[75LeSabre09135iRagtopsMcK]

Guinea Hens. Dogs. Old Farm House in the Country. Can't cut power to the birds, can't harm one without the rest putting up the alarm. Guinea Hens are loud and will alert to anything they aren't used to, anything unusual will set them off, or just taking out the trash. . . . Gravel driveway. The birds will hear anyone coming, the bird set off the dogs. . . It is not elegant or sophisticated, but it is organic and provides plenty of time for whoever to get to the gun safe. Someone is always home, that is how farms are.

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by DrVenture

No doubt! But, as a free feature added to my other existing cameras, it sounds fun to test out.

If you have serious security concerns, that is a whole other ball game. I don't. My cameras are for avoiding solicitors by not being seen! lol

LOL. I do the same thing when I hear the doorbell. I fire up the video for the front door cam to see who it is.

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by 2000cs

Our cameras allow us (via the app) to set up detection zones and sensitivities for vehicles, people and animals. That really helps prevent the wildlife alerts.

They do “cycle” the SD card memory (we put in the largest capacity they support); we seem to have about a month’s worth of storage given the number of recording triggers - if we lived on a busy street with people in range walking along the sidewalk, it might only be a few days - but we don’t need any more than that.

Our cameras also each have a solar panel to keep them charged (and come with a battery for night/cloudy). We’ve never had one go dark. All we have to keep alive in the house is the router to view the camera images, but even if we have a power outage the cameras are still able to fully function and record to the SD cards.

Yep. Forgot the ability to set up detection zones. But with human recognition, it helps in the possible situations where it's not easy to set up detection zones without missing any possible coverage.

Forgot to mention, I have my NVR set to record over the oldest video when there is no space left on the hard drive. I have a 4TB Western Digital (I think) Purple hard drive in the NVR since new. For the 5 cameras I have in the system at 3MP, it's able to have about a 3 to 4 month archive depending on how many trigger events occur for recording.

[2000cs]

There are some cameras that will detect and track motion. That’s a pretty cool feature.

Mine do have two-way audio so I can hear/record what is going on, and yell at anyone who shouldn’t be on the property. They also turn on a light at night when there is motion (if I set that feature to operate)

[M_Six]

My Amcrest cams (and many others) allow you to create Tripwires. Virtual lines that trigger notifications when crossed. I have Tripwires along the entire front and sides of my yard. That way when I'm out in the yard doing yard work or whatever, I'm not getting pelted with notifications. I only get them when someone crosses the lines. I'll do the same when I finally get PoE cams covering the back yard. Here's a typical email notification I get. This is us coming home last night.

[DrVenture]

Originally Posted by 75LeSabre09135iRagtopsMcK

Guinea Hens. Dogs. Old Farm House in the Country. Can't cut power to the birds, can't harm one without the rest putting up the alarm. Guinea Hens are loud and will alert to anything they aren't used to, anything unusual will set them off, or just taking out the trash. . . . Gravel driveway. The birds will hear anyone coming, the bird set off the dogs. . . It is not elegant or sophisticated, but it is organic and provides plenty of time for whoever to get to the gun safe. Someone is always home, that is how farms are.

Awesome! And made me laugh. I love the simplicity.

[DrVenture]

Originally Posted by 2000cs

There are some cameras that will detect and track motion. That’s a pretty cool feature.

Mine do have two-way audio so I can hear/record what is going on, and yell at anyone who shouldn’t be on the property. They also turn on a light at night when there is motion (if I set that feature to operate)

I bet one could rig something that triggers barking, snarling dog sounds, for those of us without pets.

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by 75LeSabre09135iRagtopsMcK

Guinea Hens. Dogs. Old Farm House in the Country. Can't cut power to the birds, can't harm one without the rest putting up the alarm. Guinea Hens are loud and will alert to anything they aren't used to, anything unusual will set them off, or just taking out the trash. . . . Gravel driveway. The birds will hear anyone coming, the bird set off the dogs. . . It is not elegant or sophisticated, but it is organic and provides plenty of time for whoever to get to the gun safe. Someone is always home, that is how farms are.

