1. Where to find download information?
Please visit https://www.quaray.com/homucam .
2. How to protect the phone and battery when using the app?
HomuCam can operate continuously for days or even months. When using the app, it is also common that the phone faces outdoor, which can cause phone overheating due to sunlight exposure. Additionally, the app uses the phone’s camera, a significant power-consuming component. It is crucial to take the following measures to protect the phone and battery from overheating damage.
A): Avoid exposing the phone to direct sunlight. When putting the phone next to a window, place the phone where sunlight is blocked by curtains or walls.
B): Avoid letting the camera lens look into the sun, which helps protect the image sensor. One way is to position the phone in a way to reduce sky area in the camera view. Another way is place the phone at a high position, and let the camera face down a little bit, not look up.
C): Screen is a major power draining component and heat generating source. Set the screen brightness to a very low level, which helps protect both the battery and the screen. And it is better to turn off the feature of “Wake up screen when motion is detected”.
D): Some phone models consume much higher power when recording video. For those phones, it is recommended not to turn on the video recording feature if running the app continuously.
3. How to know battery level and phone temperature?
When viewing HomuCam Live Images from a web browser, there are 4 numbers on the second line, which show battery level, phone temperature, date, and time. For example, “100 28 2023-12-12 11:50:55” means the battery level is 100% and phone temperature is 28°C. When temperature is beyond 43°C, the app will stop camera, and enter sleep mode.
4. How to create Gmail App Password for Email Notification?
The Email Notification function of HomuCam sends notification emails using a user’s Gmail account. In order for the app to perform this function, a Gmail App Password is needed. When Google account 2-Step Verification is not enabled, the Google account password is Gmail App Password as well. However, when 2-Step Verification is enabled, a dedicated Gmail App Password is needed. To create a Gamil App Password, (1) open Google account page on a web browser, (2) login to a Google account, (3) click Security, (4) click 2-Step Verification, (5) move to the bottom and create a new App Password. Use this password as the Gmail App Password for Email Notification. This password can only be used one time. A new app password needs to be created, when a user needs to use the password on another device.
5. How to increase brightness and sharpness of pictures when environment is dark?
A phone supporting high ISO can have better brightness and sharpness of a moving object in a relatively dark environment. A phone with the maximum ISO over 2000 is preferred.
6. Why HomuCam stopped working after updating system to Android 11?
Android 11 has changed storage security system. As a result, the HomuCam app running on Android 11 is not able to access folders created by the app with earlier Android versions. To resolve the issue, old folders created by the app need to be removed (or renamed). To do this, open “Files” app, in the “Internal storage”, “Pictures” and “Movies” folders can be seen. Delete or rename “HomuCam” folders under those two folders.
7. How to capture license plate of cars?
The app supports optimization for LPC (License Plate Capture). Car license plates from 60~80ft away can be captured by using the app and an external telephoto lens. To perform LPC, 1) use a phone which supports manual camera mode, 2) attach a 2X or 3X telephoto lens, 3) set “Recording Type” to “Picture Only” (Resolution of video is not enough for LPC), 4) set “Picture Size” to make horizontal resolution to over 2500, preferably over 3200, and 5) enable “Optimization for license plate capture”. For more information about LPC, please take a look at the LPC video clip on youtube.
8. How to read license plate number?
The app supports LPC (License Plate Capture), but not ANPR (Automatic License Plate Reader). In other words, the license plate number need be read by a user manually. To read license plate number, 1) connect the phone to a PC using a USB cable, 2) change the phone USB connection mode to “Transfer file”, 3) copy related images under Pictures->HomuCam->MotionDetection on the phone to PC, 4) use an image processing program such as Paint, Photoshop or Gimp to open a captured image, 5) crop out the area containing a license plate, 6) enlarge the cropped area by 10X or 20X, 6) optionally sharpen the image using the sharpen filter of the image processing program.
9. Any recommended telephoto lens for LPC?
We have tested various telephoto lenses. Besides the magnification factor, the most important parameter is the lens opening size. A rule of thumb is that the lens opening diameter need be larger than 1″ for LPC.
10. Any recommended models of Android phones?
Camera is a major power draining source of an Android phone. When running the HomuCam for long time, the phone battery can degrade over time although the phone is always plugged into a charger. It is preferable to use an Android phone which uses a removable battery, so that the battery can be replaced when needed.
Among the phones we have tested, Moto E6 and Nokia 1.3 are the two models with the best cost-performance. The two models use a removable battery. These two models also consume very low power when camera is ON (less overheating concerns when using in hot days). And the phones can be bought with a price as low as under $50. Compared to Nokia 1.3, Moto E6 is more stable when continuously running the app for many weeks or months. A small drawback is that the maximum ISO is under 800, which is lower compared to other high end models.
High-end phone models usually support maximum ISO over 2000, which is better for LPC and dark scenes. However, most phones don’t use a removable battery. And power consumption of some models, such as Samsung Galaxy S7, is pretty high when Camera is activated (overheating can be a problem when using the app on these phones in hot days).
11. When using web browser to access, how to skip login page?
Login page can be skipped by using http://[ip address]:58765/?passcode=[passcode], instead of using Instead of using http://[ip address]:58765. For example, if IP address is 192.168.1.20, and the passcode is 12345678, use http://192.168.1.20:58765/?passcode=12345678.
Not found answers to your questions?
Please send emails to info@quaray.com .