Home Security - Help?

Beaubonic

Beaubonic

Well-Known Member
So, over the past year and a half now I've noticed we've been having considerably less oil in our furnace than anyone remembers leaving it, without even using it. So we'd like to set up a camera in the basement to see if our neighbours are stealing our oil.
Since we don't know when it would be happening, we would have to have a camera down there for a while.

We're wondering if any of you know of a good/decent camera for this type of job. Would probably need to be wireless, but we'll look at whatever you guys suggest.
 
Setup a motion sensor light and that should be enough to deter further theft. If that doesn't work then go down there with your gun and wait for em to trigger the light. Be sure to have a large chair and a fluffy white cat when ya sit in the chair waiting for em.
 
Bored said:
Setup a motion sensor light and that should be enough to deter further theft. If that doesn't work then go down there with your gun and wait for em to trigger the light. Be sure to have a large chair and a fluffy white cat when ya sit in the chair waiting for em.
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They live upstairs and their oil is next to ours. Not going to work, buddy
 
It's a threaded cap and the oil company wants to be able to access it if they have to, also that reminds me last time they had to check it was because the cap was mysteriously left off even though we never touched it.

We were looking at this one, https://t9k.me/2Zd its a bit fancier than we need, but not too expensive, and we could use it for other things in other houses down the road. I just don't like the one review, although I think it's on the wrong product... We also need some recording software.
 
I remember seeing something somewhere (I'm a lot of help, I know.) about a camera sensitive to motion, and would turn on and record when it did so. I believe it's typically used for seeing what animals you can attract and/or what animals are breaking into your garbage. That might work, but I have no idea how much it would cost. Alternatively, there are cheap 'line' alarms, be they laser or DIY, where if the line is broken, an alarm sounds, but that might be more trouble than it's worth.
 
I use this system for temporary security camera setups at field locations to monitor equipment. With it we have caught 2 incidents of theft, prevented 7 incidents of unknown intent (They spotted the camera and then left), captured 4 incidents of vandalism (3 of which we caught), and captured 1 incident of a couple "exercising" under one of our trailers.

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/4ch-dvr-4-camera-sds-p3042n-us/prod12720074.ip?navAction=push

We use this system on continuous recording which gives us about a week of footage (Motion mode we found to be unreliable when we need the footage). The cameras can see anything within about 100 feet. They can clearly see IR (In the dark) within 30 feet and clearly see faces within 15 feet. It is wired which protects it from jamming and interference.

I would advise placing the DVR in a secure location (We use a trailer or a office normally) and then running the wires with tack hooks to the camera locations. Hiding the wires is not necessary as long as it is flush with the surface that you are running it along. Most people don't touch the wires except in the area near the camera. I would also advise placing the cameras watching "critical areas" (Like your oil tank) and also place them on routes of egress (Access points to protected area like doors and gates). It is best for the cameras to have some overlap so you know which camera to switch to when you are reviewing footage.

I would advise you check the area you are watching frequently so you know what part of the footage to go over. Reviewing 1 hour of footage takes 5 mins if the area is "quiet" (Basement) and 30 mins if "active" (Public Place).

I hope this is of help.

EDIT: The only issue we had with this setup is that the files when backed up to a hard drive used a uncommon codec. We solved this issue by capturing the screen of the DVR with a capture card while doing playback of the area we want to give to our legal team.
 
ChrisWsrn said:
I use this system for temporary security camera setups at field locations to monitor equipment. With it we have caught 2 incidents of theft, prevented 7 incidents of unknown intent (They spotted the camera and then left), captured 4 incidents of vandalism (3 of which we caught), and captured 1 incident of a couple "exercising" under one of our trailers.

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/4ch-dvr-4-camera-sds-p3042n-us/prod12720074.ip?navAction=push

We use this system on continuous recording which gives us about a week of footage (Motion mode we found to be unreliable when we need the footage). The cameras can see anything within about 100 feet. They can clearly see IR (In the dark) within 30 feet and clearly see faces within 15 feet. It is wired which protects it from jamming and interference.

I would advise placing the DVR in a secure location (We use a trailer or a office normally) and then running the wires with tack hooks to the camera locations. Hiding the wires is not necessary as long as it is flush with the surface that you are running it along. Most people don't touch the wires except in the area near the camera. I would also advise placing the cameras watching "critical areas" (Like your oil tank) and also place them on routes of egress (Access points to protected area like doors and gates). It is best for the cameras to have some overlap so you know which camera to switch to when you are reviewing footage.

I would advise you check the area you are watching frequently so you know what part of the footage to go over. Reviewing 1 hour of footage takes 5 mins if the area is "quiet" (Basement) and 30 mins if "active" (Public Place).

I hope this is of help.
Click to expand...
That is a good setup, but the only issue would be the price. Pixiel and Jiy aren't exactly rolling in cash, so I'd definitely have to pay out that amount to get it for them.

If that's what they want, then so be it; I have the cash. But we'd prefer something that is cost effective and is guaranteed to work for the intended purposes.
 
thee_pro said:
That is a good setup, but the only issue would be the price. Pixiel and Jiy aren't exactly rolling in cash, so I'd definitely have to pay out that amount to get it for them.

If that's what they want, then so be it; I have the cash. But we'd prefer something that is cost effective and is guaranteed to work for the intended purposes.
Click to expand...

I bought it and use it to protect around $20K in equipment and materials after we had around ~$3K in equipment damaged from wire theft, for my company it worked out for a cheep solution for what we needed. (But please consider that we have a legal team to deal with these issues for us if we have evidence, I do not know how much we spend on prosecuting these incidents)

For any security camera system system I would advise you to look for:

  • High Resolution Cameras; The higher the resolution the easer it is to see faces.
  • Wired System when possible; Much more secure from taping and jamming
  • Inferred Detection or Inferred Illuminators on the Cameras; IR Detection means the camera can see if the area is bathed with IR light, IR Illuminators means the camera bathes the area with IR Light AND can see IR light. This is what most people call night vision
  • Weatherproof; This is important even inside because people WILL try to vandalize your cameras by splashing stuff on them. (Consider that my cameras protect valuable stuff before worrying about this issue)
  • Continuous Recording time; You generally want enough recording time so you can review it when you have time and not within 24 hours of the incidents. Motion recording extends recording time but i have found it to be unreliable at times when it is needed.
  • DVR Placement; Place the DVR in a SECURE or if you must a HIDDEN area that you can route the wires from. This is the most important part of your system because it is what stores the footage. If this gets damaged you have lost all evidence.
  • Consider Value of what you would like to protect, If it is much more valuable than your system than go for it. If you are having more "shrink" (Loss of assets) than the cost of the system then go for it. Otherwise look for a different camera system.

Also don't forget that the cameras ONLY prevent "shrink" if they are seen. In all other cases they are only good to prosecute "shrink" related incidents after the incident happens.
 
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