Home Security System Reccomentation

[BigguyZ]

We're getting some good progress on my brother's house, and hopefully soon we'll be getting to the more advanced details- i.e. the structured wiring for the house, the distributed home audio, and the camera security system.

I know what I'm doing on the first two, but I'm having trouble finding a clear idea of what I want/ need for the last one.

I have Cat6 wired to 4 or 5 locations. This needs to run both the signal and the power for the cameras, which will be at the front of the house, the back of the house, and at the garage. The DVR/ NVR will be in the basement.

It seems like there are a couple of ways to go- standard analog cameras- which note TVL, or newer Net Cameras, which are rated by MP.

I was looking at a POE (Power over Ethernet) option, but I've seen it said that they're not able to output enough power to run the camera- especially at night where the IR LEDs don't kick out enough light to get a clear picture.

So here's what I want, and I know there are multiple ways to get there:
-Some sort of centralized DVR/ NVR capability
-Phone/ website accessible
-Can we run off of the Cat6 cable (either with POE, or a dongle that splits the power supply and BNC, or it it's wired directly into the DVR somehow
-Dome cameras preferable
-Needs to be clear enough to be usable (if it's so blurry that you can't clearly see who it is, what's the point?)
-Good night vision
-Not rediculously expensive- would prefer to keep this around $500, but I'd say $1,000 is the max.

Any suggestions as to what to look for, or specific products/ sites would be great.

Thanks!

[durango dude]

Here in Durango - the birds make a terrible ruckus when people pass by ---

they make a great security system. They don't consume much power - and simply require a little suet from time to time.

I complement this natural system with an old Ruger three-screw revolver.

I got my revolver from my dad - but you can get one for about $500-600. The suet runs around $5 - so we're below your $1000 limit.

Up there in the twin cities - Red Wing blackbirds are fairly noisy. They make great guard "dogs."

[BigguyZ]

I appreciate the creative suggestions, but am more interested in the electronic route.

Thanks

[dbhost]

I am looking into similar (and planning my network accordingly). My present system is an older Phillips cctv -> IPTV conversion system which I don't exactly like much. It uses dome cams (a plus), but it is slow, and lacks some features I want...

I will be watching this thread as I am still kind of mushy on the idea in the first place... Will figure it out though.

[atgcpaul]

Are you going to have it centrally monitored by an alarm company? If I was going down your route, I would want it to be tied into a monitored system because what good is watching someone rob your house on your DVR 5 hours later? Even if you have the signal sent to your phone and you call 911, what if you're out of range or have your phone off (seeing a movie, in church, on a plane)?

Although I don't have a camera tied into my system, my fire alarms are tied into the alarm system. I also have the option to monitor for floods in my basement. Insurance company also gives me a nice discount for this. Not sure if a purely DIY solution would do that.

[BigguyZ]

We plan on using an ademco home security system with z-wave capability for the alarm/ home automation. While the cameras won't be linked to the alarm system, it will allow us to see anyone stakingthe place, and/or dissuade any potential thieves from breaking in.

[cwsmith]

I've been looking at the same challenge for my home here in the city. We've got a real PITA neighbor which we already have criminal chareges against.

Problem is the budget and $500 doesn't get you much in the way of really high-resolution. If you go to a "pro" the prices are unbelievably high. My cable supplier (Time-Warner) wants close to $2K for just a 2-camera system, and the resolution wasn't terrific. ADT is cheaper on installation, but they make up for that in monthly charges and I'm not really sure I want to pay to have someone else monitor.

I went to two local electronics stores, and just a single high-rez camera is $300 and up... and that doesn't count the DVR, wiring, or anything else.

Finally, I just decided to go as simple as possible and bought a 4-camera system from Harbor Freight. I tested it, but have yet to actually do the installation, as I'm waiting for the weather to break. Resolution is fairly decent, and adequat for "recognition" purposes on my 60 x 120 ft lot. Night vision is limited to about 15 to 20 ft though. Only thing that this doesn't have is any kind of microphone within the camera systems itself... but there is one audio input on the DVR which allows for an outside microphone (if that's important to you).

For my place, it would take six to eight cameras to cover the entire periphery. So, if I feel satisfied with the HF system, it is affordable enough to simply add another entire system. (Each is 4-channel).

