Outdoor Lights and Covert CCTV

[kristen]

I want some exterior lights and a covert CCTV for my elderly mother's house.  She's had a couple of things pinched from outside the house, and we think we know who the culprit is, but the job would be made much easier if we can give Old Bill some pictures.

My thought is to have some movement sensor lights, and a CCTV / WebCam or similar. I haven't looked at security cameras for 5 or more years, so I expect its moved on, but last time I looked there were exterior WebCams that could transmit to a remote PC (or Internet, but my elderly Mum hasn't got internet! so I could leave an old PC plugged in somewhere thereabouts, but I suppose that's slightly at risk from being vandalised if someone actually breaks in when she's out) and the WebCam was smart enough to only take a Piccie when there was some movement / substantive change to the picture.

This is a short term solution, and I would quite like to then redeploy it here for some outbuildings we have.  There is no electricity in those outbuildings, so a 12v car battery / solar recharger solution would be a bonus (100 yards from the house - and numerous PCs ). If a 12v solution is available then I think a main-transformer would be better for my Mother.

[clivejo]

There are loads of solutions, just depends on what you want it to do.  How about this one :

http://www.chinavasion.com/product_info.php/pName/gsm-remote-security-camera-with-nightvision-motion-detection/

You would need a Pay as you go sim card, but you could get it to MMS images to your mobile?

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http://www.chinavasion.com/product_info.php/pName/motion-detection-wall-surveillance-dvr-14-inch-ccd-ir-light/

This one looks like a PIR but actually has an Infra Red (see in the dark) camera.  It will take snapshots of any motion and save it to an SD card.

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Personally I have used the mini wireless cameras.  They run on a 9v battery and can be hid quite easily.  However you do need good light conditions, they are quite hard on batteries and you need some way of recording the footage.  Take a look through the range, might give you an idea of what's available. http://www.chinavasion.com/index.php/cName/surveillance-equipment/?page=1


Just a word of warning be careful who and what you are recording!!!  You might get yourself in trouble with the authorities if you are recording images of the public without there knowledge!

[Stefan (S.T.E.F.)]

Last time I checked you could record what and who you liked on private property. Just make sure there is no public road or footpath in the picture. Or has this changed ?

[MR GUS]

Last time I checked you could record what and who you liked on private property. Just make sure there is no public road or footpath in the picture. Or has this changed ?

That still stands best described as film frame UP TO but not beyond property border,  however look down a city high street at camera's pointed to catch views of their shopfronts from above) ..police advice if you ask about this would probably be met with "I don't know about that, however i'm telling you in relation to your proposed set up you could be prosecuted) ..double standards Or simple advice?

[clivejo]

Yes that's correct, however, in an urban environment it can be extremely hard to position a camera so to capture just your own property, and satisfy your power, lighting and capturing the evidence you need.

You could get yourself into a lot of trouble if say you accidentally recorded the next door neighbours bedroom/bathroom windows!   

[MR GUS]

I think the main worry is kids "playing" in the street & parental complaints , any paedo rumours tend to get dealt with with fists & beatings, theres a modicum of sense there.
I'd recommedn something with sound, it's too easy to swagger in wearing a hoodie & bandana combo, however when it comes to speech people are typically less cautious especially in pairs.
(I used to get this at our offices in SE1 as chancers used to open the doors for a bit of opportune thieving).
Only a few quid extra for a mic pick up built in.

[guydewdney]

I have had good results from rfsolutions.co.uk

[kristen]

Thanks guys. This is just along the side of the property. It will not "see" neighbouring properties, or street / public rights of way, but thanks for pointing that out. Hadn't considered sending the pictures by mobile phone ... amazing how technology advances.

I didn't find any camera stuff on rfsolutions.co.uk - or was that just with regard to GSM Modems for transmission? (or maybe I missed the camera stuff?)

Lots of interesting toys at chinavasion.com, many thanks

[guydewdney]

sorry - rfconcepts.co.uk

idiot.... 

[kristen]

rfconcepts.co.uk

Lots of toys and shipping from the UK ... many thanks.  I'll let you know how I get on

[clivejo]

If you do go the Infra Red(IR) route, from experience, the ones with IR built in seem to attract the flies and spiders!  I get loads of false alarms due to the triggering of the motion detection by things like moths, flies and spiders moving in front of the camera!  Some of them allow you to disable the on-board IR lamps and then you can install an IR flood light away from the camera, but still illuminating the area you are monitoring.   Just worth considering if you plan on a fixed installation.

[kristen]

Thanks. Wouldn't have thought of that, but I'm planning to have some normal outdoor  movement detector lights - hopefully they will provide enough light, and the picture will be more recognisable as a result - will that happen in practice?

[tony.]

Have a look at the systemq web site for cctv.

Ps a good trick is to buy a cheap internal module and stick it into the case of a 500 watt floodlight, people dont tend to look inside floodlights for cctv

Tony

[MR GUS]

Um, one bone of contention here, you are meant / obliged by law to put up notices (human rights) that you are utilising video surveilance on your property, basically alert thieves to the fact, same as we have to have a few visible "beware of the dogs" signs to cover ourselves legally in case anyone breaks in & gets bitten by our dogs, ..of course without they can break in & technically sue!
 That begs the question as to  cctv in a covert manner, look into it, just in case, personally i'd have it visible as a  general deterrent.
 Of course we do't know what's been stolen, out of shed, house etc however have you looked on ebay using the "within X miles of postcode" option?
Just a thought.

Again in ref to signage, you may be able to get away with a small sign on a back gate or similar, we have ours on the side gates not the front, as we see it that covers us enough as a front door is least likely to be utilised by an opportunist.

[clivejo]

When I installed the CCTV on the farm I asked the local police about it.  They said that as long as it was on private property and not overlooking a public area/right of way then I did not need to place signs, as its marked private property.

However, they did say that if I arranged for people to visit me that I should always notify them that there is CCTV and they would be recorded, ie post man, farm inspectors etc

I've also heard that if you used the CCTV footage in a court and the person on the CCTV could not have known about the CCTV(ie no signs) then they could dismiss the evidence. 

I often wondered if I caught someone thieving on the farm and watched the footage, could I not become a witness, as in theory I seem him/her doing it!