Posts with the tag Instructional usually have a how-to included for software or some other service.
The posts below contain this tag…
We finally had a successful automated upload from the local machine to the YouTube channel and we are pleasantly surprised to be honest. Having had very limited experience with Shortcuts and cron over the years, we weren’t sure if we’d be able to recreate the processes set up 6+ years ago. When things are (mostly) running smoothly one tends to forget how they actually work. Which is why documentation is import. Not just for other people, but to refer back to when the memory fails.
This post is an update to one written in 2018 as the process and software used has changed since then.
Over the years I have had requests to share the details of how I do the technical things that power the FarmCam. Below are instructions for using EvoCam to share still images as well as timelapse videos on a website to which you have FTP access.
Unfortunately, EvoCam is no longer being developed so everything in this article will likely focus on Version 5.0 (64-bit preview 3) of the software. At the time of this writing one can still download the software from reputable sites; however, if you cannot find it, email me. I can provide the DMG file, but I do not provide support for the software! EvoCam works only on macOS, and I have tested it up to: macOS Sonoma Version 14.3.1 and current run it on my Apple Silicon (M3) iMac (2023).
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Last December I ordered a new 4k camera with a plan to swap it for the Hikvision camera which has been in place since January 2016. When the Amcrest UltraHD 4K arrived I connected it in my office and ran some tests for streaming, and time-lapse. Satisfied, I still waited until June to mount and connect the new Amcrest camera, swapping out the Hikvision.
(more…)Recently I wrote about night vision and green screen, and I assumed that it was a trade off. It kind of is, but maybe not in the way I thought.
Every time I make a change to EvoCam or to the Hikvision settings, something new occurs. Not necessarily good or bad, just new. And times like this I am simply baffled.
Again, it’s time to look under the hood.
Look, I have never claimed to be an expert on anything. I hunt and peck my way around the keyboard, and do the same when it comes to figuring shit out.
I like to pretend that what I am creating with the FarmCam Project is like software development; each tweak or improvement a new version. Sometimes it feels that way as I wrestle with EvoCam to get the most out of the abandoned software, that has gone dark without explanation. I can’t just make a support request or post to a support forum. If there are diehard EvoCam enthusiasts, I have no idea where to find them.
These instructional entries are here for two reasons. One, I hope to help others who may have similar interests — or needs — to my own. Secondly, if I don’t write this stuff down somewhere, I am likely to break something and forget WTF I did. These are my own manuals in some sense. Hence, many entries with lots of guess work and promises to report back later. Most of the time I forget to do some things in advance, and I am left wondering if a change will make any difference at all. Other times, I’m not patient enough to test things before I write about them here. [This is another of those times!] (more…)
