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Birdman Adam

DIY'er
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Everything posted by Birdman Adam

  1. Birdman Adam

    Samsung SHR-8082

    Yea, thats what I kinda figured... Samsung seems like a good brand, and the design looks good from what I can tell. Everything is planned out, just waiting for shipping! Will try to take a bunch of pictures during/after set-up. I am eager to see how these fancy baluns work! Hopefully I can help other newbies get a feel for the stuff I'll be using. Do you think 3x30W 120dB sirens is enough??? Also, I got a DSC 5580TC Escort Phone Module, so he'll be able to dial in and arm/disarm/etc with voice prompts from any phone. (Need one of these for my house!)
  2. Birdman Adam

    Samsung SHR-8082

    OK, well everything is ordered. DVR, cameras, alarm equip., tons of wire. Will try to do some sort of review on it. Maybe some install pics if I have time.
  3. Birdman Adam

    Camera vandal protection

    Is there a vandal-proof option? Only thing I can think of! Maybe if you mounted it in a corner, you could fit a plexiglass cover over it, and fasten to the walls?
  4. Birdman Adam

    What the???

    That's crazy! That support must be holding 50+ pounds? I'd bet it's one of those real old cameras - the 'tube' kind. Maybe with direct 120V wire & a transformer in there!!
  5. Birdman Adam

    CNB VCM-24VF 2.8-10mm Problem focusing

    Could you give us some more information? What do you mean 'it won't let you'? Is the focus ring stuck? Is the dome not coming off?
  6. I think I understand what your saying... Although the monitor/LCD should be auto-sizing the image so it perfectly fits the screen. Since its not, go into the menu on the monitor (using the buttons on it) and reduce the vertical size.
  7. Birdman Adam

    Samsung SHR-8082

    No opinions?
  8. Yup, that's perfectly fine. BTW if you get confused about polarity, there is no + & - (even when feeding it DC).
  9. For the future I'd change the angle of viewing for the camera, that angle is not very good for catching plates. If the camera had been about 4 feet off the ground, pointing down the driveway, you'd have the plate.
  10. Birdman Adam

    Remove paint from camera glass

    Oh, yea my trick is only for completely flat glass - no domes!!
  11. Birdman Adam

    Remove paint from camera glass

    I use a little razor blade just like this to clean stuff like that off of glass: Just hold it at an angle fairly flat to the glass, and apply pressure while scraping. As long as you keep it flat, no scratching will occur. BTW I do this all the time on my fish tank, (bit of algae above water line that Plecostomus can't get). No scratches! If that fails, some mineral spirits ought to help it along.
  12. Birdman Adam

    Its humans who input Google Autocompleter search queries

    LOL, I want one of those magic smoke refillers! Although I do like the smell of a freshly toasted atmega...
  13. Birdman Adam

    How to connect siren to DVR ?

    Probably the siren is expecting more voltage and current than the DVR can output. Look up the specs of the DVR, it should say how much it will put out. Possibly, you will need to wire a relay to the DVR output, which switches power from a wall adapter to the siren.
  14. Birdman Adam

    Neighborhood CCTV

    Unfortunately nothing further. You all probably know how it goes: "Oh, it won't happen to me..." Maybe once a couple more idiots in our neighborhood get robbed they will all change their minds...
  15. Birdman Adam

