Home Alarm/Security Solutions?

[VerbaVolant]

Dogs and motion detectors for when you're home. Insurance for when you're not.

Great responses lads. Anthony, that is really the crux of it...

In my opinion an apt dog would or should make motion detectors redundant. Any dog worth its salt should detect movement inside the house and own yard. Maybe things have changed over the years or maybe I am missing something but if a dog cannot detect motion inside its territory, that dog is sick.
Actually this is one of the reasons dogs have been domesticated more than 10000 years ago.
Not to mention that keeping motion detectors active when you are home would make quite an interesting lifestyle

Sure, dogs for when you are at home. Insurance for when you are not.
Simple.

 

[Phog Allen]

He is referencing outdoor motion sensors for the lights I believe. Our little Husky mix is the best early detection system you could have. She is not a yapper but her ears are almost eerily good. If she yaps, there is something amiss.

I went to Home Desperate today looking at exterior lighting. And a woeful selection it was. We have one of those smaller HD stores that I like to call Home Depot Junior. Other than the typical double floods with motion sensor and photo eye, there was nothing much else. I also found it kind of comical that they offered the same light with LED emitters in it for $140. And they looked pretty good. However, you can get LED floods for under twenty dollars apiece and put them into your existing flood lights. Not too great of an economy. Considering the regular versions run about 35-65 dollars you can see why. And if like me you already have one on the home, it is a no brainer. Interestingly, we have a new Menard's opening not a stone's throw from our home. And I will likely have to drive 25 miles to another city to check things out since ours will not open for another few months. Sigh.

After or during the lighting upgrades we are going to concentrate on some outdoor cameras as well. The biggest issue with them is power. I am inclined to look for POE models and run CAT5e to them direct. This would give me solid signal and no worries about power. Other wise I will need wireless models that still need and external power source. Another thing that comes to mind is how to easily view the cams while in the house. Smartphone apps are okay but really meant for remote viewing. I want something we switch to quickly on the telly. Either through a digital tansmitter(remember, those old channel genies are useless now that we're all digital) or some sort of app for the Fire Tv. Any suggestions on this? I don't mind putting out the money for good cameras but do not want to get into custom switchers or receiver devices unless absolutely necessary. I don't want too much more clutter at the entertainment center.

 

[Phog Allen]

Gents, I just discovered IP Cam Viewer is available in the Amazon App store. There is a freebie version and paid for $3.99. I know one of the paid options is two way radio so you can use some of the newer cameras voice features as a two way intercom. I will play around with the free option to see if I can grab my web cam from the Linux PC in the bedroom. If I can get that going I should be able to get most anything newer I would install. Also, the Fire Tv has nearfield communications. At least I think so. Is the wifi direct feature. I know I can open YouTube on my Galaxy tablet, tap the screen icon on it's main screen and it will instantly find my Fire Tv and ask me if I want to connect. I suppose this would would with some cameras as well.

 

[Kit Walker]

Not all dogs are good alarms. The malamute that I had was not. She was more like a ninja. I came home late one night without realizing that my wife had brought her into the house. When I opened the door, she was crouched and ready to nail me -- all without a sound from her. A perfect companion for her would have been a little yappy terrier. It could act as a distraction/warning while she moved in for the takedown.

 

[one cut]

Almost everything has already been Covered here, But I have a few tips that might help.

Have a good relationship with your neighbors.
I not only know there name and they know mine, but I know when they are gone, where they went, how to reach them in a emergency.

mark your valuables.
Have the serial number written down, not on a sticky note in the back of the item please.
Also add unique identifier If stolen you can enter this information into the FBI's National Crime Information Center computer system for stolen property.
The street value of your stolen property just plummeted.

valuable property should be photographed and logged on an inventory sheet in detail.

Put stuff in a safe.

Have copy's of everything, if your things get stolen it is a pain.
But if you have copy's of your important papers it will still be a pain, but slightly less so.

 

[alex2363]

If the cable is cut, power or not how can the signal be transmitted. Unless you have a cell card as alternate.

Not sure. .but they said the battery is back up for few hours til connection is reestablished.

 

[pault]

You should check. The fail point if you donthave a cell card is just cut the cable outside the home and there in. What i did is have comcast run a second line from pole to roof line in thru attic and then hooked it up. No onecan reach it or even knows.

 

[shavefreak]

Don't confused drop cams, and Foscams and ADT pulse cams with real security cameras. Those do live video fine but good luck looking live the same time something happens. The clip cams will get a knock at the door and UPS or something. But not run 20 minutes plus when you car is getting broken into, or someone milling around the house and then breaking in. Wifi cams are iffy, some work some don't. NVR - cat v systems are limited to 300 foot runs, siameese much further if that's an issue.

 

[Phog Allen]

Well gents, we have had a lot great responses to this thread and for that I thank you. I think we are going to start with some cameras. Two or three. Front door, back door/deck, and one facing the drive. The wifi cams are very attractive. Easy set up and all that. Regular analogue or digital security cameras are probably not a great option right now. The analogue models require dedicated cabling. Usually a twin conductor type with video on one conductor and camera power on the other. Cabling is pricey and needs to be installed with great care. That is not an issue really. I do this sort of stuff fairly often. What is really pricey are the cameras and whatever receiver/switcher/modulator/whatever you want to call it. This stuff can get expensive in a hurry and requires a good bit of set up. I know a little bit about it(certainly not enough to be a 'tech' at it) since our facilities installed a number of them a few years ago. The bill from the contractor was enough to scare you as a homeowner. Definitely agree there are better options for night vision and such with the pro stuff but you will pay the premium.

So we will start with some sort of networked cameras and go from there. I am hoping to get a model with speaker/mic on it for the front door. These are fairly handy for the intercom issues. My wife will be convalescing at home later this month after a surgery and I want her to be able to see people approaching the home without having to run from window to window. Daylight operation is the main thing. Evening hours would see the entire family home so night vision is not a big issue at this point. Motion sensors on the back deck stairs and possibly around the driveway area would activate a receiver that would sound at someone's approach. Again, we are not looking at lock down security. Well, not yet anyway. We'll see how the old neighbourhood holds up for awhile. Please, share experiences with various camera setups you have used.