Cameras4K2

I should clarify that we don't need an everything-in-the-box sort of system. If we need to buy the cameras from one place, buy the cable somewhere else, then figure out how to marry them to a monitor, that's fine. I also don't care if we end up using really unconventional components, just as long as they do the job. For instance, one of the solutions I was thinking to try (because it would be relatively inexpensive) is to get a pair of old camcorders off Ebay, then run long RCA lines from each camcorder to the input jacks for an old VCR that we still have, and use that VCR as the base station to provide signal to an old TV. Given that we already have the TV and VCR, and camcorders are apparently extremely plentiful and cheap on Ebay, the primary cost there would be the several hundred feet of cable. The parts I haven't figured out yet for that setup would be: 1. which camcorders offered live feed to the VCR, versus a camcorder which could only send recorded information 2. how to split the signal so that any given TV would show both camera feeds simultaneously 3. how to tell the cameras when to turn on/turn off their video feeds 4. whether RCA cable at those lengths (roughly 200' from each camera to the VCR) would result in seriously degraded signal (maybe low-loss coax instead???) Bottom line, we can use unconventional setups as long as they provide clear images during daylight conditions, in near-real-time. Our current system shows clear images, but a 3-5 minute lag time or no image at all makes it almost useless for our purposes. Any improvement over that would be welcome. Thanks again.

Good day all. I'm new the forum and I've been reading a number of posts, trying to find someone doing the same thing we're doing. Haven't found one yet, so I figured I'd create a new thread. We have a rural property with a driveway that opens onto a very busy road. Vehicles regularly travel at highway speeds along that stretch of road. Just to make things more interesting, roughly 100' to the west we have the crest of a hill, and 150' to the east the road curves sharply. Given those two visual barriers, we can't see traffic coming from either direction when we pull out of our driveway. So about a year ago we put up two wireless security cameras to help us see over the hill in the one direction, and around the bend in the other direction. Unfortunately, our existing system has problems. The two cameras are both wireless, and they are both about 200' away from the base station. Reception is sometimes a problem. Additionally, being in a rural area, our internet connection speed is sometimes slow and sometimes non-existent. When everything works the way it should, we have a few seconds' lag time on the cameras, which we can work with. When everything is not working the way it should, we have several minutes' worth of lag time or no image at all. The latter scenario is more and more common. So now I'm searching for a different solution. I want two cameras which can be focused as far down the road as possible (500' would be wonderful). I don't need wide angle and I don't need to change the focus once we get it set. We don't care if it's wired or wireless, as long as we can get a clean signal back to a monitor. We also don't need it to be battery powered but that would be nice. If we have to run power out to each camera, so be it. The monitor itself either needs to be all-weather and be installed alongside the driver's window at the foot of the driveway, or possibly sent to some kind of display monitor in our trucks. I would rather avoid reliance upon Internet connections since our connection speed out here is so poor. We do NOT need motion detection, recording, alerts or any of the other bells and whistles that typically come with home security systems. We don't even need night vision, since we have convex mirrors which pick up headlights from a nice distance away (they don't work nearly as well in daylight). We just want 2 cameras to show us if the road is clear in each direction before pulling out. Any suggestions on camera setup and/or systems which would work for us? Thanks in advance.