UPS packages stolen - Newbie seeking entrance door camera. .

[Hip2u77 0]

Hi,

 

I think my UPS guy stole a couple packages that were delivered last week so in case it happens again I need a camera to record my front entry.

 

I've been reading the forums for a few days now, but it seems like every time I figure out a camera I read another few posts that point me in another direction. I was just going to go to Costco and buy that 2 pack of Q-See IP cameras but I'm still unsure if that's the right thing to do. I have tools / ends for running Cat 5/6 but nothing for cable / BNC.

 

Here's some pictures of what I need to cover. The house faces west and I was thinking of putting the camera on the south wall (B) by the door, facing north towards the garage. I will be running the wires to the room with the window a/c unit in it. (I figure "A" is facing two lights and will be only getting them if they turn around on the porch.)

 

I'm more interested in daytime video but would like the night vision to at least be good enough to see if someone is stealing packages. I can change out the porch light to anything that would work better. The yard light is an old gas light that's been converted to 12v and has two LED bulbs in it now. We have dogs so I'm not concerned about inside security.

 

I would like access by phone / computer so I can check it while I'm gone. So, I'm wondering if I went to Costco and bought that 2 pack is that good for what I need? Or overkill as I don't need to watch my whole yard, neighborhood. I think something that records the porch and the car is all I need. For storage, for now, I was thinking I could use a newer Win7 AMD A8 laptop that I bought last Christmas that just collects dust now that I've got a tablet. I plan to get a dedicated DVR (NVR?) in the future and more cameras as I might as well do the back and sides of the house. So, this is just a start of a system. But, I've been here 34 years and haven't had any other problems so I'm not in a huge hurry for the rest of the system.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can you guys help point me in the right direction? What I need right now is something I can get quick, get it working quick and get to recording so everything I order isn't stolen. I have $300 or so right now and will have more once the holidays are over.

 

 

Thanks for any help and sorry for the long-winded post. I'm a little stressed and just don't know what to do.

[ssnapier 0]

Well here is the thing... if you don't need a lot of video during hours of darkness just about anything works as long as you work within the limits of the lenses. Hook them up, do a few tests to get the views you are happy with and then mount them.

 

This is absolutely a get what you pay for kind of industry, but don't over think it. You have a specific need, and you have a limited budget so work with it and build on it later if you need to.

 

If you DO need video in the dark, just go to Lowe's and buy a few light fixtures to help you out from both a video evidence standpoint and a pure deterrent standpoint.

[Kawboy12R 0]

If it's the UPS guy he'll be a LOT easier to catch than some random person stealing the packages off your porch. Just get any IP cameras (even cheap Foscams if money is tight), plug them into your router, and set them to record EVERYTHING (no motion detect) to the laptop on the days your packages are set to arrive. If you have properly time-stamped evidence that nobody showed up at your place ALL day and the UPS driver collected a signature then he either stole it or was at the wrong house. If he were stealing your packages he probably wouldn't bother to drive to your place and walk up to the door so you'll probably need iron-clad evidence that he wasn't there. You might want better cameras than the Foscams for better pics if it's not the UPS driver though. You'll want the best pictures possible to give to the police even if you know the thief from your neighbourhood.

[fa chris 0]

A $100 game camera would do the job, it's an out of the box solution with no installation and it'd capture your guy, perfect for a temporary situation.

 

I seriously doubt it's the UPS guy. They get paid very well, and with them it's not a local police matter it's the FBI who comes knocking since it's interstate commerce if they try to take anything, simply not worth the risk. You can also call UPS and voice your concerns, they'll have guys trailing him eager to catch him stealing if it truly is the case.

[rayt 0]

ups guys rarely steal stuff, they get good pay, and their internal departments are very harsh, i once had a package that didn't get delivered, we'll it was delivered, i trust my ups guy, but i never got it, i called ups to complain, and after that my ups guy was pretty unhappy with me for the next few months, required me to sign for every single package that got delivered to me until i got cameras installed.

 

with such a big open area as yours, i wouldn't be surprised if it was some teenagers.

[Hip2u77 0]

Thanks for all the tips. The more I read the forums the more I am interested in getting something decent that will record at night. I have thought about the game cams but I think I want a more permanent solution. But, even though I doubt the person that targeted me will come back back so quick I want to be ready, so I may have to go that route for now. I even thought about going to Harbor Freight and getting a cheap cam just to start recording, but I don't know what software to use and don't want waste money.

