Reolink 520 camera
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8 posts
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cliffilowe - Posts: 10
- Joined: Sat May 25, 2013 12:49 am
Reolink 520 camera
Hello need some help. The camera was working but now Sighthound is telling me that it cannot connect to the camera. I can see the camera from the browser.
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Semper Vaporo - Posts: 331
- Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2010 11:51 am
Re: Reolink 520 camera
I have a camera that periodically will refuse to connect. I have found that sometimes I need to cycle power on the camera and other times I have to cycle power on the router (Wifi or hardwire). I have yet to figure out why.
Semper Vaporo,
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cliffilowe - Posts: 10
- Joined: Sat May 25, 2013 12:49 am
Re: Reolink 520 camera
Have tried rebooting the Router as well as deleting the camera and adding it back and still says cannot connect.
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Semper Vaporo - Posts: 331
- Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2010 11:51 am
Re: Reolink 520 camera
Just to be sure and perfectly clear, I mean absolutely remove power from the devices for at least 30 seconds... not just command a reboot via a computer connection. I even sometimes disconnect the hardwire data connection (network cable). Shutting the computer down all the way, and not just a commanded "restart" seems to have some effect, too. Very frustrating to not be able to narrow it down to just one item to consistently "cure" the "Could not connect" malady.
Frustrating that I can connect via a browser to the camera home page, but Sighthound cannot connect or maintain the "Connect" over time.
Sometimes, this one particular camera will get into a cycle of losing the connection and then regaining it. I have two other IP cams (different brand) that seem to work okay. I have found that when the one starts this cycling of losing and regaining the connection, if I turn all three cams "Off" in Sighthound and then turn "On" the one troublesome cam first and let it settle, then turn "On" the other two cams, that seems to break the cycle for anywhere from a few hours to several weeks. But other times it seems to make little difference.
In desperation, I have also tried deleting all the archive videos and the databases in
"C:/users/[username]/AppData/Local/SightHound Video/Videos"
(except the camdb, so I don't have to redefine all the cameras)
and that sometimes (Note: "SOMETIMES") seems to cure the cycle of losing the connection and reconnecting.
I am running a really old version of SightHound (pre "phone home to verify the license" version) since my system is not connected to the internet (LAN for the cameras, only), so I don't know if my "fixes" apply wholly to the latest versions.
My guess is that there is some sort of timing problem with all the instances of the main SightHound program and the network connections and accessing the diskdrives. This could be an inherent problem with the hardware (such as missed/lost interrupts) and possibly at such a level as to be incurable in software. All we can do about it, is to alter the timing by changing the sequence of events by varying the order of items in the Window's processing lists.
One more thing... do you know if your problem started with some update to Sighthound or the OS? Maybe see if you can revert one or both to a previous version.
Frustrating that I can connect via a browser to the camera home page, but Sighthound cannot connect or maintain the "Connect" over time.
Sometimes, this one particular camera will get into a cycle of losing the connection and then regaining it. I have two other IP cams (different brand) that seem to work okay. I have found that when the one starts this cycling of losing and regaining the connection, if I turn all three cams "Off" in Sighthound and then turn "On" the one troublesome cam first and let it settle, then turn "On" the other two cams, that seems to break the cycle for anywhere from a few hours to several weeks. But other times it seems to make little difference.
In desperation, I have also tried deleting all the archive videos and the databases in
"C:/users/[username]/AppData/Local/SightHound Video/Videos"
(except the camdb, so I don't have to redefine all the cameras)
and that sometimes (Note: "SOMETIMES") seems to cure the cycle of losing the connection and reconnecting.
I am running a really old version of SightHound (pre "phone home to verify the license" version) since my system is not connected to the internet (LAN for the cameras, only), so I don't know if my "fixes" apply wholly to the latest versions.
My guess is that there is some sort of timing problem with all the instances of the main SightHound program and the network connections and accessing the diskdrives. This could be an inherent problem with the hardware (such as missed/lost interrupts) and possibly at such a level as to be incurable in software. All we can do about it, is to alter the timing by changing the sequence of events by varying the order of items in the Window's processing lists.
One more thing... do you know if your problem started with some update to Sighthound or the OS? Maybe see if you can revert one or both to a previous version.
Semper Vaporo,
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weedy171 - Posts: 3
- Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2018 12:05 am
Re: Reolink 520 camera
I had the same issues with REO link. I have a 410WS model. It will work fine for awhile then stop connecting. I have to tweak on the cameras stream. I have a 4k camera and only streaming at 1080P. Right now troubleshooting the same issue and have the stream down toe 720. But when i use reo link app it appears it fine.
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BeanBagKing - Posts: 24
- Joined: Fri May 15, 2020 1:02 pm
Re: Reolink 520 camera
Possibly related to the camera using H265 (not supported by Sighthound) when streaming 4k, but using H264 when streaming at lower resolutions? I don't have a Reolink to test with, so just kind of throwing an idea out there.
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Semper Vaporo - Posts: 331
- Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2010 11:51 am
Re: Reolink 520 camera
Another couple of possibilities:
If you have a wired (Ethernet) connection in any of your Local Area Network, try unplugging the connectors and plugging them back in. Especially if they are in moist or greasy areas (such as in or near a kitchen!). The connectors are not always the best and dust and grease can cause intermittent connections. Unplugging and plugging them back in can wipe away contaminants.
