They stole my car seats Help with new system

[wolfmanrules 0]

Sunday I had 2 males get into my 2 cars and steal my radio, mp3 players, 2 car seats and reusable grocery bags. I had my radio stolen last thanksgiving so I bought a cheap $300 500gb DVR with 4 cameras 30ir. I am pretty happy with it but it is grainy on playback. My wife wants my to get a 8ch dvr system. So I can get a better veiw of my front yard and to place one of the cameras on my pool to watch the kids. I also need a camera for my building that is 125 feet away and keep a look out on my driveway. I really don't need to spend more than $500 or 600 so I am looking at getting this dvr.

http://www.amazon.com/Q-See-QSDR008RTC-500-Channel-Real-Time-Security/dp/B002RL8V6A?tag=gpse-20&

 

and add 4 more cameras like these

http://cgi.ebay.com/4-84IR-Sony-CCD-520TVL-High-Resolution-CCTV-Camera-/220604693797?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item335d107d25#ht_2620wt_907

 

 

 

My main questions are can I put together a better system at this price range for a 8ch dvr with 4 camera's. How can I get my playback not to look so grainy?

 

Here is a vid of them robbing me. I just took a vid of my monitor playing the vid back. I have not tok the time to figure out how to download it. I also got a really good pic when it lighting of the car they drove. I have some decent pics of the guy who come close to the camera even though he looks like a ghost on my vid.

 

http://s63.photobucket.com/albums/h141/wolfmanrules/?action=view&current=MOV07642.flv

 

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h141/wolfmanrules/DSC07648.jpg

 

Thanks for the help

[bpzle 0]

Wow... that's pretty horrible footage. Even if I knew those people, I'd be hard pressed to recognize them. If you can't tell who it is, you've wasted your money.

 

No, No, No, to Amazon and Ebay... just because you can get a camera for $40 doesn't mean you should. I understand we all have budgets, but what you're looking at are child's toys. Not at all useful for security. Sorry to be Debbie Downer, but educating customers is a constant battle for professionals.

 

Buy quality first, quantity second.

[wolfmanrules 0]

Yeah the night vision playback is rough. Even though its a cheapy we have enjoyed it. We caught the dog who was getting in our trash and are able to keep an eye on our children.

 

So what would be the best price low end 8ch dvr that is not grainy on playback. Maybe I will start with that first.

 

Thanks for the help!

[rory 0]

Yeah I would work on improving the cameras first ... ofcourse garbage in garbage out so if the DVR sucks then that needs some work too .. but deal with the existing camera placement and quality first and foremost.

 

Also, the image looks much lighter then the movie .. do you have the original video from the DVR? Seems like the guy that robbed the car close to the camera showed a good enough shot of his face.

[wolfmanrules 0]

The photo is where I stopped the footage we were having a storm so when the lighting struck it lit up the whole screen so I had a good shot of the car.

 

Here a photo of the guy. I took a picture of it off my monitor. I need to take the time to figure out how to download the video to my computer.

 

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h141/wolfmanrules/DSC07658.jpg

 

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h141/wolfmanrules/DSC07650.jpg

 

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h141/wolfmanrules/DSC07659.jpg

Is there curtain brand name dvr's and camera's I should stay with?

[cglaeser 0]

Sunday I had 2 males get into my 2 cars and steal my ...

 

Yes, I can recommend some improvements. During the theft, where were you? Sleeping in your house?

 

Best,

Christopher

[wolfmanrules 0]

yes I was sleeping. Thats what I am doing every night at 3-4 am in the mourning.

[cglaeser 0]

yes I was sleeping. Thats what I am doing every night at 3-4 am in the mourning.

 

OK, perfect.

 

When a homeowner's car is burglarized, they often install cctv camera systems with the intent to ID the burglars. That's really hard to do with cameras alone, particularly at night. When they notice their car has been burglarized, they review the cctv tapes, only to discover they can barely tell if the person is male or female.

