

All you need is a wireless card. That's how I run mine with no cables to the shop.

Well, I'm in a true Dungeon, 12" thick concrete with tons of re-bar over head, a 7 floor concrete building above that, I'm really underground. I tried the wireless card, did not work unless I was standing on the street in front of my building :D

Cheers!

[Laurie Brown]

Ack! That would be a problem, yes. In your case, you'd need to run some cable. ;)

[Al Navas]

Ack! That would be a problem, yes. In your case, you'd need to run some cable. ;)

Laurie, I was at Best Buy the other day, and ran into a LAN (?) device that plugs into an electrical outlet and it lets you plug your Ethernet into it. It is supposed to give you instant LAN capabilities. While I don't remember the manufacturer, it seems that would be the way to go.

I believe the packaging has two boxes, one for each end of the LAN. That might be worth a try, for around $200 or so. It uses the regular electrical outlets, as I remember.

Can you possibly provide some input on this type of device to someone like me who knows very little about LANs?


Al

[Corey Hallagan]

I looked in just in time to see you turn the light off and the shop went dark!

Corey

[chris del]

Laurie

I have 4 cams on the property one being in the shop. This is for security reasons, not so people can see me cut the lawn or do some woodwork. All 4 cameras run into the house and are recorded on a DVR.... Is there anyway I can hook them up to my pc so that I can view via the internet from work????

[Nancy Laird]

I drilled the hinge holes in the stiles yesterday, and found out that my little 1/3hp benchtop drill press isn't really up to the task of boring 35mm holes in oak. :)

Laurie, you need a 35mm hinge-boring machine. Unfortunately I can't point you to one because ours is an old Woodtek that has been discontinued, but I would guess that someone makes one.

By the way, you must have turned the lights off in your shop. All I got this time was a black screen. Glad you aren't spending ALL your time in the shop--hope you have your feet up with a cold beverage of choice.

Nancy

[Laurie Brown]

Sounds like something along the lines of a pair of wireless routers. I haven't seen this set myself, not sure what it is.

All you really need is a wireless router on the network in your house ($49 on sale at Best Buy, the Linksys is what I use) and some kind of wireless device for your computer in your shop. You can use either a PCI card ($35), a PC card for a notebook ($35), or a USB wireless card which will work on any machine that has a USB port ($45).

If you go to buy a wireless router, and I've heard this from several of my customers, they may try to sell you a D-Link and tell you that if you use Windows 98 you have to upgrade to XP to use the D-Link. That's not true. You don't need to upgrade to Windows XP to use any router, and if you get a Linksys it doesn't have that requirement on the box. I think for a while Best Buy was getting people to buy XP upgrades by telling them it was necessary to use the router. That's probably not an issue now, since I think most people have upgraded.

[Gary Herrmann]

My lab is a chocolate ;)

Doh, dang color blindness...

[Matt Meiser]

I have a small office in my shop and the computer lives in there. The network to the shop is a DLink wireless router with a better antenna mounted on the garage wall which the closest part of the house to the shop. The computer has a DLink network card with an external antenna. I get good signal strength but do have some problems dropping the connection with large file transfers.

I tried a web cam, but the software was troublesome and I've not found anything better that wasn't expensive. The goal was to have a camera so my wife could check on me. We also tried one of those wireless CCTV systems which was junk.

[Mike Henderson]

Laurie, I was at Best Buy the other day, and ran into a LAN (?) device that plugs into an electrical outlet and it lets you plug your Ethernet into it. It is supposed to give you instant LAN capabilities. While I don't remember the manufacturer, it seems that would be the way to go.

I believe the packaging has two boxes, one for each end of the LAN. That might be worth a try, for around $200 or so. It uses the regular electrical outlets, as I remember.

