I recently had my truck broken into outside my apartment, and of course there are no complex security cameras. I'm sifting through online reviews, but figured there may be a few of you on here with some valuable advice/experience, as many of you have some pretty nice cars/gun collections. I'm looking for something that will require minimal drilling/altering the walls and whatnot, as it is an apartment and I'll be liable for any modifications. But I'm looking for outdoor rated cameras, with high definition, and IR capabilities. The idea is to have one each for the two exposed sides of the apartment, and one pointed out towards where I park. For that reason, the longer the illumination capabilities the better. Anybody have a ready to go kit they would recommend? I appreciate any useful advice/recommendations. Merry Christmas all, and Happy New Year's.
Home Surveillance, any experience?
- Thread starter kellogg2185
- Start date
Man it sucks to have your truck broken into. I would be mad as hell. Still I can not see how it would be worth it to install the kind of system you are talking about in a apartment. If it were I, after I calmed down, I would:
1) Make sure all my insurance was up to date and covered theft.
2) Make sure I did not leave any valuables in truck (not even sunglasses or a thermos)
3) Save the money I did not spend toward moving to my own house in a good place
I know that's not what you asked. I live out in the country and from time to time people drop off their unwanted cats near my house. This really pisses me off. I have thought about putting a camera on the road to catch them so I could put the dirtbags on youtube and shame them. Problem is by the time you get a system with high enough resolution and enough memory to be useful you are spending a lot of money.
The cheapest easiest to deploy cams i've come across are dropcams (https://www.dropcam.com). I have a bunch deployed for all my stores inside and out and they hold up quite well. Super easy to view from anywhere on iphone/ipad or browser and also has audio capabilities with alerts.
I'm seeing some decent 3-6 camera kits for around $600, which I'd think is worth it. I am typically out of town Mon-Fri every week, so renting works best for now.
Costco sells systems that come with 4 or 8 cameras, a monitor, and a hard drive to record any movement that causes the image to change. If you can get some wireless ones then you don't need to run wire. The damn camera kits only come with short wires, so you would need to find out how to extend the wire out to look over your truck.
Another alternative is to get an alarm for your truck that transmits a signal to you to let you know someone is screwing with it.
As far as insurance goes, your home owner's policy is what pays for vehicle breakins and theft. Your car insurance won't pay for things stolen from your vehicle. There will be a deductible, and tell them everything was your private stuff, not business stuff, because they won't pay on business property.
Another alternative is to get an alarm for your truck that transmits a signal to you to let you know someone is screwing with it.
As far as insurance goes, your home owner's policy is what pays for vehicle breakins and theft. Your car insurance won't pay for things stolen from your vehicle. There will be a deductible, and tell them everything was your private stuff, not business stuff, because they won't pay on business property.
I use DropCam, it works very well. You can look at the video from anywhere on-line, and instantly skip to movement events.
I can see at night with a remote IR illuminator, and the camera inside looking thru a window, just turn the camera IR off.
They need to make an outdoor camera !
I can see at night with a remote IR illuminator, and the camera inside looking thru a window, just turn the camera IR off.
They need to make an outdoor camera !
Game "trail" cams are cheap and easy to use. You can get still pictures or video. If you want you can set the timers so its on only at certain times. Batteries last a long time since they only work when movement is detected.
claymore and a pressure switch under the driver seat 
if you can, being as it is an apartment, make your area less attractive by some sort all night garden lights. trim bushes so there's less chance someone being able to easily hide.
cameras are nice, but they are only as good as having something to record on while your sleeping / away from your abode.
trail cams work well enough, and can send video / pictures to your fancy schmancy phone, if you have one.
electric eyes to a reflector hooked to a buzzer or light are cheap and easy, or hooked up to a worm cam.
a mercury switch hooked up to the horn of the truck or some other loud device will help when it is entered into, the truck "rolls" to one side or another when someone is in it, setting off the horn or other noise. will at least get spook them out of there.
worm cam on the outside / inside of the truck itself. toss a couple in "dummy" receptacles. they work well in "birdhouses" too.
whatever you go with security wise, make sure it has a battery backup.
perhaps they will come back, velcro some utility knife blades under your door handle.
if you can, being as it is an apartment, make your area less attractive by some sort all night garden lights. trim bushes so there's less chance someone being able to easily hide.
cameras are nice, but they are only as good as having something to record on while your sleeping / away from your abode.
trail cams work well enough, and can send video / pictures to your fancy schmancy phone, if you have one.
electric eyes to a reflector hooked to a buzzer or light are cheap and easy, or hooked up to a worm cam.
a mercury switch hooked up to the horn of the truck or some other loud device will help when it is entered into, the truck "rolls" to one side or another when someone is in it, setting off the horn or other noise. will at least get spook them out of there.
worm cam on the outside / inside of the truck itself. toss a couple in "dummy" receptacles. they work well in "birdhouses" too.
whatever you go with security wise, make sure it has a battery backup.
perhaps they will come back, velcro some utility knife blades under your door handle.
look into the titan cellular car alarm it calls your cell phone if it's set off.. I think you can have it set up so the siren doesn't sound it just calls your phone