 

A much better solution is to install cameras in combination with PIR motion detectors that set off an audible alarm next to your bed. Then, when the alarm goes off at 2:30 in the morning, you can wake up, check the cctv camera monitor, and call the police.

 

Optex makes a good selection of wireless PIR detectors that work with virtually any alarm system. They also have a model that works standalone. One well-place Optex PIR can easily cover your driveway and notify you when someone is in your driveway at night.

 

FWIW, I have bagged four arrests in the past six months using a combination of cameras and motion sensors. FWIW.

 

Best,

Christopher

[DKtucson 0]

With either a DVR appliance or a PC /software based system do the following:

Make sure the system has Email notification at the least.

I'm hoping you have a cellphone with a major carrier?

If so format your TO: send email notify in the software to your 10 digit phone number @ your carrier.com

This will send a text message to your LOUDLY RINGING phone on your nightstand

 

Alltel

[10-digit phone number]@message.alltel.com

Example: 1234567890@message.alltel.com

AT&T (formerly Cingular)

[10-digit phone number]@txt.att.net

[10-digit phone number]@mms.att.net (MMS)

[10-digit phone number]@cingularme.com

Example: 1234567890@txt.att.net

 

Nextel (now Sprint Nextel)

[10-digit telephone number]@messaging.nextel.com

Example: 1234567890@messaging.nextel.com

 

Sprint PCS (now Sprint Nextel)

[10-digit phone number]@messaging.sprintpcs.com

[10-digit phone number]@pm.sprint.com (MMS)

Example: 1234567890@messaging.sprintpcs.com

 

T-Mobile

[10-digit phone number]@tmomail.net

Example: 1234567890@tmomail.net

 

US Cellular

[10-digit phone number]email.uscc.net (SMS)

[10-digit phone number]@mms.uscc.net (MMS)

Example: 1234567890@email.uscc.net

 

Verizon

[10-digit phone number]@vtext.com

[10-digit phone number]@vzwpix.com (MMS)

Example: 1234567890@vtext.com

 

Virgin Mobile USA

[10-digit phone number]@vmobl.com

Example: 1234567890@vmobl.com

[Sawbones 0]

cglaeser speaks the truth on this one.

 

 

Cameras systems are good. Believe me... I'm a big fan... but quality night images are very tough to come by with limited expertise, and consumer-grade hardware. Unless you get lucky, you're not going to see very much... and you have to carefully select cameras based on available lighting, and so forth.

 

Catching somebody moving around at night is what separates the men from the boys in the camera world.

 

The wireless alarm idea has real merit; I'm using it myself. Even though I have a serious alarm on my home, it only covers the building perimeter (windows, doors, etc), so I still use separate sensors outside the house to catch anybody screwing around.

 

More specifically, this system:

 

http://www.voicealert.com/

 

 

 

Their PIRs are not the greatest... but they have motion sensors, driveway sensors, and you can hack their transmitters into serving as remote alarm sensors for other applications:

 

Here is a gate I alarmed:

 

 

 

They even have motion sensors you can place on an object (or inside the pocket of a car door):

 

 

Lots of options... be creative!

 

And catch the bastards.

[Seymore 0]

The first thing I would do is install a motion detection flood light. Combined with an audable alarm, signs alerting of the ownership of firearms and so forth I don't see how anyone would elect not to flee.

[kensplace 0]

Was the car itself not alarmed?

[rory 0]

Motion lighting as mentioned. I wouldnt use outdoor motion sensors for the alarm though, too much chance of false alarms (monitoring companies will cut you off quick), go beams if anything, check optex for those.

 

Well you could use outdoor motions, but just be forwarned, they tend to false alot more then beams do, also depends on where they are installed.

 

And Voice Alert which sawbones posted, looks like a good alternative to tying it into your main alarm.

