HiddenMountain

of coarse you could use 10w LED flood lights connected to PIRs they sell them in the normal shops these days

 

that will save you on power

Thanks cloudy1, I have a few of those around already. What I'm looking for is to control lights around the house to give it the "lived in look".

...and to show off a bit...haha...

Hi. Yes with your dvr it is easy and not much in the way of cost.

 

Your remote software that you are using for remote (under settings) you will see 3 slide switches. .......they call them alarms....

But these are controls to switch the relays on and off on your dvr........all you need is a relay at dvr end to have control over switching lights on and off

Hi Tom, thanks for the reply.

As I can be a bit thick, according to the wife and personal experience, I need a bit more info.

To wit, which remote software are you referring to? The DVR or the gDMSS?

After checking out the links that Owain gave me, I'm getting a bit more confused. I'm rather tired of letting the blue smoke out of my electronics! It can get expensive to experiment with this stuff!

I've searched the web for wiring diagrams but that's just a wild goose chase since no-one has the exact same scheme...

This does appear to be within reach though.

Most PTZ protocols have Aux commands, which you can use to control lights with a RS422/485 telemetry receiver and relays.

 

Something like

http://www.bbvcctv.com/products/receivers/rx25x_multiple_protocol_auxiliary_relay_receiver/

 

A more DIY approach

http://www.sigma-shop.com/category/17/rs485-relays.html

Thanks so much for that info Owain! That's right along the line of what I was thinking.

My next question naturally is, will this use up a channel on my DVR?

After a year or so, I have finally managed to connect my Android to my DVR, via gDMSS. Checking on the house while I'm on the road gives me great peace of mind. (Although my wife is now paranoid and wants a Judy Jetson mask!)

The only problem is that unless there are lights on at night, there is no visible image. Fairly obvious, I know, but since we live off grid, leaving lights on isn't an option. I have a couple of timers but my wife doesn't like them when she's at home.

My question is this. Is it possible to control electrical equipment, in my case lighting, through my gDMSS and Qvis Apollo DVR?

My thought is, and I might be way off here, if I can activate my PTZ from my android, why can't I send a signal to the DVR which would trip a relay, or two or three, that would turn on/off some lights.

I have looked around at some other remote control home automation stuff, but I have already spent too much money on this stuff, according to said paranoid wife!

While our OP seems to have moved on, I found this today and am wondering if this is the reason for his wanting live surveillance...

http://cryptogon.com/?p=27611

It would seem that the character in question is giving the owners of remote cabins in the area the willies. He needs to be stopped, but my question is, Is he the only one?

Living in a very remote area ourselves, I have met a few of these types and have had things stolen by them, thus the reason for my CCTV system.

To the OP, did you ever get anything figured out for your cabin?

Yeah - I've heard the same concerns about satelite internet. I'm looking at WB, but haven't signed up yet It's a cabin I use only on the weekends - about once a month. I mainly want the internet so I can remote monitor the cabin, so I don't want to sign up if it won't work the cabin is in Southern Utah - 12 miles from the nearest town or ISP. I don't even get cell reception out there, so 3G/4G isn't an optino. I make my own power (solar and battery), so any system I end up using needs to be power minimal.

 

I'm new to the whole remote system monitoring, so I'm not sure what the best option is to make it work. Primarily I want something that can take periodic pictures during the day (predetermined times and whenever motion is detected) and save the pictures on a local hardrive connected to the monitoring network. I want the ability to log in once every few days to view the pictures. I'd also like the ability to view live video feed once a week, if possible, for a minute or two.

 

Given those specs/desired uses, I'm open to any suggestions regarding the best way to make this work.

 

Any benefits to analog CCTV (I assume with a local DVR) over webcams with a local harddrive connected to the router? As I said, I'm fairly new to this technology, and am looking for suggestions on the best way to make this work. I'm trying to do all the homework I can before making any purchases.