 

Also, if it wasn't the UPS guy then it was an unknown neighbor that learned from other neighbors what our schedule was that week as I work nights out of the house and only leave on Friday's. The packages were stolen on a Tuesday night, when I'm normally working, but happened to be gone that night. Also, when someone walks down the street my dogs go nuts and I look out the window or go open the front door. Everyone of our neighbors knows we have multiple dogs. It was either UPS or somebody was watching us.

 

 

For now, if you had around $300, what would you buy to cover the porch / driveway without being totally worthless at night? I read the description about those Costco Q-See High Def 720P IP cameras that they have 100ft night vision and that makes me wonder if they would be too much range for my purpose and maybe I need a something with a tighter range? (I know nothing about lens so reading camera specs does little good with me.)

 

I've also read about those B/W Sony cams with the .0003 lux night vision and thought about putting one of those in the "A" location and something color for the "B" location.

 

 

 

I really need more responses like. . . "Buy 'this' as it comes with 'this' software and you're good to go for now When you can afford it buy 'this' better camera or 'this' DVR / Hybrid / NVR or whatever. I just don't have weeks to spend looking at all this stuff. I about when nuts looking at the thousands of choices on B&H last night. Though I think I like the Aver Hybrid 4-channel DVR I saw on there.

 

And obviously the $300 is just a starting point. I will spend more, if I have to, but just don't have it this second. Think of it like a car payment. I can swing a few hundred a month if I can build a system up over time.

 

Thanks again.

 

 

Edit: Just bought one of the popular HFW-2100n Dahua cams with a 3.6 lens. It's a start.

Edited November 14, 2012 by Guest

[Owain 0]

Why don't you get a large lockable box that UPS can put your parcels into?

[Kawboy12R 0]

ACTi IP cams come with free software, but each cam would either stretch or completely blow your $300 budget. Blue Iris is $50 for the multi-cam version and works with Dahuas. It's got a 15 day free trial period to get you up and going. NVR+ is well-regarded but pricier and reboots every two hours on the trial period until you buy it.

[dexterash 0]

For DAHUA you cand use the 3216 standalone NVR or you can make a recording task using PSS for Windows/Linux or Mac (but i recommend a dedicated, non-shared PC)

[Hip2u77 0]

Thanks for the tips on the software. I'll definitely be using a PC setup. I'm going to try to use my AMD A8 laptop but would an old P4 2.8 with 1 Gb of ram run a single camera until I can build a new computer?

 

If not, my backup work computer is a Core2 Duo E6750 with 2 Gb. I could use it and leave the p4 for backup. (I do audio work for radio stations and the p4 is fine for that, just slower.) My newest work computer is a i5-2500k with 8Gb of ram that I built last summer. It will probably be the dedicated system and I'll build an i7 system for my main work computer.

[Kawboy12R 0]

That 2.8 meets the minimum requirements of both packages. NVR+ says it'll run 4 cams but recommends a faster computer for 8.

[Hip2u77 0]

That 2.8 meets the minimum requirements of both packages. NVR+ says it'll run 4 cams but recommends a faster computer for 8.

 

Thanks, that's good to know! I have no idea why looking at the minimum requirements didn't occur to me. I guess spending 20 hours reading forums in the last few days is turning my brain to mush.

 

I think I have a slight change of plans also. I originally bought the the Dahua bullet for the porch, but now I think that's a bad idea. A dome would definitely look better and be harder to vandalize.

 

So, for now I may just mount it in the "A" location or use it in the back to watch the dogs and buy a dome for the porch.

 

I think I'm done camera shopping for a day. . . now I need to grab a POE switch.

[Kawboy12R 0]

There's a ton of information to absorb, that's for sure. I've spent a lot of time reading online the last few months and am starting to get a decent feel for what I want for IP cams, coupled with watching the strengths and weaknesses of my analog domes and bullets under different conditions.

[dopalgangr 1]

I have 4 Acti ACM-1231's lightly used that I'm looking to sell if your interested. Like Kawboy12r said, they come with free recording NVR software.

[Digiscan 0]

Thanks for the tips on the software. I'll definitely be using a PC setup. I'm going to try to use my AMD A8 laptop but would an old P4 2.8 with 1 Gb of ram run a single camera until I can build a new computer?

 

If not, my backup work computer is a Core2 Duo E6750 with 2 Gb. I could use it and leave the p4 for backup. (I do audio work for radio stations and the p4 is fine for that, just slower.) My newest work computer is a i5-2500k with 8Gb of ram that I built last summer. It will probably be the dedicated system and I'll build an i7 system for my main work computer.

At the very least you can have a camera access an FTP site and dump vids/images based on motion, which when hosted on your laptop would require very little processing power. Getting through the data is a hassle, but if you're trying to find out what's happening to packages, you can very quickly nail down exactly when it was moved anyway.