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Post by Bobcat on May 18, 2018 19:55:49 GMT -5
Hi KZ family! I know many of y’all travel with your pets, and if like me worry when you leave them to run errands or sight see. Now that we are moving to the warmer, or like here hot, months does anyone use or can recommend a temperature sensor that would transmit via WiFi information to your phone especially if for whatever reason the temp inside becomes dangerous to the pets? No matter how far away you are, that way you could at lease alert someone to help. I saw one that sparked my interest but it needed a cell line transmit, was looking for one that would work on park WiFi to keep costs down.
Thanks in advance for info, or if this has been discussed please direct me to the thread.
Bobcat
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Post by Chuck on May 19, 2018 10:31:41 GMT -5
Bobcat I do not know of any WIFI units your talking about, but what we do when running errands or sight seeing is level the air conditioner running an the TV on, thus they stay cool an are entertained all at the same time  We also close all the shades to keep it cool inside an also so they can't see other dogs walking by thus start to bark at them ... Safe Travels Chuck |
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Post by Edd505 on May 19, 2018 11:23:34 GMT -5
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Post by Bobcat on May 20, 2018 20:58:36 GMT -5
Chuck - I do the same but know that rogue monkey storms in Texas are common and prone to power failures. Saw the monitor Edd505 mentioned which is what spurred the question to the group. That one needs a full time cell line, and if that is what needs to be done then so be it. Was looking for a WiFi stand alone, similar to those webcams that are WiFi and work with a phone app.
Edd505 thanks, I’ve seen that one and was looking for others to compare.
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Post by Edd505 on May 20, 2018 22:44:27 GMT -5
Edd505 thanks, I’ve seen that one and was looking for others to compare.
also many of the camp grounds now offer free WiFi
Be interested on what you find out.
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k0vwa
Newbie RV’er
Posts: 47 
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Post by k0vwa on May 21, 2018 7:57:58 GMT -5
Some Acu-rite weather stations can send email and text based on custom alerts you define. I get email when the temp drops below freezing.
It does require a wired internet connection but it's super easy to get a ethernet->wifi extender these days.
Good luck!
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Post by johnr on May 21, 2018 10:24:33 GMT -5
I was looking at RV Command. Once you buy the unit and adapters that you're interested in, it looks like it's $8.99 a month for cellular monitoring. |
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rickeys
Newbie RV’er
Durango Gold 384RLT in Delaware
Posts: 17
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Post by rickeys on May 21, 2018 12:28:53 GMT -5
RV command is limited on how many times you can check in to see temp/etc based on the plan than you sign up for.
I had it and didn't like it.
Rick
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rickeys
Newbie RV’er
Durango Gold 384RLT in Delaware
Posts: 17
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Post by rickeys on May 21, 2018 12:31:15 GMT -5
RV command also only reports back every so many hours not continuous. I forget off the top of my head how often that was. And lastly when in storage if you didn't unplug it / disconnect power it would drain my batteries in about two weeks.
Rick
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Post by Bobcat on May 21, 2018 15:19:14 GMT -5
Edd505 thanks, I’ve seen that one and was looking for others to compare.
also many of the camp grounds now offer free WiFi
Be interested on what you find out.
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Post by Bobcat on May 21, 2018 15:21:17 GMT -5
OOPs premature send to the above post. I wanted to add that I may contact Bluestream and see if it can connect direct to the park wifi. If so that is perfect. I was trying to avoid adding another line to my cell plan, unless the Bluestream unit just needs it for the wifi connection. I will post my findings when I can.
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Post by johnr on May 21, 2018 15:25:16 GMT -5
Most of the campgrounds we go to do not have WIFI.
