rural driveway monitor

[Harrier 0]

Hi,

I would like advice please, on whether what I would like to do is achievable, and whether this can be done at a low to moderate cost, and what gear could do the job. Sorry for the long spiel, but I am trying to cover all relevant info!

 

What we would like:

When home at the house we would like to be notified in real-time of people or cars entering the driveway.

We would also like to capture images of people and cars entering the drive so we can look back to see who has entered when we are not there, which requires day/night capture at sufficient detail of numberplates and faces.

We would like any camera to be concealed, and not use a flash.

 

Physical situation:

We have a rural driveway, that zig-zags up a hill. The entrance to the drive is quite restricted in width (4-5m), as it is a cutting, (so this reduces the area we need to monitor).

The house site is uphill, about 60m vertically and 120m horizontally from the driveway entrance, and the area between is fairly dense vegetation both bush and trees. If there were no vegetation there would still not be a direct line of sight from the house to the drive entrance, because of the curve of the hill.

To one side of the drive entrance is a rock face varying from about 1.5-2.5 m high and above this cutting is a fairly steep slope. The vegetation above the cutting is scrub from 1-3 m high and a few metres further up it there are large trees. To the other side the ground falls away sharply.

 

There is no power supply at the driveway entrance. The house has its own off-grid solar system.

We do not have cell phone coverage on the property.

Running a cable up the steep land, through the dense vegetation and across the driveway would be difficult, and probably prone to damage. (Trees fall over, branches fall, vines choke things and we get the odd slip too.)

There is limited, but some sun for solar power at the drive entrance, because it is at the bottom of a N-S valley with large trees to the north. (We are in the southern hemisphere - New Zealand).

 

We have seen a Buckeye camera advertised with real-time wireless transmission of images for significant distances, but we don't know whether this would suit our image quality requirements.

We could work out a software means of providing a notification when an image is received at the house if there isn't an off the shelf method, but easier is better.

 

Are we dreaming or is this feasible?

Thanks!

[Scrapp996 0]

Hi, from experience I have a analog 960h swann security camera set. The images are okay... But in terms of image quality being able to see a person or licence plate from 120 is just not possible. A good image is 5-20ft. Yes you will see somthing at 120 but it would look black or very blurry. The distance problem you could either put the camera at the ens of the driveway or at the house and use a variofocal lens to see down 120 at the end. If you want a great image go with a HD set over analog. Tvl sets are getting old everything is in HD now... If you choose wired you will be running a cable to the dvr. If you choose WIFI you can put the camera at the end but you still need a power source for the camera. Your need to make sure the WIFI can travel over 120 for the distance of the signal. I'll read the question again and see if I missed somthing. One other thing is if you want live viewing a fly or bug can trigger the camera and the system might message you about some movement. I hope this gives you a better idea. Good luck.

[Harrier 0]

Thanks for the reply.

 

In clarification, the camera will be at the entrance to the drive. It can't be at the house as you can't see the drive at all from there. The distance in a straight line is about 120 metres (not feet).

 

You recommend the camera location be about 5- 20 feet, which is 1.5 to 6 metres from what I'd like to see. 4-6 metres is doable as long as I sort the power and transmission issue.

WHat resolution/field of view does that recommendation apply to?

[Boogieman 1]

Thanks for the reply.

 

In clarification, the camera will be at the entrance to the drive. It can't be at the house as you can't see the drive at all from there. The distance in a straight line is about 120 metres (not feet).

 

You recommend the camera location be about 5- 20 feet, which is 1.5 to 6 metres from what I'd like to see. 4-6 metres is doable as long as I sort the power and transmission issue.

WHat resolution/field of view does that recommendation apply to?

If the distance from the home to the camera location is under about 300 feet then you can run a single ethernet cable (100m is the max length, that is from the POE switch) to power a single ip camera..you will need to get someone to bury the cable....will likely be less of a hassle than trying to power the camera via solar..

[Harrier 0]

Unfortunately the distance is about 120 m.(390 ft)

Does that mean it's impossible, or just poor performing?

Getting someone to bury a cable on this hillside would cost a lot more than the solar gear, but if it would work, and we didn't get any slips, should be less hassle in the long term.The cost might be a killer though.

[Boogieman 1]

Unfortunately the distance is about 120 m.(390 ft)

Does that mean it's impossible, or just poor performing?

Getting someone to bury a cable on this hillside would cost a lot more than the solar gear, but if it would work, and we didn't get any slips, should be less hassle in the long term.The cost might be a killer though.

While outside the spec, its certainly possible. Ive seen 500+ runs work fine. Use 23awg direct burial cat6. If it does not work, you can use something like this to extend range. http://www.veracityglobal.com/products/ethernet-and-poe-devices/longspan.aspx

[Harrier 0]

Thanks.That sounds like a reasonable option.

Any recommendations for camera specifications?

I presume a lower wattage POE one is better given the cable limitations. Will this affect the IR flash possibilities for night time images? We also want to limit any constant power draw given we are off-grid.

 

I believe getting the right focal length and resolution combination affects face/recognition?

[Boogieman 1]

Thanks.That sounds like a reasonable option.

Any recommendations for camera specifications?

I presume a lower wattage POE one is better given the cable limitations. Will this affect the IR flash possibilities for night time images? We also want to limit any constant power draw given we are off-grid.

 

I believe getting the right focal length and resolution combination affects face/recognition?

Most common poe cameras from hikvision or dahua will only draw 4-7w even with IR on. You might want a camera with sd card if you are not going to use an NVR or VMS software package.

[Harrier 0]

Thanks. That is an acceptable constant power draw for the off grid system we have.

 

Any recommendations regarding focal length, resolution?

 

Or other tips for beginners? There is sure to be somethinig I don't know to ask.

 

I am considering a location for mounting the camera 6m from the target spot, about 2.5m above ground and 1m from the side of the drive. I'd like to make it reasonably unobvious, so I am considering fixing some dead vegetation which is common in that area to a screen around the camera so it won't fall in the way but will break up the outline and the camera will be in a dark shadow.

[mowbs 0]

Hi, as an addition to the cameras and as an audio alert I would highly recommend Dakota Alert. Give them a Google. They're wireless and quite good for drawing your attention to people / vehicles entering your property, even with CCTV recording you miss a lot of what's happening and you'll never need your doorbell again.

 

They're also very good for night security if someone is entering your property. I have 2 mounted on trees on my driveway both set to different chimes so I can tell if someone is coming towards or away from my house.

Deer will set them off but they are precise enough to be able to aim high enough off the ground so they are not set off by rabbits / cats etc. I aim my sensors into trees on the opposite side of the driveway because the beam travels a long way otherwise and spreads out the further away it is.

 

They also do a sensor that can be buried in the road and will only pick up the metal of a car driving over it, and a pneumatic one that is triggered by driving over a strip if animal false alarms are an issue for you.