Posted a Video to monitor Xcarve with camera (old cell phone) for free

I know that this has been talked about before somewhere on the forum. I put together a video on how I monitor the machine if I must step away for a moment. I am a firm believer in staying with the CNC whenever it is running but I know that there are folks out there that just let it run by itself. So, here is a safe way to monitor the carving for FREE… just use an old cell phone and a free app. Here is the link to the video

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Great to see you finding a way to repurpose those old electronics. Security cameras have come WAY down in price recently. You can now get a really good 1080p camera with all the premium features for around $20. Here is the one I’ll be using with my X-Carve;

Review is here;

I’m also setting up a remote kill switch on my phone in case I’m not near by. Like you I’m a firm believer in staying with the CNC whenever possible, but sometimes you just need to be away for moment, and this really helps.

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I did mention repeatedly to stay with your cnc but if you must leave for a moment it’s better to have a camera than not have one

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A little additional Info - It appears from my experimenting this method does require an active internet connection. Just having a local wifi network will not suffice. So those of us without internet in or shop can’t set this up.

You are right. You could use a baby monitor. They are very inexpensive. I fortunate enough to have a strong internet with WiFi. It’s not often I use the setup but there are times that I must step away and I am glad I have it to use