Can you possibly provide some input on this type of device to someone like me who knows very little about LANs?Al
Threre was a technology developed about 1999 or 2000 that eventually was "standardized" as HomePlug (if I remember correctly). You plug your regular 100BaseT LAN into one box and it communicates to other HomePlug boxes over the power lines in your home, where it recreates a 100BaseT interface. It was never very popular because wireless really took off. I think HomePlug products are still available, at least in the US.
If I recall, the speed was quite a bit less than 100Mbps. It's also affected by noise from motors (like a vacuum cleaner) which will degrade the performance quite a bit.
Mike

[Laurie Brown]

I use a piece of shareware I found online called ConquerCam. It's easy to configure, and very inexpensive if you want to register it (under $20 I think).

[Laurie Brown]

That depends on what kind of cameras you're using. It sounds like you're using something like the X-10 security cameras, that hook up to the DVR by RCA plugs? If so, you'd need a video card or some device with RCA plugs on it in your PC to get the signal in from the cams, and then software to let you push those feeds to a web site that you could view them on.

[Laurie Brown]

Laurie, you need a 35mm hinge-boring machine. Unfortunately I can't point you to one because ours is an old Woodtek that has been discontinued, but I would guess that someone makes one.

By the way, you must have turned the lights off in your shop. All I got this time was a black screen. Glad you aren't spending ALL your time in the shop--hope you have your feet up with a cold beverage of choice.

Nancy

I'm thinking I just need a REAL drill press. Along with a real saw, real jointer... <G> Someday when I can afford new tools. The ones I have are cheapy and minimal at best, usually don't cut anything straight or square, but I make do surprisingly well with them.

I don't know what time you were watching, but I did go out there just after dark for a bit to put away the hinges and knobs I bought for the doors today. I also got some small brushes to help on the finishing of the door frames, which I'll start on tomorrow. All I need to finish the job now is some shelf material, I'm considering birch plywood, since you won't see the shelves once they're full of junk and I have oak edge banding I can put on the front edges.

[randy street]

Hey, thats not Sawmill Creek you are looking at.

Randy

[Hugh Jaskok]

I think a web cam in someones personal space is a little disturbing.

[Craig Colvin]

Here's my shop cam

http://71.129.8.190:81/ViewerFrame?Mode=Motion&Language=0

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Here's my shop cam

http://71.129.8.190:81/ViewerFrame?Mode=Motion&Language=0

THREE Bandsaws :eek:

VERY cool!:D

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

I think a web cam in someones personal space is a little disturbing.
Then don't look..........:D

[Laurie Brown]

Here's my shop cam

http://71.129.8.190:81/ViewerFrame?Mode=Motion&Language=0

Wow! That's a nice shop AND a nice cam! What kind of cam and software are you using to run that? I can pan it around and everything!

[Bill Wiggins]

I have a garage woodshop with a wireless router in my home office. I brought two of my laptops to the garage last week while I was working. They got covered with dust! I tried to cover them with a tarp while I was using the saw and router, but it didn't help much.

I'm curious to hear everyone's suggestions for keeping dust out of the computers.

[Laurie Brown]

I have a garage woodshop with a wireless router in my home office. I brought two of my laptops to the garage last week while I was working. They got covered with dust! I tried to cover them with a tarp while I was using the saw and router, but it didn't help much.

I'm curious to hear everyone's suggestions for keeping dust out of the computers.

My laptop sits in the area of the garage between the two overhead doors that open, so I think a lot of the dust blows outside instead of on the laptop. I keep it closed most of the time, and every now and then I blow the dust off with compressed air. So far, so good.

[Laurie Brown]

THREE Bandsaws :eek:

VERY cool!:D

I counted FOUR bandsaws!

[Alan DuBoff]

Not sure what you mean as far as disclosing. If you can actually read anything on my blurry screen in that cam pic, I'll be surprised! ;)I always say that a clean desk means that the person must not be doing much work.

About a year and a half ago I built an office in my backyard, and I keep a picture to remind me what it looked like when I first finished it (http://www.softorchestra.com/woodworking/office/desk.jpg). Today, it's not as clean as I work in it a lot, but it's not too bad and I just cleaned it up about 2 weeks ago because a friend was visiting.:D It looks pretty similar with books and other papers on the desk, but it will get messed up again without a doubt, I do most of my work there.

