nickCR

Hello Guys, Just wondering if breif condensation on the lens of a camera is 'normal' when tempratures, pressures change like as it starts raining etc. See the attached image. Usually it only lasts for a few minutes and goes away. Thanks in advance, Nick

Looking for some guidence on a cctv setup for my friends house on the beach. Requirements: Must be accessible via the internet (connection permitting) but also be able to record video locally so that if the internet isn't working it can still record and watched later. Bonus Options: A system that can have a master and slave setups. So the security for the community could also monitor selected cameras. Budget: 5-15K About the house: It's 2 stories and the overhang is 1 meter and all the way around the house. Notes: Although this is one house there are several neighbors in the area that would like to know what kind of system is worth putting up. Looking to provide 2 or 3 configurations at different price points. The community has seen a lot of break-ins. I'll have to open up another thread in future to discuss options for cctv within the massive community. What I was thinking: If he goes with a VMS like Exacq I think that supports the ability to have a slave / master setup. Outdoor cameras really need to have good nightvision as it can be pitch black with no moon. If we have to add additional IR lights we can do that np. Not big on the idea of Thermal Cameras due to cost but I know they could provide additional visibility towards the beach that we simply won't get with day/night cams. AXIS has one for about $3.5K The options I had more or less come up with were: For a $5-7K option I wanted to suggest something like the Hikvision NVR + Cameras. For a $7-10K option I wanted to suggest something like a NAS with Sharx Cameras (SCNC3905) For a $12-15K option I wanted to suggest an i3/i5 server with exacqvision and nice day/night cameras Looking forward to your suggestions! Thanks in advance!

Thanks for your suggestion. I looked into Matrix and it definitely looks like it will fit. Nice to see something else on the market that has that capability. So for the NVR it seems like Matrix or ExacqVision would be good options. It's sorta overwhelming with so many cameras on the market tho. Hard to know which ones to choose. Everyone wants the best value. But night vision in almost no light is really important.

Hello All, So we got robbed a couple weeks ago, and I had a Foscam PT IP cam, that caught the thief in one position. The image isn't very good but we got a couple clues from the video. I did add another foscam ip hd cam. Anyway I was thinking about how I can secure the perimeter and I'm going to try out the Ubiquiti door sensors and a motion sensor outside. I also got a wireless ubiquiti wall switch for the outside lights. So the plan is to program in mFi to detect the outside motion sensor and turn on the lights outside. Then if both the outside motion sensor and a door sensor are set off it will notify the security and possibly sound an alarm and flash a wifi bulb in the master bedroom red or something. Is there anything else I can do or maybe some of you have played around with mFI before and can provide some pointers? Thanks in advance!

That's why I got the mFi sensors (doors and motion), and a wireless switch. I will program mFi to turn on the lights outside which are very bright when it detects motion. That should deter them but if it doesn't as soon as they break the seal on the doors it will sound and alarm and call security. I think that should deter them, but was wondering if there is anything else that we could do... We have the cameras, and they do help as I hear that they may have located the suspect that we captured with the foscam.

Burglary. Yeah same, I've used their .2. stuff which works great. It's nice that they have an entire suite of hardware/software that provides smart home capabilities at an affordable price.

I have a site (3 floor house) that I have been trying to optimize the wireless signal in. I used a E4200 for my testing as it has much better signal than the WRT160N that they had installed. We found that the best place for the router is practically dead center of the house. This provides great wireless coverage everywhere except in 3 rooms on the first floor in the back. Those 3 rooms get really poor if any coverage. Granted the house is made from concrete cinder block. So I see 2 viable options: 1. Get a Asus N66U router. The bad signal mentioned was on my iPhone, pretty sure a Laptop will get better signal in those rooms. 2. Add a repeater. From what I understand bigger antennas won't really help as the devices won't have enough power to send back to the base. Also what should one do about humidity? The router would be in an open air hallway, but completely covered.

