How to Make a Homemade Surveillance Camera
Surveillance cameras have become sort of a necessary feature these days for security and protective reasons. Stores and shops almost have the dire need of surveillance cameras to have an eye on every customer which comes for shopping. However, you might also find a need of surveillance within your home to have a check on your children and their friends’ activities. Instead of purchasing expensive security cameras for installation at home, you can effectively use your webcam for surveillance purposes. This won’t require any other expensive equipment and your computer will serve as the device to monitor.
Instructions
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1
You should have a USB webcam for surveillance purposes. Place the webcam at your desired place for monitoring. It is better to hide it in a manner that no one can easily detect its presence, otherwise it will be of no use if easily visible to everyone.
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2
Next you have to connect a webcam with your computer. If your computer is a bit far away from the webcam, you can use a USB extender cable to connect the webcam. If your webcam has wireless transmission capabilities, you won’t require any connection cable at all.
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3
Connect your computer to the internet and download surveillance software. Dorgem 2.1.0 is available for free on the internet and you can easily download it. Dorgem has been ‘discontinued’ by the original developer since 2008 and this means no support or working update will be provided from the manufacturers. However, Dorgem is very stable software and one of the best for surveillance webcams.
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If you don’t prefer to use discontinued softwares, you can download any other freeware online, like Vidis Lite 1.3 or Webcams Watcher 2.0.
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Install the software after downloading. You will be given option to capture still-frame or video format, the quality of images and the location on your computer to save the files. You will also have options to capture continuous video or after regular intervals according to your need.
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Adjust the quality and sharpness of images to be taken from the webcam through the surveillance software. You will require good quality images for better view and recognition of persons under surveillance.
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Test your security setup by walking through the monitored area. Come back to your computer to check the video or images being taken by the webcam and make any necessary webcam or software capture settings for improvements you need.
