Security Camera (long range)

w1retap

w1retap

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I'm looking to do an outdoor security camera, and it needs to be about 1500ft away from the base monitoring station. It is in the middle of the woods at a cabin, but I want to see who might be coming up to the front gate doing damage to the property.

So, I have been looking for some options, but I don't really know what is good and hopefully someone here can recommend something. I don't want these cheap Chinese $100 cameras that are cracker-jack box quality.

I am looking for either wireless that can go through 1500ft of woods, or a wired option. I thought cat5 was only good for 1000ft, so I'm still unsure about this option. It looks like I'll be having to run power out to the monitoring location anyhow, so that won't be a problem. If a transmitter needs to be mounted back at the cabin, I've got a large tower that it can be mounted on.

This camera needs to be hidden well so nobody sees it, even in the winter. (preferably mounted up in a tree or something) Any pan/tilt/zoom would be a nice addition. I've already got software and monitoring taken care of.

I'm looking to maybe spend $300 to $600 on the outdoor camera and means of transmitting a signal back to the cabin. If anyone knows of anything good, please let me know.

Thank you. :)
 
http://techcctv.com/
Ordered a bunch of stuff from these people. Some of the better prices I've found.

I *think* they have cameras that run on PoE- meaning you would just have to run a single Cat5 line out there for both data and power (Although running two seperate coax/power lines aren't that hard to start with).

Might browse that site and see what you think you like.

Newegg has some stuff as well.
 
Okay I'm no expert but I'll give my opinions. For wireless to travel that far you're going to need direct line of sight between both places. It sounds pretty wooded in that area so I'd have a feeling the wireless solution wouldn't realy be an option unless you could get a tower over the trees on both ends. Cat 5 can only go about 300 feet so that would rule out that option as well. Fiber would be the other option but to get 1500 feet of preterminated multimode cable is going to cost a good chunck of change. Then you'd need some media conveters on each end which will add some more money. Your solution is definitely possible to do but I think you're going to blow your budget of of $300-$400 by a ton. Just my very uneducated thoughts on the subject though so take it with a grain of salt or two.
 
eh.. maybe I'll try a specialized security web forum or something. I need links to actual products and people with the knowledge who have done it before. I can't be buying random products and testing to see if they work. I need to know if they positively work.
 
It can be done- yes.
You'll need to use stuff that fits into the "video" relm however, and not computer-ish technology.

You can get some cable that is run with both the data and power all in one cable as well- so I'm pretty confident you can run a single line and be done. However you need a power supply and obviously connections on both ends.
 
We have deer cameras setup in some woods by our cabin. Something moves by it, and it takes a picture. Those can be nightvision, flash, or just a normal day camera.

They don't offer any realtime viewing though. So if something happened to your property you'd have to go out, switch out SD cards in the camera then go review the pictures.
 
Pelco has those products, but not for your budget.

You can get there PVR system, with the fiber modules to span your 1300ft. Great products, you get what you paid for. I worked on a project with a local city for a new CCTV setup for city hall/police station. All using Pelco's, but our budget was $20k...
 
f1y said:
We have deer cameras setup in some woods by our cabin. Something moves by it, and it takes a picture. Those can be nightvision, flash, or just a normal day camera.

They don't offer any realtime viewing though. So if something happened to your property you'd have to go out, switch out SD cards in the camera then go review the pictures.
Click to expand...

Yes, I have a few deer cameras and found trespassers in some of the pictures... and thousands of pictures of the same squirrel that sits in front of it and eats acorns. :p I like the camouflage infrared cameras because no trespasser can see it 'flash' if it takes a picture. Maybe I'll just try to set one of those out at the road driveway strapped to a tree and see what I can come up with. It looks like I'll have to spend a little more money or ask around to see what type real-time and motion detection camera I can set out at the end of the driveway. The problem is, if they see the camera, they will just destroy it by shooting it. =/
 
motion sensored lights may work here to.



we get lots of squirrel pictures to .
 
Not much you can... Most vandalism is going to be at night while you're sleeping. All a camera will do is provide you with a video of you losing your valuables. Most effective I would say would be to fence it all in.. post signs of video cameras in use, and motion censored lights.

Aside from stoping vandalism... A good fence and barbed wire? Dogs?

If you're mind set on video cameras though I'd go with just setting up a little mini sub station within the cabin.. Just a dual vcr recording two camera feeds. Then a monitor tucked away under a cabinet. A backup power supply would keep them running a good 10-20 minutes if they killed the power. Bury the hard lines 8inches under ground. Spray them brown... and up the side of tree. Be cheaper too, rather then buying wireless cameras or a half mile of coaxial cable.

As for actual hardware. I'm unsure in that department. Sorry.
 
The thing is, the people doing vandalism don't care. They rip down fences and gates with their trucks, shoot out lights with their guns, and smash decorative rock barriers with sledgehammers. This is a cabin up north, so I'm not there every week. I need the camera to capture them in the act so I can prosecute them. I know who is doing it, but I just need the raw evidence in the form of tape or digital. I have cameras hidden away right up close to the cabin that record based on motion sensing, so that area is all set. The front gate area is where I'd like to see. Not only would I catch them while I'm not up there, but if I'm up there and they don't know it, I can see them from the cabin and go out there and do something about it or call the police.
 
Ok, I gotcha now... That sounds rough. Try digging a hole, and covering it leaves.. so when they drive up... they fall in the hole. :)

I'll got a uncle that does security systems.. I'll give him a call see what he thinks about the situation.

OK i just made the connection... the gate is 1300ft away... I was thinking the cabin was 1300ft away from your house,and you wanted to monitor it from there.. Ok I gotcha.
 
Interesting thread, keep up apprised.

Also wondering if this security system will finally answer the question 'if a tree falls in the forest
will anyone be around ...' :)
 
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