security camera
 

i am thinking i would like to get a security camera for sons shop, which has a lot of tools and stuff in it. it could set up under the eves, so would not be in weather. i do not want to spend a lot of money, but yet want something that will do the job. i guess you can wire them to a tv, is that right. i have not looked in the stores yet, cause i wanted advice from here. what all do i need, i do not want to be swayed by a salesman.................... thanks i would maybe get two ; one for each place here, if i knew what would work and be economical.

I have bought cameras from x10.com for the price around are good.

We bought 2 cameras after our house was broken into. I think we got them from radio shack. The cameras were not that much but buying a seperate "thingy" to switch from one camera to another was, and we never could get it to work. We went with this system because we could use our regular tv, I just switched it to my "video" channel and I've got a view of the driveway. We have since bought a small used tv and have it hooked up to that and have a vcr with a 24 hour tape in the basement. I only use that if we will be gone for a few hours. I have one camera under the porch pointing at the house and garge doors, and one above the garage door under the eve watching the driveway.

My dh did have a nice camera system bought from Sams club, for about $300, but that was several years ago, might be less now, came with 4 cameras and a split screen monitor so you could watch all 4, or just one, also had microphones, but this was when he owned a store and wanted to watch for shoplifters. If this is for a shop I would think it could be written off on taxes :D

Carla

X10.com will have most anything you want.

Could a webcam work? I suppose it would need to be hooked up to a computer...Might be a cheap way to go....02cents

www.x-10.com

We use several for horse foaling and such. They work from the barn to the house about 200'. I use the x-10 eagle eye motion decetor and universal remote to catch movement.


mikell

x.10 are the people who saturated the Web with pop-up ads. I'm sure there are equal products out there. I would look at the X.10 products to find out what is possible. I would NEVER buy from them - as far as I am concerned they are the moral equivalent of spammers.

Sams club has a monitor and I think three cameras for about $200. My brother bought on for his store and it works great.

X-10's look good, also Northern Tools catalog (northerntools.com) has a nice selection. That is going to be my present that I get myself for Christmas.

If you have a computer and a burner I would serious check into IP cameras. Last I looked you could get a 16 input card for around $200. If you wanted to hook up 16 cameras to a regular TV you would need a very expensive multiplexer and the image quality would be seriously degraded...

Here is a decent article.
http://securitysa.com/article.asp?pk...klCategor---=3

outdoor camreas
 

If you want outdoor sercurity you need a camera that is rated for outdoor use.

A security camera just shows whats happening in the field of view... you'd still need an alarm system.

cheers,

Harbor Freight Tools has an inexpensive outdoor rated security camera for less than X-10. They put it on sale for under $30 every few months.

I agree with Don Armstrong, I would never buy from X-10 because of all the popup ad spam and spam email they support. I do not support spammers by buying their products, or recomending their products to others.

Bob

Thanks BobBoyce,
There is a Harbor Freight about 30 minutes from me. I'll be checking them for the cameras. I never even thought of them for that.

The x-10 scan be used with a computer or tv and can e mail picks if needed thats what we do with our horses.

mikell

kjerckie, the weatherproof security camera is on sale now at Harbor Freight Tools for $29.99, talk about timing. I just received my mailer yesterday and took a look at it this morning. They are Lot No 47546 and the sale is good until Dec 6th.

Bob

security camera
 

yes, bob, i found that this morning. now this is a dumb question, but o.k. so it is hooked up to tv, we want a record of the stuff that went on during the day. nobody can sit in front of the tv all day and watch for burglars :). how does it do that? is their a film, tape or what??? told you i didn't know nothin about these things! :))

You connect it to a VCR recording in extended play with a T-160 tape for up to 8 hours of recording time, or a T-120 tape for up to 6 hours recording time. If you want more than that, you'll have to either buy an extended period recorder (slower turning, poorer quality video), a time lapse recorder (which captures interval frames), or connect it to a video input card and burn the video to CD or DVD with a computer.

As you can see, capturing the live video image to screen is one thing, storing it for later playback is another. Most banks and convenience stores use time lapse recorders that capture one frame per second or so. While a bit more technical, you could set up a motion detector to automatically start the recorder for timed intervals.

Others may have better suggestions.

Bob

Yippee, I'm giving Habor Freight a call tomorrow. If they don't have one, I'll order this one. Thanks BobBoyce.

I would stay away from anything from X10. I would stay away from wireless too as they can be viewed by anyone with the proper equipment.

I use black and white IR cameras so I can see at night. Add some supplemental IR light to the area and they work even better. I use external IR sources instead of regular security lighting. I can see what I need to see without having to worry about light pollution and the bugs that lights attract. Personally I have always thought security lights just helped thieves do their jobs.

Color cameras are nice and I may put up a couple. Everything I have is black and white now. I use the standard Sony CCTV monitors, multiplexer and a couple of different video recorders (a time lapse and a regular).

Quint

[QUOTE=Quint]I would stay away from anything from X10. I would stay away from wireless too as they can be viewed by anyone with the proper equipment.

If I lives in the city that might be a problem but would I really care. x-10 can be triggered by a motion decetor and then recorden on your computer or video tape.

mikell

You can also get "game cameras" from most mail order hunting supply places. These are available in both film and digital and take still photos. They use infared flash so the person being photgraphed wouldn't know he was on camera. The better digital units can be wired right into a PC. They are motion detected so they wouldn't be running unless something or someone were moving about.

This is what I'm buying to catch my thieving nieghbor. Then I'll sell it to a friend that still hunts.