I have changed the Linux distribution AGAIN. I seem to have issues with the wireless going offline frequently. No matter the distribution my WiFi is going to sleep and disconnecting, then I get a ton of pop-ups asking for the password. To the point that it locks up the computer.

I now have Linux Mint installed as the distribution in my LAMP server. So far this one has been tested now for over a week, and is the most stable of all the distributions I have tried.

Some of the changes we are hoping to implement is removing the need for WiFi. We are researching a way we can connect the USB camera to the computer and keep the it within the range of a CAT 5.

Now I have a satellite cable line that goes through the wall. We have looked at this hole and it looks like the wire for the USB will also fit through it. The company that installed the satellite did a less then stellar job at the install. Because they drilled a hole in the wall, in an apartment, we will have to pay for that anyway, so we figure we can use that hole, and actually install an outdoor cable connection plate, with a USB connection, and seal up the hole better. This will let us connect the satellite better and connect my camera.

This set up will also keep the server inside the apartment, instead of putting it out in the closet on the deck. The heat in that closet gets over 100, and I would rather not melt the server.

The ZoneMinder program is working well. I wish that it was recording video instead of a series of still photos. It makes the creation of videos of what has been captured a bit difficult.

When motion is detected ZoneMinder takes a series of pictures. Some times it is just a few, other times it can be 100 or more. This depends on the amount of movement, and if it continues during the capture. For me, when the bird pauses a moment to look around I end up with a second, third, forth, and so on capture event.

There is a function that allows for the events to be exported from the software, and then downloaded to another computer. The problem arises in the tree of folders they are buried in. It also does not really make any sense in how the folders are named, or numbered.

Here is a video I created with the pictures from ZoneMinder.