The place where we plan to put the retirement Garage Mahal down at our SC tree farm is 75% surrounded by a natural moat system. If I excavate the last piece and fill it with piranhas, we would never need to worry about door-to-door salespeople ever again.....

(Sterile piranha of course, because we wouldn't want to introduce an invasive species to the lake.)

[DrVenture]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

The place where we plan to put the retirement Garage Mahal down at our SC tree farm is 75% surrounded by a natural moat system. If I excavate the last piece and fill it with piranhas, we would never need to worry about door-to-door salespeople ever again.....

(Sterile piranha of course, because we wouldn't want to introduce an invasive species to the lake.)

I'd advise stout gloves and tiny little snippers.

[dreamingat30fps]

I have blink and ring alarm at NC house. Mainly because it's fairly rural and I'm not wiring cameras so it's that or nothing. I also have a couple blink cameras in FL home but not ring.

They have worked out great for my use. I use blink mainly to monitor stuff when I'm not there. I know when people come on my driveway or when packages are delivered. I like blink because I can hide them in trees pointing to the house etc. Not the most secure and they definitely miss stuff, but good enough for me. Also on the grandfathered free plan.

The ring alarm is mainly for when we leave town. Only had it go off once and it was a false alarm. I think one of the motion sensors was kinda facing the window and the sun or something triggered it. It happened early while I was still sleeping so I didn't answer the call and they did call the cops and one of them showed up (saw it on ring). So I guess it technically works.

[2000cs]

Originally Posted by DrVenture

I bet one could rig something that triggers barking, snarling dog sounds, for those of us without pets.

Rewatch Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

[DrVenture]

Originally Posted by 2000cs

Rewatch Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Probably where I got the notion. It should be easy these days. My Ring/Alexa combo allows for all sorts of routines. The sound of a shotgun racking in a load is another possible option. That should get them moving down the road.

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by DrVenture

Probably where I got the notion. It should be easy these days. My Ring/Alexa combo allows for all sorts of routines. The sound of a shotgun racking in a load is another possible option. That should get them moving down the road.

https://youtube.com/shorts/vG3rI_pg-...LZ5obCrkLFXiEd

[spazzyfry123]

Bringing this one back up as I had a wake up call last night. Full story for those interested HERE, but not to mix threads as that is more pew-pew driven.

I'm ready for home security immediately. Camera system specifically. I really do not want a subscription based. I currently have flood lights on the four outermost corners of the house, but they are switch driven, not motion. I'd like to add exterior cameras to give me a full view outside of the house; maybe ones that turn on a light when they sense motion?

Initially I was dead set on hardwired, but I feel that I am more open to WiFi now given its (perceived by me at least) easier installation and use. I'd like to have the ability to have a screen next to my bed to view the exterior of the house as well as the ability to maybe stream the feeds to a TV. Maybe something that can detect animal vs human to avoid any false alarms since we have a lot of wildlife out here. I am thinking 4 or 5 cameras would cover it.

How are folks powering their cameras? I'm no electrician, but I purposely way overbudgeted power at the house for later additions, so that isn't an issue if needed. DIY is nice, though.

Thanks!

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by spazzyfry123

Bringing this one back up as I had a wake up call last night. Full story for those interested HERE, but not to mix threads as that is more pew-pew driven.

I'm ready for home security immediately. Camera system specifically. I really do not want a subscription based. I currently have flood lights on the four outermost corners of the house, but they are switch driven, not motion. I'd like to add exterior cameras to give me a full view outside of the house; maybe ones that turn on a light when they sense motion?

Initially I was dead set on hardwired, but I feel that I am more open to WiFi now given its (perceived by me at least) easier installation and use. I'd like to have the ability to have a screen next to my bed to view the exterior of the house as well as the ability to maybe stream the feeds to a TV. Maybe something that can detect animal vs human to avoid any false alarms since we have a lot of wildlife out here. I am thinking 4 or 5 cameras would cover it.

How are folks powering their cameras? I'm no electrician, but I purposely way overbudgeted power at the house for later additions, so that isn't an issue if needed. DIY is nice, though.

Thanks!

