Light up yard with infrared?

[DM51]

Sparkss has put his finger on it. You really need an IR LED, or an incan bulb. Either that, or a camera that is very, very sensitive to low levels of IR.

The problem is that regular white-light LEDs put out almost zero IR content. A filter is subtractive, which means it cuts out the light you don't want. It can't boost that part of the spectrum you DO want. So if you start out with a light source that has only 1% of its emission in the IR spectrum, putting an IR filter on it will just cut out the other 99% of colors, and you'll end up with an unworkably weak IR source.

 

[jamesmtl514]

As the owner of a CCTV co. I'd say you're better off investing in a better camera than a dedicated IR illuminator.

If you find you still aren't getting proper illumination then get a dedicated one.

For US members this is a pretty good site.
http://www.supercircuits.com/search?keywords=ir&Catnavname=Infrared+Illuminators

 

[TrainCop]

I thought you guys might find these interesting. They trigger with the IR flash of a trail camera. If the cam is in video mode, the extender will stay on as long as the cam's built-in illuminator is on. I guess you could rig one to be on during all hours of darkness, for a CCTV camera or other device that's on continuously, but you'd probably want to power the extender with something other than its usual 4 'D' cells.
Uway XtendIR-I
Uway XtendIR-B "black flash"
The XtendIR-B will convert a "red blob" camera to "black flash" if the built-in flash array on the cam is covered up.

I found this thread while Googling for "IR floodlights." I was looking for something "modular" that could be triggered by a relay on a base radio that received an alert from one of the passive IR alarms I have. (MURS Alert™) I might just go with the XtendIRs, if I can find a way to trigger them from the relay on the MURS base station.

I have no connection with any of those companies above, I just use their products.

 

[alpg88]

I have one of those cheapo black and white video cameras in my window, aimed at my driveway. The camera has infrared LED's on it, to provide illumination in the dark (the camera does see infrared), but I have those covered, because the camera is inside the window, and the LED's would create glare when the light bounces off the glass. Even if it were outside, the 6 little led's on the camera would not provide adequate light for what is needed.

After it gets dark, everything is black, except the occasional pair of headlights.
Is there an inexpensive way to illuminate the driveway/yard with enough infrared light to make everything visible on this admittedly low-end video camera?

Or might it be more feasible to invest in a more sensitive camera that is able to pick up the visible light from from the light over the garage?

I don't know how many lux the camera is. There are actually two of them, one was about $40 from Walmart, and one was a 5 dollar special deal from Fry's. (after mail-in rebate)

Thanks!

you need 10mm 200mv 850nm leds.
i build an array with those leds, it floods any room, outside it is good for illuminating pretty big area.
you will have to spend few bills for a camera that has very sensitive ccd.
even than they still use ir leds.

another question, why bother with ir? is your yard a secret location you can't reveal?? why not just use good old motion sensor with a bright bulb, when there are no movements, you wont need light, once someone comes, light will go on, and camera will record, also there are software that turns recording on only if something happens, it uses pixel movements to turn on camera.

also check e bay periodically, especially military surplus, i have seen ir projector from t72 for around $100 few years ago, that one can light up entire block, if it was sold once, there might be others

 

[TrainCop]

another question, why bother with ir? is your yard a secret location you can't reveal?? why not just use good old motion sensor with a bright bulb, when there are no movements, you wont need light, once someone comes, light will go on, and camera will record,

Visible floodlights suddenly coming on might be a good deterrent, and intruders will probably scatter like cockroaches, probably without taking or damaging anything. "White" light is necessary if you want to see colors in images or videos. Conventional floodlights on motion detectors might also keep you from stepping on that rake somebody left in the yard.

But if you want to keep trespassers/thieves/vandals from knowing they've been seen, IR light (especially "black flash") is the way to go. It lowers the chance that somebody will locate and disable the light and/or the camera associated with the light.

Below are a couple of flash pictures of two guys who I believe were stealing from my employer. The second pic is the very last one from that night, but I don't know if they saw the flash, or if they just had as much material as they could carry away, and left the area. With the reflection off the one guy's glasses, you'd almost think he'd have had to notice the "red blob" from the camera, but they didn't mess with the camera at all. The time stamps show they were there almost forty minutes after the guy with the beard first had his picture taken, so it's a pretty good bet that he didn't see the flash then.

 

[slinkyDog]

I had the same problem last week and found two solutions to it each with drawbacks but they work.

First solution is to buy a device that has infrared lights such as this one: model = "SISL 100IR" that I got for ~$35. I installed it underneath one of my basic cameras pointing in the same
direction as the camera and it works well at night now. Drawbacks (a) you have to have AC power close by it does come with a power adapter that you need to plug in...(b) the mounting
bracket that it comes with is not very easy to point in a specific direction, I had to use some creativity. (c) it does not "flood" the entire area it is more like a flashlight for that specific camera.

Second solution is to upgrade the actual camera(s). I updated two of my basic zmodo cameras with high resolution cameras, model number: CM-S38901SV. I got them for $95 each. These
are excellent, they work with my current system (DVR-H9108V) as they plug into the yellow BNC and red power connector. I can now see in pitch black and the picture looks really clear. One
drawback of this is that you have to upgrade your power supplies as the power supplies that come with the basic system can only handle 3A (12volts) and this one single high resolution camera
needs more power, especially at night. I have ordered 5A (12V) power supplies (model PA-1059) from zmodo to power these over my 60 foot cables in the meantime I have each of them powered
directly by a 3A power adapter. A 3A power adapter works if you plug it in directly to the camera but once you use a long cable it needs a larger power supply due to loss over the cable.