Couldn’t decide between here and IMHO, so feel free to move it if need be.
I have HAD IT. I know I live kinda near the ghetto, okay? And I’ve lost two plastic flamingoes, a light up palm tree, a ladder, a mattock, loppers, a citronella candle, another ladder, and a birdbath. Oh, and maybe a hydrangea. But this time I have HAD IT. Assholes came by late Christmas Eve or early Christmas morning and stole my outdoor extension cords and timer for my lights! I don’t THINK they made it off with any of my decorations, as I chained my animatronic sea lion down, but I can’t really tell in the dark (except for the sea lion, who isn’t going anywhere without bolt cutters). I have had. it.
So, I’m considering a camera, so even if they steal the camera I’ll know what they look like. They’ll probably steal the damned camera, too. The thing is, the house is brick and the walls are plaster, so mounting stuff with wires would be a huge pain in the ass. Is there such a thing as a completely wireless camera with really long battery life? Say, a month? Is that a dumb thing to ask? I’d like it to just hook up to the wireless network and keep a recording for, say, 24 hours, so when I find something missing I can find an image. I was looking at Lowes a few days ago, and they didn’t have anything close to what I want. Websites are either pretty fuzzy on the details or on scary, scary Soldier of Fortune-eque sites. Does anybody have personal experience with setting up a system like that?
I’ve got an actual security system which I set every night, so don’t worry about me (also my dad got me a gun for Christmas), this would be seperate. I’d really want it to watch the porch and be as fuss-free as possible. Anybody got any input?
PS - unobtrusive is a MINUS. I want a big fat “YOU’RE ON CANDID CAMERA” camera. I might even get a fake one. Unobtrusive is not the goal here, “don’t steal my stuff” is the goal.
I looked at CC secuity gear a couple of years back. They all needed a power supply, I saw no battery units. The cameras area cheap, it’s a recorder that gets expensive, unless you plan on sitting in front of a monitor 24/7.
Please don’t shoot anyone over petty theft or vandalism, I know, from personal experience, how angry it can make you, but it ain’t cause for taking a life, or going to jail yourself.
He’s in the back yard. We don’t fence our front yards around here.
And I wasn’t planning on shooting extension-cord thieves, obviously. But if anybody comes in the house, they’ll know I’m home because I don’t (yet) have a garage. I’m prepared.
I agree. You also want some kickarse sensor lights. Some seriously bright halogen bastards. Cross onto your property and the whole joint gets lit up like the surface of the sun.
Reason I made the “don’t shoot” comment was because we’ve had a couple of incidents like that here in the past few years. One guy shot, and killed, a teenager for breaking into his car. I think he faced manslaughter charges. Don’t recall how it came out for the homeowner, but he’s gotta live w/ that.
They make solar arrays that are about 8"-12" square to power cameras (and other security equipment) when it is impossible to run wires(out in a field, for instance). Any quality camera is going to have to have a power supply(usually you would run low voltage wire to an outlet inside, then attach the power supply and plug it in, if you don’t do the solar panel thing. You can get a PC card that lets your PC do the recording, which is substantially cheaper than using a DVR (the cheapest DVRs for cameras are down around 400 bucks or so now).
I keep wanting a setup for the same basic reason. Dumb stuff happening in the yard. Minor but makes me mad. Only I can never figure out how to do it. I don’t want a live monitor, I’m going to sit by the station like a security guard all night. And I don’t really want a 24 hour tape each day, so motion activated is key. And I don’t really care about distances. I could put the camera outside my garage, the tape deck inside, and then I’d like the tape to continuous loop so I don’t have to change it every day, just when I have an incident to view.
So, in other words, practically speaking I’ll need to either get a totally fake camera or wire one for power (but not for video, right? That can talk to my wireless network?) God, what a pain. What’s the best way to do it - at the top of the porch and through the attic? I’m serious about these plaster walls here, they are not fuckwithable.
Remember, in a lot of places the cops will ignore the hell out of your complaints; your camera will have deterrent impact only if this is the case.
Also, a helpful place to check is at homesecuritystore.com
I work for one of their [much larger] competitors, and think they do a good job of helping DIY security installers.
Check this out. I have a similar model (with a screen receiver) and it is pretty cool. It was fairly inexpensive - my folks got it for me last Christmas off Amazon. I do believe they sell that brand at homesecuritystore.com
The one I have - and this one too - is not “wireless” per-se. It’s wireless in that the camera and receiver are not hooked by a wire. The camera does have to be plugged in (in my case) with a “wall wart” but it comes with a reaaaallly long cord that is weather-proof (the wall wart, of course, is not). I do believe the model I linked to can run on just 2 AA batteries if you can’t plug it in but I doubt the battery life is too long.
Don’t you have like a porch post or something that’s made of wood? How about putting the camera on your gutter and using some good silicone caulk around the bolts?
Yeah, I have a wooden post, but that cord has to plug into something, ya know? Has to go up into the attic, I guess. Anchoring the camera to brick would be the least of my problems. There’s no outdoor power, see.
The sea lion is cute but just from the Kristmas Krap aisle at Target. He lights up and moves his head and tail. Next year I’ll get him an animal friend and chain that one down too.