Linksys WVC54G wireless camera, btinternet SMTP and gmail

Dug out my wireless camera, to see if it could be used as a web cam - it's good quality, with sound, but more for security monitoring than sitting in front of the screen and talking. Don't think it can, but it's good to have it up and running again after about a year... It seems a little slow to respond when setting it up, like changes take a few minutes to take effect so it seems like it's not working correctly occasionally, but I got there. Even my old dyndns account was still running so hopefully I'll be able to use the camera from work today, and maybe give the address out so you can monitor my home security for me.

Only really had problems with one bit of it, and that's the "send an email on motion detect", one of the main features of this camera (pointless still linking to it, I don't think you can buy it any more). You need an smtp server for your outgoing mails, your ISP certainly provides one. I hoped to use gmail, as I use it for all my mail and have never used the email address that came with BT Broadband, but smtp.gmail.com insists on some encryption and an alternative port number that the camera can't cope with, so no go. In the end, some messing about changing settings and trying things it seems that at some point since I last used this BT made changes to not let you set your "from" address in your emails without authenticating that you really own that address. Definitely reasonable and I guessed this so I was already trying to send the emails from what I thought was my real bt broadband address, and what had been my real email address when I registered, let's say it's foo@btinternet.com. I logged on to my btinternet.com address and worked out it had been changed to foo@ btopenworld.com. Oh and there was a mail waiting explaining what had gone on, I didn't need to google round the houses after all.

Urgent – emails you send from non–BT Yahoo! Mail addresses via our SMTP servers may be blocked

Dear Customer,
You've received an Error 553 message because we've upgraded your BT Yahoo! Mail security to help prevent identity fraud and spam.
These enhancements will help protect you from 'spoofing' – when people use alternate addresses to disguise an email's real sender, possibly to commit fraud.
Making the improvements work
For the security improvements to work, we need you to take a few minutes now to verify each of the alternate email addresses you use in BT Yahoo! Mail. This will confirm that these email addresses are genuine.
Please verify addresses now to avoid any further blocking of your outgoing emails.
Simply follow the step-by-step instructions at www.btyahoo.com/verify. You won't be asked for any personal information, but you'll need to log in to your account to make the changes.

Comment / reply

The new telly has not yet arrived

This is where it's going though, I'll be keeping an eye all day...

http://www.clarkeology.com/blog/upload/Capture7.jpg security camera view of our lounge

Set it up in a bit of a hurry, just threw the camera into the corner, and it needs a lot of focussing etc to get a better picture from it, ah well... Got the motion detecting and emailing working on the camera now, though not fully adjusted, it's a bit sensitive. Found out (thanks again Itchypaws that you can't use gmail as the SMTP server for sending from this camera, as the camera doesn't support secure sending and gmail insists on it. Found another though, dug out my password and that and using my ISP. So, as soon as there's movement in our front room, I should get a 1meg 5 second video attachment of a windows media file in my inbox. It's very exciting.

Oh yeah people that I've tried to describe where the telly's going to go, hopefully now you can see. That's the old telly on the floor, and that's an old kitchen cupboard next to it which is making do as a TV cabinet for now. For the last 18 months, and also still for now, yeah I know.

Still sick with cold, but too excited about the telly to be bothered by it. I am at work today btw, hence monitoring the TV delivery action by remote camera.

Having problems with Sky again, so we've got no Freesat yet, we're getting all the kit from a third party supplier (Simpsons of Hythe), but the card has to come from Sky. They say they've sent it, but it's not arrive - this is the same problem we had when we tried to get Sky+ last year...

2006 :: Comment / reply

Charlotte AIKMAN

Re: Charlotte AIKMAN

My daughter is doing a book report and needs to know the careers of Kenneth and Charlyn Aikman
please respond to akiser@burlesonisd.net. I haven't been able to find anything on the web.
Thank you for your help.
Amy Kiser

akiser :: 2005 :: Comment / reply