I live in a very low crime area, but as a retired IT guy and all around tech nerd, I got into home automation and cameras as a hobby. I've gone from simple USB cams to a full blown PoE (Power over Ethernet) setup. I also have 11 wifi cams (Eufy). I can view just about every nook and cranny around my house and if you approach my house from any direction you'll be on at least 2 cameras and in some cases, 3. All of that gets stored locally on my NAS boxes and also gets uploaded to my Apple iCloud storage. I have two 10" iPads that are dedicated camera monitors. One is beside my recliner in the living room and one is in my home office.

I say all that to back up a few assertions based on personal experience.

1. If you really want reliable surveillance, you need to have 24/7 recording, which in most cases means PoE. If you already have power available where you want cameras, you can go with powered cams and Ethernet. But if you're going to run Ethernet cable anyway, PoE is cleaner.

2. There are a few wifi cameras that will do 24/7 recording, but most of them only record motion once they detect it. Therein lies the rub. They often start recording after the motion has been going on for a few seconds, so it's not uncommon to get just a few seconds of video of someone leaving leaving the frame. And sometimes they don't detect the motion at all. Having 24/7 recording means you can back up and see what happened just prior to or just after whatever motion tripped the alert.

3. Storage and viewing can be done several ways. There are, of course, dedicated NVRs. It's common for folks wanting PoE cams to just buy a complete setup with an NVR and 4 or 5 cams. Amcrest, Reolink, Hikvision, etc, all make such systems. That's the quick and easy way to go, but it has some drawbacks. I have an Amcrest NVR that I grabbed on sale just to test it out. It works, but the one I got will only handle 8 cameras and you can ony view 4 of them at a time. You can buy higher end NVRs that offer more options, including ones with built-in PoE ports. You can also run your own NVR software such as BlueIris or Scrypted on a Windows or Mac machine. I have two Synology NAS boxes that run Synology's Surveillance Station software. That's where my videos are stored and I find Surveillance Station to be excellent. Any Synology NAS comes with Surveillance Station and you get 2 free camera licenses with each NAS. You can buy additional lifetime licenses for about $58/camera. Most DIY NVR software comes with some sort of licensing fee. Decent 5MP PoE cams are about $50, so a cam and license will run you about $110 or so, which is about the same or less than a decent wifi camera.

Eufy has a newish system out called S3 Pro. A 2 camera setup with the Homebase 3 recorder is about $550. The S3 Pro cameras get decent initial reviews, but the Eufy system is not without its faults. My Eufy cams are useless in the rain as the lenses don't shed water well and take a while to dry out, so I get blurred images. My Amcrest cams are never blurry.

My suggestion if you want a solid surveillance system is to spend some time on Reddit and YouTube and learn about the various options I've described. In Reddit, do a search on Eufycam and read about them, both the good and the bad. One huge issue Eufy used to have was that their cameras that are tied to a Homebase must be working and connected to the Homebase in order for you to view the captured video. IOW, if someone destroys or steals your camera, you can't view the video stored on the Homebase. I'm not sure if Eufy fixed that flaw or not with the newer systems.

Feel free to PM me with questions.

[M_Six]

This is what I was saying about blurred images in the rain. It stopped raining hours ago and this Eufy camera is still a bit foggy. It was quite a bit worse last night when it was raining.



For comparison here is a shot from my Amcrest PoE cam. Clear as a bell.

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by spazzyfry123

Initially I was dead set on hardwired, but I feel that I am more open to WiFi now given its (perceived by me at least) easier installation and use.

Interesting note that the NYC TV news talking heads were mentioning that criminals are using wifi jammers to take out Ring and other consumer-grade wifi cameras.

My $0.02 on professional-grade wifi cameras is that they chew up lots of wireless bandwidth. I have an old Reolink wifi camera streaming H.264 in our basement monitoring the sump pump, and it is jamming an entire 2.4 GHz wifi channel with its constant stream.

Pulling ethernet cables to every camera is my choice, because you get wired throughput and power via PoE over the ethernet cable. Watch out for those NVR's with built-in PoE switches, because most of them prevent the cameras from using their "smart" features or sending direct alerts via the Internet if you're inclined to use those features.