[wolfmanrules 0]

Thanks for the ideas. The cars do not have alarms and they were not locked but they usually are. I already have plans on getting a flood light with a motion detection and have already got with someone about it last Monday.

 

As for ebay and amazon selling junk what are some good brand names that will get the job done and on the low end in price for respectable equipment. I am assuming that Q-see, lorex and no name brands I should stay away from.

[cglaeser 0]

Motion lighting as mentioned. I wouldnt use outdoor motion sensors for the alarm though, too much chance of false alarms (monitoring companies will cut you off quick), go beams if anything, check optex for those.

Right, I wouldn't add the outdoor motion sensors to the monitored home alarm. I have two alarm systems, one that is monitored for the house, and one for all the outdoor sensors (motion, side gates, and mail box). The alarm for the outdoors has voice commands, and lets me know which zone is faulted at 2 am so I can get up and check the video monitor.

 

Well you could use outdoor motions, but just be forwarned, they tend to false alot more then beams do, also depends on where they are installed.

The Optex PIRs are excellent. The Crow DareDevils are reportedly very good too.

 

And Voice Alert which sawbones posted, looks like a good alternative to tying it into your main alarm.

I used a Honeywell LYNXR for the second alarm.

 

Best,

Christopher

[rory 0]

CNB, KT&C, brands like that ... have some decent products for the normal applications.

But the most important thing is picking a camera that will work in the lighting you have .. or add lighting as needed. Flood lights will at least help but also watch they dont produce too much glare to see the persons face. If your concern is nighttime more then day time, then dont get the cheaper cameras .. get the more expensive ones from those brands which tend to handle light and glare better. if you are working on a tight budget then you could forget Panasonic and IP cameras .. CNB has some IR bullets that have what they call Intelligent IR .. just another marketing thing but they do claim to work a little better then the old ones (though personally I havent used it yet). They also have an inexpensive vandal true day night dome .. no IR but you could add IR separate if needed, it is also a low light camera though, the monalisa version. if you want to get a better shot of the crooks then would need at least 2 cameras, if not using Megapixel, one zoomed in more to the road, the other closer. Also make sure its recording at the least 640x480 not CIF and on the lowest compression (eg. larger file size, not fastest video), and make sure the camera you pick has at least 811x508 pixels (if its 420TVL then it wont be).

 

 

if you are on a REALLY tight budget like me, just get a couple BW bullets, exview if you can find it, 420TVL sees in even less light but if you are adding light or IR then can get the 600TVL for better clarity, no color in the day but they work in low light and are cheap. Or get 1 BW and 1 Color .. either way thats for the low budget. You could even find a cheap used or even bad IR camera and only use the IR part of it, thats what I did as I got 2 old IR cameras for free and just used their IR LOL.

[rory 0]

I used a Honeywell LYNXR for the second alarm.

No offense intended but the Lynx is a piece of garbage, we installed them for a while when they first came out but over the years switched them out for better systems. Especially the first lot without a rechargable battery, but even with all the problems we had with the second generation, never installed them again. An alternative to that and much better as well as less expensive is the Powermax from Visonic. If I had a choice I would never use Ademco (cough Honeywell) again but thats all they use down here, and the regular systems do work well .. but their downloader software (16 bit) just makes me sad to know such a large company like that cant develop something for this century.

[cglaeser 0]

No offense intended but

 

No offense taken.

 

the Lynx is a piece of garbage, we installed them for a while when they first came out but over the years switched them out for better systems. Especially the first lot without a rechargable battery, but even with all the problems we had with the second generation, never installed them again. An alternative to that and much better as well as less expensive is the Powermax from Visonic.

 

My first system was the Powermax Visonic, and I replaced it with the Lynx. The reason I replaced the Powermax was because the chime would not tell me which zone was faulted. Although the Lynx has a limited vocabulary, the vocab was sufficient for my purposes. So, I know before I get out of bed which zone is faulted (e.g. front yard, front door, garage, side gate, mailbox, etc). In addition, I have several wireless remotes around the house, so I can hear the zone fault announcement anywhere in the house.

