Help with CCTV setup in MD while deployed in Afghanistan!

[brwjunior 0]

Hello from Maryland (Well Kandahar, Afghanistan),

 

I come to you all today in hopes of some direction!

 

Last week officially made the 4th time my property was broken into. I live in a somewhat secluded area of Maryland which unfortunately allows the neighbors and teenagers that live there to know my schedule very well. I’m deployed in Afghanistan and my Girl is back home holding down the fort

 

The first time my property was broken into was several years ago after I purchased it. There were no motion lights, street lights, or alarm systems. The kid (I will explain later) tried to kick in the front door while I was on vacation. Fortunately the closest neighbor’s dog had a “Lassie” moment and woke them up to let him out. Great dog – actually stood by their bed an “pawed” the owners arm! They let him out and he ran the kid off. It was too dark to see anyone or anything.

 

So I’m sure I did what most people do and call ADT immediately. Somehow I got set up with “ADT Custom Home Services” and it ended up costing me $2000 to outfit a 1000 sq ft home. I got three doors, one window, a cell back up, one motion detector, one key fob, and 2 wands. The package comes with a lifetime warranty on parts, batteries, maintenance, etc., with a $32 dollar a month monitoring fee. (This sound right to everyone?)

 

The second time was about 12 months later. I was remodeling the house and had the old heating and AC system taken out. It was during the summer and I have been leaving a window open on the back of the of the house that is about 10 feet off the ground to help with airflow. The local electrical company came through a week before and trimmed the tree branches near the power lines. I had a huge dead tree directly under the power lines that they were actually kind enough to cut down and take away everything but the larger base pieces that they cut up. I was at work when I received a call that the motion detector in my living room had been tripped and should they send the police. I said hell yeah and went directly home. The police walked me around back to show me where the kid had rolled parts of the tree stumps over to the window to climb in. They were able to pull good prints off the window sill but nothing hit in the data base.

 

The third time was about 11 months later where the one day my girl left her car door open the kid got in and took all the CD’s, GPS, XM radio setup, and a few other items. She just got most of this for Xmas and was very sad. I felt bad because I got on her about not leaving anything unlocked when we first started dating and it was her fault for doing so. She is from a small town in Ohio where locking doors is unheard of.

 

And now this brings us to present day. I’m having more work done on the property and my girl had to run up to Home Depot to get some supplies. During this short trip the kid managed to take a portion of the deck railing that was being built and used it to climb in through another window that she thought was locked on the back side of the house. I had another motion sensor installed in the kitchen before I deployed to add another layer of protection. Well it worked but they knew the response time is about 20 minutes from the last break in and made off with all her jewelry.

I have had it – This kid is 16 and a sociopath. He was caught stealing the neighbors mail with a very cheap CCTV set up from Costco mounted right on the mailbox! Here’s the kicker, he lives behind my property which is only accessed by an easement that goes right through my front yard – there is soooo much more to this story and the issues him and his family have had in the community that it would be pages long to explain – so I’m going to save my sanity an your time and get straight to the point, I need a CCTV setup!

 

My budget is about $1500-$2000 and I can install it

 

My Thoughts - I would like to monitor 6 inside rooms that cover all the windows in those rooms (2 bedrooms, Kitchen, Living Room, Basement, and Garage) The house itself is a rectangle so I would assume the outside would only need 4 cameras to cover each side. The two back sides of the house are the least exposed and the reason it’s the best place to break in at. I would eventually want a camera to cover the easement/driveway and the back porch so expandability is a must. Is 10 cameras overkill or could I use less with mindful placement? Or am I just freaking out and in “Lock Down” mode?

 

I’m thinking I would need:

 

6 inside cameras - Digital or Analog?

4 outside cameras - Digital or Analog?

DVR or NVR

Software

Power Supplies

Wiring: Rg59 or IP based System (No run will be over 100’)

 

I’m not making movies but want to see faces. I don’t need tons of hard drive space but do want at least 30-60 days of “event” recording. I would like something that can send me snaps of events in case the local system in compromised. I’m in Kandahar, Afghanistan so real time monitoring over here is not going to happen – band width sucks! However bandwidth at the house rocks! I know zero about this stuff but do know from this forum to stay away from the bundled Costco, Best Buy, etc., packages if I can. (I understand they can do the job but visual quality is compromised with these systems?)

 

Please point me in the right direction and the most suitable hardware solution that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg! Does it seem I am on the right path thus far?

 

I’m sure there is a lot more to this and the questions I need to ask but I just want to get on track since I’m in Afghanistan and my girl is terrified to leave the house now.

 

Thanks in advance to all that reply

[Soundy 1]

Ever think about just getting a big hungry dog?

 

You can put together a pretty good 8-camera analog setup for your budget, but you'll have to consider your placements carefully. You can do at least some megapixel if you can expand your budget to about $3000.

[brwjunior 0]

Ever think about just getting a big hungry dog?

 

You can put together a pretty good 8-camera analog setup for your budget, but you'll have to consider your placements carefully. You can do at least some megapixel if you can expand your budget to about $3000.

 

Trust me, 2 German Shepards have been on my mind for some time now!

 

In a nut shell for "Harry Home Owner" is Analog the best resolution for the lower price points on equipment?

[jxk716 0]

Please point me in the right direction and the most suitable hardware solution that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg!

