Surveillance cameras?

[bearhawk]

Thanks for all the ideas. I guess I should mention that we have somewhat of a budget, I am looking at maybe something for $200 starting out. I would like something that is expandable though so I can add to it as needed.

Wired may be better than wireless but wireless sounds a lot easier!

If you can double your budget it will pay off getting better equipment. Take a look at this 4 Channel H.264 Turn-Key System for a 4 channel system. The most important thing is the fps or frames per second, the higher, the better the quality of the image. It won't do much good unless you can actually identify the intruder.

I have purchased a few things from these people and have been treated well.

 

[redberankubota]

Sorry to hear...

We had the same thing happen some years back , and like you , had NO alarm system and NO cameras

Needless to say we now have both , and we absolutely LOVE the cameras:thumbsup: we watch the moniter ALL the time , and it records up to a month 24/7 and is able to be seen remotely via computer though we have never set up that feature.

Ours came from Sams , it`s a Netrome system with four cameras and is expandable up to eight. They are wired cameras as the wireless ones I`ve seen are VERY lacking in quality...it was around $1200 though. They no longer have the exact system we have but do seem to have comparable ones , and are less money.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

costco has nice camera systems. 4 camera for around $300, 8 camera for $500. they are on sale a good bit.

 

[missingstexas]

missingstexas and zzvyb6,
How is the quality of the systems from costco, sams, etc? Do you have low light capability?

thanks.

I'm pretty happy with mine. Yes, it has low light capabilities. It's made by Clover, don't know the model number, but it's about 4 years old.

 

[jinjimbob]

When my house got broken into, I came home while it was happening, face to face with the three illegals. It was more than a "ugh oh" moment.

This was in SoCal, so only criminals or the rich can carry guns.

The police told me to get either an alarm system or a dog. So now I have a German shepherd, alarm with both cell and land line backup, and several cameras.

Those dogs can hear a mouse squeak and are loud.

Bushnull make a trophy cam for $200, it's a good game cam, but not covert.

If you only get one thing, get a dog.

 

[galaxie428]

Thanks for all the responses, I may try to check some of these cameras out this weekend and see what I can find. I woud really like to see something already hooked up so I can compare video but I don't know that I will find that anywhere.

If you only get one thing, get a dog.

I have two dogs, a beagal and a lab, both who probably licked the thieves as they were carrying my stuff out!

When my house got broken into, I came home while it was happening, face to face with the three illegals. It was more than a "ugh oh" moment.

What did you do? That would certainly be a scarey moment without a gun or a bat or something.

I have a conceal/carry permit though to be honest, I don't carry anything very often because all of my guns are bulkier. We just bought my wife a S&W Bodyguard .380 in Jan and that thing fits right in your front pocket. I carried it more often but once she got her conceal/carry permit she was going to have it. Now, someone else has it. It was one of the guns that were stolen.

 

[skent]

Meet Lil' Maxx, 107 pounds of GSD.

As was said earlier, he also can hear a mouse squeak,

 

[PatasColo]

For the super budget, just buy a few signs that say "Under 24/7 camera surveillance" and post them in obvious places. You can even get fake cameras that have flashing LEDs on them (to make them look real). And be sure to tell everyone you know that you setup a camera system. Unfortunately, this sounds like an "inside" job. They only took a couple specific things, they knew where they were and they knew when you were at work.

If you're set on a camera, you might want to check on game cameras. There's also some 'webcam' type cameras that will record like a surveillance camera, but require your PC to remain on (both in wired and wireless). Either of these would be cheaper than a full purpose built system, won't have all the features, but could be made to work.

Keith

I like Keith's ideas, and it gives rise to the question: What is the goal? If it is to keep folks from breaking in, you don't need a live, operating system, but just the appearance of one, or of other things that makes the criminals think twice. Signs and cameras (whether operating or not) are both possibilities. I understand that any noise in the house (that sounds like people) can be a big deterrent... even a radio on. Our door was kicked in once, and we talked with the cops, and they said that lots of folks have the surveillance cameras, but they're mostly an external deterrent, and they didn't know of anyone who'd convicted someone by getting them on a home camera (getting a license plate number is something else, but I've heard that even that can be dicey: you have to prove that the car owner was involved).

We priced fake cameras, and found we could get cheap, functioning, wired ones for about the same price. Funny! We thought about just putting some real ones up without hooking anything up, just for the deterrent value.

I'd respectfully disagree with the "inside job" theory though: There are some basic places burglars look... beside the bed is the first for jewelry and handguns. The police told me this was the case in our house as well (they just went for things beside the bed...left laptops, etc.) And it is fairly easy to know when folks are away, especially if it's just a couple living at the place (don't know if this is your case or not). Think about what makes it look like "you're there" and what makes it look like "you're not".

Sorry about your experience too: it's a crappy feeling that someone break's into your home, aside from things stolen or not.

 

[groundcover]

Some good ideas and links . All in all it is a good thing that you didn't come home in time to catch them as they were now armed with your guns and may well have shot you with them. Stuff can be replaced ! Still makes you feel violated ,which you were . A good trigger lock won't keep them from being stolen but may well save you life if the perp is leaving your place ,sees you, panics and shoots. Easy enough to pull the lock off when you are home. A wireless drive alarm gives a little early warning too. Sure hope those dirtbags screw up and get caught before they kill someone.

 

[zzvyb6]

Cameras that came with my $299 Costco (Q-See) system have pretty good night vision (out to 30' or so). I have motion lights in the area and that makes a huge difference, and they are helpful when you are searching for what set the alarm off. (I search at 16x real time speed so you want to have some type of marker in the individual 30 minute sections of recorded history going back a few months). You can buy much better camers on eBay having out to 250' night vision. That takes more power so you need a 12v power supply with 1 amp or more on the line. That's another reason to avoid the wireless camers: no range and low night vision levels.

I recommend avoiding the phony systems. They are feel good only. The perps know what's real and what is fake. Maybe for the same reaon they broke in to your place: they may have been there before. Visitors here KNOW that they've been seen, videoed, saved and broadcast onto the internet 24/7 going back a few months. Tell your friends and your 'kid's or juvies: Come here looking for trouble and it will come back to you. I love the fact that the entire neighborhood knows there is a REAL system here. We tend to know which two homes in the area have the fakes ones, too! They brag about it!!!