Can You Put A WiFi Camera In Your RV And Look Inside While You're Out? YES!

    When I am traveling, I like to feel that my RV is secure when I am out. Some folks install alarm systems, but typically they go off and no one does anything about it. Sure, you could get one that calls your cell phone and you could return in a hurry or call 911, but that usually ends in a "barn door closed after the horse has already left" result. What if you could SEE what was going on in real time and had a recording of the perpetrators to give to the police? Or, simply see that nothing is going on at all? What about monitoring your RV in storage for the off-season? Well, you can. There are a few glitches, but nothing insurmountable. Read on!

Notice The USB Power Supply

The cost of WiFi cameras has been steadily dropping for a long time now. A model with Remote controlled Pan, Tilt, and Zoom (PTZ) can be had for $21.00 or so. They are pretty easy to set up and can run on your cell phone's data connection or a hotspot. If you set it up to only use your data when it "sees" something, you won't waste too much data at all. You'll be able to connect to it remotely and look at what's going on inside your RV. If you place it in the right place, you'll be able to see out the windows as well. Remember the PTZ will allow you to MOVE the camera's view around at will. There is no reason why you couldn't have more than one camera on this connection. They do not require much power at all, so that's not of major concern. You could even run them wired into your RV's 12V system. Some of the cameras even take 12V input via USB. But, to be sure, check the AC adapters voltage output...some are much lower!

Old Mobile Router And Dongle

Now, the issues to setting this up. First, you need to have an internet connection that is always on. Not much bandwidth nor data will be flowing when nothing is happening, but you need to be able to reach the cameras via the internet. If you have a cell phone, you could use it as a hotspot, but obviously you wouldn't be able to take it with you. So then you wouldn't be able to check the cameras! Catch-22! A second cell phone or stand-alone hotspot from a provider would work, but would likely cost extra each month (maybe even plus data). If you have two people with cell phones, one can leave the phone while the other takes over the monitoring portion. Of course, if you are in a location with WiFi already, you could set up a small (and cheap!) Mobile router to connect each time. Then you are all set.

I've got a few spare cameras that I purchased for home use, and have set up one in the RV. Since it's parked inside the fabric hangar and there is WiFi right inside the house, I have 24/7 access for storage. I can also see inside the fabric building through the windows when I Pan the camera around. Works really nicely! I've tried it through my cell phone hotspot and it's fine. If 720P movies will stream through it (They do!) this was a piece of cake. The cameras have SD Card slots, so they record internally AND when set up to be triggered by motion, you can have the cell phone application open automatically and record the video as well. Some of the cameras even include Audio! A permanent record of what happened to trigger it. Of course, it may have just have been a critter...but why take the chance?!

Be Seeing You...Down The Road,

Rich "The Wanderman"
www.thewanderman.com

Clothes Pins - Not Just For Clothes Any More!

Wishful Thinking!

    Have you ever noticed that sometimes the most mundane items take on an almost mythical reverence? Like Duck Tape for instance. While I am not saying clothes pins should be raised to that level, I am saying there are far more uses for them than just hanging clothes on a line to dry. Who even DOES that anymore? I even have a drying rack that attaches to my roof ladder to dry clothes. No pins needed. So what's so good about them? Well, first off, they are really inexpensive. No, let's say it like it is. They are CHEAP. 36 of them for 1 dollar! Yes, but what can you DO with them? Read on!

Cheap And Effective!

It all started when the plastic snack bag clip broke. You've seen them, a 6-inch or so plastic clip with a metal spring designed to keep bags of snacks closed and (allegedly) fresh. It's pretty flimsy plastic, not to mention awkward to use. They break on me all the time. Probably why they come in sets of three. To add insult to injury, they don't fit in my silverware drawer. Terrible, I know. Well, when the last one broke, I decided to try something different. Yup, you guessed it, the lowly wooden clothes pin. I had a bunch at home and figured they would be useful for other things too so I had brought a few with me. Turns out, if you fold the bag down one corner at a time, then straight, it makes a perfect seal that a clothes pin will maintain. The bag is smaller and easier to store AND it won't open. Seems to be more airtight as well. Though I usually don't have a bag of snacks last long enough to know for sure.

Crossover And Fold Down, Then Clip

What else can you use them for? Well I use them for adding "gels" to lights, you know the colored transparent plastic that allows you to change light colors. Same goes for diffusion paper. Lots of other photographic uses too...Once in a while I still develop my own photos, you couldn't hang the prints to dry without the good old clothes pin. Holding things down or at an edge comes to mind. Like a table cloth on a thin table (like the one I have you can roll up to store). It works perfectly to keep those cheap plastic tablecloths on the table! How about holding your nose to prevent a bad smell from getting in? I'm kidding! But felt it needed to be in here as I've seen it so many times in cartoons! How about adding a tiny Velcro strip to one side of a few of them and using them to hang small bags of spices (or whatever) to your wall or even the ceiling. Sounds a bit crazy, but my ceiling and walls are carpeted.

You can come up with lots of other uses...just try, imagination is king. Come on, send me a few!

Be Seeing You... Down The Road,

Rich "The Wanderman"
www.thewanderman.com

How To Store Stick Butter Or Margarine - Is Tub Better?

    I haven't used butter in a while, been content with using tubs of margarine (some brands are WAY better than others in terms of flavor!). When traveling in an RV, it's easier to store opened butter or margarine that is in a tub with a snap on lid. That's pretty obvious. What if you like stick style? Sure, it's fine until you unwrap the stick, even partially. Then you have to find a place to store it in the fridge that won't fall and "dent" your stick. That being said, there are some distinct advantages for stick style butter or margarine. As long as you can figure out how to keep it in good shape without air getting to it and discoloring the surface after use. Take a look at what I found.

The Solution!

I like the way sticks look on the table at a meal. Whether it's breakfast, lunch or dinner,  there is something about a stick of butter on a dish that makes it feel, well, fancier somehow. Easy to do. Unwrap the stick, place it on a butter dish and place on the table. What could be easier than that? So, why not? Well, what do you do with the unused portion after the meal? No, even I don't use a whole stick at one sitting! You could attempt to put it back in the wrapper...but that usually doesn't work well and isn't really air-tight anyway. If you leave it on the butter dish and put it back in the fridge it will begin to turn a particularly ugly shade of yellow. That's because the surface is reacting with the oxygen in the air and changing the properties (Oxidation). What about a butter dish that seals tight to prevent this AND keeping the butter from getting all dented up in the fridge while you are underway? There are LOTS of these containers around, but I like to get a bit more for my buck so I chose this one. It's got an additional benefit as well.

A Simple Solution

While tub style is great, it's a pain to measure out tablespoons (or larger measures.) You have to find a measuring spoon (not hard) and then once it's measured, figure out how to get it OUT of the spoon and into your recipe. Of course, it also adds to "things that must be washed." Getting butter or margarine off of kitchen utensils without using an excess of water AND keeping the oily residue out of the grey tank is tough! Everyone KNOWS I hate cleaning. Stick butter, on the other hand, has a handy tablespoon scale printed on the wrapper and a simple cut will give you exactly what you need for your recipe. That's all well and good, but what if you have already used it on the table and the wrapper is gone?  Well, this one has measurements printed on the base and you can just pull it open cut what you need and put it back. Simple and with very little fuss.

On a vacation, I prefer to keep the fussing to a minimum (cleaning too!). If I have the extra room in the fridge, I'll likely take this along with me. Looks good on pancakes! A little pat will do ya!

Be Seeing You...Down The Road,

Rich "The Wanderman"

www.thewanderman.com