Home Security - surveillance cameras for general home owners

[Phrost]

Every other camera thread is 2+ years old, or is just unanswered questions so I felt like making a new one.

So I was at Harbor Freight the other day for unrelated stuff, and came across a $35 security camera. I figured it was cheap and would be fun to do something with, and bought it. Then once I had it, I just HAD to make a complete system.

Plugged the crappy $35 camera into my TV to see how it worked (it has a microphone too btw). Cam is in the bottom left corner of the screen

Hello, home improvement forum

Lights out


This is when I thought "I want this at my front door!"

So for now all I have is this one ****ty camera. Then I went and bought this $235 stand alone DVR, which supports up to 4 cameras, can record only during motion or on schedule, is internet ready, etc etc


You can also set an alarm to go off when it detects motion, so I'm going to put this in my bedroom connected to my old plasma tv. Also had to buy a $100 500gb hard drive which can hold about 3 weeks of highest quality 24/7 recording.

So that's all I have for now, I didn't purchase any "good" cameras yet. If this one sucks, I'll just put it in the garage for an extra camera. But for a total of $370 plus whatever dece cameras I want to put at my front/back doors, I think more people ought to look into buying these kits if they are having any sort of trespassing problems or what not. Not too shabby to have a motion recording camera by my front door and garages I can watch in my bedroom at night and potentially my Droid when I am away

And on a side note, I guess most cameras suck at night and the color infrared ones suck more than the black/white night cameras. I realize this, and am going with all color IR cameras since I have motion activated flood lights at my front/back doors that should provide enough light if someone does try to mess with a car or anything.

[ATL_Av8r]

god I wish this technology had been this cheap when I was in college and had hot neighbors

[sg207ptg]

$35?! is it wireless? I'd need some. I am tired of people not picking after their dogs.

[VWVan]

Costco has complete DVR kits with 4 or 8 wired cameras. It's tempting alright.

[Rockhead261]

Costco has complete DVR kits with 4 or 8 wired cameras. It's tempting alright.

I got mine from Sam's Club for ~$600.





320 gig HD gives me almost two months worth of video. I can view it on the Interwebs, but my Droid X can't process the image for some reason. I'm anxiously awaiting the Froyo OS update with Java...

[Phrost]

Yup, on sale for $30 now I guess lol. They are wired. http://www.harborfreight.com/weather...ion-95914.html

Granted this is a bottom end camera, it still does a great job for the price.

I got mine from Sam's Club for ~$600.

Rockhead261, I've seen you replying to similar threads with your setup, do you like everything you have or did you ever find yourself wanting to upgrade anything?

I'm thinking of just throwing this crappy $30 camera in my garage and putting some nice $150ish cameras outside instead, but what I'm trying to do here is put together a great cheap it to prove that a decent setup doesn't cost much at all. I'm just worried that I could do 4 of these junk cameras and have a full stand alone 500gb system for under $450, but I don't want to want to swap out the cameras right away for better ones.

Still waiting on my DVR to come in the mail so I can set it up and get more pictures on here...

Anyone else have a DIY system?

[Rockhead261]

Rockhead261, I've seen you replying to similar threads with your setup, do you like everything you have or did you ever find yourself wanting to upgrade anything?

The only disappointment I have is the lack of resolution at night - the nightvision sukcs ballz. I've solved some of the issues by adding motion activated lighting, but now you've got to add the cost of the lighting, etc. Better cameras at the beginning might be a better idea.

That aside, I'm very happy with the setup.

[Phrost]

I think I'm going to buy a pair of these $85 cameras to complete my setup. I think the dome style cameras look nicer, but for the price I can't find a comparable dome style camera so oh well

[unimogken]

Also had to buy a $100 500gb hard drive

You paid $100 for a 500gb hard drive? Yikes!

