SMTP Set-up Instructions for Ltl Acorn Remote Wireless Cameras

Fig 1:  Acorn Set-up Software V1.2.027   User Interface.

In this post:
General Requirements for sending images by email.
Acorn Software Set-up
SMTP2GO Account Set-up
Vodafone Generic Internet and MMS Settings
Other Worldwide Email and SMTP Services

I hope this will be the last post I have to write about SMTP and will help anyone wishing to use this method to set it up quickly and efficiently without
any teething problems. It is much more cost effective than using MMS and can be used both with business and private monthly accounts, and with all tariff options on Vodafone PAYG.

It provides an ideal solution for remote security and surveillance where more conventional systems can't operate.  

General Requirements

When I first started to test and use the Acorn cameras to send images to phone and email I wasn't very knowledgeable about how this type of service worked. In particular I didn't know what information the camera needed or how it was used. This was compounded by living in a location where the phone network signal is largely non workable for most of the time, due to distance from the cell tower and changing environmental conditions.

Two months on and it's blindingly simple, with SMTP being the clear preference over MMS because of simplicity of set-up, reliability (when using the right service) and the overall cost of the service.

It turns out (despite what I reported in previous posts) that any email address will work for sending via SMTP and all the camera looks at is the username in front of the @ symbol, which it uses as the username for SMTP authentication.

It doesn't matter if your email service provider can't provide a non SSL SMTP server, you can use another SMTP service. All you need to do is make sure that the username for SMTP authentication is the same as your email address username.

Choosing a Mobile Phone Network Operator (MPNO) will depend largely on what is available in your area and personal choice. Tariffs can often change so it may pay to hunt around but normally all you need is a phone SIM with internet access and the currently available tariff that most suits your type of usage.

Locate your local UK cell tower and identify the services available by using this web site.

Connectivity problem with some recent 6210MG.   Read this post if you think you have a problem.

................................................................................................

Acorn Software Set-up

Fig 2:  Acorn Software V1.2.027 - SMTP set-up interface.

Manual SMTP set-up using Acorn set-up software V1.2.027

Mobile Phone Network Provider (MPNO) is Vodafone UK .

SIM is phone PAYG  card (Vodafone pre-pay).  See Vodafone Generic Internet and MMS Settings below.

SMTP server is smtpcorp.com
Port 2525
Senders Email can be a gmail address or any other. Just make sure that the username (the part before the @ symbol) is used for the SMTP authentication username (See notes under Figure 3 below) regardless of what service you are using.

Password is your SMTP password. See notes under Figure 3 below.

Recipient Email 01. This can be any email account you like, that you wish to receive the emailed images.

Fig  2a:  Saving the set-up configuration file.

When you've completed all the settings you'll need to select the drive to save the configuration file to.

It will appear as SD/MMC (?:) 

? The drive letter will depend on how many drives you have installed or connected.

The configuration file is always named smtp.dat and is automatically saved to the root of the SD card.

Once the DAT file is on the SD card and the SD card is in the camera slot you can switch the camera to test. The camera will detect the file on the card and automatically load the settings and delete the DAT file.

If the settings have loaded successfully, then the red M will change to a red G in the bottom left of the screen, next to the battery level indicator.

................................................................................................

SMTP2GTO Account Set-up

Fig  3:  Sign up window for SMTP2GO.

Your Information:  Use anything you like here. Note that the password is your account sign in password and not your SMTP Authentication Password.

Your SMTP Plan:   The SMTP Username must be the first part (username) of the senders email address before the @ symbol (in this case it is 'ronbury' - see figure 2 above).   

The SMTP Password is the one you enter in the sender section of the Acorn software (see figure 2 above).

Fig  4:  SMTP2GO Authentication page.  This shows your SMTP Username, your SMTP Password (you can mouse over it if you've forgotten it)  These settings can be changed within your account at any time and as often as you like. For instance if you wanted to use a different senders email address, you would need to change your |SMTP Username to match the new email address username.

Fig  5:  This setting allows you to restrict the email addresses that can send through your SMTP account.

There are other settings such as authentication of  IP Addresses but all you need to successfully send images via SMTP is shown above.

Click to go to SMTP2GO Take a couple of minutes to set up a free account which will let you test the service. Don't forget that you can use this service for reliable email sending for any purpose, it's not just for sending camera images.

What makes it great is its stability, ease of use and low cost.

.....................................................................................

Vodafone Generic Internet and MMS Settings
(The information below is from Vodafone's on line support pages and correct as per the date of this post) Vodafone Internet Support

The Internet APN lets you get on the internet.
Mobile broadband devices include tablets, USB modems and dongles, laptops and netbooks etc.
All pay monthly mobile broadband devices connect over the Internet APN.
The bundle and smart APNs give Pay as you go users access over mobile broadband.
All Pay as you go phones connect over the pp.internet APN but with different user names and passwords.
APNs affect the way you are charged for your data usage - using the wrong one can be expensive.

Pay monthly / Business

Device	Price plan	APN	User name	Password
Mobile broadband	Any	internet	web	web
Phone - internet	Any	internet	web	web
Phone - Vodafone live! services	Any	wap.vodafone.co.uk	web	web

Pay as you go

Device	Price plan	APN	User name	Password
Mobile broadband	£15 for 1GB, lasting up to 90 days	pp.internet	web	web
Mobile broadband	£15 for 2GB, lasting up to 30 days	ppbundle.internet	web	web
Mobile broadband	£5 for 250MB, lasting up to 30 days	smart	web	web
Phone - internet	Any	pp.vodafone.co.uk	web	web
Phone - Vodafone live! services	Any	pp.vodafone.co.uk	wap	wap

You may also need the Access Point Name (APN) added to your account to allow you to access the internet - to arrange this please contact Customer Service.

MMS settings should be:

Pay monthly / Business    APN: wap.vodafone.co.uk   Username: wap   Password: wap

Pay as you go   APN: pp.vodafone.co.uk    Username: wap    Password: wap

....................................................................................................................................................

Other Worldwide Email with Non SSL, SMTP Services

AOL Mail:

 SMTP server = smtp.aol.com
 Port = 587 
 Username = your AOL email address
 Password = your AOL email password
 SSL = no

Yahoo Email 

 SMTP server = smtp.mail.yahoo.com
 Port = 587
 Username = Your Yahoo email address (for example, "test@yahoo.com") 
 Password = your Yahoo email password
 SSL = no
 Note: Yahoo mail doesn't support SMTP well.

Mail.com Mail:

 SMTP server = smtp.mail.com
 Port = 587 
 Username = your mail.com email address
 Password = your mail.com email password
 SSL = no

Verizon Mail:

 SMTP server = outgoing.verizon.net
 Port = 587 
 Username = Your Verizon Online email address
 Password = Your Verizon Online password
 SSL = no or yes

QQ Mail:

 SMTP server = smtp.qq.com
 Port = 25 
 Username = your QQ mail address 
 Password = your QQ mail password
 SSL = no



E&OE