Had a another break in, reccomend a security camera system.

Wasn't sure where to post this. Came home from work this afternoon to find the back door of the house pried open and my wife's jewelry box missing. Only a couple of heirlooms and some inexpensive stuff taken and a busted up door frame. Thankfully, no razors or camera gear were gone. This is the second burglary in 6 years. I apparently scared him/them off when my truck showed up or they would have likely grabbed many other valuables that were in plain sight. One of the officers who came to investigate suggested security cameras and now I feel it's a must have, but I don't know much about them. Any suggestions or recommendations will be appreciated. No one was hurt and all is well, but now it's time to beef up security. THANKS!

Ronnie

What a drag. Thats one of my worst fears, a break in. My sister in law last October was working from home and two guys busted the front door off its hinges and walked right in. She went upstairs and yelled at them, they turned around, walked back to their car and left. She's a gorgeous petite woman, and things could've ended worse for her. She and her husband live in a nice suburb of Minneapolis, with a low crime rate. Random crime sucks. Good to hear they left your shaving equipment alone.

On a serious note, glad to hear nobody was hurt.

Never had a break in, but I do have a lot of high dollar stuff in view - wood shop, observatory, obviously a hunter, etc... When the trailer is not next to the shop it is obvious we are not home. It started bugging me about a year ago. I looked at the commercial cams available and didn't want to pay what they get for good ones, with their limited capabilities.

What I have done is to put 5 Raspberry Pi micro computers, with cameras, at and in various areas around the property. Cost is about $75 per setup. Each has a mini web server running so I can access live video from anywhere we go. They are also motion based, so when 1500 pixels change they start recording video, and continue until motion ceases, to a central Apache 2 server that is also running on a Raspberry Pi. Some of the Pi's I have temperature and humidity sensor on, so if we are out of town and there is a jump in the basement humidity I can call the son to go check the house and ensure a pipe is not leaking, etc. The Pi in the shop I am working on a control system for the HVAC so I can turn on the heat and AC from the house, and set the temperature.

A decent understanding of Linux is required, but the Raspberry Pi is mature enough that I frequently find existing code to accomplish what I need with minimal modification.

Well bberg, I may have to get you to elaborate more once we close on our new house. I'm pretty decent at Linux/Unix code. I really like the temp/humidity sensor idea, but would like to set up at least one camera as well.

My rottweiler works better than any camera.

I find that while a homebrew security solution can be interesting and rewarding to put together, it is much more effective to have a professional come in and install a multi camera system with a DVR. If you can easily run wires, as in a new house, you can also go online or to your local Best Buy and pick up a system you install yourself. Both will have 24/7 monitoring and DVR capabilities. The DIY "system in a box" will run you about 3-400 bucks plus the cost of cat-5 wire and the tools of you don't already have them. You will need to have tools for terminating the cables. A custom installed system will cost about 1500 bucks for three color/night vision cameras and the recorder. That should include the install.

Is it worth it? Just ask the guy that's sitting in jail for the next 5 years because he broke into my wife's car and a bunch of other cars on my street. Without the camera, he would be out and about.

Why not an alarm system? A few 120db ringers screaming around the house would deter most (try to imagine trying to do anything while being overloaded by a high pitch pinging and the louder the better. The least you can do is at least give them hearing problems for the trouble.

I've just got some cheap magnet (with number keypad combo) ones that I'll be installing in my shed (two thief at this point... I have a silent alarm that triggers in the house, but I feel that I would rather have something that would freak them out if they were to try again). Testing one, close range at 90db, my ears were pinging for a while after.

I did install a few solar powered motion detector that triggers lights and a voice alarm in my backyard. Not very loud, but annoying as hell as every time a storm with lots of wind starts moving branches and such makes them trigger, but I've not had a break-in since.

But camera wise, there's just so many models out there, it really depends on your budget.

And I'd say go with something that is well hidden, otherwise 1) for things a thief would do is destroy the camera, 2) know that you have a possibly nice expensive system, have something worth breaking in for. (One scenario, put hidden cameras but have some of those fake dummy ones in plain site)

I know Costco has some decent security cameras for sale there. And I agree my big black lab scares everyone away. Even the in-laws.

I suggest placing a very small camera on a very large dog.

CCTV signage outside will be more effective than a hidden camera inside.

I think this is the way we will go. Q-See 8-Channel 960H DVR with 1TB Hard Drive, 6 High Res 700TVL Cameras with Night Vision - BJ's Wholesale Club I will include a loud alarm. This is mostly for my wife's peace of mind as she kind of feels violated. It won't hurt to beef up security around here. It will look like Fort Knox by Monday. If we have any more trouble, we will consider a dog. Thanks for all the support! I really appreciate it.

Arachnid said:

My rottweiler works better than any camera.

Click to expand...

Agreed, my dog chased off a burglar as he was trying to enter in the middle of the night through a window!

My wife and I use D-Link wireless cameras. The cameras have worked very well for us. We can monitor our house 24/7 on any smartphone or computer. Plus, we get notifications if motions or sounds are detected. I could not imagine life without them.

I read years ago that most burglars would be most deterred by an alarm system (when asked). When asked what they would do for their own house, they generally said "a dog".

I'd think that an alarm that would go off before they get inside the house would be a useful layer of protection.

I have heard of thieves returning to a house if there were visible valuables, so please be careful (you and your wife).

Best wishes!

They typically wait several months until they are sure that insurance has replaced the stolen items.

Bearded Buckeye said:

My wife and I use D-Link wireless cameras. The cameras have worked very well for us. We can monitor our house 24/7 on any smartphone or computer. Plus, we get notifications if motions or sounds are detected. I could not imagine life without them.

Click to expand...

+1 on D-Link. The router system is the bomb. I can turn off my 13yo's WiFi access from my phone(when he supposed to be asleep). Getting the cameras next month!

ouch said:

I suggest placing a very small camera on a very large dog.

Click to expand...

Why not an even smaller camera in the stomach of an even larger dog?

To be serious. I'm happy that no one got hurt. Even so the loss of property is the minor issue when it comes to these things. The greater issue is that one's home should be a place where one's family should be able to feel absolutely safe. Coming to the insight that that not might be the case is traumatic. I live on another continent so I can't give you any advice on security other than that I live in a house into which the previous owner installed so much security that the house, in case of fire, actually might become a death trap. A beautiful but very fortified home. Don't go that far. I've had to install smoke detectors into every room.

Step one of the new security system has been procured. Will find some type of audible alarm this week. Broken door has been repaired.
Researching better intrusion resistant mechanisms for the main doors. For now, 8 - cameras that can be monitored by wi-fi on my phone.
These got good reviews and were reasonably priced. 6 cameras for the house and two for the garage workshop.

Cameras, alarms aside, these work pretty good too

http://www.amazon.com/Trust-Theres-Nothing-Worth-Dying/sim/B005B1BC6E/2