    Neighborhood CCTV

    So here's the deal... Our neighborhood has had numerous problems with robberies and car break-ins in the past few years. Just a week ago some idiots stole a bunch of electronics from a nearby neighbor. I have suggested this before, but finally everyone is starting to decide that a camera at the entrance would be good to capture cars and people that go in and out, and also license plates. I will most likely be chosen to set this system up, and have a budget of $1400 or less. I made sure to suggest kinda high so that I can get quality equipment! Now I already know the basics of what I will be setting up, but I also have a lot of questions - so here we go: 1. Cameras: -I was thinking that I would go with 1-3 cameras, all on one pole. They will be facing down one/both directions of our entrance, which is a long straightaway from the main road. Now I need to capture basic car details, like model, and also get license plates, day and night. -I want to go analog for this setup, because nighttime viewing will have to be reliable. -Thinking I'll need a WDR camera, as they will be looking at bright headlights/taillights. I was thinking about the VCB-34VF. As you probably know it has true WDR, BLC, and the Eclipse feature, which might be nice for headlights. -The VCB-34VF has a vari-focal lens from 2.8-10.5mm. I am thinking I can just zoom it in to like 8-10.5mm to get a nice tight shot going down the road. The road is about 15-20 feet wide. Will this work? -Via Rory's WDR test video I am pretty sure you can only choose between WDR, BLC, and Eclipse, not do more than one at once. Is this true? If it is true, I will probably get 2-3 of the same camera and have one with Eclipse, and one with WDR, so I can capture plates more dependably. -Obviously these are vandal-domes. Vandalism may happen - are replacement dome covers available? Also, should I just mount the domes vertically, or get the pendant type mount so the are horizontally mounted? Those would be easier to break... 2. Pole: -This setup will all be pole mounted, on the side of the road. I am thinking a nice strong 4X4 of treated lumber. This will be stuck in the ground maybe 3-4 feet deep, surrounded with cement, and maybe with rebar through it to reinforce it.. Sound good? -Vandalism is a possibility; how high should the cameras go? Just like 4-5 feet above ground for best license plate/car shots? Or should I go 7-8 feet so no-one can whack the domes to death? 3. DVR: -I only have experience with PC based systems, but would like to go dedicated here for size and ease of setup. -I dont need any networking capability. I only need 1-3 channels, but I'm sure 4-channel is the smallest sold. I would like easy data retrieval - Like plug in a usb-drive, choose time period and review video with monitor, copy over, and done. I need to be able to easily view on most computers, so being able to save or easily convert without quality loss to a standard like .AVI or .MPEG would be nice. -I need quality video. The CNB's put out good video, and I want to record all of it - so All channels D1, at 7+ FPS. Normal car speeds will be below 35MPH, (limit is 25), but some may be 40-45. -The DVR and camera power supply will be in an outdoor box, so size kinda matters. Almost 90-95 degree Fahrenheit temperatures with hot sun may happen, so a cool running unit would be nice. I can't see any type of venting happening in a weatherproof enclosure... 4. Enclosure: -This obviously needs to be water/weatherproof. I've read about "NEMA" enclosures? -Need room for: The DVR, an 120v power outlet, and wall-wart camera power supplies will be inside, monitor, keyboard and mouse, and (smallish) UPS system -It needs knockout or preferably threaded holes in bottom and sides to accept PVC conduit (power from underground). -A door that swings open on the front is needed, and it obviously must be able to be locked! So any suggestions? 5. Lighting: -There is almost no artificial lighting in this area. Do I need IR at night? How about motion-detect floods? I would rather do IR because i dont want to cause accidents with lights flashing on in people's faces while they drive! 6. Power: -Power will be ran underground from a neighbors house via 14-2 (w/ground) direct-burial Romex, up into box via pvc conduit, and to an outdoor rated GFI outlet+box. -I was thinking I would install a smallish UPS system so that power blips and small outages wont stop recording. Wow... Well I think thats it! I'll probably think up more later... Thanks, Adam
  16. Hate it when people try to say 'macs are more secure', or 'linux is more secure'. All code has endless holes in it. How 'secure' something is depends on how good the enemy is. If I ever have a computer problem, i just DBAN it and re-install... Reloading from one of my many backups of course. Also, I can never figure out how people get malware so often... I almost never have a problem! Oh, and ZM doesn't use Active-X.
  17. Birdman Adam

    ir illuminators on d/n cameras?

    Nope, will work just fine. D/N cameras are designed to move the filter out of the way at night - letting in more light.
  18. Birdman Adam

    CNB Vbm-24vf Without Smoke Dome Cover

    I never knew that would make such a difference! If I was CNB I'd start working on a vandal-proof clear dome right away... Or at least improve the smoked polycarbonate so viewing from the inside out is not as dimmed!
  19. Birdman Adam

    VOIP

    When the contract runs out you ought to switch! Verizon has been awesome for me! I haven't used any of these VOIP services except for Skype (video-calls), but Clark Howard approves of both Ooma and MagicJack. If you have a good internet connection, all these services will work great. On a recent show, he said pretty much the only problems people have with VOIP services has been call quality (due to crappy connection).
  20. My all-time favorite has to be trollface/coolface... Describes me pretty well. You know what, I need to find a shirt with trollface on it...
  21. Birdman Adam

    Avtech KPD674za constant buzzer

    So...Does the DVR still work normally? Its probably buzzing because of multiple signal losses - you know, the blue-screen you get when no camera is attached? If I was you I'd open it up and de-solder the buzzer from the main PCB. Is it really necessary anyways? Maybe take it further and wire in an LED with appropriate resistor... Then maybe solder it to a battery and throw to the neighbors' dogs to bark at.
  22. I didn't make it BTW - its a product of anonymous i suppose. Oh, heres another I saved from a while ago...
  23. Birdman Adam

    Is 16/2 ok for power to cameras?

    Could be a bit harder to run, but other than that its better in every way!
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