dash cams and wireless cctv

[shadrack]

hi, last night some low life stole some parts off my van as well as trying to lever the side door open,
so is there such a thing as a 24/7 dash cam so when the vans parked it records?

also any recomedations for a wireless home cctv kit,

thanks

[X5Sport]

To get a dashcam to run 24/7 you just connect it to a constant power source.

Are you sure you want to go wireless with CCTV?  Good quality CCTV needs a lot of bandwidth and the more cameras you have, the more you need.  HD video (recommended for evidence purposes) needs even more!  If your neighbours have wifi for their internet etc then you will be competing for bandwidth with them.  Getting reliable high speed connections between the camera and DVR can be a bit of an art-form.  WiFi is a shared resource so can be a bit tricky if the wireless environment around you is 'contended' with other users.

Ours has cables in the loft.  Shotgun cable with 12V power down one side and coax for signal.  All run back to the main DVR which has a monitor attached, plus the PSUs.  Ours is a professional system, and you can get quite good systems and install them yourself.  Cameras are about £50 each (more for FullHD) plus power supplies and a DVR.

Don't go cheap (B&Q type) as you'll regret it.  Budget at least £400.

We had CCTV installed after the complete front bumper from our E46 vanished one night!

[graemeX5]

Hi
Sorry to here that about your van and hope you get it sorted.

I agreed sound like cctv is the way to go

Graeme

[shadrack]

I only thought wireless as i didnt want cables everywhere, i could run into the loft if cameras can be mounted up near gutter height, im an electrician anyway so intalling should be easy enough just ive never done a cctv before, to be honest theyve took my wind deflectors £30 and my colour coded mirror covers £30 and snapped my whole drivers mirror off £25 from scrap yard, i'm not replacing other items (shame)  so although not high value its just the thought of someone snooping around outside as they didnt get the door open.

Ive secured my side door on the inside, re located my obd port (transits can be stole like this too), tommorrow im going to get a van vault for my tools and a big secure lock for rear.

Whats constantly going round in my head (hence the cameras) is was it kids messing, a drunk chancer or someone more professional? if it was pros do i need to armour the van and other cars on the chance they will be back, imagine what would happen if they notice the price of bmw m sport parts or how expensive amg parts are!!

re cctv have you any links, im thinking 2/3 cameras and some means of recording it, im not too fussed about been able to sit watching it or ill not sleep!

[shadrack]

what about such as this

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/swann-dvr8-34 ... eras-a92qz

[pvr]

The importance of the CCTV equipment is not just what they say in that bit of info, but what they miss out.

The frame rate - that is what count as well. Usually, they share the bandwidth so if you have 8 cameras on the system, the framerate will drop significantly and if you are recording at 5 f/s for example, the result is terrible whilst at 25 f/s it is fine.

It means that if someone moves, you can not recognise them at that recording rate as you will have two blurred images during the recording time.

The equipment will pay for itself over time  - so it is worth spending a decent amount on it.

Meet my burglar, it is very pleasant to know exactly what he looked like:

[pvr]

That was the golden moment he discovered one of my cameras which he subsequently pushed out of the way (bit late …)

[X5Sport]

Minimum spec:

25fps per camera in 'alarm' mode - ie when it sees something it triggers an increase in frame rate.

DVR should handle 4 cameras @ 25fps.  The right DVR is crucial so ask whether it really can record all 4 channels at full speed.

1TB hard drive - ask if the hard drive is designed for CCTV.  DVR drives do need to be the right type, and one for a PC is not the right type.  The drive will run 24/7/365 and be recording all the time.

Camera resolution MUST be 720 horizontal lines minimum.  More is better.  Less is not worth buying as the pictures will be rubbish.  Don't be tempted to use webcams as many are 640x480 and rubbish.

If buying a 'dome type' then watch for the infra red light 'bleed' if the dome gets scratched.  It will ruin your night pictures.  All of the first cameras installed on our system were replaced because of this.

Cameras like this are the right ones.  The IR lamps are around the outside and won't cause lighting bleed.  I have 4 of these type - a different brand but still use a SONY chipset.

Don't install them too high as you will need to de-spider them several times a year!

I have a dedicated purpose designed 17" monitor that is used to check images, zoom, focus etc.