 

Thanks

Southern Utah is absolutely beautiful. I used to take Hwy. 89 from I-15 to Flagstaff on my way to Douglas AZ and back...

Yeah, your options are very limited. Unfortunately, you would have to leave your cameras and DVR (assuming that's the route you took) on all of the time. That would be a huge power drain. Then the satellite modem would also have to be on. Assuming two analog cameras, a cheap DVR and your modem alone, you would have to have 10 to 15 Amps continuous power supply. That would have to be some PV array and battery bank! You might think about hooking up a timer so that it only powered it all up at your peak power times, but if you are trying to catch the bad guys, that would be a crap shoot as to timing...

Unfortunately, satellite internet has horrible ping rates, so like the boys said, you'd be lucky to get a bunch of still images. It's better than nothing, but you can forget controlling a PTZ cam.

I wish I could be of more help to you, maybe the guru's who do this for a living can give you some better advise.

The thing one hears most often about satellite Internet access (besides the 500ms lag) is the extremely low uplink bandwidth. Your live video streaming may end up looking more like a slide show.

 

If possible, you should try it out before you commit and make sure you can live with it.

OP, you should talk to our member Hidden Mountain, he's doing this and yeah, found pretty much what dvarapala says: satellite is REALLY SLOW for remote viewing.

I wish I could give you all the answers you need but we're still fiddling around with our system. I don't have lots of time to spend on it, so it has taken a back seat for now.

You say that satellite is your only option. You must be way out in the boonies then. Like the others said, hugenet is not a very good option. We have two ISP's here, Hughesnet and a line-of-sight one, and between the two we have yet to get a remote view of the place! A cell tower was put up recently so we now have the option of HSPA 3/4G but it's so freakin expensive, we're only using it through our phones. The line-of-sight ISP owner is hesitant to open up all of the ports so we can remotely control/view our cameras. He's worried that it'll use too much bandwidth and make it so the others in the area might suffer slower internet speeds...

There are so many variables to consider here. A lot depends on your location. If you're in the southern US, snow isn't a big concern. If your in Iceberg Alaska, then solar probably won't work...

I am far from a geek here, so my knowledge of all things electronic is very limited, but my experience is, the less power you need the less power you have to produce. We have an analog CCTV system. 7 cameras; three indoor and 4 outdoor. The outdoor cams have to have heat/cooling, so there's a few amps right there. The DVR has to be on 24/7 so there's a few more. Lighting comes from some motion sensing LED spots.

Tell me more about your system, and I'll share what little knowledge I have....

the snow looks fun

would be welcomed here after the long long long summer we had !

It only just started to get "cold" here, in the 70s at night and 80s in the day.

I will gladly trade you! We had our frazzle ice experience last night, the water intake for the turbine froze over so we had to switch to the genset... Nothing like a walk through the forest in the snow to chip away at ice, at 7am! I got it going but we're supposed to get the same conditions again tonight, clear sky and -8c, that causes it...

Not a bad little system, good job. I would think snow would keep most trouble away.

Thanks fa chris. It has been quite the learning curve. I'm not quite ready for the big league yet so you all don't have to worry about competition from here!

Now, if my ISP guy would just open port 37777 for me....

Thanks Sean.

I'm sucking up my bandwidth allowance by loading the video right now..... stupid Hughesnet...and stupid bandwidth caps!

And actually, it's warmed up considerably, it's a balmy 36F right now!

Dang, this has been a long haul....

This was taken last night. The pic in the #1 position is from the remote cam that is mounted on a big ol fir tree, about 120ft from the house. That's my wife waving in the bottom middle frame.

This was taken this morning. This screenshot is with the PTZ in the #1 position. After some, ahem, technical difficulties, it now works flawlessly.

I want to thank Sean from Nelly's, again, for replacing this cam, twice, at his expense. And Matt, aka Soundy, for coming up last fall and helping with getting our 2 ISP's hooked up to our network. Not to mention this forum for the wealth of knowledge to be found here.