So I might even see an improvement by buying some higher gain antennas. Looks like the N66U comes with 2dbi gain and there are a couple different ones on the market for about $10 which provide 3-5dbi. Might be a good option for me to look at in this case, because the improvement needed is minimal.

That could potentially work, this place is on the beach though so they get very hot (40 degrees Celsius) and they get very humid (100%) when it rains. Problem is inside or outside since the home is designed for free air flow. Gonna need to think that one over a bit, any suggestions would be great thanks. Also I don't understand, why changing the antennas is a good idea? From what I've read, changing the antennas will boost the signal going out from the router, but devices such as iPhone's, Laptops won't have nearly enough strength to send the signal back. How do benefit from better antennas?

So I bought the Asus N66U anyway, the signal on that is incredible and QoS is very efficient so it should help people talking on Skype to ensure they get priority. If it still gives use problems in areas, we'll just add a repeater near the back of the home. I left out that this home functions as B&B part of the year so we are weary about people being able to touch the unit. That's why we got something that should work for the space. Also since I only need to add one extra router (if required) then I can use the roaming SSID method (same SSID / Password), different channels. I like this the best as guest don't need to reconnect as they move from the room to the pool. What about humidity? How would you guys deal with that?

Hello All, We are looking for some camera suggestions with superb night visibility. We need to see between 30 to 50 meters if that is possible. Look forward to your responses, thanks in advance! Nick

You guys high-jacked my thread! Lets get back on topic. I see the Sony and the quality it produces. Definitely a quality night time camera. The other ones seem decent, someone was going to post a blog review. Any chance on an ETA?

Thanks guys for all the replies! That Sony looks amazing. Really great quality. Our provider locally charges way to much so we need to import the cameras into Costa Rica which will cost some $, but also makes the waranties a little difficult to deal with. That's why I'm doing as much re-search as possible. Would really like to see that review of those two cameras. I think the night shots seems decent. The problem we have is that where the cameras are it's literally pitch black. Anyway looking forward to your continued responses and suggestions!

Hello All, Haven't had any problems with our system for quite some time however we have always had a bit of a problem with a "HALO" on the cameras in dark areas. I suppose this is from the IR LEDS reflecting against the glass, but seems rather strange to see this problem. The HD cams have better leds, but they have much better lighting in the area so the IR is barely used. The provider we got these from says (he recommended them) says that this is perfectly normal. Attached are the images. Any suggestions.

Found that camera on Amazon for $595. Does that seem right? Also not sure what you mean about the 100' quartz light.

I can see the ring on your camera. Also that camera does have quite a few differences at least in functionality with this IP7330 model. Specifically how the IR lights work. Anyway it doesn't really matter since the problem is related to the foam insert. We have a call into our provider to look at that.

Great suggestion thanks! But to just clarify this isn't normal behavior for these cameras correct?

Thanks! After seeing it only happen to this camera over and over we requested it to be serviced by the provider. I also used the comments here to support our case as he tried to tell us it was completely normal and he didn't know why the other cameras didn't do it ( 7 of the exact same one ). Anyway thanks for your resposes

Hey guys, unfortunately it really seems like the problem is related to humidity and no it's not a dome camera it's a Vivotek IP7330. Either the lens is fogging up inside or outside. Not sure which.

Honestly I suspect that it's on the outside due to how fast it fogs up and goes away. If it was on the inside we would see the condensation stay a lot longer. Our provider said it was normal behaviour when the climate changes. Also we live in Costa Rica so humidity is always high.

