Home CCTV on a budget?

[24942895]

I've been giving some thought to some kind of visual monitoring & recording, probably covertly (unless there are legal issues) so as not to advertise the security and become more off a target.

I want to be able to view inside and outside my property when I'm away and have a record should anyone happen to break in.

The sticking point is budget, it's very low.

Has anyone tackled this combination before and can offer some advice?

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

[Hamradioop]

this may help

http://www.homecctvdirect.co.uk/home-cctv-uk-law.html

[Cocotte]

I was thinking about making an intercom to see who's ringing my bell (3rd floor flat) by using old phones since they have reasonable cameras and are just lying around.
You could easily wire up a few of those to an external hard drive.

[24942895]

I was thinking about making an intercom to see who's ringing my bell (3rd floor flat) by using old phones since they have reasonable cameras and are just lying around.
You could easily wire up a few of those to an external hard drive.

That's a fair idea, I've just sold a couple of my old phones but I have one left to have a play around with.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

[woodpecker]

We have had a number of security problems in our neighbourhood recently so have thought about getting one of these systems from Maplins.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/500gb-4-channel ... app-477048

[Cougar]

Much the same here WP except I would suggest getting one of their 8 channel models. They sell them with 4 cameras but it gives you the choice to expand later. I suspect as soon as you have 4 cameras you will wish you could have 6. This way you can expand the system as and when you can afford to. Atleast thats my plan.
http://www.maplin.co.uk/500gb-8ch-netwo ... ras-589999

[northern bloke]

There is free software on the net you can download that is really good what you can do is put a webcam to your PC and point it in a general area you want to monitor and some software allow you to home in on a certain area such as a gate, hallway, car on the drive, shed, alleyway anything buy bringing the video on screen and draw a box around the target area as big or small as you like for a good reason.

Lets say for instance you come home and find things disturbed and the gate was left open that you know is always closed so you go to a video machine and trawl through hours of footage looking for whose been in but with this software the whole event will be recorded and only that event you will see all your camera saw but it only activates when there is movement on the area been watched but if cars and people are going by all day there would be loads of footage but the box you draw on the screen is the area that activates record lets say just in front of the gate entrance and bingo you have your intruder with time date the lot.

if I had a workshop I would use an old laptop hidden behind a false wall and plug in a night vision webcam with mic you could go with a wireless web cam but I'm tight and I have 3 old working laptops and then again its another way to have cctv far away from home, if you subscribe to these software company's you can get your PC to ring your phone and warn you of an intruder.

I cant remember the one I downloaded but the free version was for use with two cameras and it was very impressive how well it worked but I just typed free cctv software download into a search engine and few came up.

PS will work well for wildlife spotters.

[TorNicho]

I know of a very similar program called 'Crime Catcher'

The version I downloaded 10 years ago could take 4 usb webcams, you then 'mask off' and area, the 'trigger area' (of the video feed, and yes on the computer, not a piece of paper over the screen).

When the software detects motion it starts recording. I think it even constantly recorded, and only saved a few seconds before, during, and after the motion. This could all be configured.

[northern bloke]

Yeh that's the sort of thing I think it has many uses when you come to think about it as it can be left running and it will keep on going until you run out of hard drive space which has given me an idea if I put a camera in my bird box I could splice selected footage together and make a short video of chicks coming out of the egg until leaving the nest like time lapse, Could be a good little project

[woodpecker]

Much the same here WP except I would suggest getting one of their 8 channel models. They sell them with 4 cameras but it gives you the choice to expand later. I suspect as soon as you have 4 cameras you will wish you could have 6. This way you can expand the system as and when you can afford to. Atleast thats my plan.
http://www.maplin.co.uk/500gb-8ch-netwo ... ras-589999

Excellent, thank you