Need security camera recommendations....

[dasfinc]

Have you filed a police report each time something has been stolen from the property?

It is the job of your local law enforcement to keep you and your property safe, Having video of someone stealing your stuff is still going to take time to get someone convicted/arrested/etc. I'd call in every time ANYTHING goes missing, and start questioning your local PD as to why your property is repeating being stolen from.

If you live "In the country" I'd just buy an audible motion-sensing alarm and a camera and call it a day.

 

[straycat]

harbor freight has some solar powered ones, everything there is cheap though, so they may not be worth the hassle

The solar powered ones would only be good in unshaded areas and might not really work at night time for long. Wireless devices are good for about 100 feet (it is noted in the instructions). I put wireless ones out in the woods and they do great. I have to change the 9 volt battery about every other month. They record really well and have a very clear view. I can view my property with my laptop or the TV or the monitor that came with the setup. I paid about $400 for my system from CompUSA. It has been working great for 5 years now.

 

[naford]

Go to youtube and see if you can find video of the different systems. It would make sense to go to the manufacturers website but some of the images are simulated. Pick a system then go shopping for a price. Back in the 80's black and white gave you better image quality at night and low light I'm sure about today. Get some "no trespassing" signs and some "property under surveillance" signs. Also a "beware of dog" might help.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Have you filed a police report each time something has been stolen from the property?

It is the job of your local law enforcement to keep you and your property safe, Having video of someone stealing your stuff is still going to take time to get someone convicted/arrested/etc. I'd call in every time ANYTHING goes missing, and start questioning your local PD as to why your property is repeating being stolen from.

If you live "In the country" I'd just buy an audible motion-sensing alarm and a camera and call it a day.

Yes, there have been police reports. When I've questioned the local PD about the fact that stuff keeps walking off, I was informed that the local PD here has two full time officers and two part time officers and they have rotating 8 hour shifts. They've said that they will try to swing down past here more often, but they have to respond to calls, run speed traps and other traffic control, plus be on the lookout for theft. Thus the door is wide open on theft. From what I've been told, I'm not the only one around here experiencing a rash of thefts, just a couple weeks ago 6 houses were robbed, most in broad daylight right up on top the hill from me.

It's crazy to think that I moved out here to the "country" only to find that theft is out of control (and most of my neighbors I know have guns and shoot them on a regular basis).

The solar powered ones would only be good in unshaded areas and might not really work at night time for long. Wireless devices are good for about 100 feet (it is noted in the instructions). I put wireless ones out in the woods and they do great. I have to change the 9 volt battery about every other month. They record really well and have a very clear view. I can view my property with my laptop or the TV or the monitor that came with the setup. I paid about $400 for my system from CompUSA. It has been working great for 5 years now.

See, that's my concern with wireless, that it may not have enough range unless I get a really good one or something. It's around 800 feet down to my storage shed halfway down the property and I want something down there to keep an eye on things. Running a couple cables down there sounds like it could be a little expensive, plus I have to cross a roadway (thus why I don't have power down there either).

Go to youtube and see if you can find video of the different systems. It would make sense to go to the manufacturers website but some of the images are simulated. Pick a system then go shopping for a price. Back in the 80's black and white gave you better image quality at night and low light I'm sure about today. Get some "no trespassing" signs and some "property under surveillance" signs. Also a "beware of dog" might help.

I have "no trespassing" signs up along with some "beware of dog" signs. Nobody pays attention to them. When trout season starts there will be people fishing right behind the house despite the signs and I"ll have to chase them away like I have to do every year. I watched two people this past season walk right up to the signs posted on the one edge of the property (I can see them from the table on the sunporch), pause, then walk right past the signs and up behind the house to go fishing. I opened the window and yelled out "Hey, whatsamatter, can't you read??" The response was "ahh... what?" I said "I saw you read the sign and walk right past it." "ahh... what sign?.... you mean we can't fish here?"

Up until about two years ago I had a German Shepherd patrolling the property, but even he wasn't enough to deter people from strolling past the signs. It's starting to really piss me off.

 

[straycat]

Yes, there have been police reports. When I've questioned the local PD about the fact that stuff keeps walking off, I was informed that the local PD here has two full time officers and two part time officers and they have rotating 8 hour shifts. They've said that they will try to swing down past here more often, but they have to respond to calls, run speed traps and other traffic control, plus be on the lookout for theft. Thus the door is wide open on theft. From what I've been told, I'm not the only one around here experiencing a rash of thefts, just a couple weeks ago 6 houses were robbed, most in broad daylight right up on top the hill from me.