My other $0.02 is to buy cameras that stream H.265 and not just H.264, because it saves gobs of bandwidth and saves NVR disk space because it does better compression. Amcrest was the only choice for H.265 a few years ago, but there may be other options now.

One last point is a footnote that some coke-head punk is rotting in prison for 25-life for killing someone on our road and torching his house, and the only evidence the prosecutors had was from my Amcrest cameras and NVR. The punk walked over a mile past half a dozen houses with Ring cameras, and not one of them triggered to record him per the local police. My frugal DW didn't question the $1,000+ that I spent on the camera system after this, and even made me buy three more cameras to cover blind spots in our yard (and she buried the additional ethernet camera cables to boot).....

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

Interesting note that the NYC TV news talking heads were mentioning that criminals are using wifi jammers to take out Ring and other consumer-grade wifi cameras.

My $0.02 on professional-grade wifi cameras is that they chew up lots of wireless bandwidth. I have an old Reolink wifi camera streaming H.264 in our basement monitoring the sump pump, and it is jamming an entire 2.4 GHz wifi channel with its constant stream.

Pulling ethernet cables to every camera is my choice, because you get wired throughput and power via PoE over the ethernet cable. Watch out for those NVR's with built-in PoE switches, because most of them prevent the cameras from using their "smart" features or sending direct alerts via the Internet if you're inclined to use those features.

My other $0.02 is to buy cameras that stream H.265 and not just H.264, because it saves gobs of bandwidth and saves NVR disk space because it does better compression. Amcrest was the only choice for H.265 a few years ago, but there may be other options now.

One last point is a footnote that some coke-head punk is rotting in prison for 25-life for killing someone on our road and torching his house, and the only evidence the prosecutors had was from my Amcrest cameras and NVR. The punk walked over a mile past half a dozen houses with Ring cameras, and not one of them triggered to record him per the local police. My frugal DW didn't question the $1,000+ that I spent on the camera system after this, and even made me buy three more cameras to cover blind spots in our yard (and she buried the additional ethernet camera cables to boot).....

I was reading a rant on Reddit today from someone who was livid that his $25 Tapo wifi camera failed to record someone trashing his property.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by spazzyfry123

Bringing this one back up as I had a wake up call last night. Full story for those interested HERE

I read your other post. Wifi cams would have missed a ton of the action there. The Amcrest cams I use have a Tripwire feature where you can draw a line (or two) in the field of view and have an alert sent to you if anything crosses that line in one direction or both. You can filter it down to Humans and Vehicles as well. I have a Tripwire line across the end of my driveway and I get pinged on my phone and Apple Watch if anything crosses that line. I even get a snapshot of whatever it is right on my watch. Of course getting those features depends on having an Apple ecosystem. But even with just Surveillance Station, I can get a text and/or email when that line is crossed. If you have a decent view down the length of your driveway, you could draw a Tripwire at the furthest point.

[spazzyfry123]

This is awesome info M_Six and vreihen16 !!

I’ve got a lot to digest and to read through, but at least wanted to hop in and say thanks for your detailed responses before I dive in. Been a wild day…

[bosstones]

Glad the situation turned out to be relatively boxed. Personal thought is, despite the increase in motivation imparted on you the other night, don't jump the gun on making any decisions you may end up having to redo later. Be surgical.

Here's the IP cam thread that zx10guy referenced.

For cameras, PoE is the way to go but WiFi is understandable where limited. Although I have not tried one yet, you can buy PoE splitters that let you run 2 devices off a single run of ethernet cable.

