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Foal
On
a Budget
Tired of getting up every hour or two to
see if your mare is ready to foal..? Of course we all have “been
there done that”. But there is a cost effective alternative. We went to “The
Source” (formerly Radio Shack) and picked up a relatively
inexpensive security camera system. This unit has two cameras and a 2.4 GHz
receiver. We mount one camera in one stall and the other camera in another
stall. That was the easy part.
Our foaling barn is over 100 yards away
from our house! The camera has to dodge between round bales, trees and several
bushes. Needless to say… there is considerable signal loss. (these
cameras were never designed to go that far). So being a little inventive (or obsessive
compulsive my wife tells me), I thought of a better way.
Gadzooks batman… a ½ wave WiFi or 2.4 GHz directional antenna. Huh, you ask, what’s
that? Well a directional antenna has the capability to “cut out” most of the
unwanted signals (especially when you turn on the microwave and get nothing but
snow on your screen). Also, you are “maximizing” the signal from the camera.
Just a wee bit of
science talk. A 2.4
GHz camera usually runs on a ¼ wave antenna. These are cheap, small and easy
for engineers to build onto the receiver, but they not very efficient. If you
were to use a ½ wave antenna, you double the signal
and so on.
The total cost of this project can be
less than $20.00 depending on what components you have laying around. I used a
5” diameter heating pipe 24” long. A half wave antenna is 2.44” “exactly” long,
so the 5” pipe comes in pretty close to double the antenna length. Next go to
your local ____ store and pick up a N style female
plug.
Next, solder a piece of house type wire
14 gauge or so to the end of the socket.
Now this is “REALLY” important. Measure
back from the end of the pipe 2.44” and mark the hole for which the antenna
plug will go in to. Drill the hole to fit the plug and also the 4 mounting holes.
You can either pop rivet the plug to the pipe or use small screws if you have
them handy.
While the pipe was still open, I chose to
drill a few holes in the receiver, and mount the receiver directly to the pipe
as well.
Next, put a metal cover over the antenna
end. Hardware stores sell one specifically for that purpose. (Make sure your
wife picks up the right size) or, “get it yourself”. I unsoldered the original
antenna from the receiver and ran a short length of cable from the new directional
antenna to the receiver.
You’re “Finished”
This is looking down the business end
back to the antenna.
On our farm, when looking from the house
to the barn, this is what we are dealing with.
This project took less time doing than it
took me to write this article.
Components were cheap, but most importantly, we watched our palomino
mare give birth to a healthy colt from the comfort of our dining room. By the
way, the foaling barn is over 100 yards away.
If you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate
to contact me directly.
Steven
Good luck
with your project and be sure to Check back often…..
Contact: Steven
& Jennifer Zachary
P.O. Box 276
V0E 2P0
(250) 577-3526
Email: horses@turningpointranch.ca
Last Updated: April 25, 2009