However, the camera run on two connection cables, one supplying power and the other for the signal. That may not fit your scenario. My plan is to locate the DVR and four cameras on one side of the house covering front, back, and that particular side where the trouble exists. (I already have a monitored ADT entry/intrusion system.) Since my wireless router in on the opposite side of the house, in the library, I need to look into some kind of Ethernet to wireless adapter or box, to convert the Ethernet connection off the DRV and transmit it to my router... which communicates to the Cable modem for web access and remote monitoring.

I picked this HF system up for just over $220, and added a 2-year replacement warranty. I don't have the manual in front of me, but it can be downloaded from the their web page. That will give you the camera resolution and other specifics.

I hope this is helpful,

CWS

[TB Roye]

like Joe Biden said 12ga. Two dogs and ADT system the 12ga and a 6" .357. Plus motion activated light in the front and back.. Racking a round into a 12Ga is one of the most intimidating sounds going. I have see many people freeze with the sound.

Tom

[BigguyZ]

Ok really, I don't need more responses about things I'm not asking about. I'm not asking if I should get a bird or a dog or a gun...

Is there really only one person who has experience with installing a CAMERA security system?

[chopnhack]

Ok really, I don't need more responses about things I'm not asking about. I'm not asking if I should get a bird or a dog or a gun...

Is there really only one person who has experience with installing a CAMERA security system?

Sorry brother, but it is a woodworking site!

If you haven't already, you may want to poke around here:

http://www.diysecurityforum.com/

I have found this site to be useful for diy questions, many licensed professionals answer here as well:

http://www.doityourself.com/forum/el...ty-devices-87/

GL HTH

[TB Roye]

Some of my neighbors have security cameras and they have come in handy as we have a lot of drug dealers around which bring more trouble.. The Police love them as they use the recording to ID people and cars. I am thinking of putting one in also both front and back. I and another member of our church just bought and install a system at out Church after many breaking and problems with the homeless using our property for their campground. Get one that has good night vision capabilities.

Tom

[aiyou]

My son's basketball coach installs security systems for a living.. Commercial and residential.

Let me see if he might be willing to chime in.

Rob

[Woodshark]

When we built our home six years ago we purchased our simple wired system from here http://www.homesecuritystore.com/.

Nice people to work with.

Note: we did not go with a video system.

[BigguyZ]

Sorry if I seemed a bit cranky yesterday, but I think many of us don't see this as just a woodworking forum- but a community of people of varried backgrounds and experiences brought together by a common hobby.

I know there are forums just about this topic, but I'd trust a reccomendation from someone in this forum far more than I would an "expert" on another. I knew nothing about underfloor radiant heating- but after posting on this forum not only was I convinced it's a good route to take for my brother's house, I was pointed to the online vendor we ended up using to buy the parts for the system. (and it worked out fantastically- the system is amazing and we installed it in another home we remodeled as well).

I appreciate everyone's feedback, and look forward to hearing anyone else's experience with a camera system.

Thanks!

[cwsmith]

BigGuyZ,

I wanted to follow up with the camera specs on the HF system.

Color CMOS image sensor
380 lines (which is 510 x 492 "effective" pixels)
Minimum illumination 1.5 LUX at 2 feet for daytime operation
Autotracking white balance
Nightime IR range 10 meters
Power: 12 Volt/200ma < 2.5 Watts

The recorder is four channel, with ethernet connection, 2 USB connections (one for the supplied mouse).

System can be set up for sensitivity, motion detection, etc. and software allows for web and popular cell phone monitoring (like Android and others)

60 ft of cable is suppied for each of the four all weather cameras. The cable consist of one power, and one video... both connected back at the recording device (the hard drive is a Seagate). The system offers four different resolution settings and features fairly flexible software, allowing the user to determine exactly where the motion sensitivity will be, and what they may want to black-out of the image area.

From your opening parameters, I think this probably falls short of what you are looking for. Here in the southern tier of NY, I've been looking at the offerings and there isn't much that I've found affordable. I too thought I'd go as far as $1,000... Sam's club has a nice system that has eight cameras, 4 internal and 4 all all weather... only the internal cameras have spherical covers.

However, while I did seriously consider that extra exspense, everytime I visited their display, another camera or two was out of order. I could never pin them down on service, and trying to find anyone who would do an install was pretty negative.

HF also sells these sperical covers, but I don't know much about them or whether they will even fit over the cameras that come with their system.

In any case, the HF system was economical and it seems to have quite a few very good reviews.

For what it's worth,

CWS