Tight Budget CCTV: Swann SWADS-100 & Q-See QSPDVR04

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Some of you may remember from my previous thread:

viewtopic.php?f=56&t=29732

 

Just wanted to update you guys on a few things.

I've officially solved the SuperDVR issue and it crashing, I've now got to fix a crashing on the computer in it's entirety.

 

The computer is sitting in the corner of a garage that gets some direct sunlight, so through many layers of concrete, it gets hot, fast.

It will crash about once a day, especially when it's hot.

I've solved this issue temporarily using a small 9" desktop fan blowing directly onto the computer components to keep them cool.

 

Anyway, onto the system.

 

It's working out great so far!

 

For a $60 dollar setup, not bad at all. (Technically $30, since we have two cameras in use, and the free PCI card)

We currently have two SWADS-100 we got for $15 each, we have four.

Only two are installed because we are currently not sure what to do with the other two, and the other side of the house.

We are looking into a few BETTER cameras.

 

In any case, the SWADs have been good for keeping a general knowledge of what goes on outside of the house, as opposed to use for evidence.

 

The primary purposes of this CCTV is to see what's been digging up the roses in our garden (which we are able to say raccoon for sure [before it was just a guess]), and to help scare off the teenagers who have been smoking around our house prior to school (down the street).

Either that, or to use the video as proof that we DO have these teenagers coming up here, and request additional school patrols in our cul-de-sac. That, and I've always thought the concept of CCTVs and remote browsing was really cool..

 

I hope to keep this thread open as a discussion for updates, or whatnot.

Hopefully this is alright.

I feel like I have to share something whenever something 'goes down.

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This morning was a GREAT example.

Starting yesterday morning, after I return from practice at around 7:10AM (I leave at 5), I notice a boy and a girl sitting on our curb on the corner of the house, seems like they are just talking and whatnot, but I know that they were here to do something inappropriate.

Watching the recorded sessions, I see nothing out of the ordinary, they are just talking, and then leave a few minutes before school begins.

Today, they were looking rather suspicious, so as I was dressing & doing some last minute things, kept an eye on the remote browser from my room.

Sure enough, I see them smoking.

Not only that, I see the boy run up our driveway, and what seems to be either stashing or reclaiming something in the bushes [we cut down a tree long ago, and it left a little burrow, cave-like, where a person could pretty much crouch in and be completely concealed minus the opening which is faced towards the camera].

Unfortunately, I was not quick enough to hit Urgent Record, but I do remember it firmly.

It was also out of the range of the motion detection (if windy, it will cause it to record... a lot), so no recording was done.

However, I rewatched the footage when I came home, and the motion detection picked up their movements, at the time where it was obvious they were smoking something.

In addition, I saw a car pull up, and the girl suspiciously walking to it, either speaking to the driver and/or exchanging something.

This worried me the most.

 

This set off the motion detection and it went into recording mode as soon as the car pulled up.

 

I have snapped frames of puffs of smoke originating from their mouths, and the car 'exchange'.

I called the school up, spoke to the dean about this, and requested additional patrols in the neighborhood [literally, 100ft away from the school campus]. They requested pictures, sure; sent it off to them via e-mail.

 

The pictures are not too great, and cannot make out a face at ALL, however, they are excellent for providing proof that this activity goes on, and instead of us just complaining verbally, we can now show proof.

 

I will be putting our CCTV to constant record from 6:30 (sun-up) to 8:00 (school begins) and then motion detection after that to see if I can capture anything else.

Other than that, I briefly looked into the little burrow area, to see nothing that popped out to me.

 

This has served us well so far, not to convince my father to purchase a better camera!