vandelism - In car DVR with external cameras Advice please

[adamisannoyed 0]

Hi Everyone

 

Just joined up to ask peoples advice on DVR and cameras to catch someone who has keyed my mums car 3 times at her work in the last 12 months.

 

Here is an example of footage i would like to get:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPyYZ52IXYg&feature=fvst

 

 

So from what i have read I would need a portable dvr and a hard drive (ssd for long life) and say 3 or 4 small cameras preferably with a wide angle lens and reasonable quality. I would hope mounting them would not be too hard and i would put 1 below each door mirror and 1 at the rear hatch as it always seems to get keyed around the back when mum drives forwards into the space. Then maybe one inside the car facing out the back window.

 

 

The cameras need to record while the vehicle is parked and locked. I have looked around ebay and have seen dvrs that record for 12 hours and then overlap the footage which would be ok as the car is usually only parked for 10 hours. I thought I would ask here though as people on here probably have better ideas.

 

 

So any help on a good setup would be very much appreciated.

 

 

Adam

[keeps 0]

Hello Adam

 

I think you may have to do a fair bit of configuration work to your vehicle if you don't want it to look like it's just got 4 cameras stuck to it and therefore maybe end up drawing vandals to it.

 

I'm not sure but maybe with that hummer in the youtube video it may be that it has covert cameras built into the wing mirrors and all pre cabled into an in car recorder and connected up to power during manufacture perhaps....

 

A retro fit may be very expensive to have done properly and a DIY job could end up wrecking your car!

 

I'd probably stick to a couple of cameras inside the vehicle looking through the windows. A portable system that your mum can just switch on when she parks up at work could be the way to go.

[adamisannoyed 0]

Hi Keeps

 

Thanks very much for your reply

 

Ok i see what you are saying about having four cameras but what about if i was to put say 2 small mini cameras like these

 

http://www.yotang.com/ccd-mm-car-camera-wholesale_p60

 

below each wing mirror and then have another two inside cameras? surely this would not be that hard to run the wiring through the same place as the electric mirror wiring?

 

As for a portable system do you mean a system that is battery powered? To me it seems like it would be quite hard to power the system off the cars power as you have to start interfearing with the cars wiring etc. So yeah i thinki could mount the cameras ok but setting up the DVR and powering it i am not too sure about.

[adamisannoyed 0]

also here is a car DVR that records 24/7 and then overlaps once the hard drive is full

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TRUCKER-TRANSIT-BUS-CASINO-TROLLEY-CAR-VIDEO-SYSTEM-DVR-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem5190a3bd35QQitemZ350319000885QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

 

 

Do people think that is a good idea?

[Numb-nuts 1]

Have you thought about drilling a very small hole on the wing mirror surfaces and using heat glue

mounting a pinhole camera behind each? You'd need to be fairly confident and be prepared to figit

about with the fitting, but when successful you'd get a great view of the side behind the mirror,

the front wings would be unprotected of course. Depends how determined you are?

 

Personally I prefer the idea of having cameras look through the car windows and recording only

upon motion trigger. I doubt the offender would be expecting such a measure to be in effect.

Don't forget the recorder may have some drain on the car's battery so you may need to

add a second battery and a charging relay. These aren't that expensive if necessary. any trailer

caravan supplier will have these and the second battery is the one that will power the recorder

allowing your mother to start the car when she needs to.

 

Good luck with this and hope you catch a big fish.

[adamisannoyed 0]

hi numb-nuts

 

I appreciate your reply.

 

Yes I think a pinhole camera is what I would be after and it only needs to face back as my mum drives forwards into her parking space and it is always the back and sides of the car that get scratched like someone is walking past the rear and doing it.

 

The problem with cameras inside facing out is that they would only record someone walking closely past and would not see if the person was keying the car below the window level which is what has happened. This is happening in a busy car park and there could be many people walking past so really cameras on the wing mirrors are ideal as this would show the person actually scratching the car.

 

I am reluctant to start drilling holes in the mirrors and would prefer to use some sort of velcro mount or something like that to not cause permanent drill holes etc to the car.

 

 

Also thank you for your information on extra batteries/charging relays. So this would be for powering the DVR off the cars power, how difficult is it to wire this in? So I would run power wires from the cars fuse box? Would these kits have instructions on how to do this?

 

 

Thanks again

 

Adam

[Sawbones 0]

It occurred to me that one of those Mobotix 360-degree dome cameras mounted in the center of the interior ceiling might be just the thing...

 

Don't know how you'd mount it... but it would give you 360 degrees from a single camera, and the current draw on those is pretty minimal.

 

Just a thought.

[Numb-nuts 1]

hi numb-nuts

 

I appreciate your reply.

 

Yes I think a pinhole camera is what I would be after and it only needs to face back as my mum drives forwards into her parking space and it is always the back and sides of the car that get scratched like someone is walking past the rear and doing it.