 

That said, the most important feature is to know that an outdoor sensor has faulted in the middle of the night so that you can monitor the video cameras for further action. Virtually any of the security systems will support this, including the Powermax and others.

 

Best,

Christopher

[rory 0]

My first system was the Powermax Visonic, and I replaced it with the Lynx. The reason I replaced the Powermax was because the chime would not tell me which zone was faulted. Although the Lynx has a limited vocabulary, the vocab was sufficient for my purposes. So, I know before I get out of bed which zone is faulted (e.g. front yard, front door, garage, side gate, mailbox, etc). In addition, I have several wireless remotes around the house, so I can hear the zone fault announcement anywhere in the house.

 

That said, the most important feature is to know that an outdoor sensor has faulted in the middle of the night so that you can monitor the video cameras for further action. Virtually any of the security systems will support this, including the Powermax and others.

 

Best,

Christopher

 

understood ..

[wolfmanrules 0]

Well my wife would like to have more camera's so I think I am going to start with the DVR. From everything I read says stay away from no name stuff like this. Even though it looks good to me.

http://cgi.ebay.com/16CH-Full-D1-720x480-Res-480fps-DVR-Standalone-DVR-/360263569455?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53e161d02f

 

What do you think of Dedicated Micros?

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/DEDICATED-MICROS-DIGITAL-SPRITE-2-DS2-DX09C-320GB-/190398860296?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c54a80c08

 

or GeoVision

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Geo-Vision-DVR-Unit-POS-Capable-LOW-PRICE-/150446268537?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item23074be079

 

I have been searching for 8 or 16 channel systems mostly used ones on ebay. It looks like I will be spending more than I planned but I will take some time a buy it piece by piece.

 

How long does DVR's last?

 

Thanks again for the help!

[wolfmanrules 0]

Here is the layout of my house. I added number 1-8 just for an idea where to place my camera's.

 

1. Maybe another angle of my driveway

 

2. Maybe a view of the road

 

3. To view my front door

 

4. Best view of my driveway (No light yet but plan on adding a floodlight with motion detector)

 

5. To view my building. It is 135ft away ( I have 2 floodlights on the back of my house when they are on you can clearly see the building)

 

6&7. Both or maybe just one to view the pool to watch our children.

 

8. To view our 2 back doors. The doors are between 6 and 7 also between 7 and 8.

 

This is just my first outline.

Thank you for any help.

[cglaeser 0]

That yard is perfect for a photobeam fence. It would be easy to build an early warning system to alert you if anyone came into your yard. I would reduce the number of cameras and allocate the money to Optex photobeam fencing and a couple Optex or Crow PIRs.

 

Best,

Christopher

[renedarling 0]

Sad to know about the robbery, however, we cannot avoid such things as it will keep on happening with increasing anti social elements found in our society. Well the best bet for you to find out the right option for your car is to try out a couple over the sites like Ebay. There you can find some of the best options, which can suit your budget and choice as well. All you need to do is to simply visit site and type the relevant keywords to embark with the right options. In fact, I often do this exercise and end up finding good options out there.

I guess buying a new car seat is always a better option than using a used one.

If you look on http://www.carseatvs.com/find

 

I think

Safety 1st Alpha Omega Elite

http://safety1st.djgusa.com/en/djgusa/safety1st/convertible-car-seats/alpha-omega-eliter-trade%3B-

 

convertible-car-seat-na

Safety 1st Alpha Elite 65

http://safety1st.djgusa.com/en/djgusa/safety1st/convertible-car-seats/alpha-elite-trade%3B-65-

 

convertible-car-seat---callie-cc081bnw

[cglaeser 0]

Are you trying to spam a four year old thread?

[DKtucson 0]

most likely a bot spamming any forum with "car seats" in the mention