dahula IPC-HFW5241E commands issue over HTTP

[GI0UTE]

Hi folks,

I am trying to setup my Dahula IPC HFW 5241E as an ALPR camera. I have watched an excellent video on youtube and read the detailed writeup by the same author here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqc1ukrkMmI and https://www.thesmarthomehookup.com/free ... lkthrough/ .

I have a few problems, but one at a time. I cannot get my Blue Iris to send commands to the camera successfully to turn on/off the IR lights and therefore switch between day and night modes. If i enter the same commands into a google chrome browser on by Blue Iris system i CAN get the camera to respond, so i know there isn't a network issue. I am using these commands.

IR on for night mode
http://192.168.1.50/cgi-bin/configManag ... onfig[0]=1

IR Off for day mode
http://192.168.1.50/cgi-bin/configManag ... onfig[0]=0

The IP address on my LAN is obviously 192.168.1.50, and its on a VLAN, isolated from the world.

I suspected a security issue, so within the camera settings i have temporally turned on "anonymous login" under settings, account, which means the web browser does not ask me for a login before it responds to the commands if i test manually.

I have setup a camera schedule along with these commands saved under PTZ/Control, Network IP, Custom HTTP, so at sunrise/sunset the system switches between Day/Night settings, but obviously as Blue Iris cant/isn't communicating these commands in a way the camera understand, nothing happens. What am i missing?

I'm using BI version 5.9.9.17, and its running on a windows 11 VM with 12Gb ram allocated, 8 cores 16 threads, under Unraid, on a EPYC 7K62 48 core 96 thread CPU with 128Gb ram. CPU load in the VM is typically 10-15% with 11 cameras. CodeProject AI is running in a docker on unraid.

Thanks, Des

[PaulDaisy]

Do you see anything in the BI log?

[GI0UTE]

Thanks for responding. Yes, I see something in the log when I force a repeat of the command from within blue iris. Its an ir1 for the camera front gate which is the correct camera.

[GI0UTE]

Guys,

Just to update further what I am seeing. It seems after I left the system overnight, the camera perhaps logs me out so it no longer accepts commands via Google Chrome without asking for a login. Once I login it then responds to sending a command in Google such as:
192.168.1.50/CGI-bin/devVideoInput.cgi?action=adjust Focus&focus=0.817222&zoom=0.848586

The response in Google is "OK"

So I suspect blue iris isn't entering the login details and so the changes aren't being accepted by the camera. How do I move forward from there? Can I make blue iris send in login details, or how, in the camera, do I turn off that requirement . Thanks des.

[TimG]

Re:

Yes, I see something in the log when I force a repeat of the command from within blue iris.

You would be better off using the full Log rather than the standard Log. Set it up at the bottom of the Log page to save to a text file. It only creates one a month, so I direct it to desktop. This gives the full Log in time orientation so is good for understanding the timing of things. The standard Log is basically there to show you how many times something has happened and how bad BI5 thinks it is.

[GI0UTE]

Re:

Yes, I see something in the log when I force a repeat of the command from within blue iris.

You would be better off using the full Log rather than the standard Log. Set it up at the bottom of the Log page to save to a text file. It only creates one a month, so I direct it to desktop. This gives the full Log in time orientation so is good for understanding the timing of things. The standard Log is basically there to show you how many times something has happened and how bad BI5 thinks it is.

Could you describe how to turn on the "full log" please. Under status, log, I have now setup a file for the log to be written to, but it's not any more detailed than what I shared previously. When I ask blue iris to issue the ir command, the log reports IR:1 but the camera doesn't respond. Sorry I checked the help file and can't find how to setup a more detailed log. Thanks des.

[TimG]

Sorry to confuse, when I say more detailed, I mean the .txt Log is the full thing, and the version showing in settings is curated. You need the main .txt Log.

[GI0UTE]

Thanks (Tim?).

Ok, an extract from the log as follows:
0 24/12/2024 16:02:53.821 Alerts Delete: nothing to do [835/840 hrs, 23.8/30.0GB, 57.8GB free]
0 24/12/2024 16:03:01.155 front_gate Event: IR LEDs On (58721) paused=0
0 24/12/2024 16:03:01.155 front_gate Event: PTZ Preset 2 (2202) paused=0
0 24/12/2024 16:03:01.193 front_gate IR: 1
1 24/12/2024 16:03:06.077 PTZ Signal: network retry
3 24/12/2024 16:03:10.111 shack Triggered: Motion_A
3 24/12/2024 16:03:10.375 shack Alerted
1 24/12/2024 16:03:20.712 PTZ Signal: Failed to connect
1 24/12/2024 16:03:35.898 PTZ Signal: network retry
1 24/12/2024 16:03:50.524 PTZ Signal: Failed to connect
1 24/12/2024 16:04:06.086 PTZ Signal: network retry
1 24/12/2024 16:04:20.720 PTZ Signal: Failed to connect
1 24/12/2024 16:04:36.288 PTZ Signal: network retry
1 24/12/2024 16:04:50.922 PTZ Signal: Failed to connect
0 24/12/2024 16:05:00.576 front gate Current profile: Work hours
1 24/12/2024 16:05:06.520 PTZ Signal: network retry

Ignore the issue with camera called PTZ; its on the floor beside my desk, not currently installed. A later project... It seems Blue iris sends the commands, its camera "front_gate" i am using as the ALPR camera, at 16.03 for the IR, and then at 16.05, to change focus. But the camera does not respond... I sent a command in chrome, the same browser i connected to the camera with this morning, without restarting chrome, and it accepted the command, not asking for me to log in. Maybe i need to packet sniff? Gosh, not sure how to get into that level of a debug. Maybe i could write a windows macro to do this outside of BI?