 

The problem with cameras inside facing out is that they would only record someone walking closely past and would not see if the person was keying the car below the window level which is what has happened. This is happening in a busy car park and there could be many people walking past so really cameras on the wing mirrors are ideal as this would show the person actually scratching the car.

 

I am reluctant to start drilling holes in the mirrors and would prefer to use some sort of velcro mount or something like that to not cause permanent drill holes etc to the car.

 

Also thank you for your information on extra batteries/charging relays. So this would be for powering the DVR off the cars power, how difficult is it to wire this in? So I would run power wires from the cars fuse box? Would these kits have instructions on how to do this?

 

 

Thanks again

 

Adam

 

Drilling holes in glass is REALLY easy but you would require a special drill bit. I only know this because my dad was drilling a mirror with a masonry drill bit and it shattered then after replacing the mirror, he bought a glass drill bit (see below) and it worked perfectly. A 3or4mm hole should do it.

 

I suppose you could scratch the backing off the glass first to see if the camera will see through the glass? Remember, the cost of getting a replacement glass for your wing mirrors isn't that much a few £ $ whatever. Getting the car paint repaired IS expensive.

Experimenting is not going to be expensive. Incidentally, don't forget to have a wide angle lens to capture a face, varifocal might be an investment and watch the camera spec. if the camera i voltage range isnt upto about 14v or is restricted you may blow the camera,

 

The additional batteries and charging relays are great, really easy too install ( unless you have a bad back) and I am sure they have instructions, but ask anyway. The second battery should be a slow draw battery which is different from a starter battery that required a massive surge at startup. These slow draw batteries are batteries designed for caravan (trailer) lighting and power, and not suitable for starting cars. There isn't a lot involved in fitting them so you wouldn't be charged a fortune to have one fitted for you.

[Numb-nuts 1]

Here is a typical split-charge relay setup, you will need only two outputs

I suspect the unit will be cheap it's the extra battery that may cost you a lot

but a cheap standard car battery would suffice for overnight monitoring

 

 

[adamisannoyed 0]

Thanks very much for your reply numb-nuts.

 

You raise some really good points. I will start having a look around for some replacement mirror glass for these mirrors and then i can drill them without damaging the original ones fitted to the car which could be reinstalled at a later time.

 

I also think the extra slow drain battery is a very good idea, I will have to look at how easy it is to run power cables from the engine bay into the cabin of the car to power the DVR/Cameras.

 

Thanks again for taking the time to reply, you have been a big help.

[rory 0]

It occurred to me that one of those Mobotix 360-degree dome cameras mounted in the center of the interior ceiling might be just the thing...

 

Don't know how you'd mount it... but it would give you 360 degrees from a single camera, and the current draw on those is pretty minimal.

 

Just a thought.

Joking right? That thing costs a fortune!

[Sawbones 0]

It occurred to me that one of those Mobotix 360-degree dome cameras mounted in the center of the interior ceiling might be just the thing...

 

Don't know how you'd mount it... but it would give you 360 degrees from a single camera, and the current draw on those is pretty minimal.

 

Just a thought.

Joking right? That thing costs a fortune!

 

I may be easy, but I'm not cheap!

[SEANHAWG 1]

One of these days I am gonna buy one of those, they are sweet.

[Numb-nuts 1]

Thanks very much for your reply numb-nuts.

 

You raise some really good points. I will start having a look around for some replacement mirror glass for these mirrors and then i can drill them without damaging the original ones fitted to the car which could be reinstalled at a later time.

 

I also think the extra slow drain battery is a very good idea, I will have to look at how easy it is to run power cables from the engine bay into the cabin of the car to power the DVR/Cameras.

 

Thanks again for taking the time to reply, you have been a big help.

 

Being inventive and creative in making a covert setup is a lot of fun. If you then manage to catch someone up to no good, is extremely satisfying.

Let us know how you get on with your project it will be interesting to see what you come up with.

 

It is very important to watch the camera voltage when used in a vehicle as typically the voltage is almost 14 volts and cameras require REGULATED

12v. If you pay attention to the camera voltage range i.e. 12v dc + or - 10% etc then you will be able to buy a camera that will work with your vehicle electrics and not spoil your efforts by burning out your camera. I found that RF Concepts UK have a wide range of bullet and board cameras and lenses. But check the voltage requirements or you will need to introduce a regulator into the circuit. I can't advise how you do that as I have no electronics expertise.

[samuelberry 0]

Perhaps try this one http://cobracartech.co.uk/dash-cams-in-car-cameras/961-mi-witness-hd-pro.html it can be hardwired and has a feature to avoid battery drain so you won't end up with a flat battery. Also I think there's an option to add a 3rd camera so in theory you could pretty much protect the whole car