Let's talk about home security cameras
 

Rick seems to enjoy his, and my wife recently mentioned getting some installed after the ADT installer brought it up.

I think it's a great idea, but I'd rather not shell out month-by-month to ADT for the equipment when I could buy my own gear and hang my own cameras.

There are endless options out there, but what's good?

?

There are monitoring services that charge $8 per month.
No need to pay ADT's inflated rates.

Right, exactly. I'm not about to shell out $50+/month to ADT for the service just to have the equipment taken if I were to cancel. I'm much more interested in hardware reviews as I intend to do my own monitoring.

May be worth browsing the forums and reviews here:
Home Security Burglar Alarms, DIY Home Security

https://www.miataturbo.net/insert-bs...-system-57467/
https://www.miataturbo.net/insert-bs...illance-56913/

For a home, I'd get a 8-channel system so you have room to grow if needed. Definitely pick one with an audio capture. None of the cameras you buy will have audio, but most of the DVR's will have an option for at least one audio feed. Put the mic in a central location where it can pick up the front hall/door area, and the main living space.

An UPS is mandatory, and so is finding a location that is both secure and somewhat climate-controlled. Putting a DVR/UPS in your attic during a North Carolina summer will pretty much guarantee a fire. 1tb is plenty for 8-channel setup, but I think most are 500gb... I'd get more memory and have a longer history.

Go with a wired setup if you can, and make sure it has a remote viewing app for your phone.

Unless you're gonna go full DIY and get mil-spec stuff (or whatever), just make it easy and go to Costco:
Costco - Lorex ECO2 16-Channel Security System with 500GB Hard Drive and 8 High-resolution Cameras

That, plus the remainder of "STANDARD" home security measures should make your house a non-target. As a last resort (be glad you live in NC), you should have a gun or 10, and your family should have a plan for at least a few scenarios.

Even if you don't have ADT, get some stickers.
Sticks in all sliding windows.
Beware of dog sign (even if you don't have a dog)... an actual doghouse in the backyard with "Zeus" painted on it means bonus points.
No soliciting sign at the front door.
... you get the idea.

^^^^

Spot on Sam. I remembered we had this discussion before and was going to post those exact same threads.

Still haven't picked one up for our concrete shop, but I'm in the process of helping the detail shop pick one up. We don't spend money on a god damn thing, but this guy will blow through money like its water.

Sorry Koto, wish I had got one by now that I could review.

I know for me the most important thing is going to be the night vision distance/clarity. Mostly due to the fact that the crackheads are more prone to coming out at night. lol

It's funny how putting in boobie traps in your own yard can get you in trouble. I was thinking of mortal kombat knee high spikes inside the yard. Someone jumping over the fence will be surprised quite nicely.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1341182690

Right on Sam! Thanks for the input.

Good idea with the mic, and the location of said mic.

I have 2TB, 1.75TB, and 3TB external drives (Afghanistan, need I say more?) so I could allocate the AC-powered 3TB for extra storage if need be.

We also have ADT service and the requisite yard signs, NRA stickers in the windows, and my 500 Persuader. I think it might be more fun to light up a would-be burglar with my PMR at 20 balls-per-second (I make sure to fill to 3k psi whenever I come off field), but I digress. Also have a dog but he's a -----.

If you need to keep costs down, check out this Hong Kong site that offers imitation Foscam PTZ cameras for less than $70 shipped.

Cool Gadgets at the Right Price - Worldwide Free Shipping - DealExtreme

I've used these phony Foscams for a while. They have PTZ, a mic, and can do motion detect and snapshot uploads when they detect motion.

I have them connected to my Z-Wave system (Mi Casa Verde) for home control.

Jim

I should have mentioned-
the site I linked is Hong Kong, and shipping can take a while (but it's free).
They also have a subset of products staged at a US site with faster shipping.

I think the CCTV cameras with the monitoring station facility is the best option now a days but for a quality monitoring services you have to pay a little more because now they have alarm monitoring services with quick security officers access.

This happens to be the industry I currently work in.
I work for Ellipse Security (http://www.ellipsesecurity.com/), we sell a ton of refurbished Samsung systems. I cant recommend them enough. The cheap Chinese systems are tempting, but trust me, they are horrible. The DVRs are painful to use and the cameras sensors and lenses are of poor quality.
We can sell you a refurbished SDE5001 which is 16 channel, with however many (or few) cameras you want, for prices similar to what you pay for a shitty off-brand Chinese system.

We sell through our website, amazon, ebay, and over the phone. Whatever you prefer.
Give us a call tmro and we can figure out what you need, you wont be disappointed.

If I weren't planning on moving soon, I'd be looking into such options as well. We've been having a rash of packages being stolen from people's homes lately (some of you read that thread)...as well as I suspect people going through recycling bins and garbage cans lately. I'd love to get them with a nice clear camera. One of my neighbors turned his child monitoring camera into a security camera and has it pointing out his front window. He has video of the thieves taking a package off of his front steps, but the video quality is not so great..but it does show the type of car being driven.

If I had my way, I'd love to have something that is motion activated and slings video wireless to a computer/storage device. No need for alarms or activity alerts (thought something popping up on my phone to tell me the camera was recording would be cool.

One of my buddies dads installed a camera by their garage an has it wired to a computer that records. We caught three guys that broke into his genesis and got their plates. So even if you don't have a monitoring company, these can be good if you know something has happened and want to see and catch the person.