How do I turn a GoPro Hero2 into a WiFi/Bluetooth Video Camera?

[Sommerville70]

Hi. Can anyone out there share a little insight for me? My wife would like to have a camera pointed at her bird feeders and have video streaming onto either a TV or monitor inside the house. The problem is that it won't be close enough to hardwire it in any practical way. I know there are off the shelf cameras that may work here but we aren't interested in spending hundreds of dollars to do it. I do have an old GoPro Hero2 that I would like to repurpose for this project and I am aware I can use a capture card and HDMI/USB cables to do it but again, the distance doesn't make it practicable. Also, there is nowhere acceptable to bring a cable into the house that wouldn't double the length of any cable options. My question is this. Is there a best way to to turn this aged GoPro into a wireless Wi-Fi/Bluetooth camera? The maximum range would be in the neighborhood of 40' but probably much less. Would using the Bluetooth or Wi-Fi antenna out of an old laptop work for this or would there be something off the shelf that would make life easier and not cut too deep into the beer fund?

 

[Harald Kapp]

I can't help with the GoPro, but check the ESP32CAM module (link). Add a USB powerbank and a weatherproof housing and you're done for a few bucks only.
Lots of videos and other tutorials are online available for thsi nice little module. You can even swap the OV2640 camera for another OV2640 camera with different focal length.
Or get an ESP32CAM module with a higher resolution OV5640 camera (5 Mp) and autofocus.

 

[Delta Prime]

Sorry, couldn’t help myself; I like beer too.

 

[ayman.elmaghraby]

I tried doing something similar with an old GoPro a while back and ran into the same wall, there’s just no easy way to add wireless streaming to those older models unless you're willing to hack together something very custom. I played around with some Wi-Fi dongles and microcontrollers, but honestly, the time investment didn’t really make sense compared to using cheap alternative cameras that already support Wi-Fi.

 

[starlingken]

Turning a GoPro Hero2 into a true wireless camera is tough because it was never built for stable WiFi or Bluetooth streaming, and adding laptop antennas will not fix that. The easiest low cost option is to pair it with a simple external WiFi transmitter or a cheap battery powered mini HDMI sender that can send video up to short distances.

Many people end up using a low cost outdoor WiFi security camera instead because it is cheaper and more stable than trying to modify the GoPro. If you only need around 40 feet, a budget wireless camera will save you time and work better for streaming inside the house.