Anybody us the motion detection of a Dash cam for other security?

[Wetstuff]

As these cams are so discrete and high quality I would like to mount one away from my home to record any unwanted activity. ..'seems easy enough to provide a remote 12v power supply ..and a somewhat waterproof housing. Maybe one of you have already broken this ground? Thanks.

Jim

 

[Sabe]

Why not use 5 volts instead of 12.

 

[Dashmellow]

Firstly, dash cams are not surveillance cameras and as such are not really suitable for this use. There are countless, weatherproof dedicated surveillance CCTV cameras on the market that are much more appropriate for this purpose and that will perform far better.

Secondly, although surveillance cameras, like many dash cams on the market include motion detection, it is not a useful mode for what you have in mind to accomplish. Motion detection is really only useful in a perfectly still indoor environment such as an office after hours or a warehouse where the only moving object in the field of view will be the target of your surveillance. In any outdoor setting, there are many things that will trigger false, unwanted captures such as wind blowing through trees, birds flying by, a cat walking past or whatever. Even the movement of clouds can trigger motion detection. Another issue is that the motion detection technology in most dash cams is relatively crude when compared to current dedicated CCTV cameras. If something happens, you could easily miss an event because the camera didn't start to capture the event until it is almost over or the person in view stops moving for a short time and the camera suddenly decides there is no motion anymore. There are some dash cams on the market that feature "parking mode" that pre-buffers the video in the event of an incident such as someone bumping into your car when you are not around but again, this is not going to serve the purpose you have in mind.

As I've already mentioned, there are many CCTV cameras on the market, some of which have become quite affordable these days. Do some research where you can learn about this technology such as at the CCTV Forum.

Some people, myself included have indeed used dash cams (for me, especially Mobius cameras) for occasional short term surveillance use, but they are really not the best thing for this, except in certain specific circumstances. There are many reasons I could descibe but one important one is that they are not designed to run 24/7, even if set for just motion detection.

 

[kamkar]

We did have a guy busting the helper witch stole from his old mother ( with a mobius hidden in a old VCR )

But for outside need you are better off with a dedicated cctv camera, or a windlife camera witch allso have IR light build in.

That said if i had kids and used a nanny i would not hesitate to set up my mobius on a USB power bank while i am avay.
Or just get more IP cameras and installe them inside my house/apartment.

Getting started with a 4 channel NVR and a IP camera is pretty cheap, not as cheap as a dashcam, but it will be far more usefull and easy to expand should that need come later on.

ATM i have 3 IP cameras going 24/7, all 1080P offcourse.
one PTZ camera with 20X optial zoom on my balcony covering my car parked in the yard ( or where ever i point it )
one camera filming out thru the peep hole in my front door.
one camera in the living room window covering the street 2 flores below.

I am pretty sure no one will vandalise my car again without me beeing able to identify them, and then punish them at thats no intrest of the law here.

PS. my cameras are illigal as they record, it is fully legal to use them not recording ( another stupid Danish law )

 

[map]

I second the wildlife/trail camera suggestion.

They are not as good as a dedicated CCTV system for house surveillance, but far superior to a dashcam.

 

[Dashmellow]

We did have a guy busting the helper witch stole from his old mother ( with a mobius hidden in a old VCR )

That story was one of the things I had in mind when I said, "Some people, myself included have indeed used dash cams (for me, especially Mobius cameras) for occasional short term surveillance use, but they are really not the best thing for this, except in certain specific circumstances." But the guy who put a Mobius inside an old DVD player case didn't use it 24/7. Apparently, it was only in use when he knew the crooked caregiver thief looking after his elderly mother would be on duty.

I used a Mobius (with external battery pack) to "bust" the employees of a contractor working on my property who kept messing with my tools, materials and other belongings when I was not around even after they were told not to. I also used a hidden Mobius (also with external power pack) to catch they guy who was throwing beer bottles and other crap on a corner of my property that is out of view. Again, this was only for a few hours at a time.