[unimogken]

but for the price I can't find a comparable dome style camera

I set up a system for a buddy with camera's bought at monoprice.com

[EternalSunshine]

try http://www.supercircuits.com

[Phrost]

You paid $100 for a 500gb hard drive? Yikes!

After shopping around, $100 for 500gb doesn't seem like a bad price to me...

I set up a system for a buddy with camera's bought at monoprice.com

That place does look great, but their dome camera selection isn't that great, and all of their cameras have to be hardwired. To a DC source it looks like. I like the one I linked above because it's just 1 wire all the way back to the DVR, then just a small DC adapter I have to plug into the wall

I like this dome cam for $130, then there is a similar, cheaper one for $60 that just doesn't have as good of night vision. I think I'll have to call these people to see how they install and what else I'd need to buy... Thanks for the links!

[unimogken]

After shopping around, $100 for 500gb doesn't seem like a bad price to me...

Check out www.newegg.com for both hard drives and cameras. Do a search for "dome camera" and it'll come up with 4 pages of them. Sort them by lowest price and go from there.

Its kind of addicting to have cameras up eh? Hehehe

[Rockhead261]

That place does look great, but their dome camera selection isn't that great, and all of their cameras have to be hardwired.

FWIW, the pro I spoke to before buying/installing my own said wireless cameras are not serious equipment. Garage remotes, routers, cell phones, etc can supposedly wipe them out. He convinced me that hardwiring them is the only way to go. Mind you, this guy installs $100,000 hi-def systems in buildings.

I ran my own wiring through my raised ranch and had the whole thing installed/running in a weekend.

[a3lad]

OP, youre spending too much buying things separately, costco/samclusb/etc have complete systems for much cheaper

like this one - 4 CCD wired cameras, 320GB DVR with interwebs access for $300

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product...*4803*&topnav=

[ordpetegti]

I have a 16 channel 1.5 TB DVR at my house. I have some of the cameras in trees along the street facing the house. I love the night vision ability. I have used these two places with good success.

cctvhotdeals.com

active-vision.com

Active-vision is pro grade stuff. If you want to get the best DVR out there, look at the pro series. expensive, but they last much longer than most of the chinese crap DVRS out there. The longest I got out of a chinese one was 5 months.

[Phrost]

FWIW, the pro I spoke to before buying/installing my own said wireless cameras are not serious equipment. Garage remotes, routers, cell phones, etc can supposedly wipe them out. He convinced me that hardwiring them is the only way to go. Mind you, this guy installs $100,000 hi-def systems in buildings.

I ran my own wiring through my raised ranch and had the whole thing installed/running in a weekend.

Oh no no, I agree with you about not doing wireless security cams. But I want to use a DC adapter, those cameras say they're either for hardwiring directly to 24v AC, or else you have to splice in a DC adapter somewhere. I'd rather just not deal with that and run a siamese power cable back to my DVR to make it easier. And they're all kinda expensive for my little DIY project lol

OP, youre spending too much buying things separately, costco/samclusb/etc have complete systems for much cheaper

like this one - 4 CCD wired cameras, 320GB DVR with interwebs access for $300

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product...*4803*&topnav=

I looked at that Costco setup, but I really wanted dome cameras. Plus the field of vision on those Costco cameras is not adjustable and kind of narrow for what I want. I didn't want to kick myself and want different cameras if I bought a kit, so that's why I kinda wanted to piece my own together (plus I only really want 2 cameras).

[Chilledman]

IMO / the short month I worked at ADT and the traning I had .

Stay far far far far away from any color camera the night vision sucks on them .

Go with black and white and have a clearer and tighter picture at night and during the day then you will with a Color camera.

[VWVan]

Apparently the Costco ones switch from color to B+W for night mode.

[John Lee Pettimore]

Apparently the Costco ones switch from color to B+W for night mode.

almost all colour security cameras do this as they have dual image sensors so you can get a clear b+w image after dusk. if a colour camera DOESN'T have a 2nd b+w image sensor and has a bunch of infrared led's & claims it's good for day or night, they're pretty much lying because night images from a colour image sensor are poo.