It's crazy to think that I moved out here to the "country" only to find that theft is out of control (and most of my neighbors I know have guns and shoot them on a regular basis).



See, that's my concern with wireless, that it may not have enough range unless I get a really good one or something. It's around 800 feet down to my storage shed halfway down the property and I want something down there to keep an eye on things. Running a couple cables down there sounds like it could be a little expensive, plus I have to cross a roadway (thus why I don't have power down there either).



I have "no trespassing" signs up along with some "beware of dog" signs. Nobody pays attention to them. When trout season starts there will be people fishing right behind the house despite the signs and I"ll have to chase them away like I have to do every year. I watched two people this past season walk right up to the signs posted on the one edge of the property (I can see them from the table on the sunporch), pause, then walk right past the signs and up behind the house to go fishing. I opened the window and yelled out "Hey, whatsamatter, can't you read??" The response was "ahh... what?" I said "I saw you read the sign and walk right past it." "ahh... what sign?.... you mean we can't fish here?"

Up until about two years ago I had a German Shepherd patrolling the property, but even he wasn't enough to deter people from strolling past the signs. It's starting to really piss me off.

Is the property acutely yours? All of it? Or, is some of it public access? If dome of it is public access you can't do a thing about it. If it all is your property then you need to call the local county sheriff about it. That will keep people from walking up to fish.

 

[adsm08]

Is the property acutely yours? All of it? Or, is some of it public access? If some of it is public access you can't do a thing about it. If it all is your property then you need to call the local county sheriff about it. That will keep people from walking up to fish.

In PA all natural waterways are public property. You may not, however, trespass over someone else's property to get to said public waterway.

So if they were to enter the creek on public land and walk up the stream, staying in the water the whole time, they aren't really trespassing. If they walk up to it over land, and cross the property line like described, that is illegal.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Is the property acutely yours? All of it? Or, is some of it public access? If dome of it is public access you can't do a thing about it. If it all is your property then you need to call the local county sheriff about it. That will keep people from walking up to fish.

In PA all natural waterways are public property. You may not, however, trespass over someone else's property to get to said public waterway.

So if they were to enter the creek on public land and walk up the stream, staying in the water the whole time, they aren't really trespassing. If they walk up to it over land, and cross the property line like described, that is illegal.

ADSM08 is correct, technically we own to the middle to the middle of the creek, but if they stay IN the creek, it's public access. I really don't care if people want to fish the creek, but I don't want them RIGHT behind the house and all of the people we've let fish on the property left tons of trash laying around. I don't want to have to clean up after everyone so the signs went up.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

So is there like nobody on here out of all these members that either currently does security installations or used to do it that can help shed some light?

 

[straycat]

ADSM08 is correct, technically we own to the middle to the middle of the creek, but if they stay IN the creek, it's public access. I really don't care if people want to fish the creek, but I don't want them RIGHT behind the house and all of the people we've let fish on the property left tons of trash laying around. I don't want to have to clean up after everyone so the signs went up.

I know how you feel. I am sick and tired of coming out and seeing that somebody tossed their fast food crap bags in the street instead of placing the trash in the permanent concrete containers that are placed along our nature area. I have to pick it up as well as you do.

 

[straycat]

So is there like nobody on here out of all these members that either currently does security installations or used to do it that can help shed some light?

What do you want to know and do? I did my own install and it is so easy a kid can do it. The hard part is if you want to run cable instead of using the wireless setup you will have to get up in the attic. The wireless setup is the best if you remember to replace the batteries once in a while. The instructions are so simple and easy to follow. I got my stuff from Sam's Club and from CompUSA. I would only recommend using the indoor outdoor and color setups. If you want to you can get a monitor with the setup for a bit more. My setup allows me to use my laptop ti view the house and property when I am away.

 

[hoosier1104]

Smith and Wesson, Glock, Remington

They all make good security investments.

 

[straycat]

Smith and Wesson, Glock, Remington

They all make good security investments.

Won't work if you can't see them, Bro...lol

 

[rboyer]

So is there like nobody on here out of all these members that either currently does security installations or used to do it that can help shed some light?