Now for the fun part, getting it all to work remotely through my cell phone...

new and used WeatherDomes, Pressurized Weatherdomes, rugged Version WeatherDomes, HD6 D/N, KD6 D/N units, email ptz@charter.net.

Email sent so lets see what happens....

I don't remember seeing any cows around your place...

Stealth cows dude....

Looks like it's time to look into some sort of load-balancing router with scheduling

Yup. But we'll be waiting until all the cows are in the barn before we milk em....

I'll tell you what! Before we had an option with the LOS service, we were literally at hughsnot's mercy.

Now, at $70 per month for them AND $35 per month for the LOS guys, we get a grand total of 30 Gigs of bandwidth per month... That's $1260 per year + taxes and other fees.... All that because we wanted to live in the country..

Not sure what were going to do when the cell tower gets turned on. The Turbohub looks like a good deal, until you go over the 10 Gig per month bandwidth, then it's kaching kaching kaching into Telus's pocket...

Whatever. We'll still have to pay one way or another...

Looking for a Weather Dome for an Ultrak KD6i Series PTZ.

Heater and fan a must.

Email me at mountainman63 at live dot ca

Thanks eh, Jon

*sniff* I love happy endings....

From my firsthand experience: If you want full internet implementation with your surveillance equipment, ditch HughesNet. I did it and was one of the best decisions ever made.

Hey Sean,

So you did it eh?

We still have Hugesnot AND a local line of sight ISP. (Soundy came by a couple of weekends ago and managed to get the whole mess connected together without any conflicts. Thanks again Matt ) The one thing I do like about HN is the fact that the pipe is wide open for 5 hours at night, so all of those youtube videos and big uploads and downloads can be done then. The LOS ISP doesn't want us to use too much bandwidth, ever. So youtube is right out with them, but they do have a static IP and have no problem having us use their service for remote viewing our CCTV.... (If i can ever figure out how )

Might I ask what your new ISP is?

We're (im)patiently waiting for our new cell tower to get turned on, and so we'll have a third option, albeit another expensive one...

Hi Jon,

 

We come across Pan/Tilt heads once in a blue moon but they are usually pretty beat up and i wouldnt even want to sell it to you to be honest because they are so beat up. We do not have any in right now unfortunately. We dont ever come across any big time zoom lenses though but every now and then you can find a big hawg on eBay. You would need a pretty darn big lens to zoom in on a mile away. Atleast 200mm or more, I would assume probably more than 200mm though. For those kind of optics, you are talking some big money. That Ultrak PTZ that we sold you is about the most typical zoom range that you would see on a PTZ, but you still wouldnt get good detail at a mile and plus that ultrak PTZ housing is made only for indoor use. My recommendation if you really want something like that would be to find a good box camera that you can attach a giant zoom lens to and put it on one of those Pan/Tilt heads that you showed pictured. I will have to say though, be prepared to get your wallet ready as I assume that its not gonna be cheap.

Thanks Sean. I didn't think they'd be cheap... oh well.

I had thought about mounting a wifi cam on a tree down by their road but there are just too many problems with that idea, not the least of which would be that when they spotted the thing it would become a new target!

I was thinking of building a small cupola to house the PTZ, on the peak of the house, but that isn't going top happen anytime soon with all of the other things to do around here

http://www.pelco.com/sites/global/en/products/camera-solutions/range-presentation.page?p_function_id=9504&p_family_id=10221&p_range_id=2866

 

doesn't come with the camera as shown in the picture, you put any fixed camera you want on it.

 

only pans and tilts, get a ptz so you can zoom too.

 

we only use these things for thermal cameras now, and even then it's extremely rare.

Thanks fa chris, that looks sweet, but I bet the price isn't!

Most of the big traffic PTZs I see around the GVRD are Pelco Esprit models:

 

 

These can hold a wide range of cameras - IP, megapixel, thermal, analog cams with National Enquirer lenses...