[Phrost]

If my cameras ever catch something incriminating and do their job, it will probably be at night. So to make sure I get as good of video as possible, I also have motion flood lights aiming where my cameras will be pointing. I mean... why not? dual 45w floods in the driveway to be nice to neighbors, then dual 100w floods in my back yard since I'm surrounded by cornfield and a grass alley under power lines. I'd like for just the lights to scare thieves away but most thieves don't care too much.

[OdorCide]

FYI, for your own good don't record audio, you might not be able to use the video as evidence.

I've had good luck with Everfocus new ECOR DVR's. All settings can be done on the network and they even have a Android and iPhone app.

http://www.everfocus.com/product.cfm?productid=165

If you look around their website they have some demos.

If your going to add anymore camera I would suggest a real power supply,

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ef=oss_product

Cameras you get what you pay for, I would stay away from I/R cameras if you can they attract bugs and screw up your motion settings.

One last thing check out craigslist for your area for used professional CCTV equipment, sometimes there are some deals out there.

If you have any questions let me know.

[roman16v]

Where do you guys mount the DVRs? Seems like you would want to have it some place rather hidden right?

[John Lee Pettimore]

Where do you guys mount the DVRs? Seems like you would want to have it some place rather hidden right?

yep.

depends where you can wire everything back to etc. some go in mechanical rooms, others in closets, others yet just on or under a desk. totally depends on the need to secure the dvr from theft or vandalism.

[CRAIG1MACK]

Realize you're asking for cameras, but if you're looking for cameras + security system...this is the one I've had my eyes on:

http://www.frontpointsecurity.com/

[Phrost]

^ Anything is on topic. It's just from my understanding, the alarm systems cost more and involve a monthly fee to be monitored. I'm just asking about cheap equipment.

On a side note, my other camera comes tomorrow so I can get started on the install

[CRAIG1MACK]

Where do you guys mount the DVRs? Seems like you would want to have it some place rather hidden right?

Gun safe, with a hole drilled in back to run the wires through.

[mad8vskillz]

Gun safe, with a hole drilled in back to run the wires through.

I had this thought as well.

[Phrost]

Life is really busy right now, so I never got to do my install yet.

But I finished wiring lights throughout my attic so I can see what I'm doing up there, and hung my security flood lights in my back yard. All is ready to hang my cameras and route the wires whenever I have the time.

[Phrost]

DVR is setup, and my front yard camera is up and running. DVR hard drive and fan are kind of annoying, so I might relocate it somewhere else

Taken with my Droid camera:




Front door:


If you couldn't see the cam:

[unimogken]

Gun safe, with a hole drilled in back to run the wires through.

Most if not all of the big gun safes already have holes to run dehumidifiers inside of them.

[bastion72]

Found a link on how to view your camera feed online. Might be relevant.


Link.

[Phrost]

^ Thank you

There is a chapter in my DVR's manual about connecting it to my router or modem to get it online, but I'm not sure if my Droid will be compatible with it. Haven't tried it yet.

I have to aim my front yard motion lights better, with no lights on there is almost no visibility, as I expected. I can see my front porch, then the rest just looks like fog. I'm going to add landscaping lights soon too, which should help, but night recording is the reason I put up the cam. Maybe 100w floods instead of 45w floods will do it, even thought I initially went with 45w to not piss the neighbors off

[xmaciek82x]

Figured I can ask here without starting a new thread.

Can I take a camera like this one http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...A1YX7EB80E4EIU and mount it inside to look through a window over my driveway?

Would the glass window mess with the IR at night time?

Thanks

[unimogken]

When I tested some IR cameras inside looking thru the glass before I mounted them outside you could see reflections of the IR's. They're kinda ghosted but the IR still passes thru the glass.

The optimal mounting location would be outside of course.