In both cases, a game camera wouldn't have been stealthy enough not to be noticed. I've never been too impressed with footage I've seen from game cameras, anyway. They don't seem optimized for surveillance quite the way true CCTV cameras are or even dash cams with WDR. @map is right though; better than a dash cam for what the OP wants to do.

 

[spytec]

I would suggest the zetta line of products (z12, z16 and zir32). They build small black box cameras, very well designed with good software for customizing the features and long battery standby times. The ZIR32 (the most expensive model), can be triggered in any number of ways including via PIR or external triggers and has quite good IRs for night recording.

 

[Wetstuff]

Thanks all.. As an owner of a wildlife cam - Primos Truth Cam 35 - I can tell you they make crappy images. I had one set up at my business in a back area when there were homeless people in the area. It is a big ass, clunky box. I had to 'black tape' the flash for obvious reasons.. and the IR images were useless. I may as well had a security light rather than a cam. It now collects dust. I brought up the dash cam because I have two and thought to re-purpose one...

The problem is I live in a remote area with two-legged wildlife who are most often mounted on pickup trucks or 4-wheelers and poach or generally have a good time at other's expense. I have a gate at the edge of my woods that I am moving out to the road (red X at right)

My home and other building are at the red X to the left. There is no power available at the road (not at reasonable cost anyway..) Radio signals between the Xs is useless. I am even 6 miles from the nearest cell tower... All I want is an 'evidence' cam. Since I cannot read postings and type this reply, I apologize I cannot give thanks for the tip on the Zetta cam. I ordered a Z16 and figure I will use a solar powered light at my gate. Since it is still damn cold, it will be a while before I can report back, but will let you folks know I get along. Thanks for the responses. Cheers. Jim

 

[Dashmellow]

I live on a large rural property too and have only dabbled with this stuff a bit but here's the skinny.

Depending on the distance, you may be able to use a long run of Cat5 cable with POE (Power Over Ethernet) to run a true dedicated 1080P IP CCTV camera. IP cameras are restricted to the Ethernet standards distance limitation of 328 feet or 100 meters. With longer runs there can be issues with voltage drop, etc., but this can be extended by boosting the signal with the use of repeaters and switches along the cable length. Some CCTV cameras have a composite video output which is limited to 1000 feet using RG59 or up to 1500 ft using RG-6 coax cable. Sometimes very long runs are accomplished with Active Baluns and Cat5 cable for runs up to 5000 feet, replacing the coax cable.*

Again, if a solution like this seems plausible for you check out resources like the CCTV Forum and elsewhere on the internet. You could also talk to a professional installer if you have the budget and interest.

* quoted from CCTV Camera Pros - "CCTV video baluns, also known as UTP baluns, allow traditional coax cable to be replaced by category 5 and other forms of twisted pair wire in CCTV video camera & surveillance installations. Video baluns allow installers to use more cost effective structured cabling techniques to wire security cameras. By using video baluns, UTP wire such as cat-5 can be run over longer distances easier than coax cable and for less money. Active balun transceivers enable UTP wires for cameras to be run distances up to 5,000 feet.

 

[kamkar]

That look like a place where i could live

 

[Mia Melody]

allot of dashcams include park modes now or motion detection, i use the mobius and gw1 as night security cameras, since this thread was started tons of portable, battery or powerbank and even parked mode cameras have emerged at 1080p with wide lenses which not only include motion detection, slow motion, time laps and all the dash camera features like GPS, time stamped, etc but they come with wifi, live view, direct wifi monitoring of clips and choices between batteries or capacitors that use the power all time incase the batteries fail

http://www.ebay.fr/itm/MIni-Portabl...-Camera-/131790198584?&_trksid=p2056016.l4276
http://www.ebay.fr/itm/0805-dash-ca...kbox-dashcam/181591286110?hash=item2a47af215e
http://www.ebay.fr/itm/eyoyo-mini-0...-gps-tracker/281560280837?hash=item418e4cef05
http://www.ebay.fr/itm/new-hd-1080p...wifi-control/281731295229?hash=item41987e67fd