charlez

As for who drives down my street. I'd say 90% either live on the street or are visiting someone who does. The "problem people" are probably from elsewhere cruising neighborhoods. As for off street parking. I have already expanded the drive once, and it's pretty much at it's limit. In the summer, parking on the street is pretty much required due to my quantity of vehicles / trailers. I was planning on the Mailbox cam as an identifier. The main cams on the house would show what went on, the mailbox cam to identify who. If someone did something in my driveway, it's alot easier to start tracking someone with a plate number than just a face. I agree I have a problem as there is no clear "choke point" Depending on where cars are parked on the street, people will drive down the center/left/right of the street. (26' wide). This is all why i'm asking the experts here before sinking money into a project that may/may not work.

Lots of good info so far. Lets say I went with the mailbox idea. I could probably get the cable out there. (not fun, but possible). I was thinking I could probably get a new plastic mailbox like the neighbors with the built in paper holder and drill a hole in the side of it to view out of. Since this camera's primary job would be vehicle ID / Plate ID, a B/W camera would be best. (right?). Now, would I want one with UV illumination for this aplication or not? Before Starting anything, I need to get a good idea of budget. Not looking for a quote, just a ballpark price. Price on reccomended Mailbox cams. Price on Day/Night UV Illum. for mounting on House. Am I looking at $100 cameras or $600 cameras? As for the traffic layout, There is a T intersection on each end of the block. This street really goes nowhere and I'd say the direction of vehicle traffic is right at 50% in each direction.

I am looking into getting a cctv setup for my house. The reason is that in the last couple years, there have been some thefts from / damage to vehicles. It's really nothing major, just an annoyance. The last event was a few weeks ago when someone hit/run my truck parked on the street, causing about $2500 in damage. I guess my question is, can i do a system that will accomplish my goals for the price I am willing to spend. I have picked out a DVR that will record in MPEG4 at 720x480 that i think will suit my needs. I'm not really sure how much I want to spend on cameras or how many to get. ($200-$300 each??) See attached picture: I would like to cover the cars in the driveway and one parked on the street (right side of 2nd pic, blue box in 1st). The area is somewhat lit, (street light across street). The picture I took is a little deceptive, it was a 4 second exposure. I was hoping to be able to ID liscence plates of vehicles driving away on the street but after a bunch of reading on this forum, it doesn't look like that is possible anywhere near my price range. For reference, the driveway is 37ft from the garage door to the curb. The house is 50ft wide, I have seen alot of cheap / crappy quality videos and If that's all I can get for my budget, then I don't think I'd even bother with it at all. Are there any cameras that are close to my dilusional criteria? If not, what price am I looking at to acheive my goals?

Post Picture?

Hello, I found this site and it looks like it has a great deal of professional knowledge. I spent about 4 hours looking through old posts, trying to answer my questions. I have found quite a bit of info, but still have some questions. I will be posting them up shortly. Thanks ahead of time for the help.