Author Topic: Home security cameras etc.  (Read 9105 times)

hellymedic

  • Just do it!

Dibdib

  • Fat'n'slow
Re: Home security cameras etc.
« Reply #26 on: 16 March, 2017, 01:44:02 pm »
I'm obviously not condoning such behaviour but an old friend with a rare motorcycle was looking into a trip wire for his garage door, connected to a striking pin and a shotgun blank.

obviously it won't stop the miscreants nicking your stuff, but at least you'll have a brown trail to follow...

caerau

  • SR x 3 - PBP fail but 1090 km - hey - not too bad
Re: Home security cameras etc.
« Reply #27 on: 16 March, 2017, 01:50:10 pm »
I'm obviously not condoning such behaviour but an old friend with a rare motorcycle was looking into a trip wire for his garage door, connected to a striking pin and a shotgun blank.

obviously it won't stop the miscreants nicking your stuff, but at least you'll have a brown trail to follow...


Nice thoughts, and I had similar thoughts the year I moved to Birmingham and we we got burgled 3 times.


Doing that thobut will see you in jail - that's a very serious offence.  Even barbed wire usage is dodgy if not done right.
It's a reverse Elvis thing.

Aunt Maud

  • Le Flâneur.
Re: Home security cameras etc.
« Reply #28 on: 16 March, 2017, 02:25:58 pm »
Just don't forget you booby trapped it.

Dibdib

  • Fat'n'slow
Re: Home security cameras etc.
« Reply #29 on: 16 March, 2017, 03:33:42 pm »
I'm obviously not condoning such behaviour but an old friend with a rare motorcycle was looking into a trip wire for his garage door, connected to a striking pin and a shotgun blank.

obviously it won't stop the miscreants nicking your stuff, but at least you'll have a brown trail to follow...


Nice thoughts, and I had similar thoughts the year I moved to Birmingham and we we got burgled 3 times.


Doing that thobut will see you in jail - that's a very serious offence.  Even barbed wire usage is dodgy if not done right.

'Elf an' safety gorn mad.  8)  obviously actual firearms, blank or otherwise, are right out but I'm wondering whether some other form of (safe, legal) flashbang/smoke source would have the desired effect of scaring potential intruders away.

woollypigs

  • Mr Peli
    • woollypigs
Re: Home security cameras etc.
« Reply #30 on: 16 March, 2017, 03:44:35 pm »
Yeah I wonder if a big noisy alarm - playing some death metal or hard core techno -  with a heavy duty smoke cannon and some blinking lights. At least you can say "oops I forgot I had left my sound system hooked up to that switch, it was a mad night at last weekends party".
Current mood: AARRRGGGGHHHHH !!! #bollockstobrexit

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: Home security cameras etc.
« Reply #31 on: 16 March, 2017, 03:53:37 pm »
'Elf an' safety gorn mad.  8)  obviously actual firearms, blank or otherwise, are right out but I'm wondering whether some other form of (safe, legal) flashbang/smoke source would have the desired effect of scaring potential intruders away.

I'm fairly sure that[1] devices to rapidly flood the room with smoke are an off-the-shelf security product.  Presumably they're high output glycol foggers, rather than pyrotechnics.


[1] Read: Informed by people who've set them off accidentally.

caerau

  • SR x 3 - PBP fail but 1090 km - hey - not too bad
Re: Home security cameras etc.
« Reply #32 on: 16 March, 2017, 05:18:05 pm »
Yeah I wonder if a big noisy alarm - playing some death metal or hard core techno -  with a heavy duty smoke cannon and some blinking lights. At least you can say "oops I forgot I had left my sound system hooked up to that switch, it was a mad night at last weekends party".


You think standard burglar alarms are not loud enough?
It's a reverse Elvis thing.

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: Home security cameras etc.
« Reply #33 on: 16 March, 2017, 05:20:31 pm »
Yeah I wonder if a big noisy alarm - playing some death metal or hard core techno -  with a heavy duty smoke cannon and some blinking lights. At least you can say "oops I forgot I had left my sound system hooked up to that switch, it was a mad night at last weekends party".

You think standard burglar alarms are not loud enough?

Actually, it's not a bad idea.  A noisy party is likely to attract more attention than someone's burglar alarm going off.

caerau

  • SR x 3 - PBP fail but 1090 km - hey - not too bad
Re: Home security cameras etc.
« Reply #34 on: 16 March, 2017, 05:22:51 pm »

I know what you mean.

Burglar alarms attract plenty when they actually go off though.  It's just that when it hasn't stopped 3 days later that's the problem.


Also I know this cos it was a pub quiz question I did once.  What's the seventh most common reason for a burglar alarm going off?


A.  A burglary. 


Might even have been lower than seventh.


Alternative systems will be of similar reliability and also just get ignored eventually.
It's a reverse Elvis thing.

woollypigs

  • Mr Peli
    • woollypigs
Re: Home security cameras etc.
« Reply #35 on: 16 March, 2017, 06:06:49 pm »
Years ago I set off one, no I was not taking the telly, my boss forgot to tell me that there would be an alarm and a code to use. While calling up the boss for the code and finding a phone number to the alarm company. I was saying sorry to the person who lived above as they were arriving home. They told me, nee bother, and don't worry the police will not rock up unless three alarms on the same road was set off.