I tried to put one of my laptops in the shop, thought it would be nice to be able to access things online when I was doing woodworking, and the panacea of having an instructional DVD playing seemed attractive. What I found out was that having a laptop in my shop didn't work out very well at all. It lasted about 1 day before I closed the lid when it just gathered dust. I realized I don't want to be distracted by a computer in the shop, the very reason I go there was to work in the shop, so removed it as it was taking up bench space.;) I do still go to the computer sometimes when I'm working in the shop, but it's 30 seconds into the backyard to get to the office. I get what I need and go back to the shop.

I like the web cam in the shop idea, since it doesn't require any fiddlin' with. My wife's computer is in the family room, just on the opposite side of the garage/shop wall, but I don't have a cable run. Could probably do that pretty easy, I'll have to ponder if that would make sense, it looks like a garage used for storage most of the time, until the weekend comes along and I pull the car out, move the machines around, and start making sawdust and/or cleaning up old arn (i.e., old cast iron woodworking machines).

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Hey Alan, your office is bigger than most of the apartments I've lived in, here in Japan! :D

[Alan DuBoff]

Hey Alan, your office is bigger than most of the apartments I've lived in, here in Japan! :DStu,

I can tell you for certain that it's bigger than the one I lived in for 5 years, not far from you!:rolleyes:

Size might be comparable if I included the kitchen AND bathroom. Yeah, I had to get one of those add-on toilets from Tokyu-Hands, so I could sit on the friggin' toilet like an American would expect!;)

Yeah, space is not as plentiful over there, but one gets used to it somehow, and learns to deal with it. I love my office, and when I get the other side completely setup for hand tools work with a nice bench, it's gonna be even that much better.:cool:

[Al Navas]

Sounds like something along the lines of a pair of wireless routers. I haven't seen this set myself, not sure what it is.

All you really need is a wireless router on the network in your house ($49 on sale at Best Buy, the Linksys is what I use) and some kind of wireless device for your computer in your shop. You can use either a PCI card ($35), a PC card for a notebook ($35), or a USB wireless card which will work on any machine that has a USB port ($45).

If you go to buy a wireless router, and I've heard this from several of my customers, they may try to sell you a D-Link and tell you that if you use Windows 98 you have to upgrade to XP to use the D-Link. That's not true. You don't need to upgrade to Windows XP to use any router, and if you get a Linksys it doesn't have that requirement on the box. I think for a while Best Buy was getting people to buy XP upgrades by telling them it was necessary to use the router. That's probably not an issue now, since I think most people have upgraded.


Threre was a technology developed about 1999 or 2000 that eventually was "standardized" as HomePlug (if I remember correctly). You plug your regular 100BaseT LAN into one box and it communicates to other HomePlug boxes over the power lines in your home, where it recreates a 100BaseT interface. It was never very popular because wireless really took off. I think HomePlug products are still available, at least in the US.
If I recall, the speed was quite a bit less than 100Mbps. It's also affected by noise from motors (like a vacuum cleaner) which will degrade the performance quite a bit.
Thanks, Laurie & Mike.

My problem is that the shop is about 200 feet from the house, too far for wireless. PLUS we use satellite TV & its Internet service - so, installing a new dish just for the shop is a no-go.

What I hope is to be able to use the power outlets and configure a LAN of some sort, similar to what we now have using a simple LinkSys Workgroup switch; we both use XP, but LOML has the Professional version and I have Home Edition.

I look forward to your additional feedback. Really cool, guys!


Al

[Greg Narozniak]

Wow! That's a nice shop AND a nice cam! What kind of cam and software are you using to run that? I can pan it around and everything!

Ditto, that is a Very Cool setup. Do tell!

[Don Baer]

Thanks, Laurie & Mike.

My problem is that the shop is about 200 feet from the house, too far for wireless. PLUS we use satellite TV & its Internet service - so, installing a new dish just for the shop is a no-go.

What I hope is to be able to use the power outlets and configure a LAN of some sort, similar to what we now have using a simple LinkSys Workgroup switch; we both use XP, but LOML has the Professional version and I have Home Edition.

I look forward to your additional feedback. Really cool, guys!


