Author Topic: Security camera?  (Read 2107 times)

Perd Hapley

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Security camera?
« on: April 13, 2017, 11:53:27 PM »
I think we may have some vandalism going on outside our church, and I am thinking of buying one or two inexpensive cameras that we can use for at least a few weeks, to see if anything happens again. I would appreciate recommendations for cheapo cameras, and any other equipment that would be needed to run them.

The deal is that we have some outdoor lights mounted on boxes on the ground. I found one of the lights a few weeks ago, with its mount busted, and lying in the grass. I was able to fix it, and sometime in the past week, it happened again (can't be repaired this time, w/o buying new parts). It seems suspicious to me that the same thing would happen to the same light, about 2-3 weeks apart.
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Jim147

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Re: Security camera?
« Reply #1 on: April 14, 2017, 12:14:29 AM »
A trail cam if you have a place to hide it. But may get a lot of picks of dogs and birds and other things you don't want
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lee n. field

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Re: Security camera?
« Reply #2 on: April 14, 2017, 08:50:51 AM »
Yep, game/trail camera was what I was thinking. 
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Perd Hapley

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Re: Security camera?
« Reply #3 on: April 14, 2017, 09:04:04 AM »
A game camera was my first thought, but the ones I've seen so far start at ~$99. I was thinking more like $20/each.
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Ben

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Re: Security camera?
« Reply #4 on: April 14, 2017, 09:11:51 AM »
I don't think you'll find anything worthwhile named "security camera" at that price. Your best bet might be to see if anyone in your church has an old smartphone in a drawer somewhere and use that. If you have wifi in the area you can remote monitor the site.
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Brad Johnson

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Re: Security camera?
« Reply #5 on: April 14, 2017, 09:55:22 AM »
Check with your insurer. Sometimes they offer discounts for security equipment. It's entirely possible they may offer enough of a discount to buy a simple camera system. Sam's has Samsung 4- and 8-camera systems for $299 and $399, respectively.

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Re: Security camera?
« Reply #6 on: April 14, 2017, 01:50:15 PM »

K Frame

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Re:
« Reply #7 on: April 14, 2017, 06:33:32 PM »
Take a look at what Woot.com has for sale right now.

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Perd Hapley

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Hawkmoon

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Re: Security camera?
« Reply #9 on: April 14, 2017, 10:02:18 PM »
A game camera was my first thought, but the ones I've seen so far start at ~$99. I was thinking more like $20/each.

Do I hear $30?

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K Frame

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Re:
« Reply #10 on: April 14, 2017, 11:10:03 PM »
You need to check woot frequently. Stock changes often.

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HankB

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Re: Security camera?
« Reply #11 on: April 15, 2017, 12:44:13 AM »
Harbor Freight has some cheapo security cameras in the $30 price range - but I believe they are not self-contained, and need to be plugged into a DVR or something of the sort to record.
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Bob F.

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Re: Security camera?
« Reply #12 on: April 15, 2017, 09:51:32 PM »
At one time we had U.S. Cellular cell service and had accumulated a bunch of "points". Hottie at the local kiosk suggested wireless security cameras. We gao 2 free. Turns out they eat data minutes, but I've been told you can run them on Wifi without burning time. Dunno how!!??
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BryanP

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Re: Security camera?
« Reply #13 on: April 16, 2017, 09:15:21 AM »
This one?

https://sellout.woot.com/offers/zmodo-720p-wi-fi-ip-camera-with-audio-4?ref=w_cnt_lnd_cat_elec_12_3

The reviews on Amazon for that are mixed.  I've been looking at something like that, but this looks like yet another one that requires a subscription to the vendor's service.

The one I've been looking at (that supposedly doesn't require any subscription to access) is this one.  I'm trying to verify there's no ongoing subscription fee before buying it though.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XK54DYY
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barbaraterrell

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Re: Security camera?
« Reply #14 on: April 21, 2017, 06:50:12 AM »
I don't think you'll find anything worthwhile named "security camera" at that price. Your best bet might be to see if anyone in your church has an old smartphone in a drawer somewhere and use that. If you have wifi in the area you can remote monitor the site.

That sounds to be a great option.