Remote Power & Specialty Connections
Some cameras, gates, WiFi and sensors have to live where there is no outlet and no cable. We power them with solar and a battery sized for the job, and bring the connection back over a wireless link. Planned after a site survey, for properties across Marin, Sonoma and Napa.
Hard-to-Reach Spots
On a ranch, a vineyard, a marina or a large property, the spot that needs a camera or an intercom is usually the one farthest from the house. The gate sits at the county road. The water tank is on the hill. The barn office is across a field. Running power and network cable that far means trenching, permits and a cost that often outweighs the equipment itself, so the project stalls.
We approach it the way we build our own fixed wireless network: a solar panel and battery sized for what the equipment actually draws, a weather-rated enclosure, a mount on a pole or an existing structure, and a wireless link that carries the video or data back to your main network. We look at the real property first, then explain what will work, what will not, and why.
What We Help With
The equipment changes from project to project. The pattern is the same: enough power to run it, a way to get its data back, and a mount that survives the weather.
The entrance to a ranch or vineyard is often a long way from the nearest building. A small solar panel and battery can run a camera and an intercom or keypad at the gate, with a wireless link carrying the video and the door-release signal back to the house or office.
A barn office, a winery building, a shop, a guest house or a dock master office can join the main network over a point-to-point wireless link instead of a trench. Two small dishes that can see each other carry the connection across a field, a vineyard block or a stretch of water.
Where there is no structure at all, we can mount a panel, a battery enclosure, a radio and a camera or access point on a pole. The pole goes where the equipment needs to be, not where the power happens to be.
A camera watching a water tank, a back road, an equipment yard, a pasture or a storage area, sending its video back to the same recorder and app as the rest of your camera system.
WiFi at a crush pad, a picnic area, a boat dock, a barn or an outdoor work area, fed by a wireless link when there is no cable to that spot.
Low-power devices such as tank level sensors, weather stations, temperature or humidity monitors and gate controllers that need a little power and a way to report back.
How the Pieces Fit
Sized for the load and for the low winter sun, not for a sunny afternoon in July. Placed and angled where it sees open sky.
Carries the equipment through the night and through stretches of cloud. Kept in an enclosure that protects it from heat and rain.
A small radio pointed at a matching radio on your main building, so the camera or device joins your network as if it were plugged in there.
A pole, a barn wall, a roof or a fence post, with weather-rated boxes and wiring finished so it holds up through wind, sun and rain.
The Site Survey
Most of these projects succeed or fail on the survey. These are the things we check on the ground.
How far the equipment sits from the nearest network and power, and what the ground does in between. Ridges, gullies and buildings decide whether a wireless link is straightforward or needs a relay point.
Point-to-point links need a clear line of sight, and a bit of clearance around it, not just a sliver between branches. We also think about what the trees will look like in five years and in full summer leaf.
A solar panel needs open sky through the winter, when the sun sits low and the days are short. A spot that is bright in July can be shaded by a hill or an oak in December, and that is the season the design has to survive.
A camera, a radio and an intercom each pull a certain amount of power all day and all night. We add it up, then size the panel and the battery for the real load and for stretches of cloudy weather.
Video and sensor data have to reach your network somehow. Usually that is a wireless link to the main building. Sometimes a direct connection to one of our tower sites at that spot is the simpler answer.
A pole, a barn wall, a fence post, a roof or an existing structure. Equipment goes in weather-rated enclosures, with the battery protected from heat and rain and the wiring finished so it lasts.
Who This Is For
A few of the situations we plan for across the North Bay.
A gate at the county road, a camera on the water tank, a barn that needs the office network, and a lot of open ground in between.
Cameras and WiFi across production buildings, tasting areas, equipment yards and vineyard blocks that were not wired for network.
Cameras at ramps and gates, WiFi on the docks and a link from the water back to the office where running cable is not practical.
Estates, campuses, schools and businesses with a second building that needs the same network as the first.
A construction trailer, a site camera or a temporary office that needs a connection for a season rather than for good.
A gate camera or intercom at the end of a long private drive, well past where the house WiFi and power stop.
How It Works
You do not need to know the equipment or the terms. Tell us what has to work and where, and we take it from there.
Describe the property, the spot you are trying to reach and what has to work there: a camera, an intercom, WiFi, a link to a second building or something else.
We walk the property, check line of sight between the points, look at sun exposure and shade, and see what power and network already exist nearby.
We explain what we recommend, how the power and the link will work, what it can and cannot do, and the scope of the project before any work starts.
We mount the equipment, set up the power and the wireless link, connect it to your network and test the whole path before we hand it over.
Where monitoring and support are part of the agreed scope, we keep an eye on the link and the equipment and stay with any issue until it is resolved.
Good to Know
Common Questions
Often, yes. A small solar panel and battery can run a camera, and usually an intercom or keypad as well, with a wireless link carrying the video back to your house or office. The site survey confirms whether the gate has enough sun and a clear line of sight to a building on your property.
Usually over a point-to-point wireless link to your main building. Two small radios that can see each other carry the connection, and the camera or device joins your network as if it were plugged in there. In some cases a direct connection to one of our tower sites at that spot is the simpler answer.
The battery carries the equipment through the night and through stretches of poor weather, and we size the panel and battery for the real load and for the low winter sun. A long run of dark days can still drain a battery, so we plan for that and are honest about the limits before we install.
In many cases, yes. A point-to-point wireless link between two roofs or poles can carry the network across a field, a vineyard block or a stretch of water. It needs a clear line of sight between the two ends, which we confirm during the site survey.
No. We can build a wireless link or a solar-powered camera on a property where another company provides the internet connection. The remote equipment joins whatever network you already have at the main building.
No. We power communications and camera equipment in places where there is no outlet. We are not a residential solar contractor. This is about getting a device to run where there is no outlet, not about generating power for a home or business.
Yes. Deep shade, a ridge with no relay point or a spot with no view of any building can rule out a workable design. We tell you that after the site survey, and where there is a partial answer, such as a different mounting point or a relay, we explain that too.
Related Services
A remote camera or link is one piece of a property-wide setup. These are the services it usually connects to.
The camera system the remote camera reports back to.
Learn MoreThe network at the main building that the link joins.
Learn MoreCoverage inside and around the buildings themselves.
Learn MoreGate access, door control and connected devices.
Learn MorePhones that run on the same connection.
Learn MoreWebPerception also provides the connection itself. Availability depends on a clear line of sight to one of our tower sites.
Internet ServiceTalk to a local person
Checking office hours
Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM Pacific
Or call us, 24/7(415) 892-7711Tell us where the equipment needs to be and what it has to do. We will look at the property, explain what will work, and be straight with you about what will not.
Phone support and network monitoring are available 24/7/365. Office and sales hours are Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM Pacific.