Al

Al,
I'm using the "Airlink" Powerline Internet Adapter" right now as I type this. I picked up a pair of them from Frye's Electronics for for $23.74 ea. They work great, as long as your both are plugged into the same electrical service.

[Al Navas]

Al,
I'm using the "Airlink" Powerline Internet Adapter" right now as I type this. I picked up a pair of them from Frye's Electronics for for $23.74 ea. They work great, as long as your both are plugged into the same electrical service.
That is pretty cool, Don! And a WHOLE lot cheaper than the $200 that Best Buy wanted. I will order the Frye's adapters and give them a try.


Al

[Laurie Brown]

Al,
I'm using the "Airlink" Powerline Internet Adapter" right now as I type this. I picked up a pair of them from Frye's Electronics for for $23.74 ea. They work great, as long as your both are plugged into the same electrical service.

What's the range on those, Don?

[Don Baer]

Laurie,
There is no limit since they use the existince the 110V wiring. The only limitation is that they won't work if your not on the same electrical service.

[Al Navas]

... There is no limit since they use the existince the 110V wiring. The only limitation is that they won't work if your not on the same electrical service.
Don,

I believe by "same electrical service" you mean that it is essential to have electrical circuit continuity.

In my case, I have 400 amps coming into the shop, as it is closest to the power line. From the shop I split 200 amps for the shop itself, and 200 amps go to the house, 200 feet away.

As I understand it, the entire electrical service HAS continuity. Is my assumption correct?


Al

[Laurie Brown]

That sounds like a great alternative to wireless when range is a factor. I've heard of this, but never seen it in use myself. Hmm... webcam in the toolshed? The barn? Hmm... :)

[Don Baer]

Al,
That is correct. It won't work if there is a transformer between the two units. I have one unit in the house upstairs and the other is in a garage shop. Both circuits are fed from a 250 Amp service from seperate breakers.

[Craig Colvin]

Wow! That's a nice shop AND a nice cam! What kind of cam and software are you using to run that? I can pan it around and everything!

The cam is a Panasonic Network Camera. All of the software/web page/etc is in the camera. You just plug an ethernet cable into the side of it and it's ready to go.

They make several models and I'm not sure which I have but can look it up if you are interested. It's one of the following KX-HCM8, KX-HCM10, KX-HCM250, or KX-HCM270

[Craig Colvin]

I counted FOUR bandsaws!
You are correct there are 4 bandsaws. An 18" and three 14".

The shop is a community shop. I rent out time in the shop to others, hence the large number of bandsaws, tablesaws, etc. Lots of fun toys.

[Al Navas]

That sounds like a great alternative to wireless when range is a factor. I've heard of this, but never seen it in use myself. Hmm... webcam in the toolshed? The barn? Hmm... :)
That is exactly why I have not even tried wireless, Laurie. Just too far to the shop from the closest part of the house. And it is another 90 feet to the room where the computers are located. So, total distance is really more like 200 feet to the shop.


Al

[Al Navas]

Al,
That is correct. It won't work if there is a transformer between the two units. I have one unit in the house upstairs and the other is in a garage shop. Both circuits are fed from a 250 Amp service from seperate breakers.
Thanks, Don!

I just wanted to make sure. There is no transformer anywhere between the shop and the house, so it should be OK. I must try it.

I searched at Fry's online, and the lowest price I found for the pair of adapters was $200, which is quite a bit higher than what you reported earlier. So, I will keep looking for a better price. But even the $200 is cheaper than getting a whole new DirecTV installation just for the shop. We have no cable in this area, although it may arrive sometime in the next five years.


Al

[Laurie Brown]

You are correct there are 4 bandsaws. An 18" and three 14".

The shop is a community shop. I rent out time in the shop to others, hence the large number of bandsaws, tablesaws, etc. Lots of fun toys.

Wow! I wondered if your shop was part of a school or commercial business. It's HUGE and full of lots of NICE tools! I've been drooling for two days watching. ;) Wish I could come play there!

[Rick Gibson]

Same electrical service means no power transformer between the two points. The signal is much to high a frequency to pass across a power transformer designed for 60 cycle.