In general, though, planning is key as your house/property is different from the next guy's. Things to consider:

• DIY vs 'bundle' - Do you want a DIY system or just a bundled package from CostCo (or somewhere). The latter gives you a headstart and simplifies things to get you started. However, it might also limit your customization and expansion. Admittedly, I don't have experience with bundled systems (I DIY) and base it in other types of bundled systems. Do your homework on how locked-in you'd be (eg growth capacity for addr'l cameras or storage, can you replace a camera, etc...). DIY'ing will make you smarter about your system overall, its limitations, and improve your capability for troubleshooting but it is understandably not what everyone is looking for or possibly capable of.
• Camera placement - where do you need or want coverage and what type (general situational awareness vs more detail). This feeds into how many cameras you need but what type of camera is influenced by the next several bullets.
• Field of View (FOV) - not all cameras have the same FOV. Some greater, some lesser. Placement and intent will dictate what FOV is appropriate (also Field of Regard (FOR) if dealing with variable focal length cameras).
• Fixed vs variable focal length - Focal length goes a bit hand-in-hand with FOV (smaller focal pength = larger FOV and vice versa) but figure out if you want something like 2.8mm for wider situational awareness or added, fixed 'zoom' for better detail of a smaller area (for fixed focal oength cameras). There are also variable focus cameras as well as Pan/Tilt/Zoom (PTZ) cameras. Some of the latter can also automatically zoom in and track (follow) an object that triggered its alert criteria.
• Lighting - it may seem weird to consider for nightime IR cameras but the IR LEDs, typically an array of some # of IR LED elements, have an effective range. Don't assume the max range to be useable. Sure, you could mess with the camera picture settings to increase gain but that come at the price of degraded image quality. If there is enough artificial ambient lighting (eg landscape lighting, Christmas lights!, etc ..), that will help. Alternatively, you could add an external IR illuminator or IR flood light. OR, you also just add a normal flood light that is motion activated (this is basically all the Ring flood light is....an IR camera with IR illumination + a visible LED flood light for when motion is detected).
• BW vs Color IR (colour for our UK friends. ) - Color IR seems cool until you realize it uses a white light illuminator. If you like stealthy...not the way to go. As an added deterrent, maybe not bad. Note that you can always see the IR illuminator (array) on the camera itself at night (it has a faint, redish glow). You just can't see the illumination from it (unless you have NODS that pick up the wavelength ).
• Specialty cameras - there are all sorts of wild cameras....360° coverage, fisheye, multiple cameras in a single chassis, etc... Maybe they have something to offer in your use case, maybe not.
• Form Factor - IP cameras come in different sizes and chassis types. Personally, I go with smaller domed cameras as they offer better mitigation from physical interference. If that is a concern, dome cameras are the way to go. That said, installation location can also provides mitigation.
• PoE Ethernet Switch - When you know if you're going PoE and have figured out how many cameras you'll install, find a PoE switch that has enough power and PoE ports to support your need ...and then buy the one with even more PoE ports. You may very well find that you need to move, change, adjust, or even add more cameras after your install has completed. So, it is good to have spare PoE ports. Also specifically look at how many PoE ports a switch has. They often come with unpowered ports but advertise the switch overall as PoE and then include the total # of ports (powered + unpowered). If you go with an off the shelf system (NAS or 'camera + NAS bundle', the NAS takes care of the switch and PoE functions. Likewise for most COTS NAS specifically meant for this application. PoE injectors exist so you can use one to power a PoE device if you run out of PoE ports. The downside is that it is extra hardware to mount somewhere and requires wall power. PoE splitters also exist and have their uses.
• Management Software - Most common brands are just re-branded Dahau, Hikvision, etc ... and will come with some form of web-based interface to manage the individual camera (i.e. picture/video settings, alerts, day/night settings, etc...). This might be fine for your use. There are also 3rd party programs to aggregate and manage your network of cameras. Some have already been mentioned. Blue Iris is one of the popular ones and you can do a lot with it. You also do not have to pay an license fee if you don't want to (at rhe expense of SW updates). Generally, all options from the main names (incl camera OEMs) give the ability to remote view, set up zone-based triggers or 'line crossing' triggers, as well as send alerts.
• Hardware for Software - If DIY'ing, there is no shortage if options for hosting management software (if doing more than using individual camera software/firmware). Personally, I use an old/spare PC (Intel i7 + 16GB DDR4 RAM).

[vreihen16]

Another suggestion is that if you're *really* in a hurry and don't have a technical background is to just pay a professional security company to design/install your system. I worked in IT and used to install/manage IP security cameras among other things, so there was no learning curve for me working with pro-grade Amcrest stuff.....