video/baby monitor for barn

[SugarCubes]

I’m interested in putting some type of video monitoring system in my barn. Barn is wood, if that makes a difference.

Any recommendations for a video baby monitor or some type of monitoring system for a barn located about 100’ behind my house?

I don’t have kids, so I don’t know what’s out there but aren’t there baby monitors that show video as well as sound? Or something that syncs to an iPhone? Would you mount one in each stall? I have three horses, one who is a Houdini escape artist, and one on stall rest who I’d like to be able to keep an eye on!

Thanks!

[Cat_Tap]

Except for foaling time I don’t think I would want a monitor in the barn. A friend had one and the noises coming from the barn kept her from getting a good night’s sleep. She only had audio and ended up running to the barn frequently to see what was going on. Just my HO.

[ShotenStar]

I have both audio and video monitoring in my barn. THe current set-up is a basic Radio Shack-type intercom system that has a monitoring function. I lock it into monitor mode at evening feeding. Yes, it makes noise all night long and I am a light sleeper. But I have learned to ‘listen’ for the odd noises - hooves on walls, teeth on walls, squeals, doors opening, etc. The routine hay crunching and bucket bumping I sleep through. If an odd noise wakes me, I turn on the separate video system to see what’s happening - saves having to get dressed and walking to the barn for what is usually a non-event.

I used a basic baby monitor camera system in the past. It worked reasonably well, but since it was not an all weather / barn system, the cameras eventually died from the dust and humidity. I replaced them with a system from Riverwind, which has worked well. The key factor for me was transmission power over the distance I needed to cover. It took some experimenting to find the right placement for both the transmitter and the receiver units to get a good picture.

star

[SugarCubes]

[QUOTE=Cat Tap;8859805]
Except for foaling time I don’t think I would want a monitor in the barn. A friend had one and the noises coming from the barn kept her from getting a good night’s sleep. She only had audio and ended up running to the barn frequently to see what was going on. Just my HO.[/QUOTE]

Good point - let me clarify, I guess I just want video, but thought a baby monitor type system would be less expensive and easier to install than security-type cameras. If there is an option to turn down/off the sound that would be perfect!

[csaper58]

The baby monitor is less $ but I don’t know if the video signal travels as far as you need. It may not last, out in the barn, as long as it would inside a house.

There are reasonably priced systems around, maybe check Harbor Freight and Best Buy?

[Wizerx]

I apologize for bumping…just my 2 cents

I have the Graco True Focus video monitor https://www.evababygear.com/best-baby-monitors/ I also have small acreage, and I wore my baby most of the time. However, when I did finally venture outdoors while she was napping, I took the video monitor with me. I could not walk my entire 4 acres without losing/reacquiring signal. Plus, I had trouble going into my run-in shed, which is behind my shop (so, signal had to pass through two metal buildings). But, I could set it on the fence with the volume cranked up and run to it if I heard a peep! It was fine for all around our yard. I also used it as my foaling monitor this year I’ll attach a picture of what the image looks like (pics of the screen make it look worse than it was! The actual image was grainy in low light, but not darkened like it appears). The quality is not great, but it worked fine for my purposes.

[PNWjumper]

There are so many more options now in 2019 than there were in 2016 that I don’t think this thread is terribly relevant any longer. Now you can get a wireless security camera type system (like Arlo) that’s designed for longer distances that would work far better than a baby monitor and isn’t much more expensive.