Like many other northern Hambers, I have a couple of vehicles in winter storage several miles from my home. They are in buildings that are basically unattended from December until about April and the nearest house is about a mile away. I don't worry a whole lot about them, except for maybe the odd buck that might crash through the window and raise hell.....but you never know. With modern technology - 3G networks and such - would it be possible to install a webcam in the building that can be acessed 24/7? I know this is possible with a phone line, but there has to be an easier/cheaper way. The building does have household power, so that should help. Anyone got any ideas?
It wouldn't be cheap, the recurring cost of the Internet connectivity would be the biggest expense. You can buy webcams that allow remote access, pan, tilt, zoom, etc. We use them to watch our telecom installations. The Axis brand cams that we use automatically sense movement and email the pictures (or videos if you prefer) right to you.
PS: I just looked up my old purchase order, I paid $435 for the Axis model 210 about 4yrs ago. The quality is very good. Here's a link: http://www.axis.com/products/cam_210/index.htm I'm sure you could find much cheaper surveillance cameras though.
can easily be done you need a static ip for them to be private,and remote accessable. gonna cost ya about 10 bucks a month for that (so ive been told) also just a cam system that is wired to a program to record movement is handy, at least you will know who messed with your stuff skull
My boss uses trail cameras for hunting. motion activated. Why not use something like that and check the SD cards every week or so?
Skull is right, you will need a static IP address with the internet connection there to set up a virtual private network. We don't allow residental customers to have a static IP address. We give them to our business customers for free if they need one. Most of the gas stations and party stores around here have them to watch the till and pumps. The owner can watch 24/7 right from his home PC. Same concept you're going for. Call you local cable company for help and cost. A less expensive fix might be to just push a BUNCH of snow in front of the doors to deter anyone or anything getting in or out till thraw.
You might check out a few stores that deal with baby products, Babys-R-Us comes to mind. With both parents working these days they are used to monitor the kids/nanny etc. Charlie Stephens
Skull is actually not correct. You do NOT need a static IP address, nor do you need a virtual private network. Simply sign up for any of the free dynamic DNS services (no-ip.org, dyndns.org, etc) and use the authentication built into the cameras for access control. In Northern MN, you could either use 3G or Clearwire (depending on where you are), with Clearwire being the cheapest at around $30/mo.
I'd like to hear more on this considering my shop is about 15 miles from my house and it can sometimes be a few days in between being there. Plus my trailer and a few cars are all outside unattended. At my regular job we have a security setup that I think we got at Sam's Club lol. It has its own computer and records to a hard disk. The cameras are fixed, but it still allows remote access via the internet. The cameras are also night vision and motion sensing. Its something like this one... http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=444034&pCatg=5868
Now we're talking! This is what I was looking for. The remoteness here makes a lot of the simpler ideas impossible. I will check it out. I can't do anything until next winter anyway.
i have had those set ups and found them to be unreliable, and found it hard to remote access a dymanic ip. i am no expert on the subject though and would welcome an alternative. unfortunalty, around here at least, im being told by my ip provider, and the alarm co that is installing the equipemt that i have to go that way to do what i want( just as the op is after) i got a couple of $400 wireless web cams here that are basically decorations without a static ip. there are alarm co's out here that provide the equipment , the monitoring service, and the response service (cops in la take a week or so to respond to alarms) all for about 49 a month. i am right on the verge of going with that, but once again welcome a reliable alternative. skull
My storage building doesn't have a phone line and the nearest connection is probably 1/4 - 1/2 mile away. If I'm going to do this at all, I have to make it work for a few hundred bucks at most for equipment and maybe $25 a month for service/fees, etc. That may not be possible now, but I'll bet it will be commonplace in 5 years.
im looking at a system by logitec called wilife..its PC based..so you will have to have a internet and a tower running at the locaation..not sure if its good for this or not..but a home based system it might be a good ticket. Ive already got a lower tech system already, but am researching this as a possible upgrade. still learning about it
A static IP address has nothing to do with phone lines or anything like that. All it is an address to program into your equipment. Lets put it this way, a static IP ADDRESS is like the address to you home. It's exactly the same all the time. Never changes, no two are the same. A dynamic IP ADDRESS would be like the address a motorhome would have. It stays the same for awhile but at any time the address can and does change. No two are the same BUT it changes periodically.
It doesn't make sense to have a difficult time accessing equipment behind a dynamic IP address when using a dynamic DNS service. The dynamic DNS service watches your IP, and automatically updates when the IP changes. You simply remember a DNS name, such as: skull.dyndns.org Your IP provider is telling you that you need a static IP because they can charge you for it.
Professional 4 Digital Video Recorder 450.00 - 2 indoor, 2 outdoor cameras 250.00. At&t DSL 20 bucks a month - being able to watch your cars anytime you want from anywhere in the world - PRICELESS!!!!!!!!!! Ron Security Professional
I know where you can get one attached to a gimble mounted paintball gun. Remote access and everything. Runs about $1500. I wanna get one for the roof to keep the neighborhood dogs from shitting on the lawn.
vivotek makes a wireless, and wired version of there cameras that will do what you want, they also support access via a blackberry phone if you have one, you can set them up to send an alarm via phone call when they sense motion and email you a picture. then they start to record to your home computer or to a local computer hidden somewhere on site. I have one, works great, I also use them at work (network engineer by trade) we have over 40 of them and they have very little issues. they are not cheap however, you are looking at 3 -400 for the camera, and I would HIGHLY recommend paying an additional 150 for the security enclosure that has a built in heater and backup ups. it will keep the camera up for about 25 minutes, long enough that if they cut the power to the building the camera stays on and still sends the email and phone alert. you can hook the camera up like mine, and use both the cat5 (or wireless) connection as the primary, with the phone line as backup... or vice vera... with todays technology it is all much simpler to do than just a few years ago.......... also,, pay just a little more and you can get the camera that supports night vision and a add on night vision led bulb that mounts to the bottom of the enclosure........ even in pitch black you get a crystal clear picture.......
OH,, I see you said WITHOUT a phone line,, sorry.......... but for those that DO have a phone line but no high speed access at a remote storage unit,, remember you can setup the modem on your home computer (for many of us we don't use it anyway, an you may have to add one.) to accept incomming calls from the camera. and connect to the internet. basically your home pc becomes the internet provider for your camera.....
What do you expect of the video? Is it a positive ID of the thief? How big is the area to view? I have watched a couple of videos of thefts that provided no more info than it was two or three guys who no one could identify and they busted door glass to gain entry into the vehicles. Then they simply drove them away. Neither one was solved. Just a thought before spending the dollars. I would make the vehicles as non- movable as I could and the building as secure as I could. At it might take long enough to get someone to go over there when the camera shows something. Joe
I would want good enough resolution to make out a mouse on the dash, so I can immediately go over there and kill it. Actually, I hadn't thought about it that much. I suppose I'd like to be able to see any significant disturbance. I wouldn't expect to be able to make out a face. So, if you can pull out a Blackberry and send video to any email address, why can't you have a permanent "Blackberry" that sends video continuously. Yes, that might sound like a stupid question. but I'm a hot rodder, not a computer whiz.
I'm talking about a blackberry cell phone. my blackberry cell phone has internet access.... these camera's will send pictures to it... that way even if your not home near your computer you will still be notified with an accompanying picture. the "permanent blackberry" would be your home computer. you can set the home pc up to start recording video too..... that way you can have a specified amount of video recorded if the motion sensor goes off..... the vivotek cameras have very clear pictures, you should be able to see if you have a mouse on a dash,, and what color it is....
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