Todayisforgotten 0 Posted September 18, 2007 Good morning. I am in need of some dire help. For the last 3 months there has been some punk keying my families car and 5 or 6 other cars in the area. My mother's car has become the equivalent of an old concrete building defaced with spray paint. My car was hit twice now and while im not mad it certainly is becoming annoying. My nextdoor neighbor and my mother have to drive around with FU and F**K You in 8" lettering everyday (black cars). That, i am mad at. Police reports have been filed 3 times now. The police have an idea of who it is, but since no one see's this kid, nothing is certain. We have a feeling the kid is friends with our other neighbor and quite possibly may live on our block. Strong suspicions as the other neighbor's cars (kid who is may be frieds with the vandalizer) have not been keyed. I emailed a few companies asking for some advice. One suggested the extreme wz18. I have been searching for a forum like this for a week. I always try to find reviews or forums before i purchase something. Thank god i found this forum. Through my searches i found that the wz18 wasnt as great as the wording seemed. But, then i saw someone mention the extreme version was good, just expensive for what it does? In any case, I am looking for a day/night solution with good quality being able to "see" 50+ feet. Maybe even IP based (but not a clincher). Our town is very quiet and events like this are completely new. We have somewhat of a motion detector, flood light type deal on our garage. This solution usually never turns on at the right times. I do not want to create a new variable to thwart the person doing this. I want the environment to be "untouched" leaving mr vandilzation feeling as if nothing has changed and reassuring he will feed his fix. Once I have the proper equipment we are going to cover up the damage on my mother's car and try to bait him with a clean palette. Thanks for any tips/advice. Chris Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kiwi 0 Posted September 18, 2007 If you already know who the person might be you may get away with a cheaper system as he will be recognizable without super-sharp images, but if you need to ID a stranger with high detail you will need to set a stage where can control where he will be during the vandalism and what existing lighting is present. The fact that you are apparently home during this time means a silent alarm may be useful too as you could call police, or even collar the guy. If you have a good PC available you could spend your budget on a high-res IP camera and record on the PC. An Arecont 3130 will set you back about a grand but will likely work very well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Todayisforgotten 0 Posted September 18, 2007 You know, thats a pretty valid point you brought up that i over-looked. He does come by most the time when either myself or one or all of my family members are home. Since the police do have a pretty good idea of who it could be helps, but going on what you said I am now thinking about trying out out a motion detection system with alarm. Since our flood lights do not "alert" us when someoen comes near the drive-way. To be honest I have not searched this entire site. Does anyone know of good motion dector alarms. I will search this site some. I was looking at The Reporter Wireless Driveway/Outdoor Alert System, which seems cool. nservices . com/motion.htm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bike_rider 0 Posted September 18, 2007 I've had good success with Voice Alert System-6. It has 6 channels with customizable audio messages when it triggers. Sensors are wireless Passive Infrared, so it isn't perfect. Something odd about the UPS guy's outfit means it only sees him 80% of the time, while the average detection rate for other visitors is probably 95%. Two things I really like - you can setup multiple detectors on one channel, so I could improve my detection rate by putting second sensor offset from the first. The other thing, and the reason that I have the system, is that it will do alarm outputs for 4 of the channels. I can use them to trigger my CCTV setup and notify me when they trigger. It isn't pro quality gear, but it isn't priced like it either. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kiwi 0 Posted September 18, 2007 It sounds like your existing PIR lights are not detecting the motion so there could be an issue with a PIR alarm. Another aspect of this type of event to consider is that you will know the next morning if vandalism took place that night simply by inspecting the cars. Therefore you would be motivated enough to search through hours of recording to find the evidence. For a quick and dirty solution a low-cost IR-type bullet camera hooked to your home VCR, set to record for 4-6 hours a night might do the trick. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
scorpion 0 Posted September 18, 2007 Voice Alert is a great idea!! Also.. Color High Resolution 5-50mm 280’ IR Security Camera • 480 Lines of Resolution Sony Super HAD CCD • 280 Foot Night-Time IR Range • 14 Long Range IR LED's & 21 Wide Angle IR • Built-In Electronic Photo-Cell • Tough IP-67 Rated Aluminum Housing • 5-50mm Varifocal Lens This unit has an adjustable back light compensation and automatic white balance for a sharp picture without haze. The dimensions are 5†Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skane 0 Posted September 19, 2007 The fact that you are apparently home during this time means a silent alarm may be useful too as you could call police, or even collar the guy. +1 on motion sensors and a silent alarm and showing up to confront the people doing this. Check out the Optex 1000 series wireless sensor and receiver... it's a nice portable kit that might work well for this situation. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bike_rider 0 Posted September 19, 2007 Voice Alert is a great idea!! Also.. Color High Resolution 5-50mm 280’ IR Security Camera • 480 Lines of Resolution Sony Super HAD CCD • 280 Foot Night-Time IR Range • 14 Long Range IR LED's & 21 Wide Angle IR • Built-In Electronic Photo-Cell • Tough IP-67 Rated Aluminum Housing • 5-50mm Varifocal Lens This unit has an adjustable back light compensation and automatic white balance for a sharp picture without haze. The dimensions are 5†Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Todayisforgotten 0 Posted September 19, 2007 Wow, great. Keep the replies coming. Which of the following two motion detector/alarms do you think would best: The voice alert system or the optex 1000? Personally, i like the optex from the pictures and description, plus ive heard the company name in the past. I am also interested in that camera that was mentioned 2 posts above. edit. Looks like he's referring to this one: CFC6500AC Voice Alert is a great idea!! Also.. Color High Resolution 5-50mm 280’ IR Security Camera • 480 Lines of Resolution Sony Super HAD CCD • 280 Foot Night-Time IR Range • 14 Long Range IR LED's & 21 Wide Angle IR • Built-In Electronic Photo-Cell • Tough IP-67 Rated Aluminum Housing • 5-50mm Varifocal Lens This unit has an adjustable back light compensation and automatic white balance for a sharp picture without haze. The dimensions are 5†Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
scorpion 0 Posted September 19, 2007 6300AC/ 6300VF AC=24AC VF =12DC 6500 has 492 Feet of IR. I have never used the 6500, and the 6300 I use to watch boats on private docks, or to watch a Hummer in a very large driveway. If you are not familiar with it, the only drawback is to change the mm setting you have to manually open the back, slide out the camera framework, make your adjustments, refocus, and then reslide the framework back inside, and screw on the back cover, and rehang. The photo cell that controls the IR is on the back, and installed on boat docks it may pick up the lights that are installed, and preventing the IR from activating. If you are not familiar with it you can take this camera on to a dock, and you can illuminate the boats 2, or 3 docks away with no problem! I have never used it for license plate capture so I cannot tell you how it works for that application. It is a rock solid camera for homeowners associations that want to watch the front gates. PS My kudos to the developers who build the club houses next to the front gates! Thank you very much! I wish more developers would do this! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