 

Those little skinny tubes you see sticking way up above the lights are generally feeding video analytics systems that control the lights... AFAIK they aren't generally very high resolution, as it's not required for the system to simply determine whether there are cars present.

Soundy, that looks exactly like the one at #10 & 176th St. in Cloverdale. The guy driving that thing was just a givin er, checking every car and truck that was stopped at the lights. I'm sure he could read the stuff on my dashboard!.

And thanks for the info about the tube cams! That has been making me paranoid/mad since I first started seeing them, everywhere. I noticed that the intersections still have the ground sensors even when the tube cams are used this week.....

Ok then, so it doesn't have a name?

Well, whatever, I would really like to use one of these puppies on the top of the shack. We have a pretty good view of the canyon from there, about 10 miles across, so we'd want to have something that could zoom and focus that far. Why? There is a lower road the ner-do-wells travel on about 1 mile from here that we get a good view of from the top of the house and I would like to see when they, or their loser friends, are coming and going.

I doubt we're looking at cheap, but maybe a certain forum member, who is a great guy BTW, who deals in used CCTV stuff might come across one?

Ok it looks like this.....

I was looking all over eBay and couldn't find one, until I posted this thread, of course...

I still don't know what the trade name is, or where the better, faster, higher res, cheaper ones out there are.

This one looks descent, but it has a few things I'm not too sure about, like the PTZ is 24V but the cam is 12V... It doesn't say if it has a fan and/or heater, I'm assuming it does since it's 24V?

Thoughts? Ideas? Free ones you want to send me?

The other day I came to a stop at a red light at a major intersection. The ubiquitous CCTV cams were on each light post, watching....

Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw one on top of one of the light posts, way up there, doing a PTZ maneuver in plain sight. This one was mounted on some kind of gimble pivot and could spin and tilt very fast.... It didn't look like the usual teardrop style but one of those big ol weather protected ones that are usually on a fixed mount.

My question for the gurus here is, what is the actual name of the beast and where can I get one?!

that you, your family and all your stuff will make it through this intact.

So here's a link to the motion lights I'm getting. Not to cheap but not over the top either...

That looks decent. Does anyone know exactly how much sun (time) these kind of lights need? And do they need 'direct' sunlight, or just 'daylight'.

I'm asking because I live in The Netherlands and it's pretty much always clouded here

AFAIK, they need about 6 hours of direct sunlight. I suppose it all depends on how often they turn on and for how long as to how much re-charge they'll need. Our place is on the north side of a 8500ft mountain and we get no sun at all for 2 1/2 months every winter, so this will be a good experiment.

We do have a spring fed creek that never dries up, so there's yer upside.

Thx for link

u give me idea

this light can be easily modified for 12 volts and use for installs

Ok, I'm curious now. I have a 12V based system, as mentioned before, so it wouldn't be too hard to convert them to that, but they're 6V units. Knowing that LED's are run of of current rather than voltage, are you thinking of just wiring them for 12?

Sorry hardwired, I forgot to answer your second question... Yes, a water heater is in the works. I have a 12/24V heater element, but the tank I was going to use is no good. Oh well, it was a dump find... or as we say around here "the mall".

So here's a link to the motion lights I'm getting. Not to cheap but not over the top either...

http://www.outdoorsolarstore.com/watchdog-solar-security-light.aspx?gclid=CPmroaej4qoCFUSK4AodBhmX6g

We ordered 3 of them, so let's hope they work as advertised.

I guess it still stays running at some depth below the surface ice?

 

I was wondering if the load dump could be (or is already) a separate element in your water heater, to be able to gain heat from that, instead of being wasted?

Yep, the water never freezes under the ice... that's the trick. The only time we have serious freezing issues is on clear nights at -30 and below. We get what they call "frizzle ice", little slivers of ice floating in the water that clings to everything, especially our intake screen!

That pic of the turbine was taken after one such incident. I spent the better part of 2 days fighting the freeze, eventually gave in and pulled the pipe and started the genny.... I hate that...