 

Seems like it is time to get a reliable system and do it right the first time. Many of us here have had a great experience with Sean from Nelly's Surplus from this forum (including myself). He offers 3 big categories: Quality, Price and Customer Service. Maybe think about starting with his 8 Channel EYEsure Proline ($439 with 1 TB) and 4 CNB VCM 24VFs ($660) or more as budget allows. start with outdoor placement and work in as budget allows. IP/MP will cost more and Sean offers these options as well. I have the CNB and have little complaints; they are good in low light but I have 65W floods (motion) to help in darker areas. I live in somewhat of a drug zone and have turned footage over to the police (it was enough to make the arrest but the case is still in court awaiting an outcome).

 

I ran Cat5 and RG-59 (only because that is all I had laying around) which gives you plenty of flexibility down the line including IP. In fact, at work, we just completed a 16 channel upgrade from analog to IP and I am thankful we had the wire guys run Cat5 along with the 59 Siamese- they looked at me like I was crazy when I wanted both! Now we have a hybrid system from 3xLogic and everything is in place. Truthfully Cat5 is all you need.

 

For Cat5 you will need Baluns (anywhere between $5-$15/pair). Sean will have power supplies - not expensive along with basically everything you need including solid support/installation advice and videos.

[brwjunior 0]

I did some work in Scranton for the National Guard there and stayed at the Radisson Lackawanna Station. I really fell in love with that town and its setting! They held a food drive at the National Gard building while I was there if remember correctly - I never did find Dunder Mifflin though.....

 

I am an IT guy by trade and have tons of ethernet cable around to use if that's a better option than coax - sounds like it. However I guess PoE doesnt apply in this setup if I'm using the Baluns correct? I am assuming a seperate set of wires for the Video and Power?

[jxk716 0]

I did some work in Scranton for the National Guard there and stayed at the Radisson Lackawanna Station. I really fell in love with that town and its setting! They held a food drive at the National Gard building while I was there if remember correctly - I never did find Dunder Mifflin though.....

 

How about it, Small world! Before our offices moved my window used to overlook the brick bell tower building from the opening credits of the show, I used to have a picture but can't find it. The tower is still standing and at the corner of Vine and Penn - Ironically it houses PA Paper and Supply - the company we get all of our paper supply from - go figure! My old building was 1 block away at Wyoming and Olive. Nasty little neighborhood with a soup kitchen half a block away from a beer store!

 

Yep, separate wires for Vid/Pwr. The baluns use 1 pair and I usually use 2 pair for power and keep the 4th for spare. If you have the cable laying around use it because it will be one less thing to purchase! I don't think analog cams use PoE but, let me say, when we converted to IP it is a nice feature.

[brwjunior 0]

Yep, separate wires for Vid/Pwr. The baluns use 1 pair and I usually use 2 pair for power and keep the 4th for spare. If you have the cable laying around use it because it will be one less thing to purchase! I don't think analog cams use PoE but, let me say, when we converted to IP it is a nice feature.

 

OK so I can use one Ethernet cable for power and video? I was under the assumption I needed 2 separate wires/runs

[jxk716 0]

I believe that is why you need the baluns to help balance the vid signal. So, in theory, you can have 4 cameras on one Cat5 as long as they have power from another wire/source but that would defeat the prospect of IP down the line. In your case, since you have plenty, wire each cam with its own Cat5; there will be no issues running the power along with the vid.

 

Here is a thread on baluns - although there are far better threads on this forum about the topic. http://www.cctvforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=30355

 

And this: http://www.cctvforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=30651&p=192009#p192009

 

Also, here is a link to a really good balun guide from MuxLab - its a PDF so might take a while with your connection.

 

http://www.muxlab.com/assets/files/application_guides/VE_CCTV_Balun.pdf

[brwjunior 0]

Thanks Jason!

 

I called Sean @ Nelly's and since I'm a network guy by trade and IP Based system with a POE switch and NVR is a no brainier!

 

Looks like an 8 IP camera system could come a little over 2K and I love the fact the only thing I need to terminate the runs are RJ-45's!

 

Thanks again - I will post what I went with later

[jxk716 0]

We just began migrating over to ip and the picture is noticably better; PoE made the job all the more easier. Definitely send some camera shots when its installed.

 

Here are some Before and After shots...before is the CNB VBM 24VF and the new 3xLogic VSX 2MP VD

[Soundy 1]

^That's amazing - with the analog camera, the minivans aren't even visible. The extra detail with the megapixel really makes a difference!

[nDAlk90 0]

 

^That's amazing - with the analog camera, the minivans aren't even visible. The extra detail with the megapixel really makes a difference!

[jxk716 0]

Okay, okay - here are more comparable shots!

[Ben Miller 0]

It's pretty cool to see the quality difference in those comparison shots. Thanks for posting those. Do you mind if I use them in a blog some time to show the difference in quality between CCTV and IP Cameras?

[jxk716 0]

It's pretty cool to see the quality difference in those comparison shots. Thanks for posting those. Do you mind if I use them in a blog some time to show the difference in quality between CCTV and IP Cameras?

 

Not at all...feel free

[Ben Miller 0]

Thanks

[dingforums 0]

Wow. what a big difference! Can I find cctv in hardware wholesale? I want to buy and install this on the top of the wall in our balcony. Someone sent this site http://www.thegreenbook.com/products/hardware-wholesalers/. Having a hard time in searching the products in their site. Where did you buy yours? Can you please recommend the one that you've tried before that has good quality pictures? Big thanks!