The system cost just over £800 6 years ago.

[pvr]

Or on one of the domes I bought (about £600), the IR was reflecting INSIDE the dome into the lens, so was blinding itself. Had to put a tube over the lens to stop that happening ...

[X5Sport]

That's one way of sorting it 

Oh, and once it's installed, your cameras must not overlook any neighbouring property!  Some people get sniffy about that sort of thing.  One of our previous neighbours thought our dome cameras were steerable and that we were looking into their bathroom (the glass is frosted, but...) and it took the engineer some time to convince her we had no desire, capability or hardware to do such a thing!

[pvr]

So … how did you sell the "no desire" bit?  >:D

[X5Sport]

I think it went "why would anyone want to look at you in the shower?"....... With appropriate emphasis.  :blink:  O:-)

[pvr]

Yes, I know you can be as subtle as a ton of bricks ....

[jaynana]

[quote="X5Sport"]
Minimum spec:

25fps per camera in 'alarm' mode - ie when it sees something it triggers an increase in frame rate.

DVR should handle 4 cameras @ 25fps.  The right DVR is crucial so ask whether it really can record all 4 channels at full speed.

1TB hard drive - ask if the hard drive is designed for CCTV.  DVR drives do need to be the right type, and one for a PC is not the right type.  The drive will run 24/7/365 and be recording all the time.

Camera resolution MUST be 720 horizontal lines minimum.  More is better.  Less is not worth buying as the pictures will be rubbish.  Don't be tempted to use webcams as many are 640x480 and rubbish.

If buying a 'dome type' then watch for the infra red light 'bleed' if the dome gets scratched.  It will ruin your night pictures.  All of the first cameras installed on our system were replaced because of this.

Cameras like this are the right ones.  The IR lamps are around the outside and won't cause lighting bleed.  I have 4 of these type - a different brand but still use a SONY chipset.

Don't install them too high as you will need to de-spider them several times a year!

I have a dedicated purpose designed 17" monitor that is used to check images, zoom, focus etc.

The system cost just over £800 6 years ago.
[/quote]

i got my setup after much research and also considering advise from the likes of our resident guru Richard  :-[

got 2x1080p cams front and rear of the house decent wide angle stuff, and a DVR with 1tb HDD fixed in the loft. i've set it to the highest res, records low fps during normal times and 24fps during any activity. 

very good quality during daytime, night time is that that great although it works. can do about 2 weeks of recording, depending on activity level etc..

wiring was the hardest part!

[shadrack]

[quote="jaynana"]
[quote="X5Sport"]
Minimum spec:

25fps per camera in 'alarm' mode - ie when it sees something it triggers an increase in frame rate.

DVR should handle 4 cameras @ 25fps.  The right DVR is crucial so ask whether it really can record all 4 channels at full speed.

1TB hard drive - ask if the hard drive is designed for CCTV.  DVR drives do need to be the right type, and one for a PC is not the right type.  The drive will run 24/7/365 and be recording all the time.

Camera resolution MUST be 720 horizontal lines minimum.  More is better.  Less is not worth buying as the pictures will be rubbish.  Don't be tempted to use webcams as many are 640x480 and rubbish.

If buying a 'dome type' then watch for the infra red light 'bleed' if the dome gets scratched.  It will ruin your night pictures.  All of the first cameras installed on our system were replaced because of this.

Cameras like this are the right ones.  The IR lamps are around the outside and won't cause lighting bleed.  I have 4 of these type - a different brand but still use a SONY chipset.

Don't install them too high as you will need to de-spider them several times a year!

I have a dedicated purpose designed 17" monitor that is used to check images, zoom, focus etc.

The system cost just over £800 6 years ago.
[/quote]

i got my setup after much research and also considering advise from the likes of our resident guru Richard  :-[

got 2x1080p cams front and rear of the house decent wide angle stuff, and a DVR with 1tb HDD fixed in the loft. i've set it to the highest res, records low fps during normal times and 24fps during any activity. 

very good quality during daytime, night time is that that great although it works. can do about 2 weeks of recording, depending on activity level etc..

wiring was the hardest part!
[/quote]

any links?  wiring shouldnt be an issue as im an electrician, just never installed cctv, i have a roll of shotgun cable allready