I never see any hurry if a car or house alarm go off by anyone, they mostly just moan it under their breath. And like caerau said they only call up and make noise if the alarm been going for a day or two.

Mind, like Kim said, a good old techno party will get the calls coming in to the police and the councils noise pollution team.
Current mood: AARRRGGGGHHHHH !!! #bollockstobrexit

caerau

  • SR x 3 - PBP fail but 1090 km - hey - not too bad
Re: Home security cameras etc.
« Reply #36 on: 16 March, 2017, 06:12:03 pm »
Well yeah, the first time maybe...
It's a reverse Elvis thing.

ian

Re: Home security cameras etc.
« Reply #37 on: 29 May, 2018, 11:07:51 am »
Thread-o-mancy. In case anyone is still interested.

I finally bought the Netgear Arlo with three cameras. Not the most expensive, but not the cheapest. Included a week's footage storage online without subscription which was a selling point.

Setup was impressively easy. Plug in base station, connect to router, put batteries in cameras, press the sync button. While that happens create an account. Job done. There was a firmware update for base station and cameras which proceeded without the doomy overtones of most firmware updates. Position cameras. Took about fifteen minutes from unboxing. Manufacturers of computer gadgets take note.

Only real issue is the base station requires wired internet (wireless would have been far better) which limits placement. As the Asbestos Palace is made out of real bricks and solid walls rather than modern timber and plasterboard, that requires the base station in the middle of the hallway floor to communicate with the cameras as currently placed. I'll probably get another power line adapter so it can be located somewhere more sensibly. Not tested the motion detectors on the cats yet, there's a sensitivity setting. It's wireless, but the batteries are claimed to last several months, which is good, because they're not cheap batteries.

All-in-all, quite impressed. I may buy a couple of additional cameras to cover the garage and driveway. They won't stop a burglary obviously and I don't actually have any faith in the police, but as a somewhat OCD worrier and frequent traveller, it's nice just to check the house is there.

Re: Home security cameras etc.
« Reply #38 on: 29 May, 2018, 12:18:33 pm »
I finally bought the Netgear Arlo with three cameras.


Would you mind telling us how much that all came to?


Thanks.

ian

Re: Home security cameras etc.
« Reply #39 on: 29 May, 2018, 12:43:11 pm »
£299.99 from everyone's favourite tax-dodging online megacorp. It's the basic model with 720p cameras, motion detection and night vision. There are improved models (pro and pro 2) which feature 1080p, audio (microphone and speaker), siren, rechargeable cameras and off-line storage. Pushes the price up a fair amount, depends on your needs. For interior use, 720p is adequate quality, you'll easily discern faces. I'm not convinced about sirens etc or the value of hearing someone burgle my house. I suppose you could creep them out with a softly spoken 'I can see you, yes you...' though I suspect they'd then steal the camera too.

For outdoor use and seeing someone at the end of the drive/garden, I'd be tempted by 1080p. Note for the non-rechargeable cameras, batteries are around £22 a pop (leastways for the official version, they'd the half-size AAish lithium ones). There are rechargeable and other options at a price. You can add cameras (so you can mix the basic and more advanced cameras) to the base station (there's a limit depending on base station).

Software is simple. You can arm and disarm online, set up geofencing, scheduling etc. Custom modes mean you can set for instance, the downstairs cameras to arm while you sleep and have everything come on when you leave the house etc, and there's a live view. Like I say, I'm not tested to see if the cat sets them off, our old place had a PIR system that was always triggered by the cats no matter how much we fiddled. In this case, if they do trigger, it'll just mean we have lots of footage of the cats wandering the house and a large battery bill, but hopefully we can tweak the settings to cat-proof. It claims to work with Alexa, IFthingy and whatever home control systems. There are online storage subscription packages beyond the basic free one-week service.

Tbh, I might have bought the pro version if I'd known how simple and effective it was, but the basic system is quite acceptable. The alarm at our old place, for comparison, cost about £5k and about £20/month for the basic call monitoring package, and we had to turn it off because it never completely avoid cat-based false alarms, so we could only use while on holiday as the cats were incarcerated.

Re: Home security cameras etc.
« Reply #40 on: 29 May, 2018, 01:44:12 pm »
 For anyone interested in the night vision of the arlo cams...
https://arlo.netgear.com/hmsweb/users/library/share/link/FB58131D520B8478_201805

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk


Re: Home security cameras etc.
« Reply #41 on: 02 June, 2018, 04:38:33 pm »
Ive had Ring video doorbell and garden floods and video for the last month.
It seems to work and the video quality is good but isn't recording in the house, of course. I have two elderly cocker spaniels but I can't think they'd do much if somebody got in.