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Post by johnr on May 22, 2018 13:34:19 GMT -5
I did a little digging into RV Command. Below is the monthly price list. I asked them what was going on with report frequency, what alerts were and if the two were related. Sean from RV Command replied: The device will send a normal status update at the scheduled reporting frequency. Alerts (door switch triggered, loss of shore power, etc.) will be sent when they occur and don’t wait for the next scheduled report.So basically, you get unlimited alerts with all packages, but can only get status updates based on the chosen report frequency. This sounds good, for me at least, to make sure the trailer stays connected to shore power for the dog. When we're camping and leave the dog inside, it is always a concern that we will lose power and the heat could hurt the dog. Rickey, could you tell us exactly what you didn't like about the system?  |
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Post by Bobcat on May 22, 2018 17:40:40 GMT -5
Spoke to Claude with BluStream today, very helpful. Basically their unit needs some device to receive via bluetooth and that device have the ability to connect EITHER wifi or cell or both. He stated they chose to go that way as they did a survey of RV users and found the majority have some kind of cell/wifi device like an old phone or "jetpack". So basically the sensor connects to the device of choice then uploads to their cloud via wifi or cell. Then you can recieve your info on the phone. The sensor is battery powered, using a "button" type battery and it last up to a year. The device that transmits may need to be plugged in at all times for transmission purposes.
There was no mention of monthly plans for the sensor and cloud usage, only the cell data if utilized (hence why I wanted a wifi one) and the app is free. Currently they only market through
Amazon, you do not buy direct
Hope this helps educate everyone, and would like to hear more about the RV command as its always best to research all before you pick!
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rickeys
Newbie RV’er
Durango Gold 384RLT in Delaware
Posts: 17
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Post by rickeys on May 22, 2018 17:51:20 GMT -5
It would work as described sometimes, other times it wouldn’t send alert to my phone. I didn’t have door switch, just temp and shore power along with battery voltage, when in storage it would drain battery if I didn’t disconnect it. I had it a few years ago, so maybe they made improvements to it
Rick
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rickeys
Newbie RV’er
Durango Gold 384RLT in Delaware
Posts: 17
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Post by rickeys on May 22, 2018 18:06:26 GMT -5
I think the way it worked when I had it a temp alert didn’t happen right away, it would happen on the frequency that was scheduled based on plan, I believe alert set points were stored on the web site and when RV command reported in (every four hours) plan I had it would then alert me, so maybe they changed that. I just remember unplugging from shore power in my drive and would get to camp ground and plug in (about an hour away) and never get an alert that shore power was lost. So I was always Leary to leave dogs in camper fearing that power could be lost (no ac) for as long as four hours. But once again this was a few years ago, I think this is a different monitoring company from the appearance of the web site, I still have mine so maybe I should try them again (for a month and see how it works).
Rick
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Post by johnr on May 23, 2018 6:54:54 GMT -5
Thanks Rick, helpful information. The guy at RV Command did say that the alerts and reports were not tied together. Maybe they changed things based on user feedback. If you do try it, make sure your device is compatible in case they had to change something on the device itself to make things work differently.
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Post by theclarks on May 23, 2018 16:30:12 GMT -5
Hello! I had this same question a few weeks ago and went to the internet to find some answers. I care across a couple different “nanny” devices. I purchased as “sens8”. It connects to WiFi and has an app that communicates temperature and a real time Picture. It also has and “alarm” functions. I check on them and sound it when they are barking. They hate it. There is also a microphone on it but it doesn’t work that great. Here’s a link to the product on amazon. SENS8 Home Security Camera System with Siren, 1080p Smart Wireless Indoor Camera with Alarm, No Subscription, for Home / Office / Pet / Baby Monitor, Night Vision, Two-way Audio www.amazon.com/dp/B076HHDNDC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_g1DbBb8T77EHW |
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Post by theclarks on May 23, 2018 16:31:25 GMT -5
I should also add that I purchased a prepaid hotspot that stays with our camper for this purpose.
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Post by Bobcat on May 23, 2018 22:02:07 GMT -5
Thanks, I will look at that too. Was there a subscription or fees for transmission or cloud usage?
All the units I’ve found need some type of secondary device to connect to the web, either cell data or WiFi
i did did confirm with Blustream there are no fees for their usage or cloud which is very nice. But they don’t have video capabilities.
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