Hello All, I live in a fairly large residential complex in Costa Rica (consists of 121 homes). We are trying to get a CCTV camera system setup in the complex to monitor/record video from the outside perimeter, the two club houses / pools, entrance, exit and the treatment plant / electric plant. For starters I have attached a jpg of the complex. Each location where we want a camera is marked with a red triangle. So far we have received two quotes. Provider "A" wants to use a Linux based NVR (network video recorder) and External WiFi IP cameras and a PTZ Dome with space for 32 cameras. (he didn't provide brand names at all nor details about the cameras) Provider "B" wants to use a Win XP based GeoVision analog system with a 16 port card, Wired Cameras and Wired PTZ Dome. (all the cameras he quoted are Sony and the dome has some serious zoom - which it must since it needs to cover a 200 meter stretch) Provider "B" cameras are: 7 x http://www.interventas.net/especificaciones.php?In=&id=1328 1 x http://www.interventas.net/especificaciones.php?In=&id=395 Both prices are similar, "Provider B" will charge more for installation since it's a wired system (not included in quote). My main concerns are that WiFi cameras can be easily intercepted or disrupted since the signal is wireless. The main problem is that the camera positions are mostly 130 - 220 meters long from the point that we are thinking to install. Also note that some residents have requested that a specific channel be available to see the cameras via the TV cable system (i'm not sure if this is possible on both system) One more feature that we must have is the ability to put a monitor in the guard house at the main entrance where the security company can see 'some' of the cameras. I do NOT want them to see all of them only specific ones. This is to avoid them drooling over woman swimming in the pools, etc. Provider A - Pros The NVR is nice since it runs on linux so it should be less problematic and require less maintenance (capable of 32 ip cams) The IP Cameras are nice since you just need to add more The WiFi system eliminates the need for wiring the cameras individually Computer parts can be easily changed. Provider A - Cons I don't know if the WiFi Cameras are reliable I don't know if the security via WiFi is an issue I don't know what brand of WiFi cams he's providing Provider B - Pros All sony cameras (i've been told they are among the best) Wired system makes security almost a non-issue Computer parts can be easily changed. Provider B - Cons Limited to 16 ports Wired system requires very long wiring runs inside exterior tubing Thanks in advance for any help / suggestions you can provide. It will greatly help me decide which direction to go. Regards, Nick

Yeah man pretty impressive to see some many people make it out to help put the city back in shape and the police are doing a pretty good job of rounding up the culprits. An article I saw said there was a professional photographer on-site taking extremely hi-res images of the crowd and events and he has provided all of the pictures as evidence. lol at 12 mp can you imagine the quality that you would see lol. I just noticed this thread has almost 5,000 views, cool Anyway we're very happy with the system, the Ubiquiti stuff has been rock solid. We have only had one location (internal) fail due to PoE injector being burnt out from humidity. I guess they didn't seal the box right. If it happens again I'll request another solution!

Took a quick read over this thread. IMHO although upgrading and installing some nice cameras with a central DVR is a nice plan and functional I wonder if maybe this might be a perfect scenario for a Mobotix camera. It records everything to an on-board SD card. You could essentially place these cameras anywhere. I would hide them in the grass in that round-about in the front of your house, in the trees or in the mailbox, between the slates on the fence in the backyard... dunno somewhere you can capture the donkeys doing the crime but so they don't see it.. They offer PoE but at 4W you could setup a battery pack or just run the wire if it's not a problem for ya. With these cameras all you need to do is pull out the SD pop it in your computer check for evidence, then send to the police... let them make the arrest

Thanks man you helped a lot! Also that image isn't full size because I couldn't upload a file bigger than 150 kb. I'm very happy with ExacqVision their software is very professional and complete. Only thing I wish is that I could setup software motion detection, which would alert the guards via audible or messages. I know we can do this with external alarms but that requires additional equipment. You're being sarcastic about the stop obviously but alto is stop in spanish. Remember i'm down in Costa Rica. BTW very disappointed in the cannots ( canucks ) ...

True it was over a year ago! I should update you guys as it actually took forever to get the system installed (mainly a funding issue). We finally got the system installed and running ( final install of the server was 2 days ago ) There are a total of 10 vivotek cameras (3x - IP8332, 7x - IP7330) The server runs Windows 7 Pro and has 5TB of space ( about 30 days ) Wireless is all Ubiquiti (2x Nanostation M5, 7x Nanostation Loco M5) I've included a capture from the main blvd in the complex. Thanks again to everyone for their help. We certainly ended up with a system that serves our needs! Nick