Just ordered some security cameras for the house...

I consider myself to have above average consciousness when it comes to home security. I just now purchased 3 IR dome cameras to complement the six other cameras I already have in my home.

My latest additions are in response to my house being TP'd the last two weekends in a row. My one camera on the driveway caught the perps (more on that later), but highlighted a few big holes in my external coverage.

The three new ones will cover my front yard, front porch and back patio. Inside I have the garage, master bed, family, kitchen, back hall and front entry already covered.

So that'll be nine total, all hooked to my Panasonic DVR, hooked to the web, so I can watch them from anywhere on a PC.

Now on to the TP perps...turns out it was two girl type friends of my 15 yo step-son and...their mother! Yeah, the three of them were caught red handed on my one external camera! Sheeze, when I was a kid you TP'd people you didn't like, turns out these days you TP someone when you like them. Go figure.

When I constructed my house 1 year ago, I had it wired for ten cameras. It took the events of the past two weekends for me to get off my butt and finishing implementing my home security plan. I'm really glad it wasn't something much more serious that prompted me to act.

Anyone else have similiar concerns, plans or stories?

(And no I don't consider sharing some of my security preps a bad idea, quite the opposite I consider it a deterrent)

Hehe, I like your story. I'm glad you caught them in the act.

I have been having problems outside my home in the past couple of years, and a security camera system with DVR would do the trick.

I've had anything from kids egging my car, kids walking on it as if it were playground equipment (only to be cussed out and flipped off when told to get off), kicking it and denting it, keying, or just plain old idiots doing what they do best. It would be satisfying to catch someone in the act. It just gets old being the victim. Not much you can do if you physically catch someone, but once you record the act you have all the proof you need.

UPDATE- Wow, just as I finished typing this someone pulling out in front of my house hit another car. It was too dark to see so I couldn't see it happen. Go figure.

Do you have any wireless cameras ?

What is their range ?

I'm considering some too. You seem to be well guarded.

Do you record the activity on ALL cameras 24/7 ?

No, no wireless, all hardwired. Wireless doesn't appeal to me because while the signal is wireless you still need to get to and power the cameras. If I can run power to it I can run coax to it.

I do record 24/7. My DVR watches for motion and only keeps footage where motion is present. So a guy walking his dog only takes like 15 sec of storage space and a car driving by maybe 5 secs. My cameras have been employed at the new house for a year and at the old house for 6 months and still none of the footage has been re-recorded over!

I installed a few 16 channel system at various places. At my current house, I have one with 8 wired cameras installed + 1 micro camera at the front door. For an average size house, 8 cameras is probably the bare minimum that would be able to give sufficient coverage. I should probably add a few more cameras just to fill in some of the gaps, just haven't gotten around to it. I do have 1 wireless camera (not connected yet) that I plan on using as a "floating" camera, wherever i need to temporarily watch things (i.e. my dog, to see what she does at night when i'm asleep ). But the range on wireless cameras are not very good, and even though it can run off batteries, they don't last very long. I just upgraded my system to allow me to remotely view the cameras using an iphone, so now I can have real time view from anywhere.

I originally bought the system because I was concerned about all the kids that hang around outside after school. I haven't had any problems in the last few years, but having the cameras just makes me more comfortable. About the most interesting thing I've caught was the wife's cousin (who was staying with us for a few days) locked herself out and had to climb in through an unlocked window. Other than that, its mostly it's used for checking to see if the mailman or UPS left any packages on the front porch, making sure I closed the garage door, or even watching the bird feeders and stray cats. For those reasons alone I think it was worth the effort to install. It gives peace of mind if I'm out of town, I can just do a quick check everyday and know everything is ok

TooManyGizmos said:

Do you have any wireless cameras ?

What is their range ?

I'm considering some too. You seem to be well guarded.

Do you record the activity on ALL cameras 24/7 ?

Click to expand...

I use 2 wireless cams. They cover my front door/stairway and kitchen slider/garage entry door. I bought them because I moved to an totally different area of the State. Turns out this area is practically crime free compared to where I lived.

Some things to consider when using wirless. The range isn't all that good. metal in the house dumps the range considerably. The foil on our insulation did a number on ours. And probably the most important thing with wireless. For $50 anyone can buy a hand held wireless camera monitor and see what your cameras see.

i would totally want to do the hardwire camera thing next time around.

i have an wireless ip camera to monitor if i'm away on vacation. i never really thought about it but what's the chance of someone being able to pickup the signal. not like it's in any sensitve area. just curious.