IMAGING

OUTDOOR WEBCAM

ENCLOSURE

Capture winter scenes from hanging sewer pipes. By Alek Komarnitsky

I anteed up the big bucks for a wireless security webcam with motorized pan, tilt, and 10x optical zoom — specifically, the D-Link DCS-6620G. Nice webcam, but I wanted to put it outside so people everywhere could view my Halloween decorations and infamous Christmas lights.

The problem is that the webcam is rated only down to 32°F, and here in Colorado, temperatures can drop below zero. Suitable prefab outdoor enclosures cost about $500 and include a blower and heater, so I decided to build my own simpler webcam enclosure. It cost me a whopping $27, and it has successfully stood up to two full seasons of Rocky Mountain rain, cold, and snow.

I installed the webcam at my neighbors’ house, hanging it from a 6" can light fixture under an

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eave that had good line-of-sight to our house. The basic idea was to attach 2 brackets hanging down from the inside of the can, and build an easily removable enclosure that would hang from a rod running horizontally through the brackets.

For the brackets, I straightened two 5" L-brackets in a vice, and extended their internal cut with a hacksaw. Then I used sheet metal screws to anchor the brackets to the inside walls of the recessed light fixture. I screwed in an adapter to convert the fixture’s socket into a power plug for the webcam, which is the only physical connection the webcam needs.

I made the enclosure itself out of 6" inner diameter, foot-long ABS sewer pipe. (Yes, sewer pipe — no expense spared!) I cut a 1' length of

Photography by Alek Komarnitsky