I install cameras, alarms, and door access systems for a living. I end up having to do alot of weird special projects which all depend on the customer's needs. I would definitely go with wired cameras for far distances. You can run video over cat5 for 1000 feet and maybe more without problems. Power is the only problem, you would have to run your own independent power line for long runs. When having to install something in the woods the cheapest way is to just run aerial wire through the trees. Trenching and running conduit can get pricey. Not alot of people realize it but the type of camera you need all depends on exactly what you want to do with it. Some see farther at night than others, lens size plays a big factor in the area you want to view compared to where you mount the camera. And some cameras out there are just pure junk. Honestly I would just run wire down there. Screw the roadway, just make sure you run it high so that it doesn't obstruct any traffic and deal with it IF the time ever comes.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I know how you feel. I am sick and tired of coming out and seeing that somebody tossed their fast food crap bags in the street instead of placing the trash in the permanent concrete containers that are placed along our nature area. I have to pick it up as well as you do.

Yup, I still get to pick up the trash that people throw out along the road that runs through the property. And when I first moved here, it took a couple weeks of picking up an extra two garbage bags of trash to get the place cleaned up. When I go anywhere 4-wheeling, hiking, etc, I ALWAYS take all my trash with me and usually pick up at least something else. Why is it so hard for people to pick up their trash? The stuff weighs less on the way out than it did on the way in...

What do you want to know and do? I did my own install and it is so easy a kid can do it. The hard part is if you want to run cable instead of using the wireless setup you will have to get up in the attic. The wireless setup is the best if you remember to replace the batteries once in a while. The instructions are so simple and easy to follow. I got my stuff from Sam's Club and from CompUSA. I would only recommend using the indoor outdoor and color setups. If you want to you can get a monitor with the setup for a bit more. My setup allows me to use my laptop ti view the house and property when I am away.

I don't mind wiring and I don't mind getting up in part of the attic - it's tall enough in some spots to walk around but some of it is crawl (hands and knees) only.

My biggest thing is that I want some sort of quality camera that I can put down at the far end of the property, so I'm a little concerned that the stuff from like Sam's Club is not going to be effective for the camera down there (I'm sure it will work just fine for up by the house though and I do need a couple up here).

Smith and Wesson, Glock, Remington

They all make good security investments.

I'm a little partial to Springfield, Browning and Saiga....

But the problem is, it doesn't seem to be enough to keep people from messing with stuff around here. I need an alert system and a way to keep an eye on things when I'm not around.

I install cameras, alarms, and door access systems for a living. I end up having to do alot of weird special projects which all depend on the customer's needs. I would definitely go with wired cameras for far distances. You can run video over cat5 for 1000 feet and maybe more without problems. Power is the only problem, you would have to run your own independent power line for long runs. When having to install something in the woods the cheapest way is to just run aerial wire through the trees. Trenching and running conduit can get pricey. Not alot of people realize it but the type of camera you need all depends on exactly what you want to do with it. Some see farther at night than others, lens size plays a big factor in the area you want to view compared to where you mount the camera. And some cameras out there are just pure junk. Honestly I would just run wire down there. Screw the roadway, just make sure you run it high so that it doesn't obstruct any traffic and deal with it IF the time ever comes.

Wired cameras down at the far end of the yard doesn't really seem feasible, I have no easy way to run power down there. Sure I could probably find a way to string a Cat 5 cable across the road somehow, but someone is liable to notice if I string 1,000' of 10/2 outdoor electric cable down there too. Plus the cost of purchasing that much heavy cable. (And really, even 10/2 wire isn't heavy enough to handle much of a load over that distance - a 550 foot run is about as far as you can go and still be able to start my little compressor).

 

[rboyer]

You don't really need 10/2 solid wire to power some cameras. You can buy cat5 wire with 18gauge molded right to it. If you are just running to a couple of cameras you can put the transformers at your farthest source of power and tap them into the line. You can oversize your transformer and get away with farther runs. I've already ran a camera power source around 500 feet away on 18ga line and gotten away with it. As for people seeing it from the road I usually just don't care, when you start caring is when people start bothering you. There are plenty of other options to consider though. We're actually working on a solar setup for someone right now but the equipment we're using is some pretty expensive stuff. You could take a trip to Harbor Freight and get some more affordable stuff. They sell a 45 watt solar panel kit for about $180 which when used with a charge controller, inverter, and some deep cycle batteries could be used to power cameras anywhere on your property. Also for about $20-30 they do sell solar powered security lights with motion detectors which could be used to possibly scare off any intruders. I just think that wireless may be a problem when it comes to range. Then again if you're in a remote area and if everything is positioned just right you might get away with it because you're in a rural area that isn't subject to alot of interference. I've dealt with wireless cameras so little because they're usually so much of a pain that it's not worth the trouble to have them.