I've had occasion in recent times to be disappointed with luke warm police responses, as others have mentioned - drivers using a road restricted to buses, taxis and cyclists - and an email mentioning the local newspaper to the chief constable and the police and crime commissioner brought about a much better response.
Never knowingly under caffeinated

frankly frankie

  • I kid you not
    • Fuchsiaphile
Re: Home security cameras etc.
« Reply #42 on: 04 June, 2018, 05:01:53 pm »
I have an IP camera to cover the back door (which was trashed, though held firm, last January when the house was empty for a couple of weeks).  It records locally to an onboard mSD plus remotely to an FTP server, but while the house is empty I like to switch the router off so it will still just record locally.  Although it uses a motion sensor the IR LEDs remain on all night, glowing visibly red - I'm undecided whether this red glow is a deterrent or a provocation, but I'm inclined to think the latter.
when you're dead you're done, so let the good times roll

ian

Re: Home security cameras etc.
« Reply #43 on: 04 June, 2018, 06:45:36 pm »
I did remember to shut it off. On the plane. Anyway, I now have 103 videos of our cleaner. A good job I was wearing clothes she breezily remarks. That being something I never, ever wanted to contemplate. I summarily deleted all the videos just in case.

That said, it was quite nice to peek at the house while I was away and make sure everything was where it was supposed to be rather than have that moment of trepidation when the taxi pulls up. It would be quite easy for a burglary to go unnoticed until we arrive back. I've just bought another two so I can observe the garage and driveway. I think I will stop there and the other resident of the Asbestos Palace is shaking her head and muttering about 'boys and their toys.' She doesn't see my vital security project in the same light.

(As an FYI, the night vision is fine, but like all IR it reflects off glass, so it's a wash-out for instance in the porch or otherwise behind glass.)

Re: Home security cameras etc.
« Reply #44 on: 05 June, 2018, 11:27:11 am »
You may not be the only one peeking though!!!!!

There are significant security issues with these systems, especially if you do not change the default settings and passwords.

One Russian "peeping Tom" website had accesss to over 73,000 cameras including 2,500 in the UK - all streaming the content without the owners knowledge or consent


ian

Re: Home security cameras etc.
« Reply #45 on: 05 June, 2018, 11:51:55 am »
Indeed, if Russians want to see me in my pants, they can pay like everyone else.

Actually, for the record, I mostly put on clothes before going downstairs. Or outside, for that matter. Nor do the cameras point at anything especially interesting, the contents of my porch or my backdoor (the house backdoor, before you get excited). I suppose the main security risk would be figuring out when it's armed or not and thusly whether we're in or out. I'm sure most burglaries are on spec though, it'd be an unnecessary hassle to fly over from Omsk to nick a TV.

ian

Re: Home security cameras etc.
« Reply #46 on: 05 June, 2018, 01:04:13 pm »
For those interested in my dull boy's project digressions about security cameras, they do seem to be cat proof on the default motion detection settings (something I fiddled with for ages on the old system and never successfully managed). Either that or the cats didn't move all night (which is possible, they're good at sleeping) or they slinked under the detector à la mission impossible. Anyway, nothing triggered while I slept, so I didn't need to reach for the guns knives electronic toothbrush.

Re: Home security cameras etc.
« Reply #47 on: 13 August, 2018, 09:19:25 pm »
Well, having just had the wing mirror cover on my car stolen in broad daylight I've decided to take the plunge. After considering the options, I'm going for hardwired cameras with Sony Starvis sensor, and a hard disk recorder. One camera high, one at eye level.

ian

Re: Home security cameras etc.
« Reply #48 on: 14 August, 2018, 09:05:19 am »
Still very happy with Arlo. It just seems to work. Had 'our man' (who isn't me) place two outside to look at the rear of the house and the driveway. The one at rear of the house films a lot of cats and foxes, one confused looking badger, and some scary insects that must be able to see the infrared light. Or they know we're looking.

Re: Home security cameras etc.
« Reply #49 on: 14 August, 2018, 04:28:49 pm »
Still very happy with Arlo. It just seems to work. Had 'our man' (who isn't me) place two outside to look at the rear of the house and the driveway. The one at rear of the house films a lot of cats and foxes, one confused looking badger, and some scary insects that must be able to see the infrared light. Or they know we're looking.

Without wishing to sound snotty, I suspect it really depends on what you are expecting it to do. There's little doubt in mind that the better the quality of image, the better the chances of recovering actual useful information from it. Upthread I think you indicated that you have the Arlo, not Arlo Pro which appears to be 720p, which equates to less than 1 megapixel image. And that's on a wide angle lens. Even the Pro  is only 1080p or about 2 Megapixel. That does, of course, make it possible to install them wirelessly, anything with better resolution is going to start struggling, especially when you add cameras. The cameras I've chosen are 5mp, which gives them a better starting point, and are cabled so no wireless issues. Then they have the Sony Starvis chip which is astonishingly better in low light. Recorder (4 channel) has 2Tb which with the two cameras I've started with should be able to record about 3-4 weeks of 24 x 7.

The whole outfit was about £400, which isn't that bad compared to the nearest Arlo. It will need more installation, obviously.