If you are using any WiFi connections, run a program that will tell you what WiFi signals are present in your area and the power levels. You and your neighbors may be sharing the same channels and interfering with each other. And remember, for every WiFi camera you have communicating with the WiFi Router there are an equal number of data streams from the router to the computer. 5 cameras and one computer is 10 data streams... one for each camera to the router and 5 data streams from the Router to the computer (one for each camera data stream). And they are all using the same channel and having to take turns serially on that one channel.
Obviously, replacing the Router to computer link with hardwire (Ethernet/CAT-5 cable) will cut the contention for bandwidth in half (and usually a hardwire connection can handle 5 to 10 times the bandwidth of WiFi).
You can also make the router use a different frequency/channel to get away from a neighbor using the same channel. Different routers have different methods for forcing the channel to be used, usually you log into the router (192.168.0.1 normally) and look for the WiFi setup in the web page it presents.
Some, during the power up sequence will listen on all the channels and pick the one with the least traffic, but it only does that once at power up time. Once selected it keeps using that channel until the next power up sequence. If it selected a channel when your neighbors were not using their WiFi, that channel might get really busy if they start live streaming videos or playing games at a later time. If that is the case, cycling power on the router might correct the problem (for a while!).
If you decide to use CAT-5 cable, and it is too long, do NOT coil it up "neatly"! Leave it in a loose jumble! A tight coil will act like an attenuator and the signal may not get past it! Even running CAT-5 cable through metal conduit can sap the signal right out of the wires. (Plastic conduit will not be a problem.)
The same thing goes for USB cables! I had an intermittent problem with a USB cable that I use to connect my cell phone to my computer to transfer photos. I wanted to use a twisty tie to wrap around the cable when it was not in use. One end of the twisty tie was wrapped tightly around a USB cable at one end so I would not lose it when using the cable with the phone and computer. The long remaining end could then be wrapped around the coiled up cable when stored in a drawer with other similarly stored cables. That little 6 or 8 turns of wire was enough to kill most signals... terribly intermittent trying to copy photos to the computer! I moved the twisty tie to just one turn around the larger USB "connector" (this moved the wire in the twisty tie further from the USB wires and it was just a single coil), twisting the tie to itself to make that single wrap tight so as to stay put. This cured the "intermittent" cable! (I really didn't need to buy that replacement cable, but at least now I have a spare!)
If you have a wired (Ethernet) connection in any of your Local Area Network, try unplugging the connectors and plugging them back in. Especially if they are in moist or greasy areas (such as in or near a kitchen!). The connectors are not always the best and dust and grease can cause intermittent connections. Unplugging and plugging them back in can wipe away contaminants.
If you are using any WiFi connections, run a program that will tell you what WiFi signals are present in your area and the power levels. You and your neighbors may be sharing the same channels and interfering with each other. And remember, for every WiFi camera you have communicating with the WiFi Router there are an equal number of data streams from the router to the computer. 5 cameras and one computer is 10 data streams... one for each camera to the router and 5 data streams from the Router to the computer (one for each camera data stream). And they are all using the same channel and having to take turns serially on that one channel.
Obviously, replacing the Router to computer link with hardwire (Ethernet/CAT-5 cable) will cut the contention for bandwidth in half (and usually a hardwire connection can handle 5 to 10 times the bandwidth of WiFi).
You can also make the router use a different frequency/channel to get away from a neighbor using the same channel. Different routers have different methods for forcing the channel to be used, usually you log into the router (192.168.0.1 normally) and look for the WiFi setup in the web page it presents.
Some, during the power up sequence will listen on all the channels and pick the one with the least traffic, but it only does that once at power up time. Once selected it keeps using that channel until the next power up sequence. If it selected a channel when your neighbors were not using their WiFi, that channel might get really busy if they start live streaming videos or playing games at a later time. If that is the case, cycling power on the router might correct the problem (for a while!).
If you decide to use CAT-5 cable, and it is too long, do NOT coil it up "neatly"! Leave it in a loose jumble! A tight coil will act like an attenuator and the signal may not get past it! Even running CAT-5 cable through metal conduit can sap the signal right out of the wires. (Plastic conduit will not be a problem.)
The same thing goes for USB cables! I had an intermittent problem with a USB cable that I use to connect my cell phone to my computer to transfer photos. I wanted to use a twisty tie to wrap around the cable when it was not in use. One end of the twisty tie was wrapped tightly around a USB cable at one end so I would not lose it when using the cable with the phone and computer. The long remaining end could then be wrapped around the coiled up cable when stored in a drawer with other similarly stored cables. That little 6 or 8 turns of wire was enough to kill most signals... terribly intermittent trying to copy photos to the computer! I moved the twisty tie to just one turn around the larger USB "connector" (this moved the wire in the twisty tie further from the USB wires and it was just a single coil), twisting the tie to itself to make that single wrap tight so as to stay put. This cured the "intermittent" cable! (I really didn't need to buy that replacement cable, but at least now I have a spare!)
Semper Vaporo,
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weedy171 - Posts: 3
- Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2018 12:05 am
Re: Reolink 520 camera
Well I am using wireless. It could be related to H265, but I had good luck in prior version to this. I honestly been trying different wireless technology even making the access point closer to the camera. We are located at a farm which mean no other wireless signals to worry about.