Is it possible to use dash cam as temporary home security like a nanny cam?

Mattie3

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We're putting our house on the market and have heard several people say they bought nanny cams to put in their house in case anything turns up missing. I looked at the cost of a nanny cam, and most of them are in a device like a clock or smoke alarm that could be easily taken. Then there is the cost of those for such a short time and then it's not needed. But we already have two dash cams, both Black Box G1W I think. Is it possible to get an adapter so I can plug it into a wall socket, and stick it in kleenex box or something?
 
If it's G1WC (with capacitor) and put it indoor then it's possible. Environment temperature is in range: from 15 to 30 oC.
Note: Card memory card will be the first gone after about 6 month depend what kind of memory card you have.
 
One of them is the G1WC with capacitor. The other one is older so it may not be. Will any mini usb cord connect it?
 
you need to power it by phone charger. I don't understand your question.
 
I meant, instead of using the cigarette lighter cord that came with it, use a micro usb cord like the one that I use to download pictures from my digital camera? The cord that came with the Black box camera has a micro usb connection on one end and the cigarette lighter connection on the other end. To use it in the house, can I use the cord from my digital camera that has a micro usb connection on one end and a regular usb connection on the other end? My phone charger has a regular usb slot.
 
can I use the cord from my digital camera that has a micro usb connection on one end and a regular usb connection on the other end? My phone charger has a regular usb slot.
yes, it's exactly what you need to do. ;)
 
Remember, dash cams are designed to overwrite older video. So you either need to get a really large memory card, and check daily, or rely on motion detection (can't remember if the G1W supports this, and/or if it works well).

Don't forget, you can also use a USB battery pack to power this camera (but you would probably need a large one), allowing you to put it in spots that are hard to reach/see (but you would have to swap it out with another pack at least once a day).

As for hiding it in a box, I've done this with IP cameras, but you need to keep in mind that things might get very hot, impacting performance and stability (so don't close the box).
 
I estimated that my DDPai M6+ can capture over 600 hours (25+ days) of time-lapsed footage on a single 128 GB memory card! The bitrate on my DDPai is only 10Mbps, therefore pro-rate based on your camera's bitrate.
 
We're putting our house on the market and have heard several people say they bought nanny cams to put in their house in case anything turns up missing. I looked at the cost of a nanny cam, and most of them are in a device like a clock or smoke alarm that could be easily taken. Then there is the cost of those for such a short time and then it's not needed. But we already have two dash cams, both Black Box G1W I think. Is it possible to get an adapter so I can plug it into a wall socket, and stick it in kleenex box or something?
why don't you use a Nest cam and let the video go to the cloud you can watch what happens in real time on iOS device App and log back over a 10 or 30 day period and if someone takes the camera the videos are still in the cloud to review and download
 
Of the G1W cams, only the G1W-S has proven to me to be reliable for long term recording. All the others will stop recording, sometimes 'locking up' and not responding to button presses, or turning themselves off. How long a cam will go varies, but about 4-8 hours is what I've seen most. We must remember they were not meant for security-cam use so that is not a fault of the cam.

Most of the cheap "nanny cams" are cheesy based on my research. Motion-detect range is about 6-8 feet directly in front and not exactly reliable even then. Among those battery life is limited and many will not record when the charger is plugged in. I think you'd do better with something like the Nest or Wyze cams. Those can alert your phone when motion is detected, and some have cloud storage too. You can watch the vid on your phone remotely as well. Plus they can serve for security in your next home making them an investment. And these can sometimes be had really cheap- one Wyze model is about $20 USD.

Personally I will not have anyone in my house without me being present unless I know them well. Maybe you can get a trusted neighbor or nearby family member to act as a 'docent' when the Agent brings people in to view the place. For certain you need to with remove all small valuables from the premises or lock them away securely in a theft-resistant manner. You should already have pics or a video of everything in the house for insurance purposes, which will help recovery of anything stolen. Keep a copy of that off-premisis.

It's kind of sad that we have to do these things today, but that's how the world is and we have to protect ourselves from it.

Phil
 
A simple deterrent would be a sign on your entrance door which says you're on camera, like this one here, whether or not you even have a camera. A camera is only going to be good for one part of the house obviously. smile.png
 
Here it seel like CCTV cameras are a magnet for thieves, going by the notion that with CCTV on a house there are probably something of value in there, and a ski mask will make sure they can operate without being recognized.
So this is why i advocate stealth on CCTV cameras too, though you also often see criminals being oblivious to cameras though they are not really hidden in any way.

In spite of 4 highly visible cameras 2 guys tried to break into my friends house a while back, only problem is he was home and saw it on his cameras, so him holding and discharging a DIY scatter gun and followed by his rottweiler / bull mastiff mix, made them change their mind.


Really too bad i was not there on the night cuz then i would quietly have gone out the front door with a bat, and been waiting for them when they came flying over the 6 foot high fence.
 
With a battery pack, one can take a detachable camera out of the car and place anywhere. I bought my mobius with intention of using the battery from time to time as a trail cam for the back yard bird feeders, but Viofo a118c2 and a119 connected to a battery pack will do the trick too. I did some small tests with my A118c2 and mobius. I plan on building an enclosure with small boxes to protect against bird poo :eek: and when that it done, I may run for several hours. My battery packs have 15 and 18 hours, so lots of time to run from dawn to dusk.

Here is a shot from the back yard. I have more colourful birds but that visit the feeders, but only want to run a test briefly before I build the poo protection enclosure. tmp.birds.jpg
 
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