Do-it-Yourself Home Surveillance Setup
My home was broken into the first time 3 years ago while I was away for a night. Obviously, someone knew it. They stole a $1,500 stereo and my computer and X-box as well. I ended up finding out the items had been traded for drugs and I acted interested in buying the stereo back and found out it was my best friend at the time who done it. Then a year later I was gone and someone broke in, in the 15 minutes I was away at the local Shell Mart. This time I also was able to find out who it was but the cops can’t arrest if they don’t have evidence. So I have taken the action into my own hands, as I will show you how to do yourself,
Installing a security system is a must and it isn’t that difficult at all. Cameras are the first things we need to concentrate on. Over the years I’ve tried them all cordless, black and white, color, night vision and they all have their good qualities and their flaws. For me I would say black and whit is the best way to go because they are extremely clear. I suggest you use at least 4-5 cameras, I know they are costly but you can’t afford not to have them. I would recommend you buy 640×480 quality black and white if available and also one color camera because they are awesome at night vision viewing. We also need to buy a recorder to go with the cameras. I recommend the DVR Recorder which can accept 6 camera inputs, it also has a built in hard drive so there is no worry about changing tapes or CDs, it plugs to a monitor so you can watch the cameras as well, and if you need to transfer something to CD you can hook it up to your desktop or laptop computer. The DVR Camera Recorder will be the most expensive piece of equipment ranging from $250.00 to 1000.00’s of dollars it all depends on the number of inputs and hard drive space. Just get what you need if you buy 4 cameras get a 4 input DVR.
One thing is all that really matters in camera placement and that is concealment. Find a spot that is concealed on each corner of your house or on a tree or anywhere, which is concealed well. Most cameras simply screw in and then you just run the cables into the room where your monitor will be. If you need more cable get an RCA barrel coupler and a larger RCA cable to suit your needs Once all cameras are installed make sure to conceal the cables well also. Next you will go inside and plug in the power adapters to the cameras. Take your DVR and connect all the RCA jacks to the inputs 1-4 and so on. Now connect a television or a camera monitor to the output connector on the DVR recorder. Now switch on the TV and tune to the RCA input and there are your cameras. You can read the manual that came with the DVR for different features like motion detection, recording times, and deleting past recordings.
Now if in the even someone breaks in and you need it recorded and your DVR doesn’t have a CD burner in it, you can use a USB cable to connect it to a computer with a DVD or CD burner, then read your DVR manual to tell how to make a DVD playable of a given recorded event. If this is all too technical you can hookup a VCR and put in a cassette and hit record then play the video of the person violating your home. Then there you go you have visual and audio, which I forgot to mention the cameras also record sound, of a person trespassing or trying to break in your house. This is more than enough evidence to keep the other lowlifes away, and the best part you got about a $500.00 fully integrated High Tech surveillance system installed